Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)...although this new Image release which replaces their 1999 edition is likely the best that we'll see until someone can afford to do a full scale restoration. David Shepard and Film Preservation Associates are to be commended for making this look as good as they have considering the limited funds they have to work with (Shepard once said that Kevin Brownlow and Photoplay Productions spend on one reel what he spends on an entire film) and the source material which appears to be 16mm. There is no significant new footage here but the film has been speed corrected which accounts for the longer running time. The print seems to be the same as the 1999 release with lots of scratches throughout but the image is sharper and the toning of certain scenes is better.
Aside from the condition of the print what really keeps this from being the "Ultimate Edition" is the score by Donald Hunsberger. Hunsberger is a fine conductor (check out his Eastman Wind Ensemble recordings) but the music he compiled is too lighthearted overall and not sombre or medieval enough to enhance what's going on during the movie especially toward the end (the compiled score used for the 1999 version was far more appropriate). A darker score like the one Ennio Morricone did for the 1912 RICHARD III would help to undercut the melodramatic elements of the story and some of the performances. Once again a score can make or break a silent film.
Lon Chaney remains a marvel as Quasimodo, fully inhabiting the character beneath the makeup and the natural speed transfer restores his performance to what it should be. The medieval sets and vast army of extras also continue to inspire awe 80+ years later. The disc comes with program reproductions, 3-D glasses for old stills, and commentary from Chaney scholar Michael F. Blake. So fans of HUNCHBACK and Chaney rush out and be sure to get this edition for your DVD collection. I just wish that someday someone with unlimited funds can really produce the ultimate edition (ala METROPOLIS, BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) that this classic deserves.
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Lon Chaney stars as the gentle outcast Quasimodo in the first film version of Victor Hugo's classic novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Paris of 1482 was meticulously recreated on the back lot of Universal Studios for this powerful drama that turned Chaney into a screen legend -- now presented in the ultimate special edition of this timeless classic. Mastered in high definition from an original multi-tinted print. New symphonic score compiled by Donald Hunsberger, adapted and conducted by Robert Israel. Recorded in Europe in digital stereo. Insert essay and optional audio essay through the film, both by Michael F. Blake, author of two books on Lon Chaney. Facsimile reproduction of original souvenir program. Gallery of Original 3-D stills (3-D viewing glasses are included with this DVD). Extensive gallery of 2-D stills including production shots, scenes and advertising materials. Behind-the-scenes footage of Lon Chaney out of makeup on the set.
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