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Hollywood: A Celebration of American Silent Film (1980) Laser disc transfer
Hollywood: A Celebration of American Silent Film (1980) Laser disc transfer
 
$45.00


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Product Code: HOLL
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Description
 
This is a region-free DVD-R (set of five) without case or artwork. Note: Unlike other versions of this documentary, this set was transferred from laser disc, resulting in much clearer image and sound compared to the standard VHS transfers available. Because the series is tied up in rights issues that may never be resolved, this represents the best possible quality in which to enjoy it. Image is sharp and distortion-free, unlike VHS copies. Screens available on request.

This 13-episode series comes on five DVD's. Hollywood (also known as Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film) is a 1980 documentary series produced by Thames Television which explored the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture. The series consists of thirteen one hour episodes, with each episode dealing with a specific aspect of Hollywood history. The actor James Mason, an enthusiast of the period, supplied the narration; a lilting score was contributed by Carl Davis. Episodes: (1) The Pioneers; (2) In the Beginning; (3) Single Beds and Double Standards; (4) Hollywood Goes To War; (5) Hazard of the Game; (6) Swanson and Valentino; (7) The Autocrats; (8) Comedy - A Serious Business; (9) Out West; (10) The Man With the Megaphone; (11) Trick of the Light; (12) Star Treatment; (13) End of an Era.

Average Rating: Average Rating: 5 of 5 5 of 5 Total Reviews: 63 Write a review »

  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
4 of 5 Hollywood (1980) March 20, 2025
Reviewer: A cinema tragic from Horsham, Victoria, Australia  
A seminal documentary series, a must see for anyone interested in cinema and I thank MovieDetective for making it available. I had recorded this series off-air on VHS in the 1980s and in 2007 converted those episodes to DVD. This version from laser disc is clearly much better, not forgetting it's all we have now to appreciate Hollywood up to the beginnings of sound. One grumble: on my PAL DVD player the zooms on photos and the rolling end-credits are jerky, blemishes not evident on my old recordings; surely they could be fixed. These issues apart, the series is marvellous viewing (love the interviews), a great tribute to Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, devoted as they were to preserving what remained in the 1970s of the American 'silent cinema'. The five discs arrived on time in good condition and were well-packaged. What great work you guys do for everyone, interested in the history of cinema. Best wishes for your future.

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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
4 of 5 Seems like a very slight improvement over VHS March 20, 2025
Reviewer: Kegan Mahon from Port Allegany, PA United States  
For me, the selling point of this set was that it was taken from LD, which is a step above VHS and the step below DVD. While I expected the difference to be a bit more pronounced, it is there, and I was happy that the DVDs did have chapter breaks and menus.

Total cost came to about $9 per disc with about $9 shipping. I knew that artwork would not be included, although I saw some on the website which I have taken for my own later use.

I won't really complain about the video quality because everything that I've seen so far seems to play quite well, but I do wish that they had incorporated printed disc artwork at least.

All in all, however, still very happy to have this on DVD, and to prevent potential disk failure, I did rip it immediately to my hard drive.

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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 Hollywood February 13, 2025
Reviewer: Daniel Santell from Bromma, - Sweden  
A must see for every cineaste!

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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 So pleased December 23, 2024
Reviewer: Shane Jones from Ballarat East, VIC Australia  
So pleased with the professionalism of Moviedetective. My purchase was shipped immediately and arrived on time. That's everything I could wish for. I would recommend Moviedetective to everyone.

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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 Very easy December 4, 2024
Reviewer: LUIS GRANADA from SAN DIEGO, CA United States  
I've been looking for this documentary for years. I watched it on YT but wanted a physical copy. The process of buying and having the dvds shipped was easy and fast. The price was perfect. The dvds themselves are perfect and no flaws when I played it on my little dvd player. The picture quality was perfect. I have terrible eyesight but no problems watching it. I give it 5 stars out of five!

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