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DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-films
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 9:24 am
by Jerry Fabris
Re: DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-f
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:47 am
by estott
The conductor in the still from "Edison Minstrels" is Eugene Jaudas. The singers are doubtless Edison regulars. The Interlocutor is a young Arthur Housman, who was in films up to his 1942 death - generally playing drunks.
Re: DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-f
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:57 am
by fran604g
Thank you, Jerry.
Best,
Fran
Re: DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-f
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:58 pm
by TinfoilPhono
I pre-ordered this a week or so ago and just received my copy today. It's a remarkable DVD! These films must have absolutely blown viewer's minds back in 1913.
I'm sure this digitally restored version looks and sounds better than the originals did over 100 years ago. Still, it surprises me that they were able to record with so much clarity given that the horn was in the rafters above the performers. It must have been challenging to do these 6-minute stories in a single take.
Re: DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-f
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 6:01 pm
by estott
Some earlier efforts at sound pictures are posted at this German source. The sound is much superior - because the actors are miming along with commercial recordings:
http://www.filmportal.de/video/ein-walz ... nr-92-1908
Re: DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-f
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 6:33 pm
by Marty Bufalini
Astounding!!! The sychronization is unbelievable. I didn't know they had reels of raw film that long or a disc(?) or cylinder(?) that ran that long.
Thanks for posting.
Re: DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-f
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:14 pm
by estott
Listening to the excellent documentary, the mention of a 1933 attempt to synchronize "Jack
s Joke" is interesting- Edward Boulden and Arthur Housman were still living, if it had been successfully presented we might have had their reactions.
Just one little point- the documentary gives the impression that the Higham Amplifier pantograph cut directly into celluloid.
Re: DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-f
Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 4:56 am
by Edisone
After the initial surprise, the Edison talking pictures bombed completely. The sync failed, the subjects were dumb, the acting was stilted, etc etc. Without electrical recording & amplification, there was no chance. It was a brave attempt, but about 15 years too soon!
Re: DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-f
Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:21 pm
by drh
Edisone wrote:After the initial surprise, the Edison talking pictures bombed completely. The sync failed, the subjects were dumb, the acting was stilted, etc etc. Without electrical recording & amplification, there was no chance. It was a brave attempt, but about 15 years too soon!
Like the LP diamond discs....
Re: DVD released of restored Edison 1913 Kinetophone sound-f
Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:28 am
by fran604g
drh wrote:Edisone wrote:After the initial surprise, the Edison talking pictures bombed completely. The sync failed, the subjects were dumb, the acting was stilted, etc etc. Without electrical recording & amplification, there was no chance. It was a brave attempt, but about 15 years too soon!
Like the LP diamond discs....
^^^ Hear, hear!
I received my "copy" a few days ago, and despite the negatives in regard to the performances and subjects filmed, the resulting "Kinetophones" is (must have been) really astonishing -- IMHO. I enjoy seeing early acting/filming techniques, and the realization of how those techniques evolved over the next couple of decades.
Best,
Fran