Which is the best DVD for this?
Another public domain title, which are always a lottery (meaning only one among hundreds gets a bit lucky). Any properly restored version?
There's no Santa Claus
The Flicker Alley release included in its Douglas Fairbanks boxset is probably the best. The older Kino version was about as good, too. I've seen both. Additionally, SilentEra.com is useful for comparing the quality of different DVD versions of silent films.
"The cinéma is an invention without a future," said Louis Lumière.share
Which had a better soundtrack? The older Image version apparently has an awesome soundtrack by Gaylord Carter, but there is a version available with the original 1920 score by the Paragon Orchestra. I can also get the Kino version quite easily, but can't get any info one what the music is like. Any recommendations on what I should go with?
shareJust an update, to anyone who may care. The Kino version of this film, the double-feature edition which also has Don Q: Son of Zorro, features a score by Jon C. Mirsalis, and it is very good. He has done soundtracks for other films that I have quite enjoyed, so I'm glad the purchase was worth it. It is advertised as an "Original piano score", which I'm assuming means Mirsalis wrote and composed it, since the Paragon Orchestra claim to have found the 1920 score and released it on their version of this film.
Which score was used in the TCM version that played earlier this year. I really enjoyed it.
I hated it. Or rather, it was fine so long as you didn't try to watch the movie and listen at the same time. The composer made no attempt to match the music to the action, so everything from an exposition scene to an argument to a chase scene got the same, vaguely Spanish, sub-romantic treatment. The music would have been enough to make me turn off the TV, but I decided since it was 1AM I would let it put me to sleep. It was fine for that purpose, anyway.
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