Time Discrepancies
There seems to be a number of different time ranges for this film. What is different in each version? What is the original time length for this film? Which is the superior version? I saw the version on TCM in August.
shareThere are a number of different prints. And since the original "approximate" cranking speeds can be interpreted varyingly, the runtimes of different DVDs may vary slightly.
However so far as I know all versions have the same content.
The version I saw was a 75 minute one, which I think is the most common, but I see on IMDB, there is reference to a 107 minute version, which logic would appear to indicate, has extra scenes featured within.
shareSuch a version would indeed be different ...but does it really exist? Can somebody refer to a particular source (URL or DVD or whatever) for this version?
Although IMDb is quite accurate most of the time, they do occasionally list misleading information. For example they sometimes list the running time of a version which turns out not to be available to the general public at all, or copy a running time from a festival program without realizing that time also included a short. And once in a while they even make a typo, such as turning one hour and seven minutes ("1:07") into one hundred and seven minutes ("107") [a colon was never so meaningful:-].
And once in a while they even make a typo, such as turning one hour and seven minutes ("1:07") into one hundred and seven minutes ("107") [a colon was never so meaningful:-].
I'd say you're very likely to be correct.
None of the alternate versions are listed at that length' They all range between 75 and 80 minutes. share
Here's the long version that the other folk appear to be referring to:
https://youtu.be/1b24wqhy0Zo
It runs for 1 hour and 47 minutes.
There is no 107-minute version of THE GENERAL. Discrepancies about the running times for many silent films often result from someone projecting or transferring those films at the wrong speed -- which is exactly the case with what is seen at that YouTube link above. Many people who watch that particular transfer would notice that all the action is unnaturally slow. Here's the issue.
Silent-era film projectors were variable-speed, while most film modern/sound projectors offer only two speeds for projection: sound (at 24 frames per second) or silent (16 fps). Cameras during the silent era were not motorized but cranked by hand, so there was no strictly uniform camera speed. However, the average speed at which most silent-era films were actually shot fell somewhere in between those two speed options on modern projectors -- with the result that for decades, silent pictures have been run at a speed either slightly faster, or somewhat slower, than originally intended.
Most modern film prints of THE GENERAL (depending on the addition of introductory historical text or tailored restoration credits) run between 75 and 78 minutes when projected today at 24 fps/sound speed. But set the same projector to 16 fps/silent speed and that same print will last close to one-third longer ... or 107 minutes.
Whoever made the film transfer uploaded to YouTube at the link above made a common mistake: Knowing that THE GENERAL is a silent film, the projector was set to silent speed -- which makes the running time longer but also makes the film (and therefore the story) drag interminably.
I hope my explanation wasn't too technical; but I expected that this is foreign to many of you, since now fewer and fewer people below a certain age will have any experience with actual film and projectors, compared to digital discs and players.
Most great films deserve a more appreciative audience than they get.
A URL as requested.
https://youtu.be/1b24wqhy0Zo
This version I've just watched on Youtube is indeed 1 hour 47 minutes (or 107 minutes) long.
I've not seen a shorter version, so I couldn't tell you if has any extra scenes.
I hope this helps towards solving the mystery...