Alice Guy Blaché Vol. 2: The Solax Years Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Alice Guy Blaché Vol. 2: The Solax Years Blu-ray Movie Review

A collection of short films from the Solax Years of Alice Guy Blache.

Alice Guy Blache Vol 2. The Solax Years is another collection of beloved short films from a pioneering visionary who helped pave the way for women filmmakers. The set should be considered as a treasure trove for die-hard enthusiasts and followers of the filmmaker. As a hero to women, Alice Guy Blache managed to find a variety of ways to tell stories – focusing on themes of complex natures and giving stories life in unexpected ways.

The Solax Years short films focus on a later period in the auteur filmmaker's career. Guy Blache decided to move to America and oversee her own film studio. Serving as head of the production committee with the Solax Company, the filmmaker had even more freedom to explore her style – developing stories that explored melodrama, horror, and comedy. The release includes over four hours of shorts. Over a century old, the short films celebrate passing their 100 year milestone with 2K or 4K scans.

A celebration of a filmmaker's legacy.

The release includes the following shorts:

Comedy, Cross-Dressing, and Courtship - Starting Something (HD, 8:17), A Comedy of Errors (HD, 14:24), His Double (HD, 11:24), Cousins of Sherlocko (HD, 13:20), and Officer Henderson (HD, 14:18).

Westerns - Parson Sue (HD, 10:05), Frozen on Love's Trail (HD, 13:38), and Broken Oath (HD, 12:08)

The Social Drama: Poverty, Crime, and Honor - A Terrible Lesson (HD, 13:41), A Man's a Man (HD, 9:44), Making an American Citizen (HD, 11:24), The Strike (HD, 8:46), and The Thief (HD, 15:05)

The Features: Mise-en-scene, Children, and Adventure - The Sewer (HD, 20:21), The Detective's Dog (HD, 10:51), The Girl in the Arm-Chair (HD, 14:05), Dick Whittington and His Cat (HD, 42:17), and Mr. Bruce Wins at Cards (HD, 14:30).

Alice Guy Blaché Vol. 2: The Solax Years Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, Alice Guy Blache Vol 2. The Solax Years is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The prints on volume two are a little less consistent in appearance in comparison to the first collection. For older films such as these classic shorts, it comes as no surprise that the print quality varies widely.

There are so many different variables in regards to the original print conditions and the manner in which the films can become restored (without losing detail in the image). Nonetheless, Kino has assembled restorations from 2K and 4K scans from the likes of The Library of Congress, EYE Film Institute, British Film Institute, Academy Film Library, George Eastman Museum, and Lobster Films.

The shorts are consistently watchable and that counts for something. Just don't expect a restoration that perfectly showcases every frame in pristine detail. There are still marks on the prints and slight damage which can sometimes be a bit of an eye-sore. Nonetheless, the restorations help enhance the experience. The use of color tinting on some of the short films is also particularly impressive (and seeing the color tinting on the films preserved – as would be the case in continuity-scrips – is impressive). Alice Guy Blache Vol 2. The Solax Years is an acceptable presentation with nice encoding by Kino Lorber.

Alice Guy Blaché Vol. 2: The Solax Years Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes an uncompressed PCM 2.0 audio presentation. The lossless audio on the release exceeds the video-quality and has a nearly pristine sound quality. Given that the short films feature impressive modern scores, the quality of the music found on these silent-era gems in fantastic. As dialogue is absent from the set, there is nothing to report in that regard. However, fans will be quite pleased with how clean and crisp the score recordings sound.

Alice Guy Blaché Vol. 2: The Solax Years Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a 15 page booklet featuring writing about the Solax period of Alice Guy Blache's productions. The essay focuses on film style, narration, and the features. The booklet showcases photographs, notes, and disc content information.

The Blu-ray collection doesn't include any specific "on disc" supplemental features (as was found on the volume one collection). Given that the set includes over four hours of short films, it's not a big surprise – even if fans might have hoped to find making-of documentaries and the like (or video-essays about the preservation efforts). Nonetheless, to reiterate the following: Alice Guy Blache Vol 2. The Solax Years features several hours of content.

Alice Guy Blaché Vol. 2: The Solax Years Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Alice Guy Blache Vol 2. The Solax Years is an assortment of short films from later-years in the career of pioneering filmmaker Alice Guy Blache. The shorts explore a variety of genres – including melodrama and comedy – while allowing the filmmaker to explore her themes. The release includes over 4 hours of content. Restorations come from either 2K or 4K sources. Fans of Alice Guy Blache should check out this collection of shorts. Recommended.