6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Peter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook.
Starring: Betty Bronson, George Ali, Esther Ralston, Cyril Chadwick, Mary BrianAdventure | Insignificant |
Family | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Music: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
1536 kbps
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It's hard to believe that it's been ninety-five years since the legend of Peter Pan first hit the silver screen but that's how it all began with a lavish production released by Paramount towards the end of the silent era. Scottish playwright and novelist Sir James Barrie's play Peter Pan premiered on stage in 1904 and enjoyed successful runs and rivals up till 1913. Several Hollywood studios vied for the rights as did most prominent actresses for the coveted title role, including Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, and Gloria Swanson. (Peter was portrayed by Maude Adams on stage.) Paramount eventually secured the rights but the final decision on casting the most pivotal part was granted to Barrie. He chose 17-year-old Betty Bronson after seeing her in a screen test. (She had only one credited role in a film before 1924.) There was publicity surrounding Peter Pan the year before it premiered and it more than lived up to expectations, becoming the most beloved children's film to date.
Director Herbert Brenon and screenwriter Willis Goldbeck acknowledge their movie's stage roots in the long opening sequence, which is set in the Darling children's bedroom. George Ali plays the family dog Nana, whose also the family nursemaid. He's an oversized sheepdog who can perform human tasks with his large paws and quick instincts. Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer James Wong Howe uses the bedroom interior as a master shot and it's very much like a stage with a proscenium arch. Nana takes up so much space that I first thought the bedroom was part of a dollhouse! Indeed when little Tinker Bell (Virginia Brown Faire) flies through the open window, her firefly-like specter and fairy dust are given better coverage in this small enclave than on a more spacious set. Brenon is setting up a contrast because Peter Pan (Betty Bronson) will take the Darling's eldest child Wendy (Mary Brian) and her brothers, John (Jack Murphy) and Michael (Philippe De Lacy), to a horizon of unlimited spaces in Never Never Land.
Now we can fly!
Peter Pan makes its global premiere on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Studio Classics on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-24. Once thought lost, Peter Pan's reels were discovered by curator James Card at the George Eastman Museum film archive in the 1950s. In 2000, Kino Video released this silent classic from a restored negative and 35mm archival elements. The transfer was produced by David Pierce, formerly of Sunrise Entertainment. That transfer was slightly windowboxed and revealed rounded corners on all four sides of the picture. Presumably, this new 2K restoration utilizes the same print but it is not a DVD to BD upconvert. Thankfully, the rounded frame corners are no longer present. Contrast looks marvelous with well-defined shades and hues. Like the DVD, this HD presentation has been color-tinted and toned in sepia and light blue (see Screenshot #s 11-13 for examples of latter). For a film of this age, there are inevitably light scratches and very thin tramlines throughout. I spotted brown dye seep into the frame during two shots. Luckily, there are very few large damage marks. My video score is 4.25. The feature displays an average video bitrate of 22297 kbps.
Compulsory English intertitles and cards are present throughout. The 105-minute silent movie comes with eight chapter markers, one less than the DVD.
Kino supplies an LPCM 2.0 music-only audio track (1536 kbps, 16-bit). The score was written and performed in 1999 by Philip C. Carli. I've heard Carli's scores for other silent films of this period, including Dreyer's first masterpiece, Leaves from Satan's Book (1919-21). But unlike Leaves, which Carli composed solo on piano, the score for Peter Pan is written for an orchestra of around thirteen musicians. Performed by the Flower City Society Orchestra, Carli's piano playing is joined by two violins, a violincello, contrabass, flute, clarinet, two flutes, two cornets, trombone, and percussion. The score does a very effective job of supporting and enhancing the onscreen action.
Kino has added a brand-new commentary track and ported over the interviews and essay from the SD edition. Missing here is the "Photo Gallery of Production Stills and Promotional Material" that Kino produced for its DVD nineteen years ago.
Peter Pan (1924) is arguably the finest cinematic adaptation of Sir James Barrie's eponymous play and it's been brought to full glory on this very fine Blu-ray released by Kino Studio Classics. As you can see from these screen captures, the transfer consistently looks relatively clean and crisp. I very much enjoyed hearing Philip Carli's orchestral score and listening to Kat Ellinger's feature-length commentary. The photo gallery from the first DVD is absent and that would have made this close to a definitive package. Still, a VERY WARM RECOMMENDATION and A MUST for lovers of silent cinema.
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