The Son of the Sheik Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Son of the Sheik Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 14, 2020

George Fitzmaurice's "The Son of the Sheik" (1926) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage introduction by Orson Welles and new video essay by critic David Cairns. The release also arrives with a collector's booklet featuring new essay by critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson, as well as technical credits. Region-B "locked".

In the United States, The Son of the Sheik (1926) was released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in 2017. For an in-depth analysis of the film, please see Brian Orndorf's review of this release here.

The Son of the Sheik Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Son of the Sheik arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from a brand new digital restoration that was completed by Modern VideoFilm on behalf of the Cohen Media Group. Obviously, this is not the same presentation of the film that Kino Lorber offered via their release in 2017.

The difference in quality is rather dramatic, and not only because different elements were used to produce the new restoration. It is actually extremely easy to tell that the folks at Modern VideoFilm spent a great deal of time improving stability, rebalancing some visuals and removing as many age-related imperfections as possible. Of course, the framing of the film is different as well.

I was most pleased with the improved density of the visuals, which is something that has a significant impact on clarity and depth. For example, I specifically took screencapture #2 to illustrate just how much better clarity and depth are during the desert footage, which is rather problematic and on the previous release looks quite shaky and flat. A lot -- and I mean a lot -- of close-ups also reveal shades and finer details that are either very difficult to spot or lost on the Kino release (see screencaptures #6, 9, and 19). Despite the source limitations even grain consistency is much better, which coupled with the convincing grading introduces different ranges of meaningful improvements. So, this really is an all-around healthier and ultimately stronger organic presentation of the film that makes it a lot easier to enjoy. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Son of the Sheik Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0. Obviously, English intertitles are part of the film's presentation.

The film can be viewed with an original score that was composed and conducted by Carl Davis. I used the 5.1 track while viewing the film and as far as I am concerned the quality of the audio is outstanding. It is exactly what I expected to hear though, because the lossless track replicates a studio recording/mix. I did not test the 2.0 track and do not know if there are actually any meaningful discrepancies.

The Son of the Sheik Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - presented here is a vintage video introduction to The Son of the Sheik by Orson Welles. This is actually a small featurette, which fans of the film have more than likely seen before. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Loitering Within Tent - presented here is an exclusive new video essay on the film by critic David Cairns. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring a new essay by critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson, as well as technical credits.

The Son of the Sheik Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There is just no contest. Eureka Entertainment's release of The Son of the Sheik is sourced from a new digital restoration -- which was completed by Modern VideoFilm on behalf of the Cohen Media Group -- that offers an all-around superior technical presentation of the film. So, at the moment this is the release of the film that you want to have in your collection. If you reside in North America, you should probably expect a local release to emerge soon and replace the one that Kino Lorber produced in 2017. However, it could also take a while because Cohen's 4K restorations of Buster Keaton's films did not emerge immediately after Eureka Entertainment's releases. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.