When I first saw that these two Douglas Fairbanks movies were going to be issued as a double feature Blu-Ray, I was looking forward to it in a big way. Although a driving force in the Hollywood of the 1920s and a co-founder of United Artists along with Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin,and D. W. Griffith, Fairbanks has been seriously neglected when it comes to updating and restoring his classic adventure movies. Of the 8 swashbucklers that he made between 1920's THE MARK OF ZORRO and 1929's THE IRON MASK, only 3 (ZORRO, MASK and 1924's THE THIEF OF BAGDAD) had been properly restored until now.
What made me take notice, as a silent film enthusiast and historian, is that the disc was being released under the banner of the Cohen Media Group who have done a number of top notch restorations of old movies including recent versions of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD and D. W. Griffith's INTOLERANCE. Both of these were monumental undertakings which were given first class treatment (4K restorations for picture quality and full orchestral musical accompaniment). Imagine my keen disappointment to discover that this release falls short of those earlier efforts.
The big positive here is that DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS IN ROBIN HOOD (the film's copyrighted title) has received a 4K digital restoration and it looks fabulous. It's a vast improvement over the 1996 Kino DVD which suffered from contrast issues & lots of film debris & speed transfer issues. Now it's possible to see ROBIN HOOD the way Fairbanks intended it to be seen with the size and scope of his medieval sets fully captured. Unfortunately, the one thing the 1996 release had going for it was the original score adapted by Eric Beheim which is not used here. Instead we have a cut and paste job of previous Rodney Sauer silent scores which is serviceable but not nearly as effective.
Released in 1922 following the success of ZORRO and THE THREE MUSKETEERS, ROBIN HOOD was Fairbanks' biggest production yet. It had the largest set ever built, employed hundreds of extras and showed off Doug at his most athletic. There were jousting tournaments, archery contests, and the Crusades. It had a running time of over 2 hours and was a smash hit like its predecessors. Like the Errol Flynn movie of 1938 which is a virtual remake (minus the length), ROBIN HOOD has a top notch cast including Wallace Beery as King Richard and Sam De Grasse as Prince John. Alan Hale who plays Little John would reprise the role in the Errol Flynn version and again in 1950.
THE BLACK PIRATE, made 4 years later in 1926, saw Fairbanks continuing to push the Hollywood envelope This time the production would be shot in two strip Technicolor (less vivid than the Technicolor of the 1930s and 40s) and would have meticulous recreations of 18th century pirate ships. The movie also features some of Doug's most celebrated stunts including capturing a pirate ship single handed. This movie cries out for a 4K restoration which it doesn't get here. In fact this is simply a reissue of the 1996 home video release with no upgrades whatsoever. At least it has the original score that was commissioned for it.
So in the final analysis this Douglas Fairbanks double feature is not as good as could have been and is not up to the standards of earlier Cohen Media Group releases but is still worth having for the Fairbanks completist. It is great to see ROBIN HOOD looking better than it ever has but it's a pity that they couldn't have used the original score like they did in 1996. Perhaps there was a copyright issue with the music. As for THE BLACK PIRATE, there really is no excuse for including the very same release that Kino issued on Blu-Ray back in 2010. At least the cost is less than the Cohen Media Group's earlier releases but then you get what you pay for...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
What made me take notice, as a silent film enthusiast and historian, is that the disc was being released under the banner of the Cohen Media Group who have done a number of top notch restorations of old movies including recent versions of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD and D. W. Griffith's INTOLERANCE. Both of these were monumental undertakings which were given first class treatment (4K restorations for picture quality and full orchestral musical accompaniment). Imagine my keen disappointment to discover that this release falls short of those earlier efforts.
The big positive here is that DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS IN ROBIN HOOD (the film's copyrighted title) has received a 4K digital restoration and it looks fabulous. It's a vast improvement over the 1996 Kino DVD which suffered from contrast issues & lots of film debris & speed transfer issues. Now it's possible to see ROBIN HOOD the way Fairbanks intended it to be seen with the size and scope of his medieval sets fully captured. Unfortunately, the one thing the 1996 release had going for it was the original score adapted by Eric Beheim which is not used here. Instead we have a cut and paste job of previous Rodney Sauer silent scores which is serviceable but not nearly as effective.
Released in 1922 following the success of ZORRO and THE THREE MUSKETEERS, ROBIN HOOD was Fairbanks' biggest production yet. It had the largest set ever built, employed hundreds of extras and showed off Doug at his most athletic. There were jousting tournaments, archery contests, and the Crusades. It had a running time of over 2 hours and was a smash hit like its predecessors. Like the Errol Flynn movie of 1938 which is a virtual remake (minus the length), ROBIN HOOD has a top notch cast including Wallace Beery as King Richard and Sam De Grasse as Prince John. Alan Hale who plays Little John would reprise the role in the Errol Flynn version and again in 1950.
THE BLACK PIRATE, made 4 years later in 1926, saw Fairbanks continuing to push the Hollywood envelope This time the production would be shot in two strip Technicolor (less vivid than the Technicolor of the 1930s and 40s) and would have meticulous recreations of 18th century pirate ships. The movie also features some of Doug's most celebrated stunts including capturing a pirate ship single handed. This movie cries out for a 4K restoration which it doesn't get here. In fact this is simply a reissue of the 1996 home video release with no upgrades whatsoever. At least it has the original score that was commissioned for it.
So in the final analysis this Douglas Fairbanks double feature is not as good as could have been and is not up to the standards of earlier Cohen Media Group releases but is still worth having for the Fairbanks completist. It is great to see ROBIN HOOD looking better than it ever has but it's a pity that they couldn't have used the original score like they did in 1996. Perhaps there was a copyright issue with the music. As for THE BLACK PIRATE, there really is no excuse for including the very same release that Kino issued on Blu-Ray back in 2010. At least the cost is less than the Cohen Media Group's earlier releases but then you get what you pay for...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.