In 1913, the Thomas Edison Company made talking pictures using a sound-on-cylinder system called The Kinetophone. These pioneering sound movies were shown in theatres for about a year, and featured vaudeville acts, comedy sketches, dramatic scenes and musical performances. Only 8 of the 200 Kinetophone films made survive in both film and cylinder elements, and these have now been digitally restored and synchronized by the Library of Congress, and are presented here for the first time in 105 years.
DVD CONTENTS:
The Edison Kinetophone (1913) – 3 mins
Musical Blacksmiths (1913) – 6 mins
Nursery Favorites (1913) – 6 mins
The Deaf Mute (1913) – 6 mins
The Edison Minstrels (1913) – 6 mins
The Five Bachelors (1913) – 6 mins
The Old Guard (1913) – 6 mins
Jack’s Joke (1913) – 6 mins
BONUS:
So Amazingly Perfect They Are Really Weird (2018) – 25 mins – mini-documentary on the Kinetophone films’ history, technology and their restoration
The Politician (1913) – 6 mins – Kinetophone film whose sound cylinder is still lost and is presented here with a musical score by Ben Model
76 mins ● B&W/Color ● Stereo ● 4:3 aspect ratio ● Not Rated ● NTSC ● region 0 (all-regions)
Produced for DVD by Ben Model/Undercrank Productions
Release date: August 7, 2018
Available at:
