The Chaplin Revue (1959) ADDED

[Brent_Reid]

Title: The Chaplin Revue
Country: US
Region: 0
Releasing Studio: Image Entertainment
Case Type: Snapper
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Anamorphic?: No
PAL or NTSC?: NTSC
Soundtracks: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Subtitles (are they optional?): None (English intertitles)
Cuts: (and if you know it, precise run time) None (see notes)
The Films: with Play All (197:51)

• "Shoulder Arms" (1918) (44:47)
  "Sunnyside" (1919) (33:16)
  "A Day's Pleasure" (1919) (21:48)
  "The Idle Class" (1921) (25:02)
  "Pay Day" (1922) (25:40)
  The Pilgrim (1923) (46:57)

Commentaries: None
Extras: with Play All (24:46)

• "Nice and Friendly" (1922) (10:42)
  A Visit from General Leonard Wood on the set of "Sunnyside" (4:40)
  Deleted scenes from "Shoulder Arms" (8:30)

Notes: Sleeve title: "A First National Collection". Uniquely presents all the shorts in their restored, speed-corrected original versions, before they were edited by Chaplin for reissue.
Easter Eggs: None
Amazon ASIN (UK, French, German, USA releases only): 6305772339
Source:* Own copy

Missing runtimes from the UK mk2/Warner listing:

• A Day's Pleasure: 17:20
  Sunnyside: 18:45
  The Idle Class: 31:07
  Pay Day: 21:13

• A Dog's Life: 34.49
  Shoulder Arms: 36.13
  The Pilgrim: 37:37

Every disc in the mk2/Warner Chaplin Collection has an authoring fault. I previously thought it was limited to just one or two discs, but have just checked the US and UK sets and they all have it. Various forum posters have noted it in other countries too. I've described it thoroughly here; it's certainly worth adding a footnote to every comparison. I'll work my way through each one in turn, adding unlisted DVDs in my collection as I go.

Lastly, would you be kind enough to add a link to my guide, as with the early shorts? Perhaps something like:

• "Further information on Chaplin's films and their many different releases can be found at Brenton Films' Charlie Chaplin Collectors’ Guide.

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Added and updated, though I don't think it's right that they are "flagged as non-anamorphic widescreen discs", because if they were non anamorphic widescreen, they would not automatically zoom in on the content. Worded it slightly differently.

[Brent_Reid]

Thanks, James. I forgot to add the word "short" after "Nice and Friendly"; could you stick it in there please?

I puzzled over how to word the zooming in fault and altered it, as per your suggestion.
Do you know of any other discs that do this? I can't figure out how seemingly all DVDs made from those masters are affected, when surely it should be an authoring fault. Any ideas?

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Updated.

I've seen similar cases like many Fox Blu-rays incorrectly flagged 480i content to be displayed as a tiny box in the top left corner of the 16:9 frame, but only on certain BD players. There were some other accidental zooming of content on other DVDs besides the Chaplin discs, but I can't recall offhand. It's annoying that it does that so I can only watch them with my standard DVD player. I can't figure out the setting to normalize the image on my players.

[Brent_Reid]

I'd forgotten examples like the ones you mentioned, ta. Are you saying in the case of the Chaplin DVDs, they'll show properly on a widescreen display if played via a DVD player? I no longer have one to check...

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

I'd forgotten examples like the ones you mentioned, ta. Are you saying in the case of the Chaplin DVDs, they'll show properly on a widescreen display if played via a DVD player? I no longer have one to check...

Yes. On my old DVD player with component cables the Chaplin DVDs play properly in non-anamorphic 4:3 with black bars on the sides on my HD TV.

[Brent_Reid]

Interesting. So the problem would still be present if connecting from the DVDP with an HDMI cable?

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Unsure about that. My DVD player doesn't have HDMI.

[Brent_Reid]

Thanks anyway. Amazed that though this set's problem has been much-discussed for years, no one's ever got to the bottom of it. Have tweaked my article's wording again. You never know: someone may weigh in with a comment at some point. In the meantime, you've been most helpful.