HITCHCOCK'S Nine Silent Films

[Chris Knipp]

This year the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, which presented Abel Gance's NAPIOLEON last time, is showing all nine of Alfred Hitchcock's silent films. also known as "The Hitchcock9." Web page on this here. Details are limited so far but the presentation is scheduled for June 14-16, 2013, with three of the Hitchcock silents shown each day, three days in a row, ending with THE LODGER.

I'm not going to the festival but I have DVD copies of the nine films.

[oscar jubis]

San Francisco gets first crack at these jewels, before they travel to Brooklyn and around the country.

The huge deal here is the restored debut The Pleasure Garden, with 20 minutes added that have not been seen since 1926!

Did the festival furnish you with DVDs of the restored films or are these older DVD releases?

[Chris Knipp]

The HITCHCOCK 9 DVDs I've received are of the restored versions, of course.

Obviously the SF Silent Film Festival is a real destination for this kind of thing since they had the big Abel Nance do last year.

[oscar jubis]

Great. Wish I had me a copy of the debut.

[Chris Knipp]

Abel GANCE, sorry.

[oscar jubis]

I am very excited that the "arthouse" where I work will be showing this series (sometime in Fall when there's a lot of students around). I have been unable to find precise info as to how these restored versions differ from the ones that have been available. In particular, I realize that my DVD of THE MANXMAN which I happily re-watched last nite is 84 minutes long but that it is listed elsewhere as anywhere between 80 and 116 minutes. I wonder how long the restored version is, but I'll find out in time.

[Chris Knipp]

According to a recent BAM listing THE MANXMAN BFI version is more like 98 mins. I could check that. The BFI has partial info on each restoration, just what the problems were and what was mainly done.

My new Hitchcock 9 thread is in the General Forums section here.

[oscar jubis]

Thanks. In that case, I am certainly looking forward to watching this restored version which is significantly longer than the one I have.
I notice how, now that these new versions are coming out, the 3-DVD set of silent and early-talkie Hitchcock I own is selling for peanuts. It includes my fave UK Hitch: Murder!

[Chris Knipp]

But all of the Hitchcock 9 were available to the public in some form except BLACKMAIL (the silent version).

I should have given the run-times of the BFI versions I watched. I can.

[Chris Knipp]

Back at home. Here are the BFI Hitchcock 9 run-times from the SFSFF presds kit:

BLACKMAIL 75 mins. DCP 24 fps BAM says 78 mins.
CHAMPAGNE 105 mins. DCP 20 fps
DOWNHILL 105 mins. 35 mm. 20 fps
EASY VIRTUE 69 mins. 35 mm. (BAM says 70, and 21 fps) The "most challenging" to restore: 25 mins. remain missing.
THE FARMER'S WIFE 107 mins. DCP 20 fps
THE LODGER 90 mins. 35mm. 20 fps
THE MANXMAN 100 mins. DCP 20 fps
THE PLEASURE GARDEN 90 mins. 35 mm. 20 fps
THE RING 108 mins. DCP 20 fps

[oscar jubis]

Thanks very much. The frames-per-second at which the film is projected is very important. Glad you included that. I think the versions I have are probably processed at the faster 24 fps which may PARTLY account for the longer running time of the restored version.

[Chris Knipp]

I don't know the answer to that.