Chaney, Lon: Collection: Amazon.ca: DVD

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Long before teams of technicians used computers to bring monsters and superheroes to the screen, one man equipped with little more than a makeup kit and a remarkable acting talent dazzled moviegoers with his ability to transform himself into all manner of men, monsters and outcasts. That man was Lon Chaney. This 2-Disc Chaney celebration includes three of his major works. The Ace of Hearts, - a tale of murderous intrigue, Laugh, Clown, Laugh - Chaney as a love-smitten circus clown, and The Unknown - where Chaney is a armless knife thrower. These are in their most complete surviving versions. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh, Turner Classic Movies' compelling documentary Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces explores Chaney's diverse career and very private personal life. They are a few of this genius's thousand faces - faces that continue to amaze and entertain

On the DVD

ccLondon After Midnight, Rick Schmidlin's skillful photo reconstruction of the lost 1927 film
Audio commentaries by Chaney biographer Michael F. Blake
Photo/memorabilia galleries
Introduction by Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne
Profiles of TCM Young Film Composers Competition winners
Subtitles: Franais & Espaol

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5.0 out of 5 stars MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES - DVD OF A THOUSAND DELIGHTS, Mar 15 2004

By	Nix Pix (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Lon Chaney was perhaps the greatest cinematic contortionist in the history of cinema. His gimmick was to use make up as camouflage, thereby appearing in each film with a completely different and unique look; most of them hideous. In this box set we get three of Lon's chameleons; The Ace of Hearts, Laugh, Clown, Laugh and The Unknown - where Chaney convincingly plays an armless knife throwing circus performer opposite Joan Crawford.
THE TRANSFER: Each film is presented in its most complete surviving version. The B&W and tinted color elements are remarkably pristine, considering the vintage. Though age related artifacts are present throughout they do not distract and quite often vanish into the backdrop of each engrossing story. Shadow and contrast levels are perfectly balanced. Image flickering and film grain are kept at their minimal levels. As these are "silent" movies we get a newly remastered 5.1 scoring that is amply presented across all channels of one's home theater set up.
EXTRAS: A wonderfully comprehensive documentary on Chaney's life, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, as presented on Turner Classic Movies. A reconstruction of "London After Midnight" a film that no longer exists in any form other than still photographs. Also an audio commentary track for each of the feature films in this box set.
BOTTOM LINE: This is an incredibly well done tribute to the silent cinema's haunted man of immeasurable mysteries and one that is well worth your time and your money.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Chaney RULES (And not the Vice-President), Feb 16 2004

By	Andre M. "brnn64" (Mt. Pleasant, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This is an EXCELLENT set of Lon Chaney DVDs! All I will say about the three wonderful features here is that unlike most silent films that date badly and put you to sleep, each of them will draw you in until you can't stop watching them until they're over. Great stories and Chaney in my opinion was the KING of "method acting."

The DVD of the Chaney documentary is a great way to learn more about the master after wathcing the three of these films. Look out for the extremely rare clip from "The Miracle Man" (1919). Most of that film remains lost, unfortuantely.

However, the still photographic reporduction of the lost "London After Midnight" is a bit much. In this day of computer graphic animation, this could have been done better (hint for possible future packaging).

But in either case, watch and enjoy the works of the master. After this, check out DVDs of "Sparrows," "The Penalty," "The Hunchback," and "The Phantom" (provided you get one with the color footage). Hopefully, "Zanzibar" and "He Who Gets Slapped" as well as the sound and silent versions of "The Unholy 3" will soon make it on to DVD. In the meantime-enjoy.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, Jan 10 2004

By A Customer

"The Lon Chaney Collection"is one of the best DVD's of 2003.I'm a 14 year old Lon Chaney fan,and this will defintely be one of the best things I'll own my whole life. "The Lon Chaney Collection" has two discs. Disc one has an introduction by Robert Osborne and the Lon Chaney movies "The Ace of Hearts" and "Laugh,Clown,Laugh". Disc two has the Lon Chaney movies "The Unknown" and the "lost" 1927 film "London After Midnight". Also included is "Lon Chaney:A Thousand Faces", a documentary about the life and films of Lon Chaney. The best film on "The Lon Chaney Collection" is "Laugh,Clown,Laugh". "Laugh,Clown,Laugh" is about a man named Tito (played by Lon Chaney) whose job is playing Flik,a circus clown who entertains people and makes people laugh. One day, Tito finds a little girl who has been abandoned. Tito asks his partner to take care of this abandoned little girl- but he refuses- because he believes women bring bad luck. So Tito takes care of this little girl, and soon she becomes a woman. Tito and his partner fall in love with her, and there is a dispute over who is going to love her. The most interesting film Lon Chaney ever made-it's my all time favorite Lon Chaney movie. The best part of "The Lon Chaney Collection" is the "lost" 1927 film "London After Midnight", where a man is found dead in his London home. Investigators aren't sure if the death was murder or suicide-but then get some evidence the supposed victim is still alive. "London After Midnight" was released in 1927 and was "lost"in a fire in 1962. Because of this, there is a photo reconstruction. "The Lon Chaney Collection" is a must have for all silent film fans.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Skip The Long-Windedness
No need to read all the reviewers who felt compelled to write book-length bios of Chaney and/or commentary on the films. It's just showing off. If you don't know Lon Chaney Sr. Read more

Published on Dec 29 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Man of a Thousand Talents
I first came to know Lon Chaney through Turner Classic Movies and I have been an admirer and fan ever since. Read more

Published on Nov 29 2003 by Adam J. Fernandes

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh, Clown, Laugh....Even though your heart is breaking
Warner Home Video has just released the 2-disc DVD "Lon Chaney Collection"; 3 complete films, scene selections, photo galleries, audio commentaries by Michael Blake, and... Read more

Published on Nov 13 2003 by Brad Baker

5.0 out of 5 stars An Ideal Introduction To "The Man Of A Thousand Faces".
For those of you who only know Lon Chaney as The Phantom or Quasimodo and for those who don't know him at all, this collection is the ideal introduction to one of the most gifted... Read more

Published on Nov 4 2003 by Chip Kaufmann