Blu-ray Review Foolish Wives (Flicker Alley) – Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[t1g3r5fan]

Let’s look at Foolish Wives. An enigmatic figure of the Silent Era of cinema, Austrian actor-director Erich von Stroheim emigrated to America in 1909 and 5 years later, broke into the burgeoning film industry as an actor. By 1919, he made his directorial debut with Blind Husbands and the now lost film The Devil’s Pass Key while as an actor, became known as “The Man You Love to Hate” for several villainous roles. For Carl Laemmle’s Universal Pictures, von Stroheim would follow up with his most ambitious directorial effort at that point, Foolish Wives. Previously released on Blu-ray in 2013 by Kino, Flicker Alley debuts a brand new restoration of the movie in a Blu-ray/DVD combo release.



Foolish Wives (1922)



Released: 11 Jan 1922
Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 117 min




Director: Erich von Stroheim
Genre: Drama, Thriller



Cast: Rudolph Christians, Miss...

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[Robert Harris]

Great review. Thank you! Between this and the hopefully forthcoming new restoration of Black Pirate, there is much to celebrate in Silent restorations. While neither of these restorations can be celebrated to the extent of Out of the Blue, neither had the restorative budgets. Especially with the cost of restoring OotB purportedly topping seventy million dollars.

 

[Bert Greene]

I know a lot of actors love playing the villain, but it still boggles my mind that Erich Von Stroheim, being actor-director, and having the most gargantuan budget at his disposal, consciously chose to play one of the most viscerally repellent characters depicted on screen, front and center, at that time, in his "Foolish Wives." It's not like he's just portraying a traditional villain, but almost actively trying to solicit revulsion from the audience. I don't think I'd particularly want to gaze into his psyche. But he was certainly a unique filmmaker, to say the least.

 

[Robin9]

Is this picture quality on this disc better than on the Kino?

 

[Robert Harris]

Is this picture quality on this disc better than on the Kino?

Yes. But not just image quality. This is a huge restoration project, which culled through different elements, and returned the film to its original colors and painted effects.

Most recent comparison might be the Film Preservation Society Three Musketeers vs Cohen. Huge difference.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I put a hold on it at my local library so i hope to see it soon for the first time.

 

[Robin9]

Yes. But not just image quality. This is a huge restoration project, which culled through different elements, and returned the film to its original colors and painted effects.

Most recent comparison might be the Film Preservation Society Three Musketeers vs Cohen. Huge difference.

Thank you.