I'm looking into adding some classic film from the silent and early sound eras to my collection, and since most of this falls under public domain, there are so many versions of these films available. Obviously I want the best versions available. I've done a few searches, but haven't come up with a definitive answer as to whether there are certain studios to aviod and others which nearly guarantee an excellent release. I've heard alot of Madacy bashing, so it seems reasonable to stay away from those. I've also seen a few Kino discs and they seem pretty well put together.

So my main question then: Are Kino's releases generally the best available or are there others to consider?

Right now I'm mainly interested in D.W. Griffith (Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, etc.), classic German horror (Nosferatu, Caligari, etc.), Metropolis, Thief of Bagdad, and any Buster Keaton. Does anyone produce better products than Kino for these films?

Thanks for any advice.

Check out http://dvdbeaver.com/ . It has comparisons between different versions of lots of classic films.

Don't overlook the titles issued by Image, which also does a great job - among my favorites from the Image calalogue are The Lost World, The Sheik / Son of the Sheik, and the Fritz Lang gem Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler. Their transfers are great, and the commentaries and extras are entertaining and informative.

For Griffith, grab the Kino box set - one of the most impressive and important DVD releases ever.

Two sites you can check out for lots more info:

http://www.silent-dvd.net/

www.silentera.com

I wholeheartedly agree with www.silentera.com/. Very good website listing all available silent movies on DVD and reviews the different distributors. Both Kino and Image usually have excellent transfers.

I agree that Kino has a lot of good silent DVDs, as does Image. Milestone puts out some fantastic discs too.

For the items you are looking for, you'll be happy with Kino.

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Since you asked about silent movies, you should check out my aiming-to-be-monthly column on the subject here on DVDTalk:

http://dvdtalk.com/silentdvd/

I'll be looking at most of the new silent DVDs that come out, as well as talking about some of the better titles that have already been released.
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Thanks for the info!

Dvdcompare.net is another good comparison site. Image and Kino have released some good silent films as someone said earlier, and Criterion has some great titles from the silent days.