Customer Reviews

History of Motion Pictures: Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison - Bundle Pack (11 DVDs)

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Each of the seven DVD sets totalling 11 DVD's can be bought individually at Amazon for the exact same price as follows:

Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison 1891-1898 (2-DVD Set) $24.95
Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison 1899 $19.95
Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison 1900 (2-DVD Set) $24.95
Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison 1901-1902 (2-DVD Set) $24.95
Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison 1903-1904 (2-DVD Set) $24.95
Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison 1905-1917 $19.95
Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison 1918-1926 $19.95

With super-saver shipping, the total cost is $159.65 for all of the individual volumes. It really is no big deal, but it would seem to me that some kind of discount would be offered for people who buy the entire bundle together as an encouragement to do so. These really are excellent DVD sets, and I do recommend them for fans of early cinema. It's just that the pricing scheme puzzles me.

Most of the earlier films in this set are Edison's Kinetoscopes and are often under a minute in length. Some are not interesting in and of themselves, but were made to demonstrate some technical feature. Later films are longer, and have more entertainment value. Edison's films seemed to excel particularly in the genres of comedy and newsreels. Edison also "got" the fact that the motion picture could be used effectively for advertising and even political campaigning. This set includes several commercials and one political piece made for the Coolidge presidential campaign of 1924. This set is of particular interest to film history buffs and those of us who are interested in Edison's contribution to the field. There is another set of Edison's film out in a 4 disc set by Kino entitled "Edison - The Invention of the Movies (1891-1918)". That set has 140 total movies, far fewer than this set. However, that set has production notes and two hours of commentary on the films that this set lacks. Also, that set costs roughly half what this one does. It's up to your own personal tastes as to whether you want this DVD set, the other set, or perhaps both sets.

I bought this set for my girlfriend who is a film student. She absolutely loves it. I own several other DVDs from this production house and they have all been great.

If you are a student or an enthusiast, then you have to own these.

I gave this to my Dad as a birthday gift because he is a history buff. He absolutely loved it. He said the quality of the production was good and he could watch it on TV or his Laptop. I highly recommend this product.