Product Details

• Actors: Barbara Kent, Glenn Tryon
• Directors: Paul Fejos
• Format: Black & White, Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Criterion Collection
• DVD Release Date: August 28, 2012
• Run Time: 69 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0083V2W04
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,072 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The early Hollywood gem Lonesome is the creation of a little-known but audacious and one-of-a-kind auteur, Paul Fejos (a filmmaker/explorer/anthropologist/doctor!), who bridged the gap between the silent and sound eras. Fejos pulled out all the stops for this lovely New York City symphony set in antic Coney Island during the Fourth of July weekend—employing color tinting, superimposition effects, experimental editing, and a roving camera (plus three dialogue scenes, added because of the craze for talkies). For years, Lonesome has been a rare treat for festival and cinematheque audiences; it’s only now coming to home video. Rarer still are the two other Fejos films included in this release: The Last Performance (featuring a new score by Donald Sosin) and a reconstruction of the previously incomplete sound version of Broadway, in its time the most expensive film ever produced at Universal.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 3 Remarkable Rediscoveries. September 2, 2012

By Chip Kaufmann

Format:Blu-ray

Even though I have been a silent film enthusiast for 50 years now (I started very young) and have read a number of books on the subject as well as having amassed a rather large collection of silent movies on DVD, I can't remember ever having run across the name of Hungarian born director Paul Fejos. I'm sure there must have been something but I simply can't recall it. After watching this Criterion release, it seems unbelievable that his Hollywood films could have been lost for as long as they were. Two of the three films are welcome additions to the silent film catalog while one is a curious early sound offering. All 3 films on this disc were made for Universal so it's only fitting that they reappear in time for the company's 100th anniversary.

The true prize of the collection is LONESOME, a 1929 film that recalls both SUNRISE and 7th HEAVEN in its storyline and in its cinematic expression of that story. Glenn Tryon (who I knew from some Hal Roach comedy shorts) and Barbara Kent (the sister in FLESH & THE DEVIL) play a pair of lonely blue collar workers who discover each other during a visit to Coney Island. They meet, fall in love, and then are separated by a massive rainstorm without knowing their last names. A simple enough story but it's what Fejos does with the material that makes LONESOME so remarkable. Technically this film goes far beyond SUNRISE in its camerawork and editing resulting in an eye opening cinematic experience that the director called a "Coney Island of the mind".

The other two films on an additional DVD make for an interesting evening. THE LAST PERFORMANCE stars Conrad Veidt as a jealous stage magician whose love for his young assistant (Mary Philbin in her best performance) leads to tragedy. Imagine one of the Tod Browning Lon Chaney films as if it had been directed by F. W. Murnau and that will give you some idea of what it's like. The print used here was found in Denmark and still has Danish title cards. While that proves the universality of silent movies, it would have been nice if new title cards could have been made. The film has also not been restored and is occasionally contrasty and shows some print damage. It's not ideal but is quite serviceable and Conrad Veidt is amazing.

BROADWAY was one of Universal's early sound extravaganzas. It not only features dialogue and musical numbers but it also has an early Technicolor finale. Unless you are really into early sound musicals, BROADWAY is more of historical interest. There are some truly remarkable camera shots courtesy of the "BROADWAY crane" which revolutionized camera movement. The influence on later musicals and Busby Berkeley is obvious. Unfortunately the dialog is incredibly stiff ("Where-is-Steve? He's-in-the-next-room.) and slows down the action. Glenn Tryon is on hand once again as the male lead and it's always great to see Evelyn Brent in anything. This is what THE ARTIST would have been like had it been made in 1929. While this release is an absolute must for silent movie fans others will find it to be of limited interest.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Silent Film Classic Lovingly Restored by Criterion August 27, 2012

By Andre Dursin TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Blu-ray

Silent film enthusiasts ought to be thrilled with Criterion's release of LONESOME, a 1928 Universal feature from director Paul Fejos, a unique Hungarian who also, in addition to filmmaker, counted doctor and anthropologist among his many lifelong pursuits.

The film's subject matter isn't anything out of the ordinary for the genre - "Lonesome" tells the story of a lonely man (Glenn Tryon) and equally single woman (Barbara Kent) living in the urban chaos of New York City, who find one another while on an outing to Coney Island but then become separated when a fire breaks out on one of the rollercoasters. What makes "Lonesome" fascinating are the real locations matched with Fejos' ahead-of-its-time direction, which employs a moving, "inquisitive" camera, plus color-tinted sequences, unconventional editing and even several sound sequences that were added after the fact to appeal to Hollywood's transition out of the silent era.

Those dialogue sequences may be limp, but the film itself otherwise is one of the more unusual silent films I've ever seen: instead of being static and stilted, the picture has an energy that's a testament to Fejos' style, in addition to an interesting, overriding theme of individuals being lost in the day-to-day world of contemporary life -- something that gives the film a timelessness that holds true today.

A film festival favorite, "Lonesome" makes its home video debut with Criterion's Blu-Ray release (also on DVD). The 1080p B&W/color tinted 1.33 transfer is quite good given the extensive restoration performed on the picture, with a fascinating commentary from historian Richard Koszarski; a reconstructed sound version of Fejos' 1929 musical "Broadway," with its all-color finale intact; Fejos' 1929 silent "The Last Performance" with Conrad Veidt; a 1963 visual essay on Fejos' life from Paul Falkenberg; an interview with Hal Mohr about the "Broadway" camera crane; and extensive booklet notes all included on the supplemental side.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Silent talky in black and white and color.... September 1, 2012

By Dr. Morbius

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fantastic film on Criterion blu-ray.... Great disc with 3 films by Fejos including The Last Performance and Broadway.... The main feature is the best of the the lot and well worth the price all by itself.... The only problem is that during the few dialogue scenes the main characters make it clear why they never became stars after the silent era....those scenes look like they were taken out of a high school play....nevertheless, this is a great film.... Great city scenes with fantasy elements thrown in here and there....hand-tinted color.... There is also original sound throughout the whole film, as it came out in 1928 when sound was available....it's just that part of the film was made as a silent, so there are title cards to cover the dialogue, but there is a soundtrack and some effects...Good stuff....plus an interesting short doc on the special crane made just for Fejos for some of his innovative camera work.... get it....