Product Review

"Accidentally Preserved: Rare and Lost Silent Films from Vintage 16mm Prints" is a DVD series of rare/lost silent film shorts, presented in new digital HD transfers with new musical scores on piano or theatre organ by Ben Model. This second DVD release in the series contains 9 more rare/lost silent film shorts. The films on volume 2 are all new to DVD, and two of them have not been seen by anyone in several decades.


During the 1930s and 1940s companies like the Kodascope and Universal Show-At-Home libraries made 16mm copies of silent movies for people to rent and watch at home. It was like Netflix for the art deco era. Because these movies were on 16mm safety film, many of them have outlived the original 35mm nitrate prints of silent films that are now lost or extremely rare. It's as if these movies were...Accidentally Preserved.


Renowned silent film accompanist/historian Ben Model has taken eight more of the rare and lost silent films in his 16mm collection – plus one from the collection of film archivist Dino Everett – and produced this 2nd Accidentally Preserved DVD, bringing these rarities to a new audience in new HD transfers. Each film on this DVD has a new musical score by Ben Model performed on piano or theatre organ. Unavailable to the public for decades, these delightful shorts return to screens to entertain us once more.


Buy the "Accidentally Preserved: Notes on the Films" booklet – it fits in the DVD case! – or visit the Accidentally Preserved website to read detailed film notes by historian Steve Massa and to find out more information about this series.


The films of Accidentally Preserved: volume 2:

Bobby Vernon in WHY WILD MEN GO WILD (1920) – 12 min

Chaplin cartoon: CHARLEY ON THE FARM (1919) – 10 min

Alberta Vaughn in SHERLOCK’S HOME (1924) – 21 min

Neely Edwards in THE LITTLE PEST (1927) – 10 min

Lloyd Hamilton in PAPA’S BOY (1927) – 16 min

Malcolm "Big Boy" Sebastian in HELTER SKELTER - 8 min

Henry Murdock in COOK, PAPA, COOK (1928) – 9 min

Blasting Cap Safety: HOW JIMMY WON THE GAME (1928) – 14 min

Animated ad: CHRISTMAS SEALS FILM (1925) – 3 min

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