VIDEO SOURCES:

The best source for information and reviews of current-release silent and early sound DVDs is The Picture Show Man's List of Great New DVDs. New releases are regularly posted and discussed on the chat forums SilentComedians.com, SoundComedians.com and Nitrateville.   

All Day Entertainment produced the Harry Langdon: Lost and Found set as well as  American Slapstick, Vols. 1 and 2.  Their discs can be bought at any online retailer (and Borders), but visit their site to order directly.  

Amazon.com has the widest selection of DVDs in the world and can help locate those out-of-print titles. 

Deep Discount DVD offers generous discounts on most discs that are commercially available.  Watch their monthly sales for as much as 50% off list.    

Grapevine Video is an excellent source for DVDs starring the most obscure laughmakers.  They have good collections of short comedies from Monty Banks, Charley Chase, Billy Dooley, Max Linder, Our Gang, Larry Semon, Snookie the Chimp, Bobby Vernon and others.   

Kino Video's Slapstick Symposium series has nice Charley Chase, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, Mabel Normand, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy discs.  Their Art of Buster Keaton box set contains the finest quality versions of Buster's independent work.  And check out their two volumes of the Arbuckle/Keaton Comiques.  

Looser than Loose Publishing produces DVDs of hard-to-find Hal Roach, Mack Sennett, Lloyd Hamilton and Larry Semon material.  

Milestone Film & Video's catalogue contains the recently restored version of Arbuckle and Keaton's The Cook and some of the best work by Mary Pickford, herself no slouch at slapstick.  We eagerly await their release of Charley Chase: Cut to the Chase.  

ReelClassicDVD is up to Volume 6 in their Festival of Silent Comedy series.  They have lots of other comedy discs and often throw in the odd one or two-reeler as a bonus with their features.  You can see the quality of their work by the frame grabs on their site.  

Slaphappy Comedies is an 11-volume set of thirty half-hour episodes exploring the width and breadth of silent comedies.  You can buy them from on-line retailers or from the Slaphappy site.  

Unknown Video specializes in old and unusual feature films and has several packages of rare shorts. Don't forget to check out proprietor Chris Snowden's always entertaining Silent Movie Blog.  

Vintage Film Buff has an amazing catalogue.  They specialize in obscure pre-code roles of stars in the earliest stages of their careers.   

VCI Entertainment has a nice catalogue containing several gems of interest to comedy fans.  Look for the Weiss Brothers set starring Ben Turpin and Snub Pollard.  VCI's Edgar Kennedy and Leon Errol's two-reeler collections are a must.  And non-purists will enjoy the Fractured Flickers box.  

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