The Iron Mask

"Kino has matched their usual high standards with this superb DVD, presenting one of the most charmingly accessible of silent-era features with a beautifully detailed image and a fine new score authored and conducted by Carl Davis. One quickly forgets that this is a silent film and simply luxuriates in the richly photographed full-screen (1.33:1) images and gorgeous set pieces, spiced with some of the finest action scenes of the 1920s. The dozen chapters may be a bit skimpy in terms of the length of the movie, but there are bonus features that more than make up for that slight deficiency, including a selection of outtakes (set up to run in tandem with the footage that was actually used), and an excerpt of the 1952 sound adaptation of the movie, with Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s narration and Allan Gray's music; an animated gallery of production artwork; and a set of essays that, in all honesty, might better have been presented as printed text, concerning various aspects of Fairbanks Sr. and the production. The multi-layered menu is easy to use and maneuver around, and the whole production looks so good that it's a delight to the eye."