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The Chess Player on VHS/DVD

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Mile Films

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Jul 1, 2003, 7:09:07 PM7/1/03
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Dear Friends of Milestone,

My turn for a shameless commercial plug! Since Image has promised us that they
wouldn't do any special promotions for our silent DVDs (imagine a company who
won't do publicity?), I hope you'll help pass the word along for us...

After many years, we've finally been able to release (on VHS and DVD) one of my
favorite silent films of all time. It's little-known here in the United States
(it did play at Cinecon a few years back), but Raymond Bernard's THE CHESS
PLAYER is one of the great epics of cinema. And how many great action films are
there that includes chess!? It's been restored beautifully by Photoplay and
Kevin Brownlow (who restored "Napoleon") and its every bit as good as that
film. We also have on the DVD an interview with Tom Standage, the author of
"The Turk," which is a wonderful book on the real chess playing automaton and a
couple of other cook bonus featues. I hope you'll buy it -- or suggest it to
your favorite video store or library. (Ordering instructions below.)

If you have any questions, give me a call at (800) 603-1104.

Dennis
Milestone Film & Video

Milestone and Image Entertaiment are proud to release on July 29th
For the First-Time Ever on Video! Now Available!

THE CHESS PLAYER
A film by Raymond Bernard
Collector’s Edition featuring the Original Orchestral Score
Restored from the 35mm Nitrate Elements by Photoplay Productoins
Price: $29.95

Milestone Film & Video and Image Entertainment are very pleased to announce for
the first time ever in North America, the DVD and VHS release of "THE CHESS
PLAYER," the epic film of the Polish revoulution, restored by Photoplay
Productions with the original orchestral score conducted by Carl Davis.

"One of the most fascinating and stylish productions of French silent cinema.
Perfect!" — The Times London

"Beautifully restored…An opulently mounted epic. A masterwork!" — Philip
French, The Observer

Le Joueur d’echecs. France. 1927. B&W and Tinted. 133 minutes. Produced by
the Societe des Films Historiques. Starring Pierre Blanchar, Charles Dullin,
Edith Jehanne, Camille Bert, Pierre Batcheff, Marcelle Charles-Dullin. Directed
by Raymond Bernard. Cinematography: Joseph-Louis Mundviller, Marc Bujard, Willy
Faktorovitch. Art direction: Jean Perrier, Eugene Carre. Special effects: W
Percy Day. Set design: Robert Mallet-Stevens, Jean Perrier. Costume Design:
Eugene Lourie. Original score composed by Henri Rabaud, performed by the
Orcestre de Radio-Television-Luxembourg conducted by Carl Davis. Restoration by
Photoplay Productions in collaboration with the BFI, Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv,
Cinematheque Municipale de Luxembourg, Cinematheque Francaise, Les Services des
Archives du Film.

The Chess Player is a powerful drama of patriotism, betrayal and suspense
produced at an extraordinarily fertile moment in French cinema history. Like
Abel Gance’s Napoleon, director Raymond Bernard’s creation is a grand epic
filled with style, verve and action. The film was a sensation in 1927 and
continues to astonish audiences today.

1776. Poland. With his homeland partitioned and ruled by Russia, Polish
nobleman and patriot Boleslas Vorowski heads a secret liberation movement. When
Vorowski is wounded in battle, his mentor, the inventor Baron Wolfgang von
Kempelen, constructs the Turk, a marvelous chess-playing automaton. With the
handsome Polish nobleman secreted inside, the Turk vanquishes the Russians —
if only on the chessboard. When Catherine the Great summons the Turk to the
Russian Imperial Court for a command match, the fate of Polish independence
lies in the hands of the chess player…

Henri Dupuy-Mazuel’s novel was based on the story of the real Turk, an
automaton that baffled the best minds of Europe and America — including
Benjamin Franklin, Edgar Allan Poe and Napoleon. Shot on location in Poland,
France and Switzerland, The Chess Player combines gorgeous decors and thousands
of extras from the Polish cavalry into an electrifying feast for the eyes and
mind. The film has been expertly restored by Photoplay Productions under the
auspices of Kevin Brownlow, Patrick Stanbury and the late David Gill.

Bonus Features on DVD:
1) Original 1927 press kit on the film from La Petite Illustration
Cinematographique
2) Stills Gallery
3) Raymond Bernard text interview by Kevin Brownlow (Download).
4) Interview with Tom Standage (author of "The Turk: The Life and Times of the
Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine"), courtesy of The Lenny Lopate
Show, WNYC.


VHS. UPC Code: 784148009032. Order Number Mile0090. Price: $29.95.

DVD. UPC Code: 014381198027. Catalog Number: ID1980MLSDVD. Price: $29.99.

To Order the VHS or DVD, obtain further information, contact:
Dennis Doros
Milestone Film & Video
PO Box 128
Harrington Park, NJ 07640
Phone: (800) 603-1104 or (201) 767-3117
Email: mile...@aol.com
www.milestonefilms.com

Here are the instructions for ordering Milestone videos:

By Phone: Please call (800) 603-1104. We’re in the office 10:00 am – 6:00
pm EST, Monday – Friday. At other times, please leave a message. Outside the
US, call (201) 767-3117.

By Fax and Email: You can fax us at (201) 767-3035 or email us at
mile...@aol.com. Milestone accepts American Express, Visa, MasterCard and
Discover. Please include your name, address, phone number, credit card number,
credit card expiration date, and whether you would like VHS or DVD. We also
accept institutional purchase orders.

By Mail: To prepay, please send a check or money order (payable in US$ drawn on
a US bank only) to: Milestone Film & Video, PO Box 128, Harrington Park, NJ
07640.

Shipping Fees:
In the US: Add $5.00 for the first VHS or DVD and 75¢ for each
additional.
To Canada: Add $6.00 for the first VHS or DVD and $1.00 for each
additional.
Overseas: Add $8.00 for the first VHS, $6.00 for DVD and $3.00 for each
additional film.

New Jersey residents: Please add 6% sales tax.

Dennis Doros
Milestone Film & Video
email: Mile...@aol.com
website: www.milestonefilms.com

Harlett O'Dowd

unread,
Jul 2, 2003, 6:46:07 AM7/2/03
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Oh happy happy day! And I've already pre-ordered my copy!

THE CHESS PLAYER may in fact be the best thing I've ever seen at Cinecon and
I'm thrilled to get it on DVD. I'll be watching my mailbox faithfully until
it arrives.


Michael Cummins

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Jul 2, 2003, 8:01:21 AM7/2/03
to

> My turn for a shameless commercial plug! Since Image has promised us that
they
> wouldn't do any special promotions for our silent DVDs (imagine a company
who
> won't do publicity?),


Apparently IMAGE have been loosing rather a few clients lately to different
distributors.


Michael C.


Max Nineteennineteen

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Jul 2, 2003, 4:47:38 PM7/2/03
to
Speaking of your titles, Dennis, is Edge of the World out yet? Last
time I checked Amazon it wasn't (likewise no sign of Chess Player
there). But I did get Prince Achmed (you probably saw the spike in
your revenues).

Mile Films

unread,
Jul 2, 2003, 5:37:55 PM7/2/03
to

Well, the commentary track has been recorded, edited, checked by Thelma
Schoonmaker, edited again, and now it's going through one last proofing. It
should be out by December with all-new video mastering and Daniel Day Lewis to
boot.

The DVD of The Chess Player is on Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009Q4W8/qid=1057181808/sr
=8-4/ref=sr_8_4/104-9739374-7081511?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

but I see the wonderful people at Tapeworm hasn't been doing their job with
VHS.

Max Nineteennineteen

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Jul 2, 2003, 9:31:46 PM7/2/03
to
mile...@aol.comnojunk (Mile Films) wrote in message news:<20030702173755...@mb-m03.aol.com>...

> << Speaking of your titles, Dennis, is Edge of the World out yet? Last
> time I checked Amazon it wasn't (likewise no sign of Chess Player
> there). But I did get Prince Achmed (you probably saw the spike in
> your revenues). >>
>
> Well, the commentary track has been recorded, edited, checked by Thelma
> Schoonmaker, edited again, and now it's going through one last proofing. It
> should be out by December with all-new video mastering and Daniel Day Lewis to
> boot.
>
> The DVD of The Chess Player is on Amazon at
>
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009Q4W8/qid=1057181808/sr
> =8-4/ref=sr_8_4/104-9739374-7081511?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846\

Ah, I think I searched for Chess Players... although I thought
Amazon's search engine was sophisticated enough to adjust for that,
frankly.

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