Incredible collection of 133 films from the earliest days of cinema. The condition of these old pieces of film is often less than stellar, but they are almost always fascinating as we see the development of cinema as it happens before us. The five-disc set is broken down by topic, with a certain unavoidable amount of overlap.

This is the period from which fewest American Films survive. Contains fifty films follwed by six previews for lost features and serials.

A documentary on the very early days of filmmaking plus a few of the short films made in Fort Lee.

7 classic silent films that were produced between 1911 and 1915 by the pioneering Thanhouser Company of New Rochelle, New York. What most impressed me about them were their lack of excessive sentimentality and their ability to strip a story to its essentials and tell it in a short amount of time. Good fun.

This 1911-1921 work still ranks as some of the best animation ever. It is simple to see how it influenced everyone from Miyazaki to Disney. It is also easy to see that from the start, animation had elements for adults, and elements that appealed more to kids. "The way a mosquito operates" resembles a Picasso drawing in motion, except with Windsor's quirky sense of humor.

Restored from the finest surviving 35mm film elements, with additions and improvements from new film materials which have surfaced since Image's previous edition. THE FLOORWALKER - THE FIREMAN - THE VAGABOND - ONE A.M. - THE COUNT - THE PAWN SHOP - BEHIND THE SCREEN - THE RINK - EASY STREET - THE CURE - THE IMMIGRANT

Without the generosity and support of comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, the cinematic art of Buster Keaton may never have blossomed. The 12 existing shorts in "The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection" made between 1917-1919 display Arbuckle's comedic skill while revealing the astonishing speed in which co-star Keaton mastered the medium.

Buster Keaton was arguably the cinema's first modernist, an old-fashioned romantic with a 20th-century mind behind a deadpan visage. In addition to the previously released 11 features and 19 shorts, this set boasts the exclusive Keaton Plus, a collection of rarities and tributes. The greatest find is the long-lost ending to Hard Luck (1921), now restored to complete the film's final inspired gag.

Erich Von Stroheim's 1924 silent classic continues to have profound impact. Based on Frank Norris' novel, "McTeague," GREED tells the story of three World War I-era Californians whose friendship is destroyed by avarice after one wins a lottery jackpot. Warner Home Video is restoring this film for DVD.

Murnau, of course, was one of the giants of silent cinema. It's surprising how well these films hold up today as works of art AND as entertainments. Only the comedies of Keaton, Chaplin, and Lloyd are more compelling.

Has a place in cinematic history as the first feature-length documentary, shot by Robert Flaherty in 1922 near Inukjuaq on Hudson Bay in the arctic part of Quebec, Canada. A former explorer and prospector in that region, Flaherty decided to document the lifestyle of the Inuit. The result was a movie that showed a distant place and a foreign culture, rather than something staged in a studio.

For those of you who only know Lon Chaney as The Phantom or Quasimodo and for those who don't know him at all, this collection is the ideal introduction to one of the most gifted artists to ever step in front of a camera. Start first with the British documentary on Chaney narrated by Kenneth Brannagh to give yourself some background.

In 1924, Douglas Fairbanks is a superb thief, bringing his trademark humour and athleticism to the role. Julanne Johnston is a beautiful princess hiding demurely behind her lacy veil. The film also has great villains with Sojin a particularly wicked Mongol prince out to get Johnston, while Anna May Wong schemes to aid him.

The dinosaurs in this 1925 film are certainly not of the caliber of those in Jurassic Park, but for their time they were shockingly realistic. The sequences with them are interesting because they take on human characteristics. When they are attacked, they scream in pain. When they defend themselves and their children, they hug in happiness. They even inspect their own wounds.

Some of Garbo's silent offerings, courtesy of TCM archives.

The first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture is rather long, but the combat flying sequences are still some of the best ever filmed, and are well worth the effort.

LuLu is an amoral entertainer in 1928 Berlin, is having fun taking men for all they have and snubbing those that may care for her. After moving to London she is still in the habit of entertaining men at her place. She is about to open Pandora's Box as she has no idea who she has lured up to her place. Film is timeless and holds up today.

1928 film stars Lillian Gish as Letty, a woman who moves from Virginia to a barren Texas dustbowl town. She soon finds herself battling the raging winds as well as the hostile people that reside there. She marries a man she doesn't really love, kills another who rapes her and has to face raging sandstorms that drive her to the brink of insanity.

Contains two of Murnau's best - Sunrise (1927) and City Girl (1930). Silent Borzage entries include Seventh Heaven (1928), Street Angel (1928), Lazybones (1925) and Lucky Star (1929). The other six films are early sound films directed by Borzage including Song O My Heart (1930) and the Academy Award winning Bad Girl (1931). Total of 12 films in all plus a documentary on Borzage & Murnau at Fox.