David Shepard

Towards end of WWII, UK Ministry of Information commissioned a Holocaust documentary Hitchcock was brought on board as “treatment advisor” and helped shape its aesthetic But rapidly changing political priorities …

January 2024: Die zwölfte Stunde finally available for online viewing! First ever vampire film was reshot, recut and reissued with sound Methodology also practised by world’s most famous quack doctor The …

Count Orlok speaks! After a century of silent scares, the brooding vampire finally finds his voice Among Nosferatu’s many homages and reinterpretations are several transforming it into a talkie Most …

Infamous nitrate era film collector and one of its most contentious figures He lied, stole and bullied his way into ownership of a vast archive of rarities Retained an army of …

Charting convoluted release history of first feature length film for Chaplin, Keystone and comedy itself Among most famous silver screen comedies: huge success made Marie Dressler an overnight movie star But Chaplin’s …

Two big-budget dramatic versions of Carmen hit cinemas in 1915, inspiring Chaplin’s brilliant spoof But immediately on completion Chaplin’s original version disappeared and was destroyed for decades Only mangled reissue …

Pirates and Their Victims Speak Behind the vast statistics of stolen films, real peoples’ livelihoods are being ruined Ultimately supporters of piracy pay twice for the price of condoning theft …

Pirate Companies and Distribution There are seemingly endless numbers of pirate labels, all hiding in plain sight Pointing the finger at those hardest to spot: those based in the Western …

The Many Faces of Orlok: All Restored Releases Count Orlok’s saga has metamorphosed through a bewildering variety of versions The restored releases have a total of seven completely different transfers and scores …

Serenading the Undead: So Many Scores Count Orlok’s misdeeds have had countless live and recorded scores over the years The original 1922 première score no longer survives but there are …