Criterion is releasing the Harold Lloyd silent feature 'The Kid Brother' to Blu-Ray on March 12. It's loaded with extras, including 2 restored shorts with new Wurlitzer theater pipe organ scores.
Synopsis: Silent-comedy legend Harold Lloyd goes west in this irresistible blend of action, romance, and slapstick invention. The bespectacled everyman is at his inimitable best as Harold Hickory, the gentle son of a prominent lawman who lives in the shadow of his rough-and-tumble brothers. When a traveling medicine show rolls into town, it brings with it excitement, the possibility of love, and a chance for Harold to prove his mettle. Deftly balancing Lloyd's brilliant sight gags and thrilling set pieces—including an epic, knock-down, drag-out fight aboard an abandoned ship—with one of the actor-filmmaker's most fully realized, root-for-the-underdog narratives, The Kid Brother is a hilarious and heartwarming high-water mark of early screen comedy.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K DIGITAL RESTORATION
Orchestral score by composer Carl Davis from 1989
Alternate archival organ score performed by Gaylord Carter
Audio commentary from 2005 featuring filmmaker and Harold Lloyd archivist Richard Correll, film historian Annette D'Agostino Lloyd, and Harold Lloyd's granddaughter Suzanne Lloyd
Harold's Leading Ladies, a new conversation between author Cari Beauchamp and Suzanne Lloyd
Anatomy of a Gag: Monkeyshoes, a new video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns
Behind-the-scenes stills gallery curated by Harold Lloyd archivist Richard Simonton Jr.
Close to Home, a new video essay on the film's shooting locations by author John Bengtson
Dutch television interview with Lloyd from 1962
Featurette from 2005 about Greenacres, Lloyd's estate, hosted by Suzanne Lloyd
Two restored rare early Lloyd shorts: Over the Fence (1917) and That's Him (1918), with new Wurlitzer theater pipe organ scores and a discussion of their early film formats by archivist Dino Everett
New tour of the Wurlitzer organ with composer Nathan Barr and organist Mark Herman
PLUS: An essay by critic Carrie Rickey
STREET DATE: MARCH 12
