Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Selects Aug. 25 For The Blu-ray Debut Of The Big Parade

The Million Dollar Theatre in downtown Los Angeles was the place where Hollywood premiered its prestigious films during the early days of the Silent Era.   Opened by Sid Grauman in 1918, it sits directly across the street from the landmark Bradbury Building.   Both remain landmarks to this day.

By 1922, the “Hollywood” studios wanted to hold these lavish premieres “closer to home,” so they prevailed upon Grauman to build both The Egyptian Theatre (1922) and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (1927) for future major studio premieres.   He did (and, as they say, the rest is history), which brings us to the Blu-ray release news from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment this week.

On Nov. 5, 1925, The Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. held the world premiere of director King Video’s WWI masterpiece, The Big Parade, starring John Gilbert.   Those attending could not have guessed that the battlefields of France, including Belleau Wood, were filmed in nearby Elysian Park and the sprawling Griffith Park.   Their respective transitions from peaceful parks to battlefields, with all of the carnage, was nothing short of breathtaking. 

By all standards, The Big Parade is one of the greatest silent films ever made.  Warner Bros. announced this past week that a new 4K digital restoration — from the rediscovered original camera negative — will be ready for Blu-ray on Aug. 25.

We believe this will be the complete 151-minute presentation (the film was edited after the Hollywood debut to accommodate exhibitors looking for an “extra” presentation each day … 124 and 130 minutes did the trick).   So important was this film, that the Astor Theatre in New York City ran it continuously for two solid years!!!