Film Masters Has A New 4K Scan Of Director Frank Dexter's 1934 Film Adaptation Of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Ready For Both DVD And Blu-ray On Nov. 21

Film Masters has a new 4K scan (from the original film elements) of director Frank Dexter’s 1934 film adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic The Scarlet Letter, starring Colleen Moore as the ever-enduring Hester Prynne. 

 

Both DVD and Blu-ray editions will be available from Film Masters on Nov. 21.

 

Who could have imagined that an independently-produced and distributed black and white film from the 1930s would turned out to be the definitive film presentation of Hawthorne’s 1850 novel.   

 

The Majestic Producing Corp.?   Not exactly MGM, 20th Century-Fox or Warner Brothers.   Hollywood tried three silent versions, including MGM’s 1926 production starring Lillian Gish.  And of course, there was the big budget 1995 adaptation by director Roland Joffé, with Demi Moore as Hester and Gary Oldman as Dimmesdale … this 1934 version is superior in every way.

 

 

As to bonus goodies, Prof. Jason A. Ney provides commentary, plus there’s director Samuel M. Sherman’s 1978 film, Salem and the Scarlet Letter (narrated by John Carradine), the Ballyhoo Motion Pictures’ presentation of “A Sin of Passion: Hawthorne on Film” and the featurette titled “Revealing the Scarlet Letter.”