Blu-ray Release: The Sheik

Blu-ray Release Date: Nov. 2, 2021
Price: Blu-ray $22.99
Studio: Paramount

The 1921 epic romantic silent drama The Sheik starring Rudolph Valentino as the title character arrives next week as the latest addition to the Paramount Presents line of Blu-ray releases.

Originally released at the height of the nation’s appetite for motion pictures, The Sheik became a massive sensation, breaking box office records and earning over $1 million during its first year of release. And now it’s back 100 years later…!

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the film was directed by George Melford and starred Valentino in the role that helped propel him to stardom and sealed his status as a Hollywood heartthrob—and the original “Latin Lover”—at the age of 26.

For this re-issue of The Sheik, Paramount searched the world for the best elements and used a print and an intermediate element called a fine grain.  One source of the film yielded better results for image quality, another for intertitles.  One of the elements was “stretch-printed” and had to be adjusted digitally during the restoration process.  In the silent era there was no standard frame rate, so stretch printing was done to show silent films at 24 frames per second.  In addition, tints and tones were digitally applied, guided by an original continuity script from the Paramount archive.  The result can be seen on the disc!

This limited-edition Blu-ray includes a new look at the classic with Professor Leslie Midkiff DeBauche, and an original music score composed by Roger Bellon.

As with all films released in the Paramount Presents line, The Sheik is presented with collectible packaging featuring a foldout image of the film’s theatrical poster and an interior spread with key movie moments.