'The Freshman' Announced for Blu-ray

The 1925 silent comedy classic is bound for Blu-ray in March.

In an early announcement to retailers, Criterion has revealed 'The Freshman' will head to Blu-ray on March 25.

Harold Lloyd's biggest box-office hit was this silent comedy gem, featuring the befuddled everyman at his eager best as a new college student. Though he dreams of being a big man on campus, the freshman's careful plans inevitably go hilariously awry, be it on the football field or at the Fall Frolic. But he gets a climactic chance to prove his mettle—and impress the sweet girl he loves—in one of the most famous sports sequences ever filmed. This crowd-pleaser is a gleeful showcase for Lloyd's slapstick brilliance and incandescent charm, and it's accompanied here by a new orchestral score by Carl Davis.

The Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack will feature a New 4K digital transfer from a restoration by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, an uncompressed stereo soundtrack, and supplements include: Audio commentary featuring director and Harold Lloyd archivist Richard Correll, film historian Richard Bann, and film critic and historian Leonard Maltin; Lloyd's prologue to the film, created for the 1966 rerelease; Three newly restored Lloyd shorts: The Marathon (1919), with a new score by Gabriel Thibaudeau, and An Eastern Westerner and High and Dizzy (both 1920), with new scores composed and conducted by Davis; Big Man on Campus, a new visual essay on the film's locations by silent-film historian John Bengtson; Conversation between Correll and film historian Kevin Brownlow; Footage from a 1963 Delta Kappa Alpha tribute to Lloyd, featuring comedian Steve Allen, director Delmer Daves, and actor Jack Lemmon; Lloyd's 1953 appearance on the television show What's My Line; and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Stephen Winer.

Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $39.95.

You can find the latest specs for 'The Freshman' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under March 25.