Three dates can be legitimate together
The original year identifies the film. The 1972 date identifies the reissue described by the publisher. The 2016 notice concerns the later Criterion edition and restoration. None needs to erase the others.
Retain original title and year, then add version information where known. A distributor can group the work under 1921 while presenting a later authorized edition. That does not claim the digital restoration or reissue score existed at the original release.
For a comparison project, record the edition explicitly instead of sorting solely by the latest date visible in the listing.
Silent does not mean the recording has no music
The notice credits Chaplin’s score with the reissue presentation. A silent film can therefore contain music without becoming a dialogue remake. The term identifies a production context rather than an instruction that the soundtrack must contain no sound.
Preserve the score credit if that is the presentation you want. Do not assume every copy uses the same accompaniment. Version evidence in the actual release record is more useful than a broad expectation from the word silent.
Deleted material is listed separately
The edition notice lists deleted scenes and titles from the original version as supplements. Such a bonus item is not necessarily a second complete feature. Its existence also does not establish accidental missing segments in the main presentation.
Inspect the item type before combining entries. Feature, commentary, historical interview and short supplement have different scopes. Their presence in a disc edition does not establish that a television showing includes every extra. A later clip upload is not automatically a newly restored film edition.
Do not infer completeness from memory alone
A different duration or remembered scene can justify a version check, but it cannot identify the copy by itself. Use opening information, publisher credits and an explicit restoration statement. If those are absent, call the edition unknown rather than definitive or original.
The notice establishes one Criterion release, not every later Canadian stream or broadcast. Its 4K restoration description concerns the source master and does not prove a viewer’s delivered resolution. Keep work, reissue, restoration, extras and current playback as separate facts. That is enough to describe the intended version without inventing missing footage or technical quality.
Sources and scope
Scope notes distinguish published documentation, supplied information and editorial methods. They do not report a hands-on service test.
- Chaplin Office Criterion notice — Original1921, reissue1972, edition2016, Chaplin score and original deleted-scene supplements.
