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THE SCARLET LETTER

1926

Victor Sjöström

The Scarlet Letter

SYNOPSIS

In a rigid Puritan settlement in seventeenth century New England, Hester Prynne bears a child out of wedlock and is condemned to wear the letter A as a mark of shame. Refusing to name the father, she endures public scorn with quiet dignity. The secret binds her to the tormented minister Dimmesdale, whose concealed guilt corrodes his spirit as the community’s moral severity tightens around them.

CRITIQUE

Victor Sjöström transforms Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel into a restrained yet emotionally resonant silent drama. Lillian Gish’s performance imbues Hester with luminous resilience, shifting the narrative from moral condemnation to spiritual endurance. The austere compositions and natural settings temper melodrama with psychological gravity. Rather than sensationalizing sin, the film interrogates collective judgment, revealing silent cinema’s capacity for introspective moral inquiry.

SCREENING AVAILABILITY

  • Theatrical screenings

  • Non-theatrical screenings

  • Festivals and cinematheques

  • Educational screenings

  • Television broadcasting

  • Digital platforms and streaming

  • Promotional and editorial use

  • Licensing of graphic and visual materials

AVAILABLE FORMATS

  • DCP

  • DCP with subtitles

  • Apple ProRes

  • MP4 Screening File

  • MP4 Rehearsal Copy for Musicians (silent films)

  • Blu-ray

  • High-resolution archival masters

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

  • Posters

  • Press stills

  • Promotional assets

  • Screening support materials

AVAILABLE SUBTITLES

  • English

  • Spanish

  • French

  • Portuguese

  • Italian

  • German

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