T

he gorgeous clip above is from King Vidor’s “Bardelys the Magnificent” (1926), all copies of which were long believed to have disappeared decades ago. One miraculously turned up in France in 2006 and the title, restored by David Shepard, is being released by Flicker Alley in July.

Once listed by the AFI on its list of “most wanted” lost films — Vidor made it between his classics “The Big Parade” and “The Crowd” — it’s a big-budget MGM silent adaptation of a Rafael Sabitini swashbuckler starring John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman (then Ms. Vidor). The still-missing third reel is bridged with stills and footage from the still-extant trailer. There’s a new score by the Mont Alto Orchestra. Flicker Alley is releasing it as a double feature called “The Lost Films of John Gilbert,” along with a 1922 Fox adaptation of Dumas’ much-filmed “Monte Cristo” discovered in the Czech Republic.