Xiao Wanyi
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TrevorAclea — 10 years ago(March 26, 2016 02:55 PM)
If you wish to see strange things, I have the power to show them to you.
Not to be confused with the actor who played the genie in The Thief of Bagdad, Rex Ingram may have been one of MGMs top directors in the silent era, but watching
The Magician
you cant help wondering what a more inspired and adventurous director like F.W. Murnau or Michael Powell (who has a cameo in the film) could have made of W. Somerset Maughams tale of a young woman in Paris who falls under the spell of a magician who needs her virgin blood to create life (He looks as if he stepped out of a melodrama). There are moments that hint at what could be: a giant statue of a faun briefly appearing to come to life before crumbling and crushing its sculptor or a vision of pagan revels overseen by the same faun come to life. Yet theyre few and far between, Ingram adopting a rather classical style that never hypnotises the audience the way Paul Wegeners magician does the heroine but rather keeps it a film you watch at a remove rather than being drawn into, with even the brief imaginary hedonism never really letting rip.
It doesnt help that theres not a spark of chemistry or sexual magnetism between romantic leads Alice Terry (aka Mrs Ingram) and Iván Petrovich, behaving more like a long-married couple than lovers: theres no life in them to lose, which renders the threat purely academic. Ingram was somewhat notorious for not getting the most out of his wife and occasional co-director onscreen, and thats certainly the case here. Shes never particularly convincing and rarely seems engaged by the material in a part that offers her little to work with. Looking like a cross between Lionel Atwill and Oskar Homolka with the bulk of Emil Jannings, Paul Wegener was probably the first real superstar of the horror genre in the days when Germany led the field, but this never really taps into his talent or utilises his screen presence especially well in a role inspired by Satanist socialite Aleister Crowley (who wrote a scathing review of the novel under the pen-name Oliver Haddo, the character Wegener plays in the film).
Despite being shot in his studio in Nice and on location in Paris and Monte Carlo to avoid studio interference (most notably from Louis B. Mayer), this feels very much life a safe studio-friendly picture rather than a passion project. Its professionally made but rarely comes to life, and when it does its often where you least expect it. Always good with spectacle the casino scene is effective and theres a couple of delightful bits of comic business with his protégé Michael Powell as a balding bespectacled man with a balloon on the sidelines when Wegener demonstrates his powers during a snake charmers act, but despite gifting his mad magician with an atmospherically designed and shot sorcerers tower for his laboratory and a dwarf assistant who presumably spawned all those generations of Igors that populated Universals horror cycle, the finale offers more fisticuffs than frissons.
Horror fans might enjoy seeing it as a bridge between the more stylised German expressionist horror films of the early Twenties and the mad scientist movies that would become a screen staple in the wake of Frankensteins huge success, but this is really more of a production line melodrama with most of the supernatural elements and the darker ending of the novel omitted. Its certainly watchable, but its more of historical interest than especially enthralling.
Warner Archives manufactured on demand DVD-R is taken from TCMs 2010 TV presentation with a new orchestral score by Robert Israel that acknowledges the clichéd material in much of its choice of source music, especially Tchaikovskys Romeo and Juliet. The tinted print isnt pristine with some damage and track marks thats most noticeable in the first reel but more than acceptable. No extras.
"Security - release the badgers." -
CanterburyTale — 10 years ago(March 31, 2016 05:39 PM)
I recently watched
Street Angel
(1928) with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, and thought it was sublime.I had previously seen them in another Frank Borzage film
Seventh Heaven
, but, as enjoyable as that was, 'Angel' is my favourite.Janet Gaynor gives an absolutely stunning performance, on a par with her turn in Murnau's
Sunrise
, and it's easy to see why she won the first Oscar for her performances.
"Barney SloaneThat's my new nameMy old one's a little more Italian." -
gundabad_the_pirate — 10 years ago(March 31, 2016 07:37 PM)
Just watched 'Wings'(1927) for the first time and I am a little embarrassed that I have never watched this fantastic first Academy Award winner for best film.
When someone says, "That Silent Movie could be released in Theaters today and people would flock to see it" then that would be 'Wings'. The Aerial actions sequences are that phenomenal and probably the closest we will ever get to seeing actual W.W.I aerial combat. Having been filmed a mere 8 years after the first war and having the experienced pilots, planes and tactics that were probably still in use- gives this film a depth of authenticity that has you gripping your chair as the planes fill the screen in dive-bombing mayhem.
The copy that I watched was sepia toned? personally, I don't really care for this look in silent films, so I just turn the color back down to B&W.
According to the extras, the film maybe the most expensive ever, as the federal government gave approx 15 million dollars worth of support in troops, planes, artillery, equipment etc.. plus the production budget of $2 million.
Really enjoyed this film and the cast overall, good love triangle storyline that ties itself up neatly in the end. It does start a little Sappy at first when it is introducing the characters and their relationships but after they get out of aerial training and go off to war, then the film shifts to another level and the light comedy in-between the action helps to break up the tension between the build up scenes of combat with the Big Push at the end.
In my top ten list of the most exciting Silent Films of all times- period and one of the last. Out with a bang at 2 dollars a ticket in 1927. -
Peterlh — 10 years ago(April 01, 2016 08:27 AM)
It is as if the only good WWI movies were made in the years between WWI and WWII, I guess that people seem to think that WWII is a more interesting subject for a movie than WWI.
Have you seen Hells Angels (1930)? It is a WWI air combat talkie directed by Howard Hughes, it is not as good as Wings but still a pretty solid flick.
One of my all time favorite war movies is The Big Parade (1925) directed by the incredible King Vidor. Apart from a few scenes that are a bit silly it is as close to a masterpiece as you can probably get. A solid 9/10! -
gundabad_the_pirate — 10 years ago(April 01, 2016 06:56 PM)
Watched 'Hell's Angels' when I was on my Jean Harlow kick, not much of the film stuck with me??? I guess it is more of a thrilling-action experience than something that leaves a dramatic impression. I will take a good look at 'The Big Parade' and add it to my growing list- some can be rented and those that have to be bought should be exceptional to justify it.
That is a good point, probably the most effective (anti-war) film that I have viewed- still remains 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (1930) when the main character returns from the front on a furlough and visits his family at home, where the old veterans were singing their nostalgic praises of going off to battle and he now has his own taste of it for real and you can feel the bitterness of his betrayal.
The film still lingers potently when I remember it. It seems that these early war pictures are far less propagandist or political than the succeeding generations take on the wartime experience, so maybe they are more accurate in a way. -
TrevorAclea — 10 years ago(April 01, 2016 02:38 AM)
The best-known of Lon Chaney and Tod Brownings collaborations at MGM albeit perhaps more for the non-Browning directed remake that was the stars only talkie 1925s
The Unholy Three
is far from the best despite its initially deliriously devious set-up. Kicking off with an array of sideshow freaks and chiselers thats like a dry run for Brownings Freaks (itself based on a novel by the same author, Tod Robbins), Chaney is Professor Echo, a ventriloquist who distracts the crowds while girlfriend Sweet Rosie OGrady (a very good Mae Busch) picks their pockets. But he has bigger plans: teaming up with a strongman (Victor McLaglen, at times looking like a very young Anthony Quinn) and midget (Harry Earles, who would go on to star in both the remake and Freaks), he has an unholy scheme that sees him disguising himself as a little old lady and Earles as a baby running a pet shop that sells birds that cant speak to the wealthy. Not that his scam ends at throwing his voice to make it sound as if they can. When the wealthier customers complain that their bird is silent, he and Earles visit to case the joint while appearing to coax it to talk and return after dark with McLaglen to rob the place. Which works rather well until his accomplices decide to go it alone and end up committing murder and setting up the bespectacled sap who helps out in the shop (a surprisingly sympathetic Matt Moore in Harold Lloyd glasses) and has a crush on Busch
This was very much a comeback picture for Browning after a run of flops, and at times it feels like hes playing it safe because he knows hes in the Last Chance Saloon after spending too much time in real saloons. While there are certainly plenty of grotesque elements and anarchic in the film, from the obligatory wild animal that Chaney keeps that wreaks vengeance (in this case a giant ape) and Earles puffing away on a cigar while in his baby clothes or laughing about his victim begging for his life, the first half of the film is played more as a black comedy than a thriller. There are a couple of suspense set pieces and the unholy trinity do fall out with murderous intent, but the film takes its lead from Chaneys character who may run a crooked racket but isnt that bad a guy underneath it all. When Busch offers to go off with him if hell clear Moore theres no real question of how itll end up and the film gives in to sentimentality and melodrama once things reach the courtroom and the Professors plans to use his ventriloquism to save the day fail him. Browning shows some originality in handling the whole notion of ventriloquism playing a key role in a silent movie, at one point even putting cartoon speech bubbles above the parrots cages in the shop, and its a decent enough melodrama, but its ultimately more wholesome than unholy. Its the kind of film whose reputation you have to take with perhaps a pinch of salt to get the most out of it when Chaney says Thats all there is to life, friends a little laughter a little tear, hes pretty much summing up the movie. But remember, never smoke cigarettes and youll be a big strong man like Victor McLaglen!
Lon Chaney TALKS in
The Unholy 3
screamed the posters for MGMs 1930 remake of his 1925 hit, and Chaneys voice is certainly the main attraction in his only talkie before his untimely death. On one level it shows that his career would have had no problems adjusting to the new era but also indicates that it would move away from the more tortured dramas that made him a huge box-office attraction to the kind of street smart rogues on the wrong side of the law who discover they have a heart after all roles that Wallace Beery and James Cagney would thrive in a few years later. Its simultaneously a curious and an obvious choice for his belated entry into the talking picture stakes: the original was one of his lesser melodramas but the plot is dialogue-heavy and the then-new technology does allow you to actually hear his ventriloquist throw his voice. Its actually Harry Earles, also reprising his role from the silent version as the midget, whose voice is the real problem: his German accent is so thick around 95% of his dialogue is completely incomprehensible, and he has a
lot
of dialogue. Thankfully its a problem not shared by Ivan Linow, replacing a then-under contract to Fox Film Corporation Victor McLaglen as Hercules.
The plot is basically the same, and so are some of the sets and costumes), but Elliott Nugent, this versions co-writer along with his father J.C. Nugent, is while Lila Lee is convincing as a shopworn streetwise cookie but less convincing as the good girl underneath it all. Its pretty much a scene for scene remake until the end, which reaches the same point via a slightly different route that curiously makes much less of the ventriloquism than the original, but if it lacks individuality the under-rated Jack Conways direction is very polished, with the film playing up the comedy much more. Chaneys performance is a bit broader than in th -
TrevorAclea — 10 years ago(April 05, 2016 04:06 PM)
If its his heart you want, Ill cut it out and give it to you.
Its part of the legend that has grown around John Gilberts ultimately career ruining feud with Louis B. Mayer that the vengeful studio chief actively sought out the worst projects he could find for his $250,000 a picture star and that the years after Flesh and the Devil were filled with predestined turkey after turkey a notion that, like the myth that he had a bad voice, shows how few of Gilberts later films many have seen. If Mayer was deliberately trying to sabotage his fledgling companys biggest investment, he had a funny way of going about it: The Cossacks was one of the studios biggest budgeted movies and Tod Brownings
The Show
, so often described as an insulting bit of casting for one of the silent screens most popular lovers, is one of his best pictures and best performances.
In many ways its Gilberts Nightmare Alley (not surprising since in just as many ways Tyrone Power was his talking pictures equivalent), with the star cast against time as Cock Robin, the ballyhoo man for a Budapest sideshow featuring Neptuna, Queen of the Mermaids, Arachnida, the human spider and Zela, the half-lady (the film is almost a dry run for Freaks, though the attractions here are all fake). He knows how to get the ladies, and their money too, currently setting his sights on Gertrude Shorts country girl who he generously allows to pay for his supper. Things get complicated when her father is murdered by The Greek (Lionel Barrymore, quietly oozing self-satisfied menace), whose girl (Renée Adorée) plays Salome in the shows grand finale, where Gilbert plays John the Baptist in a fake decapitation which The Greek figures could be improved by removing the fake part from the equation
Gilbert had tried without success to get Liliom made as a starring vehicle, and this feels as if it was intended as a consolation prize, retaining the sideshow background, Hungarian setting and redemptive ending, but its made of much darker stuff. For most of the running time theres no attempt to make the characters likeable, especially the self-centred and exploitative Gilbert, yet they are genuinely compelling as they go through their sordid paces before it all ends in melodrama and redemption, though even then Browning manages to keep it fairly grounded. But its the first half of the film that sees him truly in his element, offering some striking imagery as well as a fascination with the fakery of it all, with a wonderful dissection of the beheading scene, and drawing an excellent performance from Gilbert (or at least until his final moment of catharsis where the stars tendency to overdo the big emotional moments comes into play). But the film, surprisingly, belongs to Adorée, who gives a superb performance that adds surprising depth to what could have been a clichéd and one dimensional part as the woman whos mistreated by all the men in the picture in one way or another, imbuing it with a combination of tired hope and world weariness with a subtlety thats absolutely fascinating to watch, drawing you in without ever showboating or over-emotin. Shed previously managed to make more out of her part than was on the page in The Blackbird for Browning the previous year, and judging from the excellent performance he drew from Mary Nolan in West of Zanzibar the following year its obvious that the directors fascination with the grotesque has overshadowed his considerable abilities as an actresss director.
Its not without its flaws - the last act threatens to overstay its welcome though Browning manages to prevent the pathos turning into bathos by making Edward Connellys elderly blind soldier an irritatingly needy and impatiently bossy figure whos yet another cross for Adorée to bear but its strengths and strikingly seedy atmosphere more than outweigh them. And the film even manages to end with an innuendo-laden joke and a wonderfully sick variation on the lovers kissing as if to put the directors own signature on the traditional studio formula.
Warner Archives manufactured on demand DVD-R comes with an effective new score by Darrell Raby and includes the original intertitles which surprisingly include some surprisingly strong examples of taking the Lords name in vain language that the Production Code would bar from films for decades just a few years later.
One of the biggest hits of the silent era, 1925s
The Merry Widow
may seem a contradiction in terms a silent musical? but is one of the most enjoyable, spectacular and surprisingly bawdy films of the day. The answer to the question how can you make a silent musical? is twofold: just because you cant sing doesnt mean you cant dance, and the operettas famous waltz is not the films only dance number, with Mae Murray getting a big number of her own to show off her chorus girl credentials, but also it helps if the operetta not only has a half-decent plot but if you add substantially to it as director Erich von Stroheim and his co-writer Ben -
TrevorAclea — 9 years ago(April 10, 2016 06:27 PM)
When the Devil cannot reach us through the spirit he creates a woman beautiful enough to reach us through the flesh.
Neither John Gilbert nor Greta Garbo wanted to make
Flesh and the Devil
, yet as well as giving them a smash hit it led to perhaps the most famous of all on and offscreen love affairs of the silent era and one you can almost see unfold in real time their first meeting was shooting their first scene where Gilbert falls in love with her at first sight and during their first big love scene rather than call cut, director Clarence Brown, or so he claimed, quietly ushered his crew away from the set and left them alone. But theres more to the film than just seeing two of the silent eras most perfect specimens falling in love for real, with Browns sophisticated direction and William Daniels superb cinematography elevating the material beyond the moralistic tale of a woman who destroys almost every man she comes into contact with.
Gilbert and Lars Hansen (Garbos co-star in The Saga of Gosta Berling) are fellow soldiers and childhood blood brothers (Foolishness! You might have got blood poisoning!) whose friendship is compromised when the former falls in love with Garbo, unaware that shes married, and is exiled to the colonial service after a duel with her husband only for her to marry the wealthy Hansen in his absence. Not that that means she wants to give up Gilbert when he returns
Its a curious mixture of romanticism, with its storybook matte paintings, and the more down to Earth (Gilbert and Hansen even mucking out steaming piles of horse manure in the stables), with plenty of comedy to undercut the formality and pomp in the first third of the film before things take a darker tone. There are a few moments that dont work, most notably some superimposition effects while Gilbert obsessively hurries across the globe to his lover, but theres so much that works so well and so seductively it doesnt matter: the truly striking play of light when Gilbert lights a cigarette in his cupped hands at night (You know when you blow out the match thats an invitation to kiss you?), a duel shot entirely in silhouette like a shadow play or the camera revealing Garbos first husband as it follows a cigarette thrown out of the window. But its not just the visuals that are so impressive about Browns striking direction: its the way that despite the films title and George Fawcetts pastors pulpit moralising, he avoids overtly demonising Garbos character.
Whats most intriguing about Garbos performance here is that although the part is clearly written as a femme fatale and the script and title are riddled with religious references, she downplays the malice to just a few quiet moments the small hint of a smile as she tries on her widows veil for the first time, the way she adjusts her lipstick during a fire and brimstone sermon about adultery or the way she looks at a gift proffered by Hansen so that youre not sure if she really is evil or just, as she protests, simply too weak. Its notable that the most unconvincing part of her performance is her hysterical reaction while Barbara Kents good girl prays for the two friends lives in whats pretty much meant to be a symbolic exorcism scene that drives the Devil out of her (although her evil spell still cannot be broken while she lives): its just too histrionic and on the nose and you can tell she doesnt entirely believe in what shes been asked to play. But that apart, the rest of the cast arent on her level, the two male leads admittedly not helped by some of the sledgehammer symbolism on their Island of Friendship when they finally face off against each other. Yet despite that, it works rather magnificently, as much thanks to the undervalued Brown as to Garbo, and still weaves its seductive spell nine decades on.
Warner Home Videos DVD offers a good transfer of the 1988 Thames Silents restoration that was prepared by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill with a Carl Davis score and comes with a decent selection of extras, including an alternate ending obviously made to placate some of the regional censors, a photo montage, a featurette on a competition to create a new score for Garbos The Temptress and an audio commentary by Garbo biographer Barry Paris. Despite not having a lot to say about the film itself, the latter is mildly informative, but theres quite a lot of dead air and intermittent Garbo impersonations when quoting her.
It almost feels mean not to love
Show People
, one of the increasingly few opportunities that Marion Davies got to demonstrate her comic chops because of her lover William Randolph Hearsts determination to turn her into a great but demure dramatic actress, but its one of those comedies that doesnt really live up to its reputation. Not that there isnt much to enjoy in this spoof of both Gloria Swansons rise from custard-pie comedies (though Hearst strictly vetoed Davies getting a pie in the kisser) to first lady of screen drama and Davies own often ill-fitting -
TrevorAclea — 9 years ago(May 07, 2016 01:17 PM)
Despite its outrageous plot a silent star plans to kill her husband and co-star during the shooting of a Western so that she can be with the knockabout comedian she loves without damaging her career -
Shooting Stars
isnt really a comedy. Parts of it are funny, and Anthony Asquiths script certainly takes plenty of satirical swipes at the industry he was trying to break into, but its really more of a drama that turns into a tragedy in very different ways than you might expect.
Mae Feather (Annette Benson), the Sunshine Girl, is the archetypal silent leading lady, beloved by all she meets, a lover of Shakespeare and all creatures furry and winged well, except for the crew of her films who despise her and the dove she shares a scene with who shows itself an excellent judge of character by pecking at her. In fact the only two people who love her are husband Julian Gordon (Brian Aherne) and, unbeknownst to him, Ben Turpin-like (minus the wild eyes) comedian Andy Wilkes (Donald Calthrop), and in Julians case its not the real Mae hes in love with but the sweet and loving version she plays in all her films: indeed, while shes with her lover, hes in the cinema across the road watching her onscreen and utterly enraptured. Yet at the same time he knows that his real life doesnt quite match up, sighing, I wish life was more like the movies. Ironically its part of maintaining the illusion of that movie image that puts him in harms way: because the morals clause in both her and Calthrops contracts could end their careers and hopes of a move to Hollywood if either were involved in divorce or scandal, murder is the only way they can be together though its only Benson who wants it enough to go that far, and even her resolve is shaky. Not that Wilkes is in any way admirable: he takes real delight in incorporating the key to his lovers flat into one of his films (complete with future star Chili Bouchier as the married bathing beauty his onscreen lecher has his eye on).
The behind the scenes look at a working silent studio is a big selling point of the film, from the split level studio (Westerns downstairs, comedy upstairs) revealed in a lengthy overhead crane shot and the phoney press interviews to the backstage bitching and some convincing scenes of Wilkes workshopping his routines in a way that had largely gone out of fashion by the time the film was released in 1928 (the main body of the film turns out to be set several years before). Its certainly more convincingly naturalistic than more traditional movies about movies like Show People: while a few try to live their dreams, for most its just a job, and not a very interesting one at that.
There is one major credibility problem with a key revelation depending entirely on Benson completely forgetting that Aherne is in the same flat at the wrong moment and for all the claims that Asquiths scenario was so flawlessly worked out that the credited director was a mere technician carrying out his wishes to the letter there are sections that feel technically accomplished but dont quite work as well as they could due to some sedate pacing. And, like many behind the screens stories, Wilkes is never as funny as everyone seems to find him: Calthrop is good as the actor but hes not a natural comedian, and it shows. Aherne, however, is a surprisingly convincing silent cowboy, with a wistful sadness to his young good looks while Benson manages to avoid entirely demonising her shallow character and theres some real power to her final scenes, by which time weve had an impromptu funeral parade and one major character has suffered an even worse fate than death: old movie stars never die, they just become obscure trivia questions, and its the films extended epilogue set several years later that is actually the films most powerful and memorable section. You know exactly where its going and how, but the inevitability of it only makes it more poignant.
Theres also another comment on the nature of celebrity and lasting reputation in the way the film is now constantly described as Anthony Asquiths debut not merely as a writer but as a director: yet he didnt direct the film, veteran actor-director A.V. Bramble did. But Bramble wasnt a celebrity and didnt go on to greater things so everything that is good about the film is ascribed to Asquith while Bramble is curtly dismissed as a mere supervisor working from a detailed script that must have precluded any possibility of his own individuality or imagination finding its way into the film. And yet, while it does feature many of his trademark shots, at times the style and look is markedly different from Asquiths silents: the ideas may have been Asquiths but it seems obvious that the same wasnt always true of the execution. Nor was Asquith the only writer he shares a credit with John Orton (as J.O.C. Orton), who, like Bramble, failed to go on to better things and so is casually disregarded as barely worth discussing. Its all too easy to think of Bramble -
Peterlh — 9 years ago(June 04, 2016 08:13 AM)
I just watched Die weie Hölle vom Piz Palü (1929).
I was especially blown away by the direction and cinematography, it reminded me (especially the torch scenes) of the cinematography of Neotpravlennoe pismo by the ever brilliant Sergey Urusevskiy.
Perhaps Sergey was inspired by scenes from Die weie Hölle vom Piz Palü? -
tobias_681 — 9 years ago(June 05, 2016 10:18 PM)
I watched
Cowards Bend the Knee or The Blue Hands (2003)
yesterday. I thought it was really good. Maddin always creates such a unique and haunting world. The visual style is dazzling and the surreal plotting is nothing short of fever-dreamish.
I also watched
Easy Street (1917)
today. It's the best Chaplin short I watched yet. I thought it was quite witty but also incredibly action-packed (more reminiscent of Keaton than of Chaplin) which I really enjoyed.
I'd rate both 8,5/10
"You see things; and you say Why? But I dream things that never were and I say Why not?" -
Brendan_Waters — 9 years ago(July 22, 2016 04:20 PM)
Over the last week I have watched four German films directed by Gerhard Lamprecht in the 1920's. The theme that these films have in common is that they give a very realistic focus on the human suffering of everyday life in 1920's post-war Berlin.
Slums of Berlin
(1925) is about an engineer who has served a term in prison. After his release he wants to continue his life as before but soon realizes that life is not going to be the same again as before he was imprisoned.
Children of No Importance
(1926) is about three children that are in a foster home and the abuse that they suffer. Then a dramatic event happens and life changes.
Menshen untereinander (The Folk Upstairs) (1926)
sketches a cross-section of Germany's new post-war society, with its winners, social climbers and losers who are tenants in an apartment building.
Under the Lantern
(1928) is about a young woman who runs away from her domineering father and the unfortunate sequence of events that lead to her downward spiral.
When mention is made of German silent film directors, usually the names mentioned are Lang, Murnau, Pabst or Lubistch. But these four films are evidence that Gerhard Lamprecht deserves his place among them. These films are wonderful and thanks to Edition Filmmuseum they are now available on DVD.
Highly recommended. -
CanterburyTale — 9 years ago(January 09, 2017 01:23 PM)
I have sadly never seen any of Lamprecht's Silent work, but I am a huge fan of his
Emil Und Die Detektive
(1931), and am very interested in seeing more. The films you mentioned all sound very interesting, and I shall try to seek them out."Barney SloaneThat's my new nameMy old one's a little more Italian." -
CanterburyTale — 9 years ago(November 02, 2016 04:45 AM)
Prix De Beaute
(1929).I had the pleasure of seeing this wonderful Louise Brooks film, as part of an event discussing the transition from Silent to Sound in European films.It was absolutely stunning, beautifully directed and performed.Louise Brooks was mesmerising, and the whole experience was enhanced by live accompaniment on piano and accordion. The only existing copy is taken from an Italian print, and missing scenes were replaced by muted frames from the sound version, but the end result was seamless, and the Italian inter-titles (and on screen French text) were translated on a separate screen above the film.Not as distracting or confusing as it sounds. I hope that this becomes available on DVD some day, as it is a truly sublime piece of work that deserves to be seen by a wider audience.
"Barney SloaneThat's my new nameMy old one's a little more Italian." -
Holypunq — 9 years ago(December 02, 2016 02:19 AM)
Like most of it's silent stars, this thread is dead! To liven it up here is a selection of obscure silent films watched in November:
The Captive (1915, Cecil B. DeMille)
The Captive (1915) is one of those lucky pictures that was presumed lost and eventually got preserved for re-release 100 years after it's original premier. A missing piece among Cecil B. DeMille's early films. And it turns out to be fine melodrama. Perhaps nothing exceptional for the period, but respect for not choosing one of the more glamorous conflicts to set it's story. Blanche Sweet looks the part and House Peters never looked more handsome. Far cry from DeMille's series of marriage comedies which would start a few years later before he got his epic kick.
5/10
Hasta después de muerta ['Til After Her Death] (1916, Ernesto Gunche & Eduardo Martinez de la Pera)
Surprisingly well done film considering it's a Argentinian feature film from as early as 1916. Given the period it's not the easiest of films to get underneath the emotions of the story, but at the same time it's not the most difficult of plots to follow and the acting is good, almost natural. One is dependent on subtitles for there is a lot of reading needed to get the right mood. Once you have them, this can be a intriguing one to seek out if interested in early South American film.
4/10
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1919, Hugh Ford)
The dramatic portion of Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1919) wasn't really interesting. This was more for those little adorable things the the old ladies, children and of course the main attraction - Marguerite Clark. A actress who's works are mostly lost. Only her Snow White (1916) is widely available, but Mrs. Wiggs shows she wasn't just a one hit wonder. A sweet little film where she shines nicely.
4/10
Maksim Maksimich (1927, Vladimir Barsky)
Another barely known Soviet silent. This one from the Georgian parts of the Soviet Union. And which is often the case, not the easiest of viewings. Some parts are tragic enough to get the imagination flowing, but in a way I felt they were hamming it so the effect wasn't all that strong.
3/10
Bela (1927, Vladimir Barsky)
Apparently these are a series of Georgian films and I'm watching them in reverse order. Perhaps Maksim Maksimich (1927) would have made more sense had I watched it after Bela (1927). Unfortunately I'm unsure of the availability of the first in the trilogy Tavadis asuli Meri (1926). Regardless Bela was a fairly good composition of love and tragedy. Visually some strong moments and even teasing some nudity as a added attraction. Story wise sad, though not engaging enough. Still it shows that Soviet states could produce well crafted movies just as mother Russia.
4/10
Gospoda Skotininy (1927, Grigoriy Roshal)
A bubbly Soviet comedy about those poor lower-class people and stupid rich folks. Quite enjoyable in it's way, before it ends in true Communist fashion, without a smile and a rebels revolution against the establishment.
4/10
Bolnye nervy (1929, Noi Galkin)
A Soviet health warning! Starts off as a typical office drama follow a man, a smoking wreck, about to have a nervous breakdown from stress at work and at home. Then it turns into documentary mode with doctors explaining health warnings and how to deal with them. General health tips. Once that was over this becomes a rare film without a "Russian ending" as they show the positive results of listening to your doctor with all smiles and family bliss.
3/10
Sopernitsy [Rivals] (1929, Aleksey A. Dmitriev)
Cute in it's rural ways, but not exactly the most polished movie making one'll ever see. except for one exceptional scene. One of alluring nature. No nudity, but during the courting one of the women cuts a wound on her breast and fools her suitor to suck on it to extract the alleged poison (or something to that effect). Almost shocking, but brilliant moment in what was otherwise forgettable Soviet movie.
3/10
Poslednij attraktsion (1929, Ivan Pravov & Olga Preobrazhenskaya)
A surprisingly well-crafted and largely unknown Soviet silent from the directorial duo that brought us the more known Baby ryazanskie [Women of Ryazan] (1927), nicely restored too, following a traveling circus during the revolutionary turbulence in Russia. Could possibly have built more tension up to the climax, but besides that it's both captivating and easy to follow story. Wonderful acting too. Loved the old clown! Poslednij attraktsion (1929) deserves a larger audience!
6/10 -
Holypunq — 9 years ago(December 06, 2016 07:23 AM)
Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (1900)
Funny how sound and color was a part of the absolute earliest experimental years of cinema, and it still took nearly 40 years before sound became the standard and even longer before color became cheap enough to become the norm. This series of shorts of various popular entertainers at the turn of the century was filmed and shown at the 1900 Paris World's Fair to promote the new media using cylinder sound rotators synchronized with colored 3 minute sequences of someone dancing, singing or doing comedy. Not all the prints exists the way they were shown, but the few that combines all three aspects of picture, sound and color this presentation was eye opening.
4/10 -
Holypunq — 9 years ago(December 06, 2016 11:10 AM)
The Children in the House (1916, Chester M. Franklin & Sidney Franklin)
Norma Talmadge's The Children in the House (1916) is a imaginative attempt at the 'wrong marriage' story. Overall not a amazing film, but the fantasy scene and bits & pieces does tingle the brain a little bit. I rarely have much expectation for Norma's films, which is a good thing, for they are usually fairly average stuff only sensationalized by the Talmadge-mafia. However, what was amazing was seeing a almost thin Eugene Pallette! You know, the gruff voiced character actor from 1930s films that looked like a balloon.
4/10