The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) dir. J. S. Watson, Jr. & Melville Webber. USA.An avant-garde experimental film, the visual element predominates, including shots through prisms to create optical distortion.[1] There is no dialogue, though one part features letters moving across the screen. -- Wikipedia (who else would write about this minor horror … Continue reading Film 17 (a): The Fall of the House of Usher
Film 17 (b): The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) dir. Jean Epstein. France. There are times when I think that of all the genres, the horror film most misses silence. The Western benefited from dialogue, and musicals and film noir are unthinkable without words. But in a classic horror film, almost anything you can say will … Continue reading Film 17 (b): The Fall of the House of Usher
Film 16: The Circus
The Circus (1928) dir. Charlie Chaplin. USA. Charlie Chaplin was a perfectionist in his films and a calamity in his private life. These two traits clashed as he was making "The Circus," one of his funniest films and certainly the most troubled. When he sat down to write his autobiography, he simply never mentioned it, … Continue reading Film 16: The Circus
Film 18: The Broadway Melody
The Broadway Melody (1929) dir. Harry Beaumont. USA. “Broadway Melody” has everything a silent picture should have outside of its dialog. A basic story with some sense to it, action, excellent direction, laughs, a tear, a couple of great performances and plenty of sex. It’s the fastest moving talker that’s come in, regardless of an … Continue reading Film 18: The Broadway Melody
Film 14: Wings
Wings (1927) dir. William A. Wellman. USA. "Ironically, a mass-market silent spectacular like William Wellman's Wings effortlessly showcases far more visual variety than mainstream American films have offered since: it displays shifts from brutal realism to nonrealistic techniques associated with Soviet avant-garde or impressionistic French cinema - double exposures, subjective point-of-view shots, trick effects, symbolic … Continue reading Film 14: Wings
Film 15: Un Chien Andalou
Un Chien Andalou (1928) dir. Luis Buñuel. France. Abigail: So. This exists. It is. That is all. I guess not actually, but this is my take away from the film. The image of a woman getting her eye sliced open is memorable, I suppose. My theory is Bunuel used this to launch his career, and … Continue reading Film 15: Un Chien Andalou
Film 13: The Passion of Joan of Arc
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer, France To modern audiences, raised on films where emotion is conveyed by dialogue and action more than by faces, a film like "The Passion of Joan of Arc” is an unsettling experience--so intimate we fear we will discover more secrets than we desire. Our … Continue reading Film 13: The Passion of Joan of Arc
Film 12: Faust
Faust (1926) dir. F.W. Murnau. Germany. Like all silent-film directors, Murnau was comfortable with special effects that were obviously artificial. The town beneath the wings of the dark angel is clearly a model, and when characters climb a steep street, there is no attempt to make the sharply angled buildings and rooflines behind them seem … Continue reading Film 12: Faust
Film 11: The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) dir. Rupert Julian. USA. "The Phantom of the Opera" is not a great film if you are concerned with art and subtlety, depth and message; "Nosferatu" is a world beyond it. But in its fevered melodrama and images of cadaverous romance, it finds a kind of show-biz majesty. And … Continue reading Film 11: The Phantom of the Opera
Film 10 : Greed
Greed (1925) dir. Erich von Stroheim. USA. 'Indeed the film is realistic. Opening scenes were shot in the very gold mine that Norris wrote about; it was reopened for the movie. The San Francisco dentist's office was not a set but a real second-floor office, which still exists. Von Stroheim could have shot his desert scenes … Continue reading Film 10 : Greed
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