Alright, boys and girls. So it’s difficult to say whether it’s any good, but here it is! If you’re curious, click the link below for a PDF of the script. We’ll post longer thoughts on the whole thing tomorrow, but right now we’re going to bed. Off the Record
Tag: screenwriting
WE’RE BACK!
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 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 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
Film 8: The Last Laugh
The Last Laugh (1924) dir. F. W. Murnau. Germany. 'F.W. Murnau's "The Last Laugh" (1924) tells this story in one of the most famous of silent films, and one of the most truly silent, because it does not even use printed intertitles. Silent directors were proud of their ability to tell a story through pantomime … Continue reading Film 8: The Last Laugh
Film 6: Souls For Sale
1 Souls for Sale (1923) dir. Rupert Hughes. USA. 'This is a prime example of the mid-range entertainment Hollywood was producing so skillfully at the time. Filled with actors who were then stars, fast-moving, entertaining, with a spectacular circus action sequence at the climax, it is drama, melodrama, romance and satire all at once -- … Continue reading Film 6: Souls For Sale
Film 1: Cabiria
Cabiria (1914) dir. Giovanni Pastrone. Italy. [As we work our way through our film history docket, we'll post (very) short write-ups of each movie, along with a piece of insight.] "The movie feels old, and by that I mean older than 1914. It feels like a view of ancient times, or at least of those … Continue reading Film 1: Cabiria
Film History Docket
Here it is! 365 films for 365 days. These are all significant movies that we haven't seen, taken (largely) from one of three lists. First, the 2012 Sight & Sound Best Films list, as voted on by prominent critics and directors. We combined the critics list and the directors list, eliminated duplicates, and eliminated films … Continue reading Film History Docket
Movie in a Weekend 