Modern Times (1936) dir. Charlie Chaplin. USA. So it goes, and mighty pleasantly, too, with Charlie keeping faith with his old public by bringing back the tricks he used so well when the cinema was very young, and by extending his following among the moderns by employing devices new to the clown dynasty. If you need … Continue reading Film 37: Modern Times
Tag: silent
Film 23: City Lights
City Lights (1931) dir. Charlie Chaplin. USA. If only one of Charles Chaplin's films could be preserved, “City Lights” (1931) would come the closest to representing all the different notes of his genius. It contains the slapstick, the pathos, the pantomime, the effortless physical coordination, the melodrama, the bawdiness, the grace, and, of course, the … Continue reading Film 23: City Lights
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 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
Film 9: The Gold Rush
The Gold Rush (1924) dir. Charlie Chaplin. USA. 'The Tramp—small, innocent, beleaguered, romantic, oblivious, resourceful, idealistic—lives inside everyone, but Charlie Chaplin made him manifest, with humor that is never cruel, never aggressive, and always speaks to our best selves. The Gold Rush takes the Tramp, in his longest outing to date, from rags to riches, … Continue reading Film 9: The Gold Rush
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