My Journey Through Silent Cinema

[B-side]

http://www.satanspace.com/m_pictures/silent-film-weirdness.gif

It's here, folks! The thread you've been asking for. That thread you've been harassing me constantly about, saying, "Hey Brightside, you crazy cool cat, when are you gonna jive with us and do that silent film thread of yours?"

Well, your wish is my command. In this thread I shall post my scatterbrained, semi-coherent, poorly-written thoughts on the silent films I'll be watching. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Brightside old chap, don't we already have a thread dedicated to silent films, moreover, why can't these thoughts simply go into the ginormous film discussion thread?" The answer is that I gain less in the way of negative exposure by simply posting a few sentences in that behemoth of a thread than I would by dedicating a thread to my excursions. Now you're thinking, "Brightside, my good friend whom I would do anything for, you sound like a masochist of sorts." You'd be right, but frankly, I find your inference offensive and tactless. I hope you're ashamed.

Now that THAT'S over with, onto the films!

[B-side]

http://i45.tinypic.com/160r785.jpg

A Man There Was (Sjöström, 1917)

A Man There Was -- my first Sjöström -- was so aesthetically pleasing. The gorgeous waves crashing on the Norwegian coast sent chills down my spine. I would also like to say that I'm a big fan of the tinting being done on silents. It's such a simple, yet effective way of creating a contrast, and it does kind of liven up some of the less formally interesting shots of the era. The tinting goes hand in hand here with the beautiful locations to win me over fairly easily. That said, the narrative is where the meat is, and it's a rather compelling portrait of karma and the passion one man felt for his family. It's fairly straightforward stuff, but it works well and maintains a good pace.

[ledfloyd]

good luck. silents are one of the areas i'm extremely lacking in. though a few that i've seen i've really dug (chaplin, keaton, sunrise, hell's hinges)

[Mysterious Dude]

Ingeborg Holm is my favorite Sjöström film. Just devestating. (edit: Actually, I just remembered that he directed The Scarlet Letter. I might have to go with that one.)

I've called Sjöström the John Cassavetes of the silent ere.

[soitgoes...]

Yeah, Sjöström is one of my favorites. At one time I think I even said better than Murnau. Probably not an accurate statement, but he's still deserving of any attention he can get. Besides the films Antoine mentioned, check out The Wind, The Monastery of Sendomir and of course The Phantom Carriage.

[soitgoes...]

I've called Sjöström the John Cassavetes of the silent ere.
Wow. I guess I do need to finally watch a Cassavetes film.

[B-side]

http://i48.tinypic.com/168iz37.jpg

The Outlaw and His Wife (Sjöström, 1918)

This film continues Sjöström's fascination with average people being put in extreme ethical and moral situations, and much like A Man There Was, the key moral decision is decided within the proximity of a child. The decision isn't a tough one to make, but the desperation of the times complicates these matters. Sjöström seems to be touching on matters of determinism as his outlaw character was destined to be found out no matter where he went or how well he hid. One can see how his truncated relationship with his mother finds its way into his narratives. Sjöström himself is again the highlight here in terms of screen presence and acting ability, and his transformations are fun to watch. While life as an outlaw in the beautiful mountains proved much more engaging than the domestic drama, this is still overall quite good.

[soitgoes...]

http://i48.tinypic.com/168iz37.jpg

The Outlaw and His Wife (Sjöström, 1918)
I haven't seen this one yet. Sounds good.

[B-side]

Got some Pabst downloading right now -- Secrets of the Soul. It was Pabst's way of capitalizing on the public's newfound fascination with psychoanalysis, and Pabst hired two of Freud's assistant's to help create the dream sequences. I'm excited. A lot of these Pabst films have great-looking transfers.

[soitgoes...]

Got some Pabst downloading right now -- Secrets of the Soul. It was Pabst's way of capitalizing on the public's newfound fascination with psychoanalysis, and Pabst hired two of Freud's assistant's to help create the dream sequences. I'm excited. A lot of these Pabst films have great-looking transfers.Outside of the dream sequence, I have little recollection of this movie. I rated it a 6, so my indifference to it when I saw it, probably translates into my largely forgetting it now.

[Yxklyx]

http://www.satanspace.com/m_pictures/silent-film-weirdness.gif

Funny, I just rewatched this movie a few hours before you posted this.

[B-side]

Outside of the dream sequence, I have little recollection of this movie. I rated it a 6, so my indifference to it when I saw it, probably translates into my largely forgetting it now.

That's no good. It'll be my first Pabst.

[soitgoes...]

That's no good. It'll be my first Pabst.

There's definitely better places to start with him. Who knows though? Our tastes in film aren't exactly the same.

[B-side]

http://i50.tinypic.com/16iu0jo.jpg

Blind Husbands (Stroheim, 1919)

The title would seem to indicate something far more judgmental than what I ended up seeing. Blind Husbands sees Stroheim asking, "what of the husband?" in a scenario in which the wife steps out on her husband for another man. Everyone is quick to blame the other guy, but who's really responsible? Thankfully, Stroheim acknowledges that there's no black and white in these situations, and the film benefits greatly from not pointing a finger in any one direction. Which brings me to a particularly interesting dream sequence in which the wife pictures a laughing lieutenant von Steuben (the great Stroheim himself, villainous and manipulative), followed by nothing but a hand shrouded in darkness that turns its finger and points it straight at her. The climax takes place atop The Pinnacle, a mountain notoriously difficult to climb, lying at God's feet, "where man forgets his baser self and the soul beneath his mind grows clean." In a way, von Steuben was exactly what this marriage needed.

[B-side]

I have a feeling this Stroheim fella and I are going to get along just fine.

[B-side]

http://i49.tinypic.com/b5jxwx.jpg

Secrets of a Soul (Pabst, 1926)

My first Pabst was a psychological thriller capitalizing on the newfound fascination with psychoanalysis by way of Freud. Secrets of a Soul is technically great, though Pabst's characters receive less attention, and the film suffers from trying to balance its preoccupation with psychoanalytical games with its attempt at creating a few compelling characters. For the most part, though, the film is an effectively moody thriller with some great imagery.

http://i48.tinypic.com/2rr5s7r.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/294m00n.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/33m3oeu.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/15xlogp.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/33aylbo.jpg

Most of the footage contained a sort of warm glow akin to being lit by a fireplace (see below for a particularly excellent example of that effect). That was rather pleasant.

http://i47.tinypic.com/zwysg0.jpg

[B-side]

http://i48.tinypic.com/2qs2pgh.jpg

I Don't Want to Be a Man (Lubitsch, 1918)

A spiffy little yarn in which Lubitsch expresses his distaste for excessive formality and early gender roles. Ossi Oswalda is incredibly charming and very funny. Quite cute, too.

http://i48.tinypic.com/2a0aofk.jpg

[Eleven]

I Don't Want to Be a Man (Lubitsch, 1918)


I saw this on the DVD with The Oyster Princess. Very funny and subversive.

[B-side]

I saw this on the DVD with The Oyster Princess. Very funny and subversive.

For sure. Have you seen The Doll? I prefer that one. Same basic ideas, better film overall. Oswalda's even funnier in that one.

[Melville]

My knowledge of silent cinema is evidently extremely poor, since I've never heard of any of the movies you're reviewed thus far. After glancing over what you haven't seen on icheckmovies, I recommend the following:

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Our Hospitality
Girl Shy
Pandora's Box
The Unknown
Napoleon

[soitgoes...]

My knowledge of silent cinema is evidently extremely poor, since I've never heard of any of the movies you're reviewed thus far. After glancing over what you haven't seen on icheckmovies, I recommend the following:

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Our Hospitality
Girl Shy
Pandora's Box
The Unknown
Napoleon
To these (all good/great BTW) I'd add, without knowing if you've seen them or not:

Big Business (L&H at their peak)
The Crowd
Docks of New York
Ménilmontant <---if you haven't seen this Brightside, I think this is totally you
Faust
The Scarlet Letter (The Wind is another good Sjöström)
The Big Parade (Vidor might be the best silent American director)
The Last Laugh
The Frogs Who Wanted a King
The Phantom Carriage
The Dying Swan (Bauer is perfect for you! All of his stuff is under an hour long. Amazing stuff for pre-1920 film.)

I had a bunch of Keaton and Chaplin, but really most of their feature work up through 1928 is top notch. I left off the more talked about silents.

[Melville]

Ménilmontant <---if you haven't seen this Brightside, I think this is totally you
The Frogs Who Wanted a King

I'll second those recommendations. Here's a few more that you might not have seen, Brightside:

Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
The Goat
The Play House
Ballet mecanique
Entr'acte
Emak-Bakia
The Circus

[B-side]

I'll second those recommendations. Here's a few more that you might not have seen, Brightside:

Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
The Goat
The Play House
Ballet mecanique
Entr'acte
Emak-Bakia
The Circus

Seen and loved the bottom 3. I'm a big Man Ray fan. I'll look into the rest of you guys' recs. Thanks.:)

[B-side]

For Winsor McCay, does that title cover his complete works? Apparently everything he's done put together is only an hour and a half.

[B-side]

I wish these recs would've came later. I have way too much stuff downloaded/downloading already!:lol:

[soitgoes...]

For Winsor McCay, does that title cover his complete works? Apparently everything he's done put together is only an hour and a half.
The one Melville listed is also known as Little Nemo.

[soitgoes...]

I wish these recs would've came later. I have way too much stuff downloaded/downloading already!:lol:

Well, they'll still be here when you need them. I can promise you that in the future I won't un-recommend any of the films I've already recommended you. :)

[B-side]

The one Melville listed is also known as Little Nemo.

Ah, OK. KG won't let me pick that one out of the rest, so it'll have to wait, but I'm excited to check out some early animation.

[B-side]

Well, they'll still be here when you need them. I can promise you that in the future I won't un-recommend any of the films I've already recommended you. :)

Haha, fair enough.:P

[soitgoes...]

Ah, OK. KG won't let me pick that one out of the rest, so it'll have to wait, but I'm excited to check out some early animation.Well if you don't mind you tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcSp2ej2S00&NR).

[B-side]

Well if you don't mind you tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcSp2ej2S00&NR).

I don't mind. I'll watch it and give a few thoughts here momentarily.

[B-side]

http://i45.tinypic.com/rvbj2p.jpg

Little Nemo (McCay/Blackton, 1911)

Not sure there's much to say about this one. It's an amusing look at one of, if not, the first cartoons ever made. McCay's colleagues mock his ambition, yet he promises 4,000 drawings that will move in a month from that date. It's one of those silent films where you can feel the exuberance, the wide-eyed enthusiasm of the possibilities of the medium. Seeing those drawings move was very cool.

[B-side]

I'll probably knock out another silent or two tonight. Probably Seven Chances and The Dying Swan.

[B-side]

http://i48.tinypic.com/dvsjer.jpg

Seven Chances (Keaton, 1925)

What is the obsession with 7 here? Not sure I get it. A man stands to inherit 7 million if he marries by 7pm on his 27th birthday. He has 7 chances to do so with various women he's acquainted with. This, and what leads up to it, are pure gold. During the wooing scenes, I was ready to declare this my favorite Keaton of the 3 I've seen. Sherlock Jr. and The Camerman were both great in their own right, but neither brought about the laughs this one did. The racist bits are troubling in retrospect, but it's hard not to laugh at Keaton being spooked by a black man taking the place of his reflection. And how can anyone take blackface seriously? Admittedly, I was a bit put off by him being repulsed at the thought of asking a black woman to marry him.

Still, that's a minor quibble at best. The biggest issue lied in the extended chase sequence that consumed almost half the running time. Far from tedious or lacking in fun, but the real laughter came from the little things like him accidentally looking at the will with the lawyer's glasses, or walking into the secretary's booth instead of his door. Keaton sure knew how to pick women, though, and his nimbleness never ceases to amaze. I think it's best to look at the film as fate. Better that way so the scenarios he finds himself in feel less contrived.

[B-side]

http://i48.tinypic.com/mbh3xy.jpg

The Dying Swan (Bauer, 1917)

This macabre piece about a ballerina nicknamed "The Dying Swan" and her relationship with a man that left her for a woman that could talk and an artist with a strange obsession with death is moody stuff. Sadly, that mood changes from unease to boredom, and even the occasional bit of unintentional humor, which kinda cheapens some moments of the film. I was pleasantly surprised to see 2 instances in which the camera moved back to track the action on screen. Makes me wonder what Bauer could've accomplished with better technology. Probably didn't help the film that I couldn't stop thinking about Seven Chances.:P

[Melville]

you can feel the exuberance, the wide-eyed enthusiasm of the possibilities of the medium. Seeing those drawings move was very cool.
Yes. Also, McCay is possibly the greatest cartoonist ever, though his brilliant designs don't come through in his animation. Have you read any of his comics?

[soitgoes...]

Haha, I think I should give up on recommending you films to watch. Or perhaps when I watch something I find mediocre or bad, I should recommend that to you. ;)

[B-side]

Yes. Also, McCay is possibly the greatest cartoonist ever, though his brilliant designs don't come through in his animation. Have you read any of his comics?

I haven't. I will now, though.

[B-side]

Haha, I think I should give up on recommending you films to watch. Or perhaps when I watch something I find mediocre or bad, I should recommend that to you. ;)

Actually, The Dying Swan seemed like something I'd love in theory. So please, don't give up.:P

[Qrazy]

Have you seen or has anyone rec'd Dovzhenko's Earth?

[Derek]

Have you seen or has anyone rec'd Dovzhenko's Earth?

Seconded.

[B-side]

Have you seen or has anyone rec'd Dovzhenko's Earth?

I've seen it, but it was a long time ago. I owe it a rewatch.

[B-side]

The Red Spectre (Chomón/Zecca, 1907)

Essentially, this film is a 9 minute magic show. It'd be easy to dismiss it as such, but the magic here isn't typical magic. It's movie magic. The tricks? Editing. Special effects. Costumes. Much like Little Nemo, the excitement over what this newfangled medium is capable of doing is at full capacity. The Europeans were experimenting with the medium long before Griffith was, and here's your proof. This is pretty terrific stuff. There's a crappy tinted version on YouTube if you don't wanna download it. Now for some screencaps:


http://i50.tinypic.com/8ygl0j.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/2yywaxc.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/i19q1h.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/i36sdy.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/2yvw4qq.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/35lf6g7.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/29fwnit.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/o5cmlt.jpg

[B-side]

I gotta thank soitgoes for starting me on Brownlow's Hollywood as I wouldn't have seen this film so soon had I not watched episode 1 which has this featured in it.

Strangely, I recall seeing footage from this film in a TV show. If I'm thinking correctly, it followed some sort of joke about what Hell is like.

[soitgoes...]

I gotta thank soitgoes for starting me on Brownlow's Hollywood as I wouldn't have seen this film so soon had I not watched episode 1 which has this featured in it.

Aw, you're just trying to butter me up after my failed recommendations. :P

[B-side]

Aw, you're just trying to butter me up after my failed recommendations. :P

Ha. Nah, I just really ended up enjoying it. If I were a more confident writer, I'd attempt to make the case that The Red Spectre is a sort of deconstruction of film and film narrative. The elements are there, and there were enough films up to that point to convince me someone was looking to deconstruct the medium, and considering how the Europeans were already way ahead of the US, it makes sense historically as well. Or maybe I'm insane. Either situation is possible.

[soitgoes...]

Ha. Nah, I just really ended up enjoying it. If I were a more confident writer, I'd attempt to make the case that The Red Spectre is a sort of deconstruction of film and film narrative. The elements are there, and there were enough films up to that point to convince me someone was looking to deconstruct the medium, and considering how the Europeans were already way ahead of the US, it makes sense historically as well. Or maybe I'm insane. Either situation is possible.

Well to add to your viewing list, Brownlow also did a European version of the Hollywood series. It's quite good too, but I'm not a fan of how he broke it down, one episode for each country (only 4 countries covered, one of which is GB but not Russia/USSR?!?). It isn't as in-depth as his Hollywood series.

[B-side]

Well to add to your viewing list, Brownlow also did a European version of the Hollywood series. It's quite good too, but I'm not a fan of how he broke it down, one episode for each country (only 4 countries covered, one of which is GB but not Russia/USSR?!?). It isn't as in-depth as his Hollywood series.

I've only watched the first episode of the other one, so it'll be a bit before I get to that, but I'll look into it. Thanks.:)

[B-side]

Foolish Wives (Stroheim, 1922)

Stroheim once again plays the manipulative foreigner in Foolish Wives, his tale of post-war Europe and the faux-aristocracy it attracts. Karamzin (Stroheim) and his 2 "cousins" aka mistresses con an American couple into buddying up with them to help secure their image all the while Karamzin swindles the wife and repeatedly attempts to rape her. Stroheim cursorily links the war to the situation in the film, perhaps pointing a passing finger in the direction of the men with power for the situation in Europe at that point. Black/Darkness, birds and crosses serve as slightly vague metaphors, or at least that's what I'm assuming. Kinda hard to really put some of this together considering how butchered this film is. You always take a big risk in creating a film centered around hateful, selfish people, and never once allowing the audience the chance to see them redeem themselves, but I'd say for the most part, what we do end up getting in this cut of the film, is enticing and intense.

And because you know me, below are some examples of some excellent compositions seen early in the film:


http://i45.tinypic.com/1zefiu9.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/eb3sbn.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/t6thet.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/2ynm5w9.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/2s68yde.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/102p9w5.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/htabdc.jpg

[B-side]

I'll be watching Keaton's The Goat at some point in the next few hours. I also have October, The Seashell and the Clergyman and Faust in the pipeline.

[soitgoes...]

The Seashell and the Clergyman
I wondered if you were gonna see this one. I just saw it pop up on KG, and thought immediately that this is a movie for Brightside. :lol:

[B-side]

I wondered if you were gonna see this one. I just saw it pop up on KG, and thought immediately that this is a movie for Brightside. :lol:

Indeed. I'd known about it for a while, but there was only a DVDR up until just, like, today, so I nabbed it.

[B-side]

http://i49.tinypic.com/2psf51u.jpg

The Goat (Keaton/St. Clair, 1921)

A rather funny Keaton short that altered between hilarious and decent. I lost it right in the beginning when he was lined up behind the mannequins.

[Melville]

A rather funny Keaton short that altered between hilarious and decent.
Jeez, I found The Goat to be far and away Keaton's funniest film, as well as his most formally interesting (except maybe The Playhouse).

[B-side]

Jeez, I found The Goat to be far and away Keaton's funniest film, as well as his most formally interesting (except maybe The Playhouse).

I laughed. That's all I can ask for. How is it formally interesting? Struck me as typical Keaton. Maybe some commentary with the melting clay horse. Kinda seems like a stretch, though.

[B-side]

Watching Faust right now. Starting to get pretty bored with it.

[soitgoes...]

Oh dear.

[B-side]

Oh dear.

I figured that wouldn't go over well.:P

[B-side]

Faust (Murnau, 1926)

I'm starting to think I'm just never gonna be all that taken with the horror genre, let alone silent horror. You know the story, Mephisto and Archangel make a pact over the fate of Faust... love conquers all, etc. Mephisto always looks constipated. His presence took away from my enjoyment of the film. He's kinda neat in devil form, but as a "human" he's just inane. Faust himself was a helluva lot more compelling as an older guy. I began to lose interest slowly once the central romance began. Then there was that stupid relationship between Mephisto and the fat chick. During the beginning, I was really enjoying it. Perhaps I just wasn't really in the mood for a film. Oh well. Pretty screencaps to follow:


http://i49.tinypic.com/346nyon.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/win9y8.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/x4gdww.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/261p406.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/152owmx.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/rsh2sg.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/685x8h.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/2ikuko5.jpg

[Mysterious Dude]

I began to lose interest slowly once the central romance began.
The same thing happened to me. I think I liked the guy better as an old man.

[B-side]

The same thing happened to me. I think I liked the guy better as an old man.

Yup. That's what I said, too. Nice to know I'm not alone.

[Melville]

I laughed. That's all I can ask for. How is it formally interesting? Struck me as typical Keaton. Maybe some commentary with the melting clay horse. Kinda seems like a stretch, though.
I liked its use of the frame to create comedy: the cut from Keaton standing behind the mannequins to the wide shot showing how far he was from the bread line; the car that concealed Keaton suddenly driving out of frame, pursued by Keaton and then by his pursuers. I also like the constant emphasis on motion, on sudden changes of the structure of the situation: Keaton clutches onto a spare tire at the back of a car, only to find the car driving off without the tire; Keaton waves goodbye from the back of a caboose, only to find that the caboose isn't attached to the train; the rocks suddenly falling through a truck bed. I also liked Keaton sitting on a train's cow catcher, riding it straight toward the viewer and ending up only inches from the camera. I think all of the above are formally interesting. There are also a lot of gags that rely directly on the form of film as visual representation: Keaton standing in front of a WANTED poster that fills the whole screen; the mannequins he mistakes for people; him pretending to be a part of a statue, only to find the statue sagging beneath him; and him controlling the elevator using the dials over the doors. The whole film uses film form to present a very plastic, elastic reality, where everything is constantly changing and not playing by the rules that we expect of it. All of this is found in Keaton's other films, but not in such a frantically dense package.

I also found Faust to be a bit of a bore.

[Mysterious Dude]

Yup. That's what I said, too. Nice to know I'm not alone.
Sorry. For some reason I only read that one sentence of your post, and felt I had to opine.

[Qrazy]

Faust is great. All three of you suck.

[B-side]

I liked its use of the frame to create comedy: the cut from Keaton standing behind the mannequins to the wide shot showing how far he was from the bread line; the car that concealed Keaton suddenly driving out of frame, pursued by Keaton and then by his pursuers. I also like the constant emphasis on motion, on sudden changes of the structure of the situation: Keaton clutches onto a spare tire at the back of a car, only to find the car driving off without the tire; Keaton waves goodbye from the back of a caboose, only to find that the caboose isn't attached to the train; the rocks suddenly falling through a truck bed. I also liked Keaton sitting on a train's cow catcher, riding it straight toward the viewer and ending up only inches from the camera. I think all of the above are formally interesting. There are also a lot of gags that rely directly on the form of film as visual representation: Keaton standing in front of a WANTED poster that fills the whole screen; the mannequins he mistakes for people; him pretending to be a part of a statue, only to find the statue sagging beneath him; and him controlling the elevator using the dials over the doors. The whole film uses film form to present a very plastic, elastic reality, where everything is constantly changing and not playing by the rules that we expect of it. All of this is found in Keaton's other films, but not in such a frantically dense package.

I also found Faust to be a bit of a bore.

I appreciate the thoughts. I do find myself seeing what you loved in retrospect. Best to pay no mind to my ratings. They're wacky.:P

[TripZone]

Do not listen to Brightside's lies.

[B-side]

Do not listen to Brightside's lies.

Nooo. I have a relatively clean image here. Don't go spoiling it.:sad::lol:

[TripZone]

Nooo. I have a relatively clean image here. Don't go spoiling it.:sad::lol:

I see you don't mind rating here.

[B-side]

I see you don't mind rating here.

They complained about me not rating, so I caved, as per the usual. Thinking about stopping and telling them to politely die in a fire.

[TripZone]

They complained about me not rating, so I caved, as per the usual. Thinking about stopping and telling them to politely die in a fire.

Such a pushover.

And eww, silents. They aren't even in widescreen let alone colour let alone shot in digital with badass CGI.

[B-side]

Such a pushover.

And eww, silents. They aren't even in widescreen let alone colour let alone shot in digital with badass CGI.

i no rite

[monolith94]

Seeing Faust in a theater really helped it out alot. I don't think I would've liked it as much on a smaller screen...

[B-side]

Downloading a bunch of early experimental film. Don't expect much in the way of reviews for these. Mostly screenshots. Hopefully someone is appreciating all the screengrabs I've taken and will continue taking.

[B-side]

The Cameraman's Revenge was kinda neat. Starewicz used insects to weave his tale of beetle infidelity. Only problem being that it's often difficult to glean any sort of emotion from the insects despite Starewicz attempts to pantomime them, so what happens is pretty muddled.

[B-side]

Autumn Mists (Kirsanoff, 1929)

Melancholic perusing of an autumnal wasteland of sorts.

http://i48.tinypic.com/23r7d6g.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/2hdy03n.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/2zjfdit.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/219ulc1.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/2n84rqa.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/jah18y.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/27xl0ud.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/s25cea.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/6plox3.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/2m5o0vr.jpg

Aesthetically, this was wonderful. Very moody, very nostalgic. Excellent image quality helped.

Rating: 7.5

[B-side]

Rhythmus 21 (Richter) isn't really worth mentioning. It's a 3 minute abstract animation featuring squares and rectangles manifesting themselves in various ways throughout the frame. The music was cool at least.

Rating: 3

The Return to Reason (M. Ray) was a rewatch this time around, and I still like it a lot. Unfiltered dadaism. The title is pure irony.

Rating: 7

Not sure if I should be doing a new post for every new film. Seems like a bit much. Does anyone mind the screencaps?

[TripZone]

Pretty.

[B-side]

Emak-Bakia (M. Ray, 1926): Also a rewatch as I've seen all of Man Ray's films, though not his home movies. The Return to Reason was merely a primer for this bit of inspired dadaist excellence. Various shapes and figures find themselves distorted and manipulated to incredibly hypnotic and psycho-sexual fashion. This is reality filtered through the mind and eyes of Man Ray. Even better the 2nd time around, I say. It's definitely among the 10-15 best films I've seen this year.

Rating: 9

http://i50.tinypic.com/oqd2qq.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/2mhba0.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/2z3wbw3.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/29qjjvn.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/33588yf.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/wahlcp.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/a0uvbt.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/29u8oi.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/15370qb.jpg

[B-side]

Manhatta (Strand/Sheeler, 1921): A portrait of Manhattan. A city in the midst of the machine age. Hordes of people in nearly identical clothing walk en masse to their respective jobs. To their next meeting. To their wife and kids. Machines compete. Architecture towers above any and all. Smoke billows from smoke stacks and steam ships. This is Manhattan. This is also a good film with even better photography.

Rating: 7.5

http://i49.tinypic.com/1zygrs.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/flxb0w.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/hx1xs7.jpg

[Melville]

Emak-Bakia (M. Ray, 1926)
I just rewatched this one. I think it's even better than I remembered it being. The images are transfixing and astoundingly beautiful. Two things stand out:

The first is the way the film blurs the distinction between non-representation and representation. It begins with a shot of abstract, fuzzy lights that were presumably created directly on the film; it then cuts to a shot of a flower-filled field. The use of a match-cut rather than a dissolve maintains a sufficient difference between the two shots to distinguish the ontological roles of the images, but there is such a striking similarity between them that those roles are made ambiguous. Later, there's a shot of a metallic object standing on a rotating disk, such that the object appears periodically in the frame. When the object isn't present, the frame contains only an abstract play of light and shadow, but when the object appears, it is obvious that we are viewing a physical scene. The shot hence periodically morphs between non-representation and representation, such that each is contained in the other.

Shots and sequences like these appear throughout the film, purposefully dissolving or muddying the distinction between layers of "reality" and "representation". Similarly, the difference between human life and abstract, representative notions of it is distorted by shots showing things such as a human figure motion being mirrored by a representative, simplified set of lines. In another shot, human eyes are related to a car's headlights, amiguating other distinctions: between life and inanimate objects, light going in and light coming out, the perceiver and the perceived—though it's worth noting that early philosophers thought that light was emitted by the eyes.

The second thing that struck me is the capture of immediate experience. Certainly the shots of pure light, free of any objects, give the sense of pure sensory perception: not perception of something, but just the feeling of perceiving, the raw, undifferentiated sense. But even other shots—shots of blurred or skewed objects; shots of a sign in the darkness; shots of flowing water, both from above it and from within it—capture the feeling of just being there. They evoke those moments when one is just drifting in the feeling of one's surroundings, acutely aware of the sights and sounds rather than viewing them in terms of their constituent objects, with their objective uses and definitions. And repeated shots of a woman opening her eyes directly link the images to the idea of the perception of them.

In conjunction, these two aspects of the film create a dreamlike sense of ambiguous reality. I'd go so far as to say that it comes the closest of any work of art to achieving the surrealist's goal of directly capturing the unheralded, spontaneous movements of the mind, free of all the overlying structure of symbolism and rational thinking. And with the final shot, in which a woman slowly, repeatedly opens and closes her eyes, with her eyelids painted to look like her eyes, the film continues its process of dissolution by mixing the waking state with the dreaming one. The spontaneous, disconnected dreamstate is an inextricable part of the rational waking state, and vice versa.

[B-side]

Wow. Rep.

[B-side]

H2O (Steiner, 1929): This is exactly what you think it is. It's a film about water. Is water interesting enough to warrant a 12 minute film? Eh. Not particularly, if this is the best that can be done. There's little going on here formally except a succession of still shots of water in various places, mostly lakes, I think. Lot of emphasis on reflections and shadow. Meh.

Rating: 3

[B-side]

Ménilmontant (Kirsanoff, 1926): I'm feeling kinda out of it, and I need to rewatch this before coming to a more definitive stance on it, but this about sums it up:


Menilmontant, the best known and the most impressive film of the Russian émigré cellist, Dimitri Kirsanoff, takes its title from the working-class district of Paris where its drama occurs. This short film is remarkable for the honesty with which it represents seduction, jealousy, and prostitution, and, even more so, for its economical and powerful use of montage to narrate a complex story completely within intertitles.

[Yxklyx]

Recently rewatched Faust. The first half is excellent but then the melodramatic second half appears and damns it to hell.

I was underwhelmed with Emak Bakia - I thought Man Ray's The Starfish blew away all his other films.

[B-side]

Recently rewatched Faust. The first half is excellent but then the melodramatic second half appears and damns it to hell.

Yay more back-up.:P


I was underwhelmed with Emak Bakia - I thought Man Ray's The Starfish blew away all his other films.

That's a shame. I dig The Starfish, though.

[B-side]

Ghosts Before Breakfast (Richter, 1928): Richter was a kid in a candy shop when it came to film. Ghosts Before Breakfast is a step up from Rhythmus 21 is only by virtue of its scope, which isn't much, just broader and a bit more interesting than Rhythmus 21. Typical objects rebel against their routine to somewhat neat effect. The magic of a flying hat loses most of that magic when the strings attached to them make an appearance or two, though.

Rating: 5.5

[B-side]

http://i46.tinypic.com/2lz5oj.jpg

The President (Dreyer, 1919)

The President was Dreyer's first film period, yet it's no less Dreyer than Day of Wrath or The Passion of Joan of Arc. The moody lighting and moral ambiguity are in full force, running opposite the traditional religious belief system of black and white. Dreyer gives no hint to his own opinion, simply that these situations are never quite as simple as they seem. The President, focusing on marital customs, family history and a drawn out struggle with a woman's infanticide, feels like a primer for the likes of Day of Wrath. It's really pretty damn good.

[B-side]

http://i45.tinypic.com/vzakut.jpg

He Who Gets Slapped (Sjöström, 1924)

He Who Gets Slapped is a pretty great film. Easily the most expressionistic of the 3 Sjöström I've seen thus far. The film wonderfully takes on the subjects of masochism, the nature of entertainment and auteurism all at once. A daring feat, no doubt. The best of the 3 Sjöström I've seen as well. My first taste of Lon Chaney proved to be an excellent one.

[soitgoes...]

I still don't understand why I haven't seen this.

[B-side]

I still don't understand why I haven't seen this.

Neither do I.:P

[B-side]

http://i50.tinypic.com/r9jqjc.jpg

The General (Keaton/Bruckman, 1926)

This won't go over well, but I was kinda underwhelmed by The General. Probably my least favorite Keaton so far. It's fun, and it goes by quickly, but the romance was hard to get into and the humor was a bit lacking. That's not even to get into the fact that she was vapid and unworthy of Keaton's attention. Less train scenes, more humor and pathos please.

[soitgoes...]

Yeah...

[B-side]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QhCgu9IQAho/RvXhQk6NSUI/AAAAAAAAAbE/23Jy-3WVgB8/s400/Seastrom_TheWind_2.jpg

The Wind (Sjöström, 1928)

So, uh, yeah, this was fantastic. Sjöström paints a very tragic picture. One with only sprinkles of hope dashed throughout, like pepper onto... something not very tasty? In the beginning, on the train ride, a man tells Gish's character that the winds where she's going are especially harsh on women. This is where we first get introduced to the feminist aspects of the film. Her relationship with Beverly sees his wife seeking to get rid of her and her progressive nature, which we get a hint at when she laughs off marriage proposals from 2 men she barely knows. Man vs. nature is an ongoing theme in Sjöström's work, and it seems to have come to a full head here as the destructive wind seems intent on driving her crazy and/or out of the old west, where her ideals don't belong. The forced happy ending takes a bit away from the strength of the picture, but supposedly the original ending does exist in Europe and if what I read is correct, it's a lot more fitting.

[B-side]

http://i43.tinypic.com/qocc2o.jpg

The Kid (Chaplin, 1921)

Ahh, my return to Chaplin. It's been too long. Chaplin had lost his own first child prior to the shooting of this film, so the relationship between Coogan and Chaplin -- which was reportedly incredibly strong off set -- really takes on a tragic undertone. This is very funny, very heartwarming, very heartbreaking stuff. When the kid gets taken from Chaplin and they exchange those terrified glances... devastating. On the negative side, it was creepy seeing Chaplin kiss a 12 year old girl in a romantic fashion. He had the crew make her up to look a lot older. I wouldn't have guessed she was so young had I not known beforehand. But that's a small blemish on the visage of such a nice film.

[B-side]

http://i49.tinypic.com/34gsw45.jpg


The Unknown (Browning, 1927)
Nothing terribly interesting going on here formally, but it's always fun watching Chaney do his thing. The score is excellent, and the climax is intense. Not a bad way to spend 50 mins.