Best Silents I Saw In 2005
mikeg...@gmail.com
As my silent DVDs continue to pile up, a lot of candidates I ought to
have seen, like Hindle Wakes or more of the Arbuckle stuff, I haven't
yet. The winners on DVD I would say are two very late silents which
both have somewhat thin stories but overcome them through sheer force
of directorial panache and female-lead erotic power, E.A. Dupont's
PICCADILLY and Joe May's ASPHALT (seen on an R2 release). It helps
that both are in excellent prints (a little grainy in Asphalt's case,
but very clear and with good tonal range).
The best silent out of total left field was CAPTAIN SALVATION. A
riproaring adventure with a moral dimension which gives it dramatic
heft but never gets in the way of the riproaring, powerfully acted by
Lars Hanson and directed (the first real standout film I've seen by
him) by John S. Robertson. I never heard of this, you never heard of
this, but TCM threw it on one night and, wow.
Another, not quite as unknown as Captain Salvation but certainly not
widely seen until its video release, was Dreyer's MICHAEL. Subtle,
grownup cinema that could just as easily have been a 1950s art film in
many ways.
The other movie that really stuck with me was from Cinesation, Lois
Weber's WHAT'S WORTH WHILE? (See my Cinesation report for details.)
Partly because the fact that it's somewhat incomplete means it will
never get much play, yet it's quite a powerful film, and a gorgeous
35mm print from LOC. The other festivals ought to consider this, it
would certainly bear a second showing on the circuit.
Disappointments? Murnau's PHANTOM (a less convincing straight version
of Michael), the two famously rescued Howard Hughes films, THE RACKET
(weak material far below other Chicago gangster tales of the time,
though Thomas Meighan was quite good) and TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS (what was
Oscar thinking?) Oh well, they can't all be Captain Salvation.
And yours?
ejfa...@aol.com
FRESHMAN (I first saw that 3 years ago)
BROKEN BLOSSOMS with Lillian Gish
THE PLAYHOUSE with Buster Keaton
I hope TCM continues their tradition of Silent Sunday Nights, but I'd
like it better if it were more than just once a week.
milefilms
my favorite silent was THE WOMAN HE SCORNED (1929, Paul Czinner,
aka/The Way of Lost Souls).
As for "classics," it would have to be WENT THE DAY WELL which I missed
in Syracuse but saw in a nice 35mm print this year.
Dennis
Milestone F&V
gmac...@wi.rr.com
THROUGH THE BACK DOOR (1921)
BARBED WIRE (1927)
THE DIVINE LADY (1929)
LILAC TIME (1928)
Grace in WI
Eric Stott
"milefilms" <mile...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1136221638.2...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Of the films I saw for the first time in 2005 (and don't distribute),
> my favorite silent was THE WOMAN HE SCORNED (1929, Paul Czinner,
> aka/The Way of Lost Souls).
I thought that was one heck of a good film, marred only by the sour
conclusion in the last reel. Too bad the soundtrack is missing- I'd have
liked to heard Pola sing.
Stott
Frederica
mikeg...@gmail.com wrote:
> And yours?
Google is acting up so you may get double posts on this, but for me it
would be THE CANADIAN and SORRELL AND SON, both seen at Cinecon.
Frederica
James Roots
Hey Dennis, is there some reason why your DVD version of SUDS has
two instances of a double line of snow running through the picture
for about 8 seconds each time?
I just watched it last night and found it a rather unsettling
experience. Even without the tacked-on happy ending, it
concludes way too abruptly -- it feels as though the script
was never completed. They seem to have been making it up as
they went along, focussing on providing Mary with grand-opera
acting opportunities until they suddenly realized the plot was
going nowhere, and they just bailed out instead of trying to
work up to a proper resolution.
I didn't care for Mary's performance, either. She did the
cringing galley-slave bit MUCH better in STELLA MARIS. And
was it my imagination, or was she sucking in her lips all
through the picture in imitation of Lavender's (the horse)
habit of never opening his mouth?
I'm a Mary fan, but that was a really weak film. I hope
HEART O' THE HILLS will be much better ... it's the other
Pickford DVD I got for Christmas.
Jim
milefilms
two instances of a double line of snow running through the picture
for about 8 seconds each time? >>
This is a new one on me! Call Image's Customer Service at 800-473-3475,
lodge a complaint and see if anybody else has. Meanwhile, tell me where
these occurances happen (preferably by running time) and let's see if I
or anyone has the same problem. I didn't see it on mine.
--Dennis, Milestone F&V
James Roots
I will watch it on a different player and see if the problem shows
up there. Could be a problem with my DVD player.
Will get back to you in a day or two.
Jim
Lloyd Fonvielle
"Lady Windermere's Fan"
"The Temptress"
=================
Nowhere Confidential:
Jason Liller
THE FLAPPUH).
I was disappointed in the three latest Milestone Pickford selections
(the FILMS, that is, not the DVDs). Except for M'LISS. That was great.
I really don't remember any video snow in SUDS.
I just got a DVD copy of THE HOODLUM and zipped through part of it.
This one looks like a lot of fun. Here's hoping!
--Jason Liller
greta de groat
for the year (though The Canadian was good too--this was a Tommy Meighan
year for me, also saw for the first time The Racket and Conrad in Quest of
his Youth--the latter especially was good).
Best silent i'd never heard of and had no expectations about--The Sea
Lion.
Most disappointing silent--The Wonderful Thing, also at Cinecon.
greta
James Roots
Hi Dennis,
I fastforwarded through it again on a different DVD player
and didn't find either occurence, so it must be a problem
with my home player. Sorry to have alarmed you.
BTW, it's a much better film when seen at x2 speed. Less
time given over to Mary's regrettable mugging that way. I
think this is the worst performance I have seen her give.
It's sincere and carefully thought-out, but it just doesn't
work. The mannerisms are uniformly irritating instead of
charming or touching. Still, better she got it out of her
system here than in the vastly superior STELLA MARIS.
Jim
Janet
PICCADILLY
HINDLE WAKES
MISS LULU BETT
THE GOLDEN CHANCE
THE BLUE BIRD
LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY
and at Cinecon, SORRELL AND SON and
THE CANADIAN, and also HIGH TREASON
Janet
greta de groat
Sorrell and Son), were:
Camille (1927)
and of course
Beyond the Rocks
Both were better than i had expected, though unfortunately Camille was also
more incomplete than i had expected--having been quite ruthlessly edited at
some point. That made it something of a disappointment as well, though what
was there was good.
greta
homes...@netburner.net
WET AND WARMER (1921) Billie Ritchie
THE PUNCH OF THE IRISH (1920) Al Joy
CIRCUS DAZE (1928) Poodles Hanneford
THE MOVIES (1926) Lloyd Hamilton
AIR POCKETS (1924) Lige Conley (Finally, after 30 years of wanting to
see this)
SHORT SOCKS (1927) Bobby Vernon
EASY CURVES (1927) Billy Dooley
Tommie Hicks