Tuesday, May 24, 2022
The Buster Keaton Collection - Filed under Keaton in Cabinet
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: none
- Commentary: This collection includes:
Free and Easy [directed by Edward Sedgwick; Release date: 1930];
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Buster Keaton Elmer Anita Page Elvira Trixie Friganza Ma Plunkett Robert Montgomery Larry Mitchell Fred Neblo Himself Lionel Barrymore Director David Burton Himself William Haines Himself
Cecil B. DeMille aso appears as Director Cecil B. DeMille.
Spite Marriage [directed by Edward Sedgwick and Buster Keaton; Release Date: 1929];
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Buster Keaton Elmer Gantry Dorothy Sebastian Trilby Drew Edward Earle Lionel Benmore Leila Hyams Ethyl Norcrosse
The Cameraman [directed by Edward Sedgwick and Buster Keaton; Release Date: 1928].
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Buster Keaton Buster Marceline Day Sally Richards Harold Goodwin Harold Stagg Sidney Bracey Edward J. Blake
You can access individual reviews for these movies through the link in the title of this post. Otherwise, all links are to Wikipedia pages.
Mom actually got bored with these movies during the first one we watched; I'm not sure which one that was. I however, was blown away by Buster Keaton and didn't much care whether or not I liked any of the stories (I didn't particularly care for the story behind Spite Marriage); I was much too engaged by Keaton's look and technique. I'd have to say, though, if pushed, that my favorite is The Cameraman. Although I'm not usually a fan of silent film parody, watching the romance in this movie reminded me of some of the silly incidents that boys in our neighborhood displayed when they were smitten with one or another of us sisters or our girlfriends.
Update 5/24/22: Yet another post published on 4/09/09 that "disappeared" and I had to recapture.
Labels: comedy1, pre-code, silent
Sunday, January 17, 2021
Battleship Potemkin
- Commentary: My Florida sister sent me this movie. I haven't yet watched it all the way through. In fact, I've seen the end, and the beginning, but not much of the middle. I can't remember what possessed me to go through this film like that, clicking around to study how this story was presented on film so early in the 20th century. At any rate, I'm looking forward to watching it from beginning to end and writing about how it struck me. I have a feeling, from as much as I've seen, it's going to be a wordy commentary I'll be writing.
One of the scenes that is particularly interesting is when the citizens of Odessa rally for the rebels on the steps of Odessa. In the mayhem, a baby carriage is let loose and rolls down the steps. I couldn't help but think a similar scene in The Untouchables and wonder if this movie was the inspiration for that scene and if the similar scene in The Untouchables was an homage to this scene. The Wikipedia write-up for this movie suggests so, but the Wikipedia write-up for The Untouchables does not.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Aleksandr Antonov Grigory Vakulinchuk Vladimir Barsky Commander Golikov Grigori Aleksandrov Chf. Ofcr. Giliarovsky I. Bobrov Flogged Sailor Mikhail Gomorov Militant Sailor Aleksandr Levshin Petty Officer N. Poltavseva Woman with pince-nez Lyrkean Makeon Masked Man
One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up for this film.
Release Date: 1925
Directed by Sergei Eisenstein.
Labels: silent
Saturday, January 16, 2021
Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments - 1923 Silent Film
- Commentary: Under Construction.
Although this is an old, silent movie, it's an unusually interesting presentation of The Ten Commandments. DeMille intertwines the Exodus story with a modern (1923 modern, that is) tale of two brothers, one of whom follows the "law", the other of whom doesn't. Although, as you might expect, life turns sour for the second brother, and, of course, everyone in the movie is affected by his rankled life and death, salvation reigns for those the tawdry brother has mired in his muck. From my perspective, this movie is more about Christian Salvation, rather than following divine law, which is what turns this movie into a surprise; muddled, yes, but still a surprise. It's very interesting, even though sometimes confusing, to watch and ponder. It's revelatory, as well, to realize that DeMille was not satisfied with this version of the Exodus story, thus, he reprised it in 1956 and left out any kind of modern take on divine law. Frankly, I would have liked to have seen a more well thought out version of this 1923 intertwined story. This movie, though, is quite provocative, nonetheless. Definitely worth more than one watch. As a homage to this extraordinary rendition of the Exodus story, I'm including many credits in the Actor/Role Table, below.
Update: 6/7/2022: As of this date my collection now includes four versions of the Exodus story: The Ten Commandments 1923, The Ten Commandments 1956, Moses 1995 and Exodus: Gods and Kings. Splitting the difference, care to wager on how long it will be until we see another Exodus epic? My money's on 31 years.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Theodore Roberts Moses Charles De Roche Rameses Estelle Taylor Miriam Julia Faye Pharoah's Wife Terrence/Pat Moore Son of Pharoah James Neill Aaron Lawson Butt Dathan Clarence Burton The Taskmaster Noble Johnson The Bronze Man Edythe Chapman Mrs. Martha McTavish Richard Dix John McTavish Rod La Rocque Dan McTavish Leatrice Joy Mary Leigh Nita Naldi Sally Lung Robert Edeson Inspector Redding Charles Ogle The Doctor Agnes Ayres The Outcast Wilson Benge Butler Louise Emmons Elderly Israelite Roscoe Karns Dan's Pal & Associate
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1923
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
Labels: §1, bible-movies1, drama2, film-art1, moses, silent
Monday, February 07, 2005
The Chaplin Collection Vol. 1
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: Both my mother and I tend to forget, between watchings of these movies, how riveting they are. Typically, we watch one of these movies when we want to watch something and have absolutely no idea what we want to watch.
This collection, though, contains four films, listed below, very good mini-reviews at the site linked in the title of this post, but, if you're interested in more review material, here are more review resources:
The Gold Rush - both the 1925 and the 1942 editions
DVD Savant reviewed this movie twice, first when the DVD edition came out (that review is the immediately previous link; that is the edition I own) and again when the blu-ray edition hit the market. The reviews are not copies of one another, so I wanted to post both of them.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Charlie Chaplin The Tramp/The Lone Prospector Mack Swain Big Jim McKay Tom Murray Black Larsen Malcolm Waite Jack Cameron Georgia Hale The Girl Henry Bergman Hank Curtis Tiny Sandford Barman Sam Allen Dance Hall Man
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Modern Times - 1936 It's hard to pick a favorite; these are four of Chaplin's greatest, but judging from her reaction, I think Mom's favorite is probably Modern Times, she loves the man-in-the-cogs scene and never fails to say, "I wonder how they did that?!?"
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Charlie Chaplin Factory Worker/The Tramp Paulette Goddard Ellen Peterson Henry Bergman Café proprietor Stanley Sandford Big Bill
The Great Dictator - 1940 My favorite is The Great Dictator, for too many reasons to mention.
Roger Ebert devoted more than his usual amount of space to reviewing this movie. He not only assigned it "Great Movie" status (that review is the immediately previous link), he reviewed it initially 35 years before he christened it a Great Movie, then published, without comment, a letter from a dissenter of Ebert's opinion of the movie. Interesting reading, all of them.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Charlie Chaplin Jewish Barber/Adenoid Hynkel Reginald Gardiner Commander Schultz Paulette Goddard Hannah Jack Oakie Benzino Napaloni
Limelight - 1952
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Charlie Chaplin Calvero Claire Bloom Thereza Embrose Buster Keaton Calvero's Partner Nigel Bruce Postant
This film also includes several Chaplin relatives, lots of them children, mostly in uncredited, unnamed parts, including Oona O'Neill.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
All films in this collection were directed by Charlie Chaplin.
Labels: charlie-chaplin, comedy2, satire2, shared-favorite, silent
