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THE SILENT ERA
& EARLY SOUND: 1894-1929 |
GO TO 1930 |
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THE
PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928) (dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer, Not Rated) -
Bart says, "I've previously confessed that documentaries aren't
really my thing, but I've got an even more shameful secret to
reveal: I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to the world of silent
movies. Not that silent comedies aren't great - a minor Chaplin or
Keaton is funnier and more entertaining than 90% of comedies made
since - but silent dramas are usually too lacking in complexity to
hold my attention for long. Only a few silents I've seen tell a
simple enough story to make the lack of sound seem appropriate or
advantageous, as opposed to seeming simplified in order to tell the
story without sound. Murnau's SUNSET is one, and this riveting
collection of close-ups and almost featureless white sets is
another. Maria Falconetti's performance is justly regarded as the
most compelling in cinema, but much of her effectiveness comes from
the contrast between her angelic, suffering face and the craggy,
ugly, all-too-human faces of the men who sit in judgment of
her." |
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THE
GENERAL (1927) (dir: Buster Keaton / Clyde Bruckman, Not Rated) - Michelle says,
"Buster Keaton’s on the wrong side of the Civil War here, but
the focus is so centered around a man, a train, and the woman that
he loves, that we don’t have much time to worry about what the
South and the North are fighting over. Instead, Keaton keeps our
attention on the dynamic stunts of his story and the larger arc of
proving one’s worth, as he races up and down the tracks on his
wood-burning train, frantically climbing on and off and in and out
as he follows the Unioners who kidnap his lover into enemy
territory. The wit of his physical comedy keeps us giggling and the
love interest delivers her share too, mostly at her own expense." |
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