1/1/15 La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc or “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer ★★★★★ The Passion of Joan of Arc is a deep, impassioned character study and is based on the surviving record of the trial of Joan of Arc (1412-1431) from when she was…
Steamboat Willie (1928) Film Review
1/1/15 Steamboat Willie (1928) Director: Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks ★★★★★ Running at seven minutes and twenty three seconds Steamboat Willie is the first animated short cartoon to feature a synchronized soundtrack to match the animation. The title is a reference to Buster Keaton’s film released the same year, entitled…
The Wind (1928) Film Review
1/1/15 The Wind (1928) Director: Victor Sjöström ★★★☆☆ Based on the novel of the same name by Frances Marion, The Wind is a haunting experience, one of the last silent films released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The Wind is memorable to me exclusively for one especially evocative scene at the end…
The Last Laugh (1924) Film Review
12/29/14 The Last Laugh “Der Letzte Mann” or The Last Man (1924) Director: F.W. Murnau ★★★★★ What do you get when you combine the acting of Emil Jannings, the screenwriting of Carl Meyer, and the directing of F.W. Murnau? The result is a brilliant little tragic farce of silent cinema. Much like…