The Mark of Zorro (1920) Director: Fred Niblo The Mark of Zorro is a surprisingly impressive film. It stars the great silent-era hero, Douglas Fairbanks, and it was the first in a long series of Zorro films extending to the present day. It was the first film released by United Artists (Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks, and Griffith). … Continue reading The Mark of Zorro
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Zemlaya (Earth)
Zemlaya (Earth) (1930) Director: Alexander Dovzhenko Zemlaya is silent Soviet propaganda film, and is Dozhenko's best known film in the West. It is part three of his Ukraine trilogy (he only personally directed seven films during his lifetime, before focusing on novels, instead). The story loosely follows a family of farmers in Ukraine, during the … Continue reading Zemlaya (Earth)
Nanook of the North
Nanook of the North (1922) Director: Robert Flaherty Nanook of the North is the early, silent predecessor to the documentary film genre. It paints the picture of a harsh landscape, located along the Canadian Hudson region, that is populated by warm and friendly Eskimos. The plot primarily follows the hunting chief, Nanook. At the time … Continue reading Nanook of the North
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
9/8/2016 Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) Director: Fred Niblo Ben-Hur is an incredible epic silent film, later remade in 1959 starring Charlton Heston. The grandeur of the scenes and the brilliance of the cinematography hearken back to other great silent epic films, such as Intolerance. It was Fred Niblo's greatest film, however other notable … Continue reading Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
The Navigator
9/5/2016 The Navigator (1924) Director: Buster Keaton and Donald Crisp The Navigator is another classic Buster Keaton film, and one of his first great films, following Sherlock, Jr. It contains some of Keaton's best stunts and is based on the screenplay by Clyde Bruckman, a writer for other great comedies, including the works of W.C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, … Continue reading The Navigator
The Phantom Carriage
8/27/16 The Phantom Carriage (1921) Director: Victor Sjostrom The Phantom Carriage is a phenomenal and haunting Swedish silent film, and is popularly considered one of the seminal works of Swedish cinema. It was directed by and also starred Victor Sjostrom, of later repute for his roles in The Wind and, most notably, in Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries. Bergman would later … Continue reading The Phantom Carriage
