Tag: silent
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Visages d’enfants (1923) Review
Visages d’enfants (1923) Director: Jacques Feyder ★★★★★ “The Faces of Children” is a simple and beautiful film. It is a French-Swiss pastoral movie that takes place amidst the incredible landscape of the village of Saint-Luc in the mountainous Haut-Valais region of Switzerland. It is a psychological exploration, remarkably complex for the time, and it tells […]
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) Review
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) Director: Wallace Worsley ★★★☆☆ The Hunchback of Notre Dame presents a mix of gothic horror and pity for the underclass of medieval Paris, such as the deformed character Quasimodo. The medieval set constructions for this film are extraordinary, it took Universal nearly a year to build the massive sets […]
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Foolish Wives (1922) Review
Foolish Wives (1922) Director: Erich von Stroheim ★★☆☆☆ I recently attempted to finish watching Foolish Wives (1922), and it is a monumental task, even for a silent film. It lasts nearly 2.5 hours long, and the plot is vague, slow, and wandering. Originally director Erich von Stroheim intended for the film to be 6-10 hours long! […]
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Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920) Review
Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (The Golem: How He Came Into The World) (1920) Director: Paul Wegener, Carl Boese ★★★★☆ The Golem is a visually stunning film: its scenes are impressive, particularly with regard to the towering set designs. It beautifully captures an old European-Jewish ghetto while the terrible golem creature is […]
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The Mark of Zorro (1920) Review
The Mark of Zorro (1920) Director: Fred Niblo ★★★★☆ The Mark of Zorro is a surprisingly impressive film. It stars the great silent film giant 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 –the unique collaboration […]
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Charlie Chaplin’s First National Films (1917-1918)
In 1917-1918, Charlie Chaplin was seeking more independence and greater creative license over his films which he believed were becoming too stagnant and predictable. His relationship with Mutual ended amicably, and he signed an eight-film contract with First National. His years with First National would prove to be some of the most important in his […]