Les Vampires
It isn't the pinnacle of silent film by any means, but it was entertaining for the most part. Certainly some episodes really stand out and others are mediocre (with some falling completely flat), but it worked for me for the most part. Quite a bit of the acting was painful to watch and there were far too many intertitles (with some poor pacing to them), but it made up for it with some of the visuals, the comic relief and the story. It's really good fun.
8.5/10
Clean, Shaven
Loved it, which is great as I bought it on a whim when I found the criterion of it for 10 bucks. It had all the aural excitement that was promised and delivered something that may have bettered The Conversation and other classics of soundtrack use. Peter Greene was great. It succeeded with most if not all of its aims. Certain themes are similar to those of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, but where they are, Kerrigan does a much better job with them. I am a huge fan of subjective perspective in a film and this had so much for me to love. Fantastic, I almost cried at the end and was completely affected by it. So much so that I left the dvd screensaver on for 20 minutes thinking about whether I can forgive Chester for not liking this. I can, but only cause I'm awesome. So is this.
10/10
1900
Really just thought it failed. As I said before, Vittorio Storaro does a wonderful job as he always does, and Bertolucci does well enough with the plot to keep it moving. For its length, it manages to hold my attention admirably, but I don't see where it was effective in any other way. As a story of two people affected by history, by society, by birth rite, by their relationship, by any of these measures it fails. In the other direction, if you try to use their relationship as an allegory for Italian history in this period, for the emotional perspective on history, really in any way, I just don't see success. 315 minutes without a moment where I said "OK, I see why I care and why I'm interested." I wasn't compelled to turn it off, but not to keep it on either (except from the obsessive need to complete the movie). If you want to see film representations of this period of Italian history, go somewhere else. Go to The Conformist, or to any of Wertmuller's films on the subject. There's tons of others, it's quite a hot topic. This is really not worth the time.
5.5/10
La Cravate
One of the parts of the Jodorowsky box set I hadn't seen. This was fantastic. Whether you like Jodorowsky or not, I would suggest this. This has all his prowess without any of the aspects of his filmmaking that have made him famous and infamous. It's silent without intertitles (proving you don't need them), and it not only showcases his understanding of mime (apparently), but it appears to be the genesis of Michel Gondry's entire style. It was just damn cute and full of fun. So great. She sells heads, of course, and love ensues. But with whom?!
9/10 (cause I could see the hole)