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Author Topic: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films  (Read 14588 times)

Sandy

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #60 on: May 21, 2012, 11:01:20 PM »
I Was Born, But...



There’s nothing like a movie of this caliber to accordion down the decades so there is no distance between 1932 and this moment. All in the film is recognizable and relevant. The children and parents feel as real as if I’m watching home movies from a beautiful Criterion camera. The quality is stunning and when I get to a brief moment of less than pristine viewing, I sort of wonder if they left a remnant in just to show what a feat of preservation it was.

I Was Born, But… is an avenue for reflection. I remember the first time one of my children didn’t think I was cool anymore, and then the next, and the next... It’s a wave of regret and despair and then recognition that I wasn’t ever really cool to begin with and it isn’t necessarily my job anyway. After their disappointment, they find I’m other things and we move forward. Contemplating comes easily while watching Chichi Yoshi navigate his way through the occupation of being a father as well as an employee.

I give the championship synchronized temper tantrum of Keiji and Ryoichi a 9.5 out of 10. Well done boys. They’re in-tandem movements throughout the film fascinate and delight me as well.

It was an honor to watch this pixote, thank you.

pixote

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #61 on: May 23, 2012, 04:56:17 PM »
It was an honor to watch this pixote, thank you.

So glad you liked it! I hope to revisit it soon (after watching my own dictation) so we can discuss further.

pixote
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Totoro

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #62 on: May 28, 2012, 03:00:14 AM »
I will NOT be getting to Metropolis until June. I apologize. I just rather not watch it on my iPod.

KasperL

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #63 on: May 28, 2012, 08:21:41 AM »
The Wind - Victor Sjöström, 1928

For the time, it's fantastic (Top-10 Silents list material, perhaps even Top-5). By today's standards it's also very good; not much else than the old-fashioned-mannered comedic sidekick Sourdough betrays its age.

Gish is intense, especially in the effective finale, but what makes the film extraordinary are Sjöström's masterful directorial choices.

'Take Shelter' and this could be an interesting double bill.


Antares

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #64 on: May 28, 2012, 06:24:18 PM »
Safety Last! (1924) 3.5/5 - I've owned all three Harold Lloyd DVD boxsets for close to six years now, and have only gotten through the comedy shorts. This month's MDC has finally gotten me to watch one of the features, and importantly, his best known film at that. So far, I'm kind of lukewarm when it comes to Lloyd's comedy. He knows how to elicit a good chuckle with some very funny scenes, but for me, he just doesn't have enough of the skill that Keaton or Chaplin had, to sustain it throughout a whole picture. It took me three attempts to finally finish Safety Last!, not because it was slow, but it kind of meandered it's way along until it finally got to the excitement that is the last twenty minutes. I probably would have been more enthusiastic for the film, if I hadn't already known how Lloyd had pulled off the stunts for which this film is famous. But I got to give him credit, for a man who was minus two fingers on his right hand, to be able to almost effortlessly dangle and maneuver on that building facade was incredible.
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sdedalus

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #65 on: May 28, 2012, 06:30:10 PM »
That's easily my favorite Lloyd film.  Not just for the building climb (which is well worth its fame), but for the crazy department store scenes as well.
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1SO

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #66 on: May 28, 2012, 08:19:34 PM »
I couldn't say "easily". The ending is phenomenal, but The Freshman is a front-to-back very cohesive comedy. Though it's comprised of a bunch of set pieces, like most Lloyd, there's a greater sense of an overriding narrative.

Jared

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #67 on: May 29, 2012, 12:07:25 AM »
Also, the little dance he does upon greeting people in the Freshmen is hilarious.

It's the movie I dictated in the NFL Suicide Pool after winning that thing....so everyone here that plays that should eventually see it.

Not sure which I like better. 

PeacefulAnarchy

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #68 on: June 07, 2012, 10:37:57 PM »
The Iron Horse 8/10 I have conflicted opinions of Ford as a filmmaker. I value the craftsmanship and most of the time I also value large swaths of the content, but his films often have aspects that rub me the wrong way, most commonly the terrible comedy and the constant mythmaking. This film is one huge mythmaking exercise and that made me weary from the get go, but it started off quite charming and, despite a few bumps along the way, keeps it up for over two hours. It helps that the main characters are equal to the grand story which balances the grand scale with a strong human element. You can certainly see a lot of the seeds for future westerns being planted, the concept of a prosperous but unstable wild west, the big battles, the saloon disputes, and a lot of other things, and, surprisingly, they feel quite fresh, perhaps because the silent style warps and constrains them just enough. For a film with such a large cast the performances are solid across the board, villains are despicable and heroes are sympathetic and even the side characters are interesting enough that I was always interested in what they were doing. The film has strong pacing and editing and while the visuals aren't magnificent, they are good. On the whole, it was a very enjoyable time with a grand production and a good story.

A few random thoughts:
I hate phonetic inter-titles. I get it, these people are dumb and can't pronounce or spell. I don't want to read purposely misspelled words.
There's a "not" joke in the film. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Ford comedy is still present, but it's much more subdued and less annoying here.
re: mythmaking. This would be less annoying if the film didn't insist on extolling it's devotion to realism.

Antares

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Re: May 2012 MDC: Silent Films
« Reply #69 on: June 07, 2012, 11:02:09 PM »
I have conflicted opinions of Ford as a filmmaker. I value the craftsmanship and most of the time I also value large swaths of the content, but his films often have aspects that rub me the wrong way, most commonly the terrible comedy and the constant mythmaking.

I share your sentiments exactly. It's the main reason I don't envision him as a pantheon director.
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