I think I may have liked it more if I hadn't been watching a bunch of other movies from '25 and evaluating them for the poll lol. I actually REALLY like his ALIBI. One of the most interesting early talkies for me, if not, again, the most 'mobile'. I haven't seen THE BAT yet but I actually like THE BAT WHISPERS too!!nrh wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 2:53 pm i really like this movie even though i think everything you are saying about it completely correct. there is something i find deeply fun about roland west, a combination of naive enthusiasm and pretty decent budgets (the sets are always great) and...eccentric ideas about narrative emphasis and pace that feels pretty singular.
you're definitely right when you say that this feels like it belongs to a different era than 1925, and it gets even weirder when he remakes his mid '20s the bat movie for early sound in 1930 as the bat whispers.
The Cabinet of Dr Shhh! (silent movies thread)
Re: The Cabinet of Dr Shhh! (silent movies thread)
cross and mauser - vladimir gardin (1925)
just mopping up some of my left-over 25s. soviet desire to smash the church makes a pretty sordid movie (but boring and long - my copy seems to be 30 mins longer than the ones on youtube, guess some bits were censored)
just mopping up some of my left-over 25s. soviet desire to smash the church makes a pretty sordid movie (but boring and long - my copy seems to be 30 mins longer than the ones on youtube, guess some bits were censored)
alas, there's some gorgeous 1925 travelogues on that japanese site....too late.....
matsushima in the snow (1925)
watch: https://filmisadocument.jp/films/view/48
matsushima in the snow (1925)
watch: https://filmisadocument.jp/films/view/48
two kings - elis ellis (1925)
absolutely no idea what was going on, but i appreciate the effort they went to, it looked charming enough....
absolutely no idea what was going on, but i appreciate the effort they went to, it looked charming enough....
in the name of god - abbas mirza sharifzadeh (1925)
i did the anti-clerical christian soviet movie, so it's only balance to do the anti-clerical muslim soviet one as well
the revolution comes to azerbaijan (at least i think it does, with no subs the finer points of the plot are mildly confusing apart from beardy-guys boooooo)
i did the anti-clerical christian soviet movie, so it's only balance to do the anti-clerical muslim soviet one as well
the revolution comes to azerbaijan (at least i think it does, with no subs the finer points of the plot are mildly confusing apart from beardy-guys boooooo)
the precipice - pyotr chardynin (1913)
oh boy. lured in to watch this by the prospect of a full 90 mins of ivan reliably emoting but started paying more attention and was instead quite astonished. chardynin is usually overshadowed by bauer but on the basis of this film there's absolutely no reason for that (bauer just the obviously great one)....the mise en scène, the framing, the repetitions....if you're not looking for it, then it might seem slight, but if you are....there's a point where strong-willed vera walked out of a russian landscape to stare into the abyss of her fatal error (shagging the anarchist) that made me gasp...can't think of a film for decades after this one that so well captured the atmosphere (hint of farce, much handwringing) of those 19thc russian novels (this one's a goncharov adaptation, so you can google the plot, which is lucky cuz there isn't a single intertitle)
looking back at my 1913 year poll ballot, i'd be tempted to even place this above germinal....and the acting of vera yureneva was so nice it was almost danish....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZgFx5WFowg
oh boy. lured in to watch this by the prospect of a full 90 mins of ivan reliably emoting but started paying more attention and was instead quite astonished. chardynin is usually overshadowed by bauer but on the basis of this film there's absolutely no reason for that (bauer just the obviously great one)....the mise en scène, the framing, the repetitions....if you're not looking for it, then it might seem slight, but if you are....there's a point where strong-willed vera walked out of a russian landscape to stare into the abyss of her fatal error (shagging the anarchist) that made me gasp...can't think of a film for decades after this one that so well captured the atmosphere (hint of farce, much handwringing) of those 19thc russian novels (this one's a goncharov adaptation, so you can google the plot, which is lucky cuz there isn't a single intertitle)
looking back at my 1913 year poll ballot, i'd be tempted to even place this above germinal....and the acting of vera yureneva was so nice it was almost danish....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZgFx5WFowg
the tailor from torzhok - yakov protazanov (1925)
when the russians try to do the zany american stuff it always comes off as completely demented (which is good, but even so this wouldn't have made my final ballot)
when the russians try to do the zany american stuff it always comes off as completely demented (which is good, but even so this wouldn't have made my final ballot)
this might have made my ballot tho....
lullaby - boris deutsch (1925)
lullaby - boris deutsch (1925)
watched a bunch of 1906/1907 viggo larsens on stumfilm.dk, mostly entertaining (the giant hat, viewed through a sexual lens, is hilarious)
the fairytales, period, and exotic dramas all look nice (the interior stuff is meh, but he can really shoot outside) and are mildly crazy (insane colonial commentary, kick-ass girls, or everyone dies at the end etc) but there was one truly bizarre little film (the boy with the sixth sense) set in the modern day that seems so out of place compared to the others, that i can't explain it at all (oddly robotic child covers his eyes and can 'view' things happening in other places). will watch more....
the fairytales, period, and exotic dramas all look nice (the interior stuff is meh, but he can really shoot outside) and are mildly crazy (insane colonial commentary, kick-ass girls, or everyone dies at the end etc) but there was one truly bizarre little film (the boy with the sixth sense) set in the modern day that seems so out of place compared to the others, that i can't explain it at all (oddly robotic child covers his eyes and can 'view' things happening in other places). will watch more....
sandmosen (1947)
watch here: https://www.danmarkpaafilm.dk/film/sandmosen
ostensibly a credit-less doc about bog draining in coastal denmark, it's insane there's no info about this because whoever shot this truly poetic film is a real, delirious artist (forget the dreyer shorts for 1947, this is the danish submission for the year poll)...every shot is a painting of beautiful, ultra-bleak, unmistakably sooooooo danish muted grays, like hammershøi but as landscape (but also some ruin porn)
watch here: https://www.danmarkpaafilm.dk/film/sandmosen
ostensibly a credit-less doc about bog draining in coastal denmark, it's insane there's no info about this because whoever shot this truly poetic film is a real, delirious artist (forget the dreyer shorts for 1947, this is the danish submission for the year poll)...every shot is a painting of beautiful, ultra-bleak, unmistakably sooooooo danish muted grays, like hammershøi but as landscape (but also some ruin porn)
cobbles and clods - howard c jones (1947)
mildly charming (given young age of filmmaker) but slightly hackneyed amateur film contrasting idyllic rural wales with claustrophobic hectic london
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/wat ... 947-online
mildly charming (given young age of filmmaker) but slightly hackneyed amateur film contrasting idyllic rural wales with claustrophobic hectic london
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/wat ... 947-online
A young Howard C Jones moved from the green fields of home - the ‘clods’ of Llangernyw, Conwy - to the cobbled streets of London to pursue a course in cinematography at the London Polytechnic [now the University of Westminster], tutored and inspired by Ernest Lindgren, first curator of the British Film Insitute's National Film Library/Archive. Howard went on to work in the film industry and, later, to teach photography.
fabiola - enrico guazzoni (1918)
found a version (link) than was longer and better quality (if you can ignore the watermark madness) than the 61 min versions on youtube, but as a film it's still pretty unwell (the christian persecutions as turgid death fetish movie)
found a version (link) than was longer and better quality (if you can ignore the watermark madness) than the 61 min versions on youtube, but as a film it's still pretty unwell (the christian persecutions as turgid death fetish movie)
the gambler's wife - holger-madsen (1913)
early holger-madsen is much more fun than later holger-madsen. and stuffed-shirt aristo is waaaay hotter when he grows a moustache and musses up his hair
early holger-madsen is much more fun than later holger-madsen. and stuffed-shirt aristo is waaaay hotter when he grows a moustache and musses up his hair
die kinder des majors (1914)
this is pretty forgettable, other than some hilarious histrionics by the youth.....but i think they really had different approaches to romance then....
this is the romantic hero...
whereas this sexy moustache man is the villain....
yes woman, think hard about your stupid life choices....
this is pretty forgettable, other than some hilarious histrionics by the youth.....but i think they really had different approaches to romance then....
this is the romantic hero...
whereas this sexy moustache man is the villain....
yes woman, think hard about your stupid life choices....
i finally watched this today. absolutely loved it. was blown away honestly. zanny petersen being dragged on her ass across the fields tied to a reindeer made my jaw drop. thank you so much for posting about it! i enjoyed reading the book chapter about the racial tensions in the film too; so glad you linked that. i mentioned you in my lb review if that's ok (if not i can remove it).
yay! that's a fab review and of course it's okay to mention me....i'm still slightly amazed at how extreme the action stuff was, you just don't expect it of those refined danes, except that actually they did it often....if these screenscaps are anything to go by....
(can watch it here (and i will soon, i keep forgetting to)): https://www.stumfilm.dk/en/stumfilm/str ... -fra-palls
https://twitter.com/florencisalesas/sta ... 22TwA&s=03
(can watch it here (and i will soon, i keep forgetting to)): https://www.stumfilm.dk/en/stumfilm/str ... -fra-palls
https://twitter.com/florencisalesas/sta ... 22TwA&s=03
the magic skin - richard ridgely (1915)
yet more 'girl goes crazy and dies' bullshit, but in this one it's the insufferably dull virgin so i don't care. much more enthusiastic about the slut (sally crute)....
where obviously due to the bohemian vibe, everyone spends a lot of time hallucinating
the virgin
the absolute diva
yet more 'girl goes crazy and dies' bullshit, but in this one it's the insufferably dull virgin so i don't care. much more enthusiastic about the slut (sally crute)....
where obviously due to the bohemian vibe, everyone spends a lot of time hallucinating
the virgin
the absolute diva
the pride of the circus - alfred lind (1912)
not a fan of circus movies so getting round to these slowly, but all the danish stuff is here: girls, gazes, greys, crazy stunts, filth
the gazes:
the girl gang:
the power bitch ♥:
the stunts:
the filth:
taking strength after being told he's not man enough
inspiration by the biggest phallic building in the area (god's finger)
pure filth!!!!
not a fan of circus movies so getting round to these slowly, but all the danish stuff is here: girls, gazes, greys, crazy stunts, filth
the gazes:
the girl gang:
the power bitch ♥:
the stunts:
the filth:
taking strength after being told he's not man enough
inspiration by the biggest phallic building in the area (god's finger)
pure filth!!!!
the bear tamer - alfred lind (1912)
as sequel to the pride of the circus, it's not so much taming of the shrew as taming of the dangerous furry thing cuz i guess sex is all danes think about in the 1910s. though it swaps the stunts of the previous film for uncomfortable animal encounters, not sure why everyone raves about the former cuz this one seems much better composed and pretty lookin and i am now a total fan of lili beck
oh the crazy liberty of circus life
tbh he's not exactly a catch
so of course you'd flirt with other guys
woman rising from the groin
delirious before the snake dancer
but really it's all about the passage through the (fringed) flaps...
the monkey is soooooooo disgusted
as sequel to the pride of the circus, it's not so much taming of the shrew as taming of the dangerous furry thing cuz i guess sex is all danes think about in the 1910s. though it swaps the stunts of the previous film for uncomfortable animal encounters, not sure why everyone raves about the former cuz this one seems much better composed and pretty lookin and i am now a total fan of lili beck
oh the crazy liberty of circus life
tbh he's not exactly a catch
so of course you'd flirt with other guys
woman rising from the groin
delirious before the snake dancer
but really it's all about the passage through the (fringed) flaps...
the monkey is soooooooo disgusted
in the last second - alf nielsen (1913)
this is pretty bad (i can only imagine actor-director alf had a bet on to film everything as far away as possible) but it still has its oneiric moments
this is pretty bad (i can only imagine actor-director alf had a bet on to film everything as far away as possible) but it still has its oneiric moments
evolving opium deliriums thru the early 20th century in europe...
france: the dream of an opium fiend - georges méliès (1908)
denmark: in the power of opium - robert dinesen (1918)
germany: opium - robert reinert (1919)
france: the dream of an opium fiend - georges méliès (1908)
denmark: in the power of opium - robert dinesen (1918)
germany: opium - robert reinert (1919)
was there a drag brunch too
every generation concerned about 'moral decay' since the fall of babylon :p
every generation concerned about 'moral decay' since the fall of babylon :p
im going to watch barrabas (1919) as soon as i'm done bingeing tv
actually the german one wasn't totally condemning opium....it was like....this stuff is great, just don't overdo it! 
the film was more an excuse to be extremely racist to the (non-european) drug-pushers. but connie was beautiful in it, so....
i was more intrigued by the consistent appearance of a white-robed woman in the druggy dreams....never smoked opium so no idea if this is an authentic representation!
& i've still got barrabas and tih minh to watch....
anyway watched some italian films whose letterboxd entries are a mess
amore senza stima - dir. unknown (1914) cines film
l’avvoltoio / amore senza stima - baldassarre negroni (1913) celio film
https://letterboxd.com/film/a-wifes-devotion/ - this is for imdb https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1360735/ which is here: https://www.ilcinemamuto.it/betatest/am ... tima-1914/ and is not 47 mins or directed by negroni or a celio film
the negroni/celio one - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1398936/ is here: https://www.ilcinemamuto.it/betatest/la ... tima-1912/ (which explains the confusion of the two) stars francesca bertini & emilio ghione, and isn't on letterboxd at all
both minor, so no one's missing anything, and the earlier one is the better just cuz of the classy actors, but ghione is in a stupid beard
the film was more an excuse to be extremely racist to the (non-european) drug-pushers. but connie was beautiful in it, so....i was more intrigued by the consistent appearance of a white-robed woman in the druggy dreams....never smoked opium so no idea if this is an authentic representation!
& i've still got barrabas and tih minh to watch....
anyway watched some italian films whose letterboxd entries are a mess
amore senza stima - dir. unknown (1914) cines film
l’avvoltoio / amore senza stima - baldassarre negroni (1913) celio film
https://letterboxd.com/film/a-wifes-devotion/ - this is for imdb https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1360735/ which is here: https://www.ilcinemamuto.it/betatest/am ... tima-1914/ and is not 47 mins or directed by negroni or a celio film
the negroni/celio one - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1398936/ is here: https://www.ilcinemamuto.it/betatest/la ... tima-1912/ (which explains the confusion of the two) stars francesca bertini & emilio ghione, and isn't on letterboxd at all
both minor, so no one's missing anything, and the earlier one is the better just cuz of the classy actors, but ghione is in a stupid beard
the hand of fate - august blom (1922)
gloriously miserable
gloriously miserable
started feuillade's barrabas and it's great fun
i kind of want to get this tattoo now
oooooh i wanna watch! but hours and hours is a big commitment....
the first days - herbert holba (1971)
all silent movies should have prog rock soundtracks (in this case by paternoster who wrote it specially so hippie kids could roll around in the dirt)
the first days - herbert holba (1971)
all silent movies should have prog rock soundtracks (in this case by paternoster who wrote it specially so hippie kids could roll around in the dirt)