Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
::Today's soundtrack: Simon & Garfunkle "The Sound of Silence" ::
As a fellow who loves and appreciates the motion picture, I have watched many over the course of my thirty plus years on this Earth. I've seen films of many different genres from various time periods in film making history. I am here now to make an entreaty on behalf of perhaps one of the most underappreciated types of cinema: The Silent Film. This is one of those aspects of the movies that many people have difficulty getting into, and I can understand that. It was a different era of filmmaking then. There's no dialogue, no four colour frames, and title cards (OMG I hefta READ?!). Acting styles were different in order to compensate for the lack of speech. Also, film speed was not standardized as it is today, heck, it hand cranked during filming, so play back speeds are often debated and oftentimes done incorrectly when transferred onto home video. The quality of the film itself is also run down due to the natural deterioration of celluloid so what you can see today, even a digital restoration is often done off of a third generation, marred copy, is not as clean as it was when it was first circulated in theaters roughly 100 years ago. Yes, I can understand why the old silent movies of the silver screen are not so widely watched. And I know, you're not really going to see advertisements for them, and probably you don't even know anyone who has seen silent pictures. That's why I'm here. I'm here to maybe pique your interest in an area of film at which you might not have taken a second look. Preeeeesenting....
William the Bloody Recommends: Silent Films:
The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. Okay, I am going to warn you right up front here: German Expressionism runs amok here which is both awesome AND freakishly insane. The sets and backdrops are crazy and everything is heightened to the extreme, but that what this style of filmmaking was all about. They took psychological themes and presented them visually and here we are dealing with crazy people so everything is all creepy and angular. Seriously, there is not a right angle to be found anywhere in this thing. This movie is truly the jewel on the top of the German Expressionism crown and always used as THE example of the style. At the start, everything seems topsy-turvy plot wise, but that's only because it's building to a twist ending, the likes movies at this stage of the game had never seen. If you are a fan of Tim Burton movies, then you really ought to this one to see where he gets the majority of his filming style.
Nosferatu. Duh. It really doesn't get any more classic than this. A nice, creepy vampire film (based on, but without the rights to Dracula) shot with sweet, sweet German Expressionism. Vampire movies and this filmmaking style go together like peanut butter and jelly. All the eerie shadows and sharp angles really set a tone. I do still get mildly confused by the angry mob/Knock (re: Renfield)/scarecrow scene, but I think it's supposed to be symbolic. One of the issues with this film is that there are many different releases out there. The film is a classic AND in the public domain, so any film house can get their hands on and do things to it. With silent movies, there is no music track pre-synched to the film, but the studio would often either send score sheets for the theater pianist/organist/orchestra to play, cue sheets so they would know what mood to convey, or nothing at all so the in house musicians could make something up. There are DVDs out there with and without music (one score by gothic industrial band Type O Negative) and some versions have off kilter German to English translations of the title cards. But come on, it's essentially Dracula, so we all know the basic story, so bad translation or not, you really ought to sit back and let the striking black and white take you on a visual journey (with or without music, it's your choice, but for this one I'd say without).
Metropolis. Celebrated German director Fritz Lang brings us another classic work of cinema here set in a sci-fi dystopian future. The basic plot outline is that the city planners run Metropolis from their offices and apartments in high lavish art deco sky scrapers while the working class people who operate the actual machines that maintain the city live in dirt and grime and are pretty much worked to death. When one of the men in charge finds out the workers are having secret meetings and that some of them are considering an uprising to topple the ruling class, he has a scientist make his life-like robot take on the appearance of one of the women heading the meetings in order to insight the workers to fight amongst themselves instead. It's the classic tale of the giant rift between the haves and the have-nots with a sci-fi and stylistic twist. Unfortunately this is another one of the silent classics to have a plethora of versions available and each one has different cuts of footage, making some of them confusing and disjointed. The original theatrical release was well over 2 hours long, but many theaters of the time would not show such a long film, as a result there are many different 90 minute cuts floating around. There are some with and without music and I've seen one with organ accompaniment, which in my opinion was a poor score that did not follow the on screen action or convey any aspect of the tone at all. I hear-tell there is a more complete cut with orchestral score from 2002 out there and that an even MORE complete restoration is in the works, having recently discovered some footage which had been thought lost which may be worth a look when it eventually come out on DVD.
The Phantom of the Opera. Oh Lon Chaney, how do I love thee? There is a reason certain actors of the silent area became gigantic stars and box office draws, and in this film you can really see how Lon Chaney's acting sets him apart from the supporting cast: even with his face obscured by a mask he out does them all. The leading lady's typical of the era over-the-top dramatics (again, overcompensating for lack of speaking dialogue) really looks campy next to Chaney's brilliance. Yes, next to Chaney everybody looks sub-par, but this film more than makes for it with excellent art direction and cinematography. I do so love Chaney's phantom, excessive cape billowing in the wind, as he looks down at Christine betraying him with Raul of the roof top. They make great artistic use of celluloid dyeing for this picture, but they also razzle-dazzle you with cell painting during the masquerade scene, where people painstakingly hand painted the film cells for a near full colour effect. This classic literary tale has never looked better in the decades of filmmaking since.
Modern Times. Admittedly the end of the silent era, this film bids a fond farewell to Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character. There isn't really an ongoing plot line; its more of a life and times sort of picture. The Tramp depicts America's depression-era struggle by getting laid off from his factory job, living in a shanty house, and taking in an underage homeless girl (oh, stop, it doesn't come off as skanky). The two struggle to make ends meet until getting jobs at a pub/night club. Many classic Chaplin comedy gags really shine here, and while the whole getting pulled through the factory machine bit may the most recognized, I still find the trying-to-get-a-tray-of-food-across-a-crowded-dance-floor routine to be the most hilarious. Because this film was made after the advent of the addition to sound, it has the benefit of a ready made and synchronized soundtrack which not only includes score but also some sound effects and yes, the occasional voice. Probably the best choice for people really trepedatious about trying out silent movies!
Steamboat Bill, Jr. While I haven't seen many Buster Keaton films, the few I have I liked and this is the one I'm recommending. You know the classic bit where the front face of a building comes down and narrowly misses crushing a guy because of one open window? That's in this picture. And it is so great to behold. The cyclone sequence in general, which has Keaton's character being thrown around by the wind is also a classic. The version of this film I saw had a score and it was a pretty good one. They really set the tone and used slide whistles and other fun instruments to emphasize the silliness of certain situations. In addition to visual gags, this film also has well written and timed title card jokes so it not only has good physical comedy (the forte of the silent era) but also well written jokes here and there.
The Freshman. You all know silent film comedic actor Harold Lloyd, right? He's that guy in those famous photos hanging off the hands of a clock tower. Yeah, him. This isn't that movie (that would be Safety Last!), but it's pretty hilarious. Lloyd plays his famous bespectacled and optimistic nerdy character, here headed for college with high hopes of popularity. He comes up with this fun little dance to do when he meets people for the first time so that they'll remember meeting him and man, I never get tired of that. Instead of popular man about campus, the actual popular crowd play a mean prank on him to make him think he's cool when he's actually the school joke. In the end, he shows them all and managed to, against all odds, win the big football game and get the girl. I love movies that show the nerdy and geeky types winning in the end and this is the film that set the original standard for not only those, but college film in general for years afterwards.
Birth of a Nation. Yes, I'm going there. In case you don't know, Birth of a Nation is a highly controversial film because it depicts the Civil War, the fall of The South, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan... who are portrayed in a positive light. Now I'm not defending racism or the Klan, so don't get your undies in a bunch, here, mkay? What I am defending is a film of cultural and historical significance. Just because you think something is in poor taste doesn't make it go away or change the fact that The Klan came to be. This film is OVER THREE HOURS LONG (shown in theaters with an intermission) but is the highest grossing silent picture of ALL TIME. The version I saw had an integrated score and it was pretty good, being fully orchestrated and utilizing strains from typical public domain songs like "Turkey in the Straw," Swanee River," and "O Tannenbaum," which was a relatively normal practice when scoring silents. The film is significant because of the techniques it used in filmmaking, many of which are now standard practice. Instead of over-the-top dramatics, here the acting is more subtle and "normalized." There aren't many long, and wordy title cards to read that fill in story bits, but brief ones to introduce characters and place the setting, instead allowing for more of a visual form of storytelling. It is one of the first films to use close ups on the face and had their war scenes advised on by West Point. Yes, the Klan are depicted as heroes and the black villains are white men in black face. Yes, this happens, but these should not be reasons for not seeing one of the pioneering films of the industry. Heck, I know if I hear about a film that stirred up controversy, and even caused riots, that makes me want to see it even more.
And I think I leave you with that. You really can't top a racist historical war drama, can you? There are many more wonderful silent films out there, but hopefully this will get you started and allow you to figure out what sort you like best and go from there. I know there are many problems surrounding the great silent era, but please don't let this deter you completely. Give them a fair shake. I don't think you know what you're missing.
William the Bloody (silently watching)
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