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| Syd |
 Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 10:11 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| I think he would have run into trouble when sound came in, although maybe he would have made a career in exotic roles. |
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 10:15 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4607
Location: Norman, OK
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Syd wrote: I think he would have run into trouble when sound came in, although maybe he would have made a career in exotic roles.
Depends on how strong the accent was. Remember, all we've heard is his singing voice, where it's a bit thick. But his speaking voice was reportedly quite different, and the accent less strong. Besides, look at Charles Boyer, who was difficult to understand sometimes, but played an awful lot of leading roles. |
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| bocce |
| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 6:37 am |
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Joined: 24 May 2004
Posts: 2428
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the other night i had the pleasure of seeing GRASS: a nation's fight for survival (1925)...
apparently in anticipation of the release of peter jackson's new KING KONG, tcm has decided to dust off merian c. cooper with a retrospective and a full on biopic and GRASS (co-directed by long time collaborator ernest b. schoedsack) is on the bill.
i've never been much of a documentary fan but this was a mesmerising viewing experience. the accompanying native (iranian) music perfectly matched the mood and pace of the film. the intertitles were a bit hokey but added for the unplanned for theatrical release. the original intent was a straight documentary slated for the lecture circuit.
essentially the story of the bahktiari tribe's annual migration from the iranian plains to winter grazing areas in a sheltering valley , it has sweep and high drama as 50,000 men, women and children drive their herds across freezing rivers and high mountains. the cinematography captures the vastness of the plain and the majesty of the mountains while intimately dealing with the interrelations between the tribesmen as they cooperate in the massive undertaking and between the tribe and their animals.
it is much more schoedsack's film than cooper's in that, true to the collaboration, he did the cinematography and probably the editing. cooper was a bit of a huckster (as admirably portrayed by robert armstrong's carl denham in KING KONG) and much more the producer than the artistic force. but cooper does share directorial and cinematography credits.
whatever, this is a finely realised project visually. it is consistently cohesive even when adding seemingly unnecessary anecdotes. they really put scale into the otherwise epic scope of the story.
a few words about the music: i'm sure it is a recent add as it would be unlikely that native folk music was recorded specifically for the film. but whoever put this particular score together with the action needs to get some kind of award. as i stated: as a match for mood and pace, it is perfect. |
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| Shane |
| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:39 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1168
Location: Chicago
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| Couldn't agree more bocce. The score is mesmerizing especially durring the snow treck up the mountains. I understand according to Cooper he wanted to film the bleeding feet of the people and lead ice-choppers but they were told they didn't have enough film. Lets not forget that it was the team of both of them which made everything change because of their work. I've just finished watching the TCM special about them and it was just fantastic how much those two did to advance to the world of filmmaking we now enjoy. |
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| Shane |
| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:45 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1168
Location: Chicago
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| People must realize how important these animals well being is to the survial of the tribe. They are show mixing the cows blood with the milk as a mainstay of food. Theses animals are not primarily raised for slaughter but for production. Hence the need to keep them healthy and that being said the treck is vital. |
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| bocce |
| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 2:22 pm |
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Joined: 24 May 2004
Posts: 2428
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watched harold lloyd's THE FRESHMAN and was somewhat disappointed...
it's ostensibly his most popular film but like the best seller list: popularity does not necessarily equate to best quality. not that it was BAD by any means but just not up to the later SAFETY FIRST or SPEEDY in my opinion. it's a bit too cloying and it's predictable.
the best part, wherein the character throws a party aimed at impressing his classmates, is actually the fulcrum and occurs late. this sequence with the basted but not finished evening suit coming undone in sections is quite good and mirrors the soon to be dis-illusion of the heretofore very deluded young man.
since lloyd is not in lady w's queue, i guess we'll not be discussing this fourth member of the silent comedy quartet (arbuckle, chaplin and keaton). i'm certainly not intending to put anyone off THE FRESHMAN, but i think your time would be better spent with the other two i mentioned first. |
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| bocce |
| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 2:24 pm |
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Joined: 24 May 2004
Posts: 2428
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jesus...
SAFETY LAST...oy! |
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| Shane |
| Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 7:16 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1168
Location: Chicago
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| I will say that the use of the Freshman in the begining of The Sins of Harold Diddlebock was the best way to view it (the Freshman). |
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| MVerdoux |
| Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 5:24 am |
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Joined: 30 Oct 2005
Posts: 37
Location: NYC & NJ
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bocce wrote: watched harold lloyd's THE FRESHMAN and was somewhat disappointed...
I couldn't agree with you more. THE FRESHMAN just doesn't do it for me. Somewhat in the same vain that Keaton's COLLEGE doesn't really do it for me either. All that "rah rah" we collegiates are so "in" crap.
Indeed SAFETY LAST (my favorite Lloyd) and SPEEDY are wonderful. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 12:58 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| Remember rolling in laughter in the mid-fifties at Safety Last, which I saw on the big screen in India. It was released under a different name, Mad Wednesday. |
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| bocce |
| Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 1:32 pm |
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Joined: 24 May 2004
Posts: 2428
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MAD WEDNESDAY is actually the re-tiltle of the film that shane brought uo: The Sins of Harold Diddlebock, a forties talkie by preston sturges...
but who knows what they title stuff overseas. there are hilarious efforts at re-titling american films to match differing cultures' perception of the original intent. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 3:01 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| When I saw Safety Last on DVD, I could have sworn it was the same movie I had seen as Mad Wednesday, but now I am not so sure. |
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| bocce |
| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:31 pm |
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Joined: 24 May 2004
Posts: 2428
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last evening watched LA BOHEHE with lillian gish and john gilbert (1926)...
gish acts circles around gilbert. it is the epitome of some of the subtlest of silent acting exposing the more flagrant gesticular style. in two of the crucial scenes: a) gilbert knocking gish down in the garret (unaware of her sacrifice and believing her to be unfaithfull) and b) the death scene, which could have been pure suds and tears is handled with great composure by gish.
as i said, gish well out acts gilbert. but, in reality, the storyline is the traditional tear jerker and both actors pull it from that dismal prospect into a rather better than average show. it's not great silent film, but it's real good lillian gish if you're so inclined... |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:58 pm |
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| I saw La Boheme yesterday also, though I didn't see the whole thing. Gish was a luminous presence. She was in absolute command of the character. She did stand out from all the other actors in the movie. It was as if she was a real character and the rest were cartoons. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:59 pm |
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| ...as if she 'were' a real... |
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