Silent

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René Clair’s ghost comedy begins melodramatically, with the story of a young man who seeks the hand of a politician’s daughter in vain. But when a mysterious doctor frees the spirit of the despairing young man from his body, the film takes a fantastic turn. From then on, the lover wreaks havoc on Paris in the form of an invisible phantom. With double exposures and imaginative tricks, Clair successfully capitalizes on the surreal, Dadaistic undertones of the story. Everything culminates in a breakneck chase through the streets of Paris.Read More »

Synopsis:
What starts off as a conventional travelogue turns into a satirical portrait of the town of Nice on the French Côte d’Azur, especially its wealthy inhabitants.Read More »

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A photographer tries to manipulate a woman into a sexy photo shoot. When she refuses, he finds a more obliging model and takes a series of nude photos. When men line up to buy them, a woman objects.Read More »

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The artist studio is decorated with a rug, a chaise longue, a small table, a plinth, a couple of copies of classic sculptures, a vase with flowers, a few prints on the walls, and on the wood paneled lower half of the wall, an 8-pointed star [Saturn-Film’s logo]. The artist is wearing a white shift over his grey trousers, shirt and necktie, and he is wearing black shoes. With hammer and chisel, he applies the last touches on his last piece of sculpture – the three graces, standing nude on a rectangular podium covered with a white bed-shit. He steps back, contemplates his work, and rejoices on the beauty he has achieved. He goes out momentarily, and brings a bottle of champagne and a glass; before drinking, he makes a toast to his finished statue.Read More »

Dimitri Kirsanoff’s masterpiece “Ménilmontant” opens with a furiously fast edited axe murder that somehow foreshadows “Battleship Potemkin”. It then resolves to be a moving drama about two sisters, one of them played by Nadia Sibirskaia who is probably the most talented silent film actress next to Lillian Gish. Kirsanoff tells his poetic story without intertitles and knows exactly that the facial expressions of his actors reveal everything we have to know about the emotional states of the characters.Read More »

Synopsis
Another of Reginald Denny’s money-spinning Universal vehicles, Fast and Furious casts Denny as “speed demon” Tom Brown. Fascinated with fast roadsters, Tom enjoys nothing more than “opening up” on the highway — at least, until he’s run off the road by another reckless driver. After emerging from the hospital, Tom discovers that he’s developed a mortal fear of automobiles — in fact, he jumps three feet in the air whenever he hears a honking horn. Naturally, the outcome of the plot hinges on Tom’s willingness to man the controls of a racing car for the sake of his sweetheart Ethel (Barbara Worth). All that prevents Fast and Furious from being a “perfect” Reginald Denny picture is a moment near the climax, when our jailed hero is released from his cell when his father bribes the guard: undoubtedly, Denny’s fans would have preferred that he figure a way out of his dilemma.
Hal EricksonRead More »

Quote:
Another boring evening at the Baron’s home; he sits and reads a magazine, while his wife sits across the reading table, reading a newspaper. The housemaid enters, bringing a message from Franz, who convenes the Baron to an urgent meeting at the Club. Excusing himself, and thoroughly kissing his wife good-evening, the Baron leaves – to meet some lady of the night in the club’s private room, with champagne and a sofa for two. At home, the Baroness gets bored, until she has an idea, soon put to practice. She sends a man a letter, signed Divine Lola, giving him rendez-vous at a discreet pension. The modern Eve is not taking her husband’s infidelities sitting down. She lays in her undershirt on a bed inviting her lover in, in a long embrace.Read More »

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Four Arab men in white burnouses, two women in grey, and one female cook in striped burnous, are sitting in front of a cave in a forest path. (From a piece of grey cloth over the entrance to the cave, two 8-pointed white stars hang incongruously: the Production company’s logo.) A pan hangs from a tripod. A girl in a colorful dress arrives with a Bucovina shepherd dog, and starts dancing in front of the men. First, half of the men go, then the others and the girl leave. Only one man stays, taking care of the food being prepared in the pot. Snivelling from their hiding place, a robber jumps him, and knocks him out with a blow. Three thugs join him, and they take whatever they find in the cave (guns). The dog comes back, and sits a while near the fallen cook. Read More »

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A woman seems to be terribly ill, but is it health or seduction that’s truly on her mind?Read More »