Our Hospitality

Title: Our Hospitality
Year: 1923
Country: USA
Director: John G. Blystone & Buster Keaton
Producer: Joseph M. Schenck
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 73 minutes
Viewed: November 19, 2010

Review: The story itself, to me, appeared to be somewhat of a Romeo and Juliet tale. Two families feuding, killing each other, and then the son of one family and the daughter of the other fall in love without knowing who each other really are. However, this is definitely the funny version. This movie both storyline and with characters exhibits humor. It is slapstick comedy but watching the main character constantly try to keep from getting shot will provide anyone with a few laughs. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I am not sure I will be watching it again any time soon, but it was definitely better then some of the ones before it. Then again I feel any movie is going to benefit if it has the potential to make people laugh.

Rating:
3 Shamrocks
4 Soccer balls

Movie 18 down... 983 to go!

Foolish Wives

Title: Foolish Wives
Year: 1923
Country: USA
Director: Erich Von Stroheim
Producer: N/A (not given)
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 117 minutes
Viewed: July 12, 2010 (Not completely sure but pretty sure this is when we watched it)

Review: The thing that stood out about this movie for me (and Drake as well) as that we were incredibly happy when it was over. The movie was way too long. Reading a few excerpts about the film we found out that it was supposed to be 6 to 10 hours long originally, which would have been a complete disaster. The title of the movie makes sense because the whole goal is that the main character "The Count" seduces rich married women to give him money. It is confusing as to who the two main women that are working with The Count actually are, it's clear they are faking royalty or wealth, but what is not clear is if they are women he is seeing or his cousins. At the end of the film, I remember asking Drake, "Did he just die?" I'm not sure if I missed something during the movie or what, but all of the things I have read finding out about the film further state that he does die. Overall, I am just going to say that it is incredibly difficult for me to follow the silent films, but when I don't think the movie is entertaining it makes it especially difficult.

Rating:
1 Shamrock
1 Soccer ball

Movie 17 down... 984 to go!

Haxan

Title: Haxan
Year: 1923
Country: Denmark/Sweden
Director: Benjamin Christensen
Producer: N/A (not given)
Genre: Documentary & Horror
Runtime: 104 minutes
Viewed: July 9, 2010

Review: This movie was not exactly what I had expected it to be, I knew it would be about witchcraft but towards the end of the film it takes an extremely odd turn. Honestly, I've taken a couple days before writing this review because I'm not completely sure what to say. I did not like the movie overall, I felt it went on and on, especially with the picture interruptions that provided a history lesson. The history lessons made more sense at the end of the film, with the twist being that people who could be claimed to be witches may just suffer from hysteria because both end up having similar temperaments. But overall I did not feel like the history lesson was necessary, it honestly could have just gone on with the movie and made sense. I guess it made sense with the twist, especially when you consider people who suffer from hysteria do see things, such as witches supposedly do, and in a time (in the film) where if you were accused to be a witch you were punished, and more than likely burned at the stake. I felt like the message of the film was really that we should treat those that suffer from psychiatric problems better, but with the rest of the film it just doesn't seem to make sense. Drake put it best when she stated that, "The end of the movie just got preachy." The best part about the film would be the costumes of the "devils" and the effort that was put into the set designs.

Rating:
2 Shamrocks
2 Soccer balls

Movie 16 down... 985 to go!

Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens

Title: Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens - Nosferatu, A Symphony of Terror
Year: 1922
Country: Germany
Director: F.W. Murnau
Producer: N/A (not given)
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 81 minutes
Viewed: July 1, 2010

Review: Most traditionally know this film as the one that started the Dracula movies. I understand that what we typically refer to as frightening now is different then what was frightening then. Now we enjoy things that make us jumpy, however in that period I can completely understand how this was a horror type film. There are a few images from the movie that are scary but nothing that is going to leave me with nightmares. This is the first movie so far that either Drake or I had actually heard of, but not only that, Drake has watched a couple versions of the movie before. It was entertaining to say the least and there are some nice effects throughout the movie that make it worth watching. I'm not sure it would be one I would actively seek out to watch again, but I would not be opposed to watching it again if someone else was already watching it. All that to say it is cool to see where the Dracula movies began.

Rating:
3 Shamrocks
3 Soccer balls

Movie 15 down... 986 to go!

Nanook of the North

Title: Nanook of the North
Year: 1922
Country: USA
Director: Robert J. Flaherty
Producer: Robert J. Flaherty
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 79 minutes
Viewed: June 30, 2010

Review: The best word to describe this film is wow! This was the best movie we have watched so far. I'm not sure whether it was the fact that it was the first documentary or what, but the fact that we got to be a part of these Eskimos' lives for a little over an hour was throughly entertaining. Everything they did was captivating. The beginning scene captures the viewers attention because it is beautiful but from there the viewer is left seeing a hilarious canoe scene where more Eskimos than you think pop out like it's a clown car. The whole movie, seeing their way of life, truly is just attention grabbing. There is no question in my mind why this movie is in the book, even if it wasn't in the book for it being considered the first documentary, it should be in there solely because of how amazing it is. Absolutely, one hundred percent, the best film we have watched so far. My hat to you Robert J. Flaherty, well done. Also, it should be said that this is the only movie so far that caught one of our roommates attention to the point she sat down to watch with us.

Rating:
4 Shamrocks
4.5 Soccer balls

Movie 14 down... 987 to go!

Dr. Mabuse, Der Spieler

Title: Dr. Mabuse, Der Spieler - Dr. Mabuse, Parts 1 and 2
Year: 1922
Country: Germany
Director: Fritz Lang
Producer: Erich Pommer
Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery, & Thriller
Runtime: 140 minutes
Viewed: Part 1: June 28th & Part 2: June 29, 2010

Review: Best way to put it in my opinion is too little, too late. The first half was 120 minutes long, although it was two hours it did not seem that bad, I was entertained for the most part. The second half was 109 minutes long and completely lost me. The first half was fun it kept my attention, although I am still not sure I could tell you what character was who because since Dr. Mabuse disguises himself I'm not sure who was who at all. One second I would think I had it figured out and then the next I would be asking Drake, wait is that this person and she wouldn't know either. The second half was just extremely confusing, all we understood was the he went crazy. Unfortunately because the second half was hard to follow and boring, exaggerating unnecessary scenes to a long length, it was hard to give our full attention to it. I'm not saying we are sitting her glued to the television when we watch these movies, but typically if it even catches our attention a little we are pretty attune to what is happening. Due to the second half of this movie and feeling like it was even longer then the first half, I would never watch it again.

Rating:
2 Shamrocks (If it was just the second half, the movie would only get 1 Shamrock)
1.5 Soccer balls

Movie 13 down... 988 to go!

La Souriante Madame Beudet

Title: La Souriante Madame Beudet - The Smiling Madame Beudet
Year: 1922
Country: France
Director: Germaine Dulac
Producer: N/A (not given)
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 38 minutes
Viewed: June 27, 2010

Review: This movie was short, which was fantastic, however that's about the only thing that was good about the film. Unfortunately, it was incredibly confusing and there were random shots that were unexplainable. The dialogue cards occasionally made sense, but overall they were confusing too. It is safe to say for about 38 minutes Drake and I were just utterly confused. It is supposedly one of the first films for feminism. About half way through the film it made more sense that the husband was oppressive to her, however once again if we would not have read about the movie, I would have no clue that she daydreamed throughout the movie as a way to try to "free" herself from his patriarchy. Drake and I are at a loss for what the end of the film was supposed to mean, in the the second to last scene there are puppets that appear in the mirror and then a curtain falls. If anyone can explain to me how that makes sense other then he invites her to a show at the beginning of the movie, I'd really appreciate it.

Rating:
2 Shamrocks (It helps that the movie was short, but being short isn't a good thing if the movie makes no sense)
1.5 Soccer balls

Movie 12 down... 989 to go!

Orphans of the Storm

Title: Orphans of the Storm
Year: 1921
Country: USA
Director: D.W. Griffith
Producer: D. W. Griffith
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 150 minutes
Viewed: June 26, 2010

Review: Let the sounds of rejoicing commence. Drake and I could not be happier... not because this film was wonderful but because this is the last movie by D.W. Griffith we have to watch! We understand why Griffith is in the book, he truly did contribute a lot to film. However, films that are silent should not be so long, you are bound to lose your audience when the film is over an hour and forty-five minutes. Once again, Griffith felt for him to express the movie best it needed to be over two hours long. It was, in my opinion, a more interesting storyline then some of the other movies. Nowadays there are a few directors and there have been over time other directors who have done this, but it would seem with Griffith it originated that he likes to use the same cast over and over. I'd have to say the best thing about this film were the sets. But the movie as a whole was okay/fair, mainly because it was just too long.

Rating:
2.25 Shamrocks
2 Soccer balls

Movie 11 down... 990 to go!

Korkarlen

Title: Korkarlen - The Phantom Carriage
Year: 1921
Country: Sweden
Director: Victor Sjostrom
Producer: Charles Magnusson
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 70 minutes
Viewed: June 24, 2010

Review: Well, I'll start this post off with I am a bit irritated that I had to buy the film online to be able to view it. I searched everywhere I knew to look to find it and had absolutely no luck. So, $16 later, Drake and I have the movie. I'm not sure I would have understood the movie at all had I not read the description in the 1001 Movies book. It was not the worst film we have watched by any means, but it definitely was not as entertaining as we had expected it to be. One of the greatest things about this movie were the "special effects." The way this movie was filmed was taken to a new level with the Phantom Carriage and the Grim Reaper. It was very interesting to see and imagine how difficult it must have been to develop some of the scenes, that now we don't even typically take a minute to think about the difficulty. I appreciated the way the film ended, but was still very confused by the way the story was being told, it was very similar to The Christmas Carol, although with The Christmas Carol having speaking roles, it is a lot easier to follow.

Rating:
2 Shamrocks
2.5 Soccer balls

Movie 10 down... 991 to go!

Within Our Gates

Title: Within Our Gates
Year: 1920
Country: USA
Director: Oscar Micheaux
Producer: Oscar Micheaux
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 79 minutes
Viewed: June 12, 2010

Review: This is the first film we have watched that was directed by an African-American. It was interesting from the get go in our attempt to watch this movie. Most of them have been easy to locate but this one took a little bit more searching come to find it on the BMA podcast. The film was in two parts via podcast, and I'm unaware if that is how it was made originally or not. Watching this movie it was like we had gone backwards in the book rather than forward. The last film had started to keep our attention more affectively and while this did not necessarily lose our attention it was incredibly difficult to follow. The beginning we were completely unable to read what was said, and throughout the dialogue cards a few of them were impossible to tell what it said. We attempted as best we could to follow the film, but it was definitely a difficult task. There was no music in the background of this film, which also made it seem like we had gone backwards in the advancement of film. It is understandable why the film is in the book, especially with it having been the "earliest surviving feature" (1001 Movies...) by an African-American, but overall I would not imagine it being put in the book. The book notes that the movie had been censored many times because of it being too provocative near the timing the Chicago race riots, because of two things the lynching and rape, however if I would not have known that there was rape from the book I'm not sure I would have picked it out as that, but instead thought it was an attack. The film was restored and I cannot imagine how difficult it would have been to watch it if it had not been restored.

Rating:
2 Shamrocks
1 Soccer Ball

Movie 9 down... 992 to go!

Way Down East

Title: Way Down East
Year: 1920
Country: USA
Director: D.W. Griffith
Producer: D.W. Griffith
Genre: Drama & Romance
Runtime: 147 minutes
Viewed: June 9, 2010

Review: Let us start with this was the first film that we have watched, of semi-normal movie length, that I would watch again. It was actually entertaining. It would appear that Griffith realized his ability to story tell in a way that keeps the viewer's attention. I cannot quite put my finger on it exactly what changed but one of the little details that seems to make a huge difference is that he stopped putting emphasis on such monotonous pieces of the movie. Before the movie even began I told Drake that Griffith likes to depict women as helpless in his movies so far, but Griffith swiftly called my bluff by having dialogue cards at the beginning that summed up said that men should take responsibility for their actions. This was the first film that had scenes from the movie missing, which if I would have known was a possibility I would have prayed that parts of the previous movies would have been missing instead of this one. Instead of it having the typical scenes there were just dialogue cards that stated what was supposed to be there, and in a couple scenes there were photographs of what was depicted in the movie instead of reel. This movie also appeared to have more comedic entertainment throughout it, even though the movie was more of a romantic drama. If you are at all interested in watching a silent film, although this one is long, I would definitely recommend it! Lastly, a triple wedding is gross, it doesn't matter what year it is when a mother in-law and daughter in-law kiss multiple times, with one especially slow kiss, it is weird, and no matter what year you are in when two men accidentally kiss it is funny.

Rating:
3 Shamrocks (if it gets 3 or more shamrocks, this means I would watch the movie again)
3.75 Soccer Balls

Movie 8 down... 993 to go!

Broken Blossoms

Title: Broken Blossoms
Year: 1919
Country: USA
Director: D.W. Griffith
Producer: D.W. Griffith
Genre: Drama & Romance
Runtime: 75 minutes
Viewed: June 7, 2010

Review: This movie is the now common tale of forbidden love. The main character a girl named Lucy is loved by "The Yellow Man." However, Lucy doesn't really know love or kindness because her father, a boxer, is extremely aggressive towards her. When the father gets angry in any situation he takes it out on the "weaker," his daughter, he whips her often. Overall, it makes sense the movie would be in the book because it does seem to kickoff what is known as "forbidden love." It is obvious that there was no protest against racism in films because they have a Caucasian play the "Yellow Man." As well, he is often referred to as Chink. What becomes interesting however is that when Lucy is in the care of Yellow Man she in kindness still calls him Chink by saying, "Why are you so good to me, Chinky?" Another first noticed in this movie is that there were prostitutes in the film, I'm not completely sure what the point was to them other then that Lucy should not become one. The girl seeks care after a beating and this is when Yellow Man really shows his love for her, but when the father finds out it is detrimental. All that to say the movie has an ending similar to that of Romeo and Juliet.

Rating:
2.75 Shamrocks
3 Soccer Balls

Movie 7 down... 994 to go!

Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari

Title: Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Year: 1919
Country: Germany
Director: Robert Wiene
Producer: Rudolf Meinert & Erich Pommer
Genre: Fantasy & Horror
Runtime: 72 minutes
Viewed: May 30, 2010

Review: This is the first film out of the six that has been told as a story. The film starts being told by one man to another, but then the Director takes the watchers on a tour via a flashback. It is from there the film is told, but you don't necessarily realize that you are being told the story until you reach the end and come the realization that it was being told as a story. There were a couple interesting factors about this movie that are different from the others, the first being that there is a supernatural feel to the movie. The character Cesare has the ability to not only know everything from the past but as well to see the future. The second detail that is different is that the viewers see at the end that the whole layout for the movie takes place in an insane asylum. Lastly, the set took a complete turn from the last film. In the last film we witnessed a very elaborate set where this set appeared to be painted for a good majority. It would appear that the effort that maybe should have been paid to set was given instead to the dialogue cards. The dialogue cards were very different in this movie, different style, detail, and overall the way they were written, which in all actuality made them difficult to read.

Rating:
2.75 Shamrocks
3.25 Soccer Balls

Movie 6 down... 995 to go!

Intolerance

Title: Intolerance
Year: 1916
Country: USA
Director: D.W. Griffith
Producer: D.W. Griffith
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 178 minutes
Viewed: May 29, 2010

Review: This is the second film by Griffith that Drake and I have viewed, the first being The Birth of a Nation. Apparently Griffith likes the longer films, because this film was also 3 hours long. There were quite a few differences between the two films though, this, in my personal opinion, was more entertaining. This is the first film out of the five thus far that has used an extravagant number of extras. It is stated in the review in the book, 1001 Movies, that there are 3,000 extras used. Also, the set itself is extremely detailed compared to what we have witnessed so far. Other mentionable details are that there appears to be nudity or at least semi-nudity in the film, it is difficult to tell in the scene whether or not the woman is completely naked. As well, there is a kiss which hasn't been scene yet in the past films. Lastly, something different about this movie is there are more detailed scenes of violence. In one scene the a man appears to get his head cut off, in the past movies we have scene gun shots but nothing as severe as this. Overall, the storyline for me was hard to follow because it is a silent film, but it was more interesting to watch because Griffith combined different story lines which helps capture the audiences attention more.

Rating:
2.5 Shamrocks (While I enjoyed this film more then the others, it still was 3 hours long and for me difficult to follow because of it being a silent film. I am not sure I am fully capable of following a silent film that is that long. I think if it wouldn't have been 3 hours I would have given it 3 Shamrocks, but since I will not watch it again, 2.5 makes more sense. Just an FYI, I did stop watching for about 20 minutes, but I don't think it made that big of a difference, I was just as confused before as I was after I missed that short period of time.)
3 Soccer Balls

Movie 5 down... 996 to go!

Les Vampires

Title: Les Vampires
Year: 1915
Country: France
Director: Louis Feuillade
Producer: N/A (not given)
Genre: Crime & Horror
Runtime: 399 minutes
Viewed: I don't remember when we started watching this, but as stated below it took about two months, finished watching the film: April 26, 2010

Review: Well, what is there to say about this film? If you need to fall asleep, then it would probably be a great film for you to watch. There were multiple times while watching this movie, that I became incredibly tired/bored just watching and in the last part of it, I actually did fall asleep. There are 10 parts to this film that in the end equals 400 minutes. It literally took me 2 months to make myself complete this mission. My partner in this adventure stopped watching after, I believe it was, the fifth part. I am not completely sure why this is in the book, and honestly I don't care why it is, I don't think it was necessary. The whole plot of the movie follows a gangster group that is referred to as Les Vampires. Trying to follow the characters was incredibly difficult. There were two characters I could recognize on a regular basis, and one of them was just because he is odd looking. I would never in my life watch this film again. It gets incredibly frustrating when you sit there and watch the characters do something for about five minutes and they are repeating the same action over again, I truly believe that the movie could have been just as long as a typical movie now, no more then 120 minutes. Also, the color scheme changes when they go outside or it becomes night time is ridiculous. I don't know what people were like in 1915, but I would assume they didn't need a green color scheme to appear when the characters went outside where there are clearly trees present. Never, ever again will I watch this movie. One word, exhausting.

Rating: 1/2 Shamrock

Movie 4 down... 997 to go!

The Birth of a Nation

Title: The Birth of a Nation
Year: 1915
Country: USA
Director: D.W. Griffith
Producer: D.W. Griffith
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 187 minutes
Viewed: February 25, 2010

Review: Let's begin with stating this movie was 3 hours long. Originally shown in 2 parts, half way through the audience would be given an intermission. After watching the film I understand why! It is understandable why the movie was such a big deal when it was released. The first reason being that it covers a very touchy subject and the second reason being it is much longer than the typical movie. The director uses different lighting throughout the film to help with the understanding of what is happening in the scene. The realization I've come to is it is extremely difficult to follow a film that only has music, I noticed I was unable to remember who was who during the film, which made it difficult to keep up with what was happening. Another big stride in the movie industry at this time was that Griffith had the first orchestral score. While it is easy to understand why this film is in the book, crucial to the future development of film, the movie in a few words is incredibly racist. It was interesting to see how the filmmaker depicted how things happened from his point of view and now to be able to look back at history and see what actually happened.

Rating:
1 Shamrock (I definitely could not watch this again, too long, difficult to follow, and I'm pretty sure watching it gave me a headache. None the less I do understand why it was on the list.)
2 Soccer Balls (Not saying it was a bad movie, I did enjoy parts of it, but the length of the movie makes me not want to watch it again and caused me to become bored with it. If you are interested in cinematic history, definitely watch it, but if you're not, it is not a fun movie it is more a movie to study. I never want to see the KKK riding into triumph while the song Ride of the Valkyries is playing in the background ever again.)

Movie 3 down... 998 to go!

The Great Train Robbery

Title: The Great Train Robbery
Year: 1903
Country: USA
Director: Edwin S. Porter
Producer: N/A (not given in book)
Genre: Action, Crime, Short, & Western
Runtime: 11 minutes
Viewed: February 24, 2010

Review: This movie was more entertaining to watch than the previous one and also had a better storyline. It was interesting to see an early difference between a French film (Le Voyage Dans La Lune) and this film, which was made in the U.S. The picture were clearer, it may also have to do with the country of production but this film was categorized as a Western, however I think now it could be considered a comedy, while the French film was Sci-fi. The final scene where the gunman points the gun directly at the screen is an interesting concept for a film, because it gives the film a, "you're next" feel.

Rating:
3 Shamrocks
2.5 Soccer Balls

Movie 2 down... 999 to go!

Le Voyage Dans La Lune

Title: Le Voyage Dans La Lune - A Trip to the Moon
Year: 1902
Country: France
Director: Georges Méliès
Producer: Georges Méliès
Genre: Sci-fi & Short
Runtime: 14 minutes
Viewed: February 23, 2010

Review: Although this movie was made in 1902, it would appear that a child came up with the screenplay. The story telling system seems to be they did this and then that and then this. The movie is only about 14 minutes long, however the first 4 minutes of the movie seems like it is lasting forever. I guess that is to be expected when the short film length in this time was typically 2 minutes. It is difficult to understand what is being said in the film, especially while the actors are clamoring around in the classroom. For obvious reasons, 1902, the cinematography was less than wonderful. The story in all does not make very much sense, but I guess for a short period of time it keeps you captivated and wondering, what will happen next?

Rating:
2 Shamrocks
2.5 Soccer Balls

Movie 1 down... 1000 to go!