The Gold Rush

Title: The Gold Rush
Year: 1925
Country: USA
Director: Charles Chaplin
Producer: Charles Chaplin
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 80 minutes
Viewed: May 20, 2012

Review: Charles Chaplin is amazing, simply put. He is a genius, there are not many who can effectively direct, produce and star in a movie. I was confused by the upbeat music not matching what was always happening during the movie. There were a few times where I laughed pretty hard. The first is the roll dance. It is classic and so funny. The second is when the house is about to tip off the mountain. The behavior between the two actors is perfectly done and makes the comedy of the situation even greater.

Rating:
2.5 Shamrocks (While there were a couple good laughs, I'm not sure I want to re-watch because silent films are just not my thing for the most part)

Movie 28 down... 973 to go!

Bronenosets Potyomkin

Title: Bronenosets Potyomkin - The Battleship Potemkin
Year: 1925
Country: U.S.S.R. 
Director: Grigori Aleksandrov & Sergei M. Eisenstein 
Producer: Jacob Bliokh
Genre: Drama & War
Runtime: 69 minutes
Viewed: May 20, 2012 

Review: What to say about this movie? There are two scenes specifically that I probably will always be able to recall. The first is when the men raise the red flag in protest and the second is the child bleeding from his head on the stairs. As a viewer, I had to read more about where the Director was coming from to understand the film. I definitely sided with and felt bad for the men at the beginning when they are showing the rotten meat. I am torn on how to feel about the film as a whole. I don't quite understand the necessity in the stair scene because up to that point you are angry with the men at their leaders and then you become confused as to why they are taking out their anger on the towns people. I am not sure ultimately how I felt about this film. But the ending is a good one. 

Rating: 
2 Shamrocks 

Movie 27 down... 974 to go!

The Phantom of the Opera

Title: The Phantom of the Opera
Year: 1925
Country: USA
Director: Ruper Julian & Lon Chaney
Producer: Carl Laemmle
Genre: Horror 
Runtime: 91 minutes
Viewed: May 20, 2012

Review: This is actually the second time I have seen this film. The first time I watched it with a good friend, but ended up enjoying her company more than I paid attention to the film. So, I thought in order to give a proper review I had to watch it a second time. I have never seen the any of the Phantom of the Opera movies nor have I seen the play, so it was nice to start with the original. While I was not fully captivated by this movie there were a few scenes in particular that caught my attention. The first is the scene where the chandelier falls to the ground. That scene was well done for the time period it was produced in. The second scene in the film that I enjoyed was where the Phantom comes out in his red outfit. The way the movie was shot going specifically to a color sequence at this part was brilliant. Over time the mask the Phantom wears has clearly changed from the fuller face mask in this film to the half face mask used currently. It would seem with time the film has also become less horror and more romance, from my understanding. The grotesque face of the Phantom when it is revealed in itself allows this movies genre category to be horror.

Rating:
3 Shamrocks

Movie 26 down... 975 to go!