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Post by berkley on Nov 6, 2022 21:38:41 GMT -5
Quatermass and the pit remains, as far as I'm concerned, a brilliant piece of science-fiction. I first watched it as a kid on a Saturday matinee, then twice online... and it never lost its impact. I'm surprised (but not ungrateful) that it didn't warrant a big budget Hollywood remake. Its core concept was unsettling, creepy and fascinating. Never saw the original TV series, though. Definitely worth a look - I watched it just a few months ago and thought it was great. It's been too long since I've seen the movie to compare the two, though.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2022 13:11:27 GMT -5
I have a friend who I occasionally watch a film with (probably once a month). He comes to my home, or I go to his. But you know, he won’t watch anything with subtitles. Which means we’re probably not gonna be able to watch Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front together.
Shame. Reminds me a bit of my brother-in-law. He was born in 1978, but point blank refuses to watch black and white films - or foreign films. It almost seems like he won’t watch anything that was made prior to his 1978 birthdate.
The first black and white film I saw was 1931’s Frankenstein, probably in the 80s. Never dawned on me to not see it because of it being black and white. I also enjoyed the Laurel and Hardy films they’d show at weekends when I was about 11-12. As time went on, I was glad to see foreign films, and subtitles don’t bother me at all.
Ah well, each to their own. I just think you’re letting the best in life pass you by if you won’t even try classic films or foreign-language films.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 19, 2022 15:20:37 GMT -5
What’s the oldest movie that you love? I mean, you like it well enough to have seen it three or four times at least, and you’re looking forward to seeing it again.
For a long time, my choice would have been The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I love it! I saw it for the first time about 1990 and I’ve been watching it every four or five years ever since.
But four or five years ago, I saw Judith of Bethuliah (1914). It’s great! I’ve seen it three or four times since then.
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Post by kirby101 on Nov 19, 2022 17:01:54 GMT -5
Either O'Brien's The Lost World or Fairbank's Sinbad.
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Post by tartanphantom on Nov 19, 2022 17:31:24 GMT -5
While I have seen many films older the the ones I'm about to mention, and I've seen many of them several times (Birth of a Nation, despite its openly biased and bigoted take on the subject matter, still stands up to repeated viewings from a cinematography and production standpoint), there are several silent features that I have watched at least 10-12 times each.
I've also seen Metropolis, M and the Doctor Mabuse films several times, but they're not the first ones I reach for when I'm in the mood for a silent film. Overall, there are just too many to mention, as I have watched a LOT of silent film, both features and shorts. A lot.
I have to confess that I've sat through Stroheim's Greed only ONCE, and that was the 4-hour version that aired on TCM. the initial 9-hour version is pretty much lost.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 19, 2022 22:13:55 GMT -5
I’ve seen Birth of a Nation three or four times, but not lately and I sure don’t love it! It’s too important to ignore though.
I appreciate Intolerance. I’ve seen bits of it numerous times over the years. Some of it is great to sit and watch. About ten years ago, I rented it and forced myself to sit through it. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be but I sure don’t love it and I have no interest in seeing it again.
If I was teaching a film class, I would represent Griffith with Judith of Bethuliah and make Birth of a Nation and Intolerance optional.
A very old one I really like in L’infierno, an Italian film from 1911. I’ve seen it twice and I’ll probably watch it again eventually. But I don’t know if I love it!
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 19, 2022 22:55:26 GMT -5
The oldest I really enjoyed would be Louis Feuillade's Fantomas serial, from 1913, followed by Les Vampires (1915) and Judex (1916). Oldest I have rewatched, several times would probably be Metropolis (1927). The oldest that I have watched again and again would be The Prisoner of Zenda (1932), with Ronald Coleman.
Until I was in my teens, the only color movies I ever saw were in theaters. We had a black & white tv for most of my childhood. Also had a lot of outlets for old movies and similar. We used to go to Shakey's Pizza Parlor, every week, where they showed Laurel & Hardy and Charlie Chaplin shorts.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2022 4:43:21 GMT -5
The oldest film I’ve seen is 1922’s Nosferatau, which I thought was solid, although it probably didn’t live up to what I expected it to be.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2022 9:25:40 GMT -5
The oldest movie I truly love is the German animated film The Adventures of Prince Achmed from 1926.
It is a fairytale type story using "silhouette animation" involving cardboard cutouts and lighting technique in a frame by frame animated style, and the visual is absolutely magical. The cutouts and shadow lighting remind me of some art projects I worked on in my youth, but this is on a whole other level. Not only groundbreaking, I find it extremely rewatchable (especially fun to watch late night).
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 20, 2022 10:23:06 GMT -5
There are lots of great silent-film choices here. As a matter of fact, there are three films I’ve heard of, but never seen.
I’ve just never gotten around to Fantomas, Judex or Spione. I’ll see how accessible they are and try to see them by the end of the year.
Also, I remember liking The Iron Horse, but I saw it twenty years ago and I don’t remember much about it aside from my favorable impression.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 20, 2022 10:30:34 GMT -5
There are lots of great silent-film choices here. As a matter of fact, there are three films I’ve heard of, but never seen. I’ve just never gotten around to Fantomas, Judex or Spione. I’ll see how accessible they are and try to see them by the end of the year. Also, I remember liking The Iron Horse, but I saw it twenty years ago and I don’t remember much about it aside from my favorable impression. Fantomas is available on Youtube, with French title cards, though you can follow the story pretty well. Les Vampires was on there with English title cards and Judex, as well. I believe Spione was also on there, as was the original Mabuse, with both parts. Pretty much any surviving Feuillade, German expressionist and classic American silents can be found there, since they are in the public domain. Fantomas is pretty minimalist, though it expands in scope a bit in the middle chapters. Judex has a bit more meat to it, though the basic plot and premise are swiped from The Count of Monte Cristo. They just substituted a cloaked figure for Edmond Dantes. He is The Shadow, before there was a Shadow.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 20, 2022 10:31:16 GMT -5
Another one I love is Charlie Chaplin’s The Rink (1917). I didn’t mention it earlier because I was talking about feature films and The Rink is about 20 minutes.
I don’t even know how many times I’ve watched The Rink! I haven’t seen it for two or three years, but there was a time when I was watching it monthly, and that lasted for a few years, and I was still watching it fairly regularly for a while after that.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 20, 2022 10:40:43 GMT -5
I’m doing the research. And I remember why I’ve never seen Spione, Judex or Fantomas.
They are all so long! Each one is something of a commitment.
Which certainly isn’t a dealbreaker, but none of them are something I would watch on a whim before going to bed.
I am not going to try to see all of these before the end of the year. I’ll be very happy if I can sneak in Spione over Thanksgiving weekend. I’m sure it’s good! Fritz Lang is great! Have you seen Destiny?
But I don’t always have the time or the energy to watch a long silent movie. I like to be sure I’m in the mood for it so I won’t be falling asleep.
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Post by tartanphantom on Nov 20, 2022 11:13:15 GMT -5
I’m doing the research. And I remember why I’ve never seen Spione, Judex or Fantomas. They are all so long! Each one is something of a commitment. Which certainly isn’t a dealbreaker, but none of them are something I would watch on a whim before going to bed. I am not going to try to see all of these before the end of the year. I’ll be very happy if I can sneak in Spione over Thanksgiving weekend. I’m sure it’s good! Fritz Lang is great! Have you seen Destiny? But I don’t always have the time or the energy to watch a long silent movie. I like to be sure I’m in the mood for it so I won’t be falling asleep.
Personally, Spione is my favorite Lang film from the silent era... even over Metropolis or Die Nibelungen. The story is more cohesive, and the cinematography is outstanding for its time.
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Post by Calidore on Nov 20, 2022 14:02:10 GMT -5
I’m doing the research. And I remember why I’ve never seen Spione, Judex or Fantomas. They are all so long! Each one is something of a commitment. Which certainly isn’t a dealbreaker, but none of them are something I would watch on a whim before going to bed. I am not going to try to see all of these before the end of the year. I’ll be very happy if I can sneak in Spione over Thanksgiving weekend. I’m sure it’s good! Fritz Lang is great! Have you seen Destiny? But I don’t always have the time or the energy to watch a long silent movie. I like to be sure I’m in the mood for it so I won’t be falling asleep.
Personally, Spione is my favorite Lang film from the silent era... even over Metropolis or Die Nibelungen. The story is more cohesive, and the cinematography is outstanding for its time.
I recently watched through the Blu Ray box set of Fritz Lang's silent films, and while I liked pretty much everything from Destiny on to some degree, Metropolis and Die Nibelungen (which were the only ones I had already seen) remained the only ones I'd want to own myself. Though I could see adding Destiny someday; that was excellent.
I did find myself grinning every time Spione engaged in the old trope of having some action taken by someone anywhere be followed by an anonymous background character making furtive glances and maybe a phone call, because everyone in the world is secretly working for one side or the other. Cliches aren't always bad.
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