shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2019 9:15:51 GMT -5
The Haunted Castle (1921)
F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu, Faust, Sunrise, The Last Laugh) is my favorite director of all time, and yet I'd never seen this one until now. I'm still getting used to the idea that Youtube has nearly EVERYTHING I could ever want to see from the silent era. Anyway, this is now the earliest Murnau film I've ever seen, and it's quite different. There is no wild, experimental cinematography nor effects. It's a far more basic film. And yet, in this earlier outing, without outrageous studio sets, special effects, and unorthodox camera angles to manipulate, you can see Murnau tightly manipulating the few ingredients he does know how to control here. The set has tremendous personality and is practically a character in the film itself, and Murnau's actors have such masterful control over their own faces, Murnau getting just close enough and using just the right lighting to make each furrowed wrinkle speak volumes. It's quite impressive, even within the boundaries of its own limitations.
As for this being a "Haunted Castle," well maybe not so much. It's a mansion more than anything, and there is exactly one brief dream that contains any horror elements. Beyond that, it's a murder mystery that's actually pretty easy to solve within the first twenty minutes. Still, the acting and facial expressions are enough to keep one entertained throughout, especially the largely unknown Lothar Mehnert as Count Oetsch.
I would definitely watch this one again...but not for Halloween.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2019 9:17:09 GMT -5
I guess that begs the question of whether we are counting short films. I watched quite a few of them this season (including The Portrait and Yhe Devil and The Statue, both of which I watched for the first time last night), but I was holding to the old film club's minimum requirement of 40 minutes. Some of these are under 2 minutes in running time. What say we? Should I go back and share/count these? I will take it out of my list ... but, I just wanted to share that 1910 film anyway. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2019 9:18:22 GMT -5
I guess that begs the question of whether we are counting short films. I watched quite a few of them this season (including The Portrait and Yhe Devil and The Statue, both of which I watched for the first time last night), but I was holding to the old film club's minimum requirement of 40 minutes. Some of these are under 2 minutes in running time. What say we? Should I go back and share/count these? I will take it out of my list ... but, I just wanted to share that 1910 film anyway. No, it's very cool that you did. I watched the newly restored version myself just this month. I just wanted us to be clear on the rules so that we were playing fair with folks who don't take an interest in these old shorts. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2019 9:23:17 GMT -5
The Haunted Castle (1921) ... I'm thinking of watching it tonight Shaxper!
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2019 9:25:35 GMT -5
thwhtguardian wanted to hear about The Portrait (1915)It isn't much by today's standards, but for an early audience not used to camera trickery, the portrait coming alive likely would have been utterly terrifying. From a 2019 perspective, it's mildly unsettling if you aren't waiting for it to happen. The Devil and the Statue (1902) is a Georges Melies short. Not a particular favorite of mine, but these are always fun anyway. Now The Devil in a Convent (1899)? THAT'S legendary fun: And I've always had a soft spot for The Infernal Cauldron (1903): But The Haunted Castle (1896) is where it all began:
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 21, 2019 9:53:37 GMT -5
thwhtguardian wanted to hear about The Portrait (1915)It isn't much by today's standards, but for an early audience not used to camera trickery, the portrait coming alive likely would have been utterly terrifying. From a 2019 perspective, it's mildly unsettling if you aren't waiting for it to happen. The Devil and the Statue (1902) is a Georges Melies short. Not a particular favorite of mine, but these are always fun anyway. Now The Devil in a Convent (1899)? THAT'S legendary fun: And I've always had a soft spot for The Infernal Cauldron (1903): But The Haunted Castle (1896) is where it all began: I love good old fashioned camera trickery! And for me, it's just not Halloween with out Melies. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2019 12:13:16 GMT -5
One Body Too Many (1944)
I truly am tired of the Old Dark House format, but I needed company while grading, and that meant putting on a film that's familiar, comfortable, and doesn't require my full attention. One Body Too Many fits that bill nicely. It's a pretty forgettable Old Dark House mystery/thriller. Bela Lugosi plays a servant (he sure does that a lot with these films) and is mostly under-utilized. Really, all that sets this one apart is Jack Haley as the humorous protagonist, bumbling his way through the plot. I'm not a huge Haley fan, but he's endearing enough.
No classic, this one, but it's fun Poverty Row company for a day of grading essays.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2019 14:23:24 GMT -5
The Corpse Vanishes (1942)
Yikes! I put this one on as my next grading companion, mistakenly believing it was yet another Old Dark House murder mystery I'd seen a thousand times before. Somehow (I have no idea how), I was totally mistaken, and I've never actually seen this one before! It was so enthralling, I had to stop grading in order to watch it until the end.
There's so much going right in this one, from a great Lugosi performance, to a strong ensemble cast, to a legitimately creepy tone pervading the film and making for some truly eerie scenes (and no, it doesn't follow the format of an Old Dark House film at all). But, unfortunately, the pacing falls apart by the second half, in which the director favors the hero duo, back in the real world and hatching a plan, rather than the shadowy corridors of Dr. Lorenz's mansion, populated by his terrifying compatriots and insane undead wife.
Too bad. This one has so much going for it otherwise, and I intend to watch it every October from now on.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2019 16:58:55 GMT -5
So this theory is in its early stages, but I'm starting to think you can judge a Bela Lugosi film on what kind of character he is playing. Hear me out:
Monster: This is going to be an amazing film, whether it's coming from Universal or Poverty Row.
Crazed human not defined by his profession: Likely a strong film (probably from Universal), but not A level.
Doctor: Solid film, likely from Poverty Row.
Servant: Old Dark House film . Hang in there. This won't be terrible, but it probably won't be memorable either.
Scientist: Abort! Abort! At best, you're in a third rate Universal film. At worst, it's Ed Wood.
Hero: Whoops. Not a horror film.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2019 20:50:11 GMT -5
It's time for one of my favorite guilty-pleasure films of all time (which I probably watch four times a month on average): The Invisible Ghost (1941).
Okay, the title is totally misleading, Bela's "trance-mode" is a bit absurd, and the male romantic lead is obnoxious, but if you can get past those three elements, this film is so much fun. I truly think this is my favorite Bela role. Not his best, but certainly his warmest. I truly adore him as the kind and benevolent Dr. Kessler, completely unaware of his own darkness locked within. He is the ultimate gentleman, and Lugosi brings such sincere love to the role. Additionally, Clarence Muse absolutely steals the spotlight as the butler who seems wiser than everyone around him, (so unusual for an African American film role in 1931), and Betty Compson attains that perfect balance of creepy and obnoxious which is utterly essential to her role. If you love Lugosi, it's an amazing film. If you don't, there are worse ways to spend an hour and three minutes.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 21, 2019 23:01:52 GMT -5
Grades are due tomorrow, and I'm happy to say I have finished mine 3 minutes before midnight. My final grading companion for the evening was Doctor X (1932), an absolute favorite of mine!
A wild assortment of charismatic mad scientists, all trapped together in a creepy old castle while they work together to figure out which one of them transforms into a monster under the full moon and murders people? Sign me up! The eerie Technicolor Phase II and brilliant special effects by the close are really just icing on the cake of this enormously fun film.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2019 5:47:37 GMT -5
The Haunted Castle (1921)As for this being a "Haunted Castle," well maybe not so much. It's a mansion more than anything, and there is exactly one brief dream that contains any horror elements. Beyond that, it's a murder mystery that's actually pretty easy to solve within the first twenty minutes. Still, the acting and facial expressions are enough to keep one entertained throughout, especially the largely unknown Lothar Mehnert as Count Oetsch. I would definitely watch this one again...but not for Halloween. This is the first time that I watch it and I'm a fan of silent movies that uses facial expressions to tell a story and this one is really TOP-NOTCH and very entertaining indeed. The first 20 minutes or so ... is really set the tone of this movie and made it very BELIEVABLE and that's the beauty of it. The sets are outstanding, nice themes and elements, and most of all ... the dream and a great murder mystery to boot. Count Oetech is one great character that kept me longing for more. Lothar Mehnert is a MASTER at what he did in Haunted Castle. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 22, 2019 8:38:37 GMT -5
Hausu  1977, Toho This is another new one for me...and what a weird trip it was. I've seen t-shirts with the cat on them at cons for years so I had a slight awareness of the film but I've never experienced until now. With it's surreal nature it's difficult to really describe, think Rocky Horror if it was made by Ed Wood with set design by Dali ..but on more drugs. It was that weird. It's the story(and I use that word loosely) of a group of Japanese school girls(complete with fetishized Japanese school girl costumes) goes to a haunted house that eats them up one by one. It's just super surreal, there's a ton of very fake, cartoony gore and the creature effects seem to be intentionally made to make you laugh. I don't know if I'll ever feel the need to watch it again, but I can say it's definitely something that I think everyone should experience at least once.
6+/10 |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2019 8:42:47 GMT -5
Grades are due tomorrow, and I'm happy to say I have finished mine 3 minutes before midnight. My final grading companion for the evening was Doctor X (1932), an absolute favorite of mine! A wild assortment of charismatic mad scientists, all trapped together in a creepy old castle while they work together to figure out which one of them transforms into a monster under the full moon and murders people? Sign me up! The eerie Technicolor Phase II and brilliant special effects by the close are really just icing on the cake of this enormously fun film. Before I went to get my usual coffee fix in the morning ... I watch Doctor X on YouTube this morning to kill an hour or so and this is a really a fun, fun, and more fun movie to watch to see all these mad scientists competing and making a monster under the full moon and this one really shines and the pacing is marvelous and the photography is spot on and brilliantly done. Doctor Xavier is or Doctor X is a hoot and I was curious why Shaxper loves this movie. We both agree and I just wanted to let you all here that this movie meets my approval and I really like the background scenes and its really a joy to watch. |
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Post by brutalis on Oct 22, 2019 8:53:16 GMT -5
Watched last night (recorded from Svengoolie last year) the made for TV movie Gargoyles! Starring Cornel Wilde and Bernie Casey and a young Scott Glenn this story has always stuck with me ever since seeing it on television back in the 70's. Always spooky and dark, the movie setting in the depths of the cold dark desert night appeals to my Arizona upbringing and the movie is played out very seriously with no camp. A stellar movie and once seen you will always remember it: I grew up with friends imitating the Gargoyle voice: READ TO ME DIANA...
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