British silent cinema, generally disregarded for the past 90 years, receives its due in this new release from Kino. A collaborative effort between them and the British Film Institute, it contains one of the greatest silent films coupled with a fascinating documentary about the history of silent film in Britain. A COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR is an early effort (1929) from director Anthony Asquith who would later direct the 1952 THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and was Helena Bonham Carter’s great-uncle. It combines the look of Murnau’s SUNRISE and the tension of Hitchcock’s THE LODGER with the maximum impact editing of Eisenstein’s BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN.
Among the many fine set pieces is a scene set in a movie theatre where the audience is viewing a silent comedy and then a “talkie”. It focuses only on the audience and their reactions to what they see while cleverly (and poignantly) pointing out the differences between the two formats. The great new piano score by Stephen Horne is a big plus and once again points out how important silent film accompaniment is.
SILENT BRITAIN is a 90 minute documentary hosted by Matthew Sweet that traces the development of moviemaking in the U.K. and explains why British silent movies were undervalued for so long. It’s sometimes a little too self-congratulatory but the history covered and the film clips highlighted more than make up for that and it leaves you hungry for more. A COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR is now the pick of the crop among the too few examples of British silent cinema on DVD. It joins HINDLE WAKES, PICCADILLY, and THE LODGER among the quality releases and hopefully will spur on others to follow. Definitely ranks among my favorite silent film releases to date.
The Capsule Critic 