One of the participants in my silent film course at the local college told me about this set which is the first time I had heard of it. I knew that Jean Renoir had begun his career in the silent era but I didn’t know if any of those films still existed. They do and 4 of them are on display here along with his 1938 LA MARSEILLAISE and two works from late in his career. They are THE DOCTOR’S HORRIBLE EXPERIMENT (a surprising Jekyll/Hyde adaptation from 1959) and THE ELUSIVE CORPORAL from 1962 (an early version of THE GREAT ESCAPE). Being a silent film enthusiast, I shall concern myself with the 4 silents.
There are 2 features and 2 short films and all 4 feature Renoir’s then wife Catherine Hessling. WHIRLPOOL OF FATE, from 1925, is his first film and tells the story of an orphaned girl, abused by her uncle, who tries to make a life for herself on her own. The second is a lavish adaptation of Emile Zola’s NANA made the following year. The 2 short films are quite fanciful offerings with one of them never intended for distribution. There’s an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL from 1928 but the surrealistic 1927 opus CHARLESTON PARADE which was made as a lark with leftover shooting days from NANA defies description. It wasn’t shown until the 1960s.
This 3 disc set is being offered by Lionsgate Films (Canada’s largest film distributor) and is an incredible bargain at the price. NANA has been beautifully restored with color tints added. WHIRLPOOL OF FATE comes from a 16mm print and is in OK condition but it’s great to have this little gem. CHARLESTON PARADE and LITTLE MATCH GIRL are in rougher shape but are quite watchable. That’s remarkable for CHARLESTON PARADE which Renoir never intended to distribute. The title refers to the dance (Josephine Baker was then the talk of the town) but Hessling’s “costume” or lack of it along with her uninhibited dancing (an obvious nod to Baker), must be seen to be believed.
Special thanks to Lionsgate for making this set available which is a must for silent film fans everywhere. My only complaint is that there is no musical accompaniment for CHARLESTON PARADE (LITTLE MATCH GIRL has the original 1928 score which consists of classical snippets) but considering how bizarre it is that’s really not that surprising. I watched it the second time with 1920s jazz recordings in the background. You get to pick your own.
The Capsule Critic 