Category Archives: Uncategorized

Any discussion of silent film in Russia centers around the dawn of the Soviet era and its three great directors Eisenstein, Dovzhenko, and Pudovkin. Yet before World War I and the Russian Revolution there existed a flourishing film industry that is all but forgotten today. Among the people working at that time was one EvgeniContinue reading “MAD LOVE: The Films of Russian Director Evgeni Bauer (1865-1917)”

As a silent film enthusiast and as someone who has taught close to 30 classes on silent movies at the local university, I have seen a LOT of silent movies including a number of silent documentaries but nothing quite like THE EPIC OF EVEREST. I was vaguely aware of the 1924 George Mallory expedition butContinue reading “THE EPIC OF EVEREST (1924): The Most Amazing Documentary I Have Ever Seen”

What a great time to be a silent film enthusiast. Thanks to video technology it’s now possible to have access to more silent films than ever before and in the best condition since their original release. For years Danish director Benjamin Christensen’s 1922 controversial “documentary” HAXAN (The Witches) has been available (when it’s been available)Continue reading “HAXAN Is A 1922 Scandinavian Docudrama About Witchcraft”

After the success of their earlier documentary GRASS (1925) about tribesman in Iran (then Persia), filmmakers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack went to Northeastern Thailand (then Siam) to photograph the trials and tribulations of a Laotian farmer, his family and his village. This film marks the duo’s transition from straight documentary (GRASS) towardContinue reading “CHANG (1926): Early Jungle Docudrama With Disturbing Overtones For Today’s Audiences”

As a silent film enthusiast, I am always on the lookout for quality silent film releases on DVD. Three sources you can always depend on are Kino Lorber, Flicker Alley, and Milestone Films. From Milestone comes LEGONG: DANCE OF THE VIRGINS and it constitutes a major discovery. Although released in 1935 this movie was theContinue reading “LEGONG: A Major Discovery”

have admired the films of Robert Flaherty since I first saw NANOOK OF THE NORTH back during my college days in the 1970s. I later saw his sound movies MAN OF ARAN (1934), ELEPHANT BOY (1937), LOUISIANA STORY (1948), and his abortive collaborative effort with F.W. Murnau TABU (1931). I had heard of and readContinue reading “MOANA: Beautiful To Watch But Hard To Listen to”

…are the two words I would use to describe this recent Flicker Alley release. Exhilarating in that there is now a quality copy of NANOOK on Blu-Ray. There is also the availability of the other rare films on Disc 2 although the visual quality doesn’t match that of NANOOK. No matter, just being able toContinue reading “NANOOK OF THE NORTH: Exhilarating And Depressing…”

I was looking forward to the release of THE QUIET ONES for a couple of reasons. 1) I’m a big fan of Jared Harris (and wish he could have replaced his father Richard as Dumbledore in the HARRY POTTER series) and 2) I’ve been following the movies of the revived Hammer Films with keen interestContinue reading “THE QUIET ONES: This 2014 Hammer Offering Is An Interesting Failure”

Read the various reviews and you’ll find that, for the most part, people were either impressed or weren’t with THE WOMAN IN BLACK. Put me in the former category for I love a good ghost story and there are way too few in the movies. THE WOMAN IN BLACK does exactly what it sets outContinue reading “THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012): Hammer’s Version Is Not As Good As The 1989 Original”

This movie went straight to DVD in the U.S and only recently opened in the U.K. Most of the U.S. reviews have ranged from fair to terrible and while I can understand that, I don’t agree with it. I think THE RESIDENT has a lot more to offer than it’s given credit for. Is theContinue reading “THE RESIDENT Is PEEPING TOM…50 Years Later”