Erich Von Stroheim, 1922. Under the tight direction of von Stroheim, the acting is subtle, specific, and thus very funny. The Austrian-born director brings a decidedly European feel to American film, and it’s a big leap from Griffith’s world. Satirical excellence in a vivid Monte Carlo.
Category: Uncategorized
-
The Smiling Madame Beudet
Germaine Dulac, 1923. Mr. Beudet likes to fire an unloaded pistol at his head for a good laugh. Who doesn’t? But the real laughs begin once Mrs. Beudet puts one in the chamber.
-
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Robert Weine, 1920. I was in no way expecting such a complex display of man’s descent into madness. This mind-bending horror show is a true display of craft and left me in complete awe.
-
Intolerance
D.W. Griffith, 1916. This shot of Lillian Gish sitting by the “cradle endlessly rocking” interspersed scenes of long-forgotten tragedies as characters slowly approached their fate. Haunting enough on its own, I found it even more so considering the film is now 100 years old.
-
Eternal Rhythm
I remember one morning when I discovered a cocoon in the back of a tree just as a butterfly was making a hole in its case and preparing to come out. I waited awhile, but it was too long appearing and I was impatient. I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it. I warmed it as quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes, faster than life. The case opened; the butterfly started slowly crawling out, and I shall never forget my horror when I saw how its wings were folded back and crumpled; the wretched butterfly tried with its whole trembling body to unfold them. Bending over it, I tried to help it with my breath, in vain.
It needed to be hatched out patiently and the unfolding of the wings should be a gradual process in the sun. Now it was too late. My breath had forced the butterfly to appear all crumpled, before its time. It struggled desperately and, a few seconds later, died in the palm of my hand.
That little body is, I do believe, the greatest weight I have on my conscience. For I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm.
-Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek