Destruction This was the 25th short as a team. I’m only now dipping into Laurel and Hardy in a serious way, but the whole 20 year collaboration seems to be based on two things: the comedy of destruction, and a sort of flummoxed humiliation. We laugh at both, but it is the destruction (or sometimes… Continue reading Bacon Grabbers (1929)
Tag: 1920s
Films released in the 1920s
Anemic Cinema (1926)
Un Revolutionary Just because something happened, doesn’t mean that it matters. Just because some artist farts controllably doesn’t mean we should enter it. This was unimportant when it was new, and only slightly less so now. I say slightly because film as a whole has lost a certain sense of adventure that this possesses. If… Continue reading Anemic Cinema (1926)
Perfect Day (1929)
Not Perfect I am in the midst of watching a lot of Laurel and Hardy shorts. I’m amazed at a few things. There are over a hundred. They all use the same gag philosophy, often the same gags. And they range from pretty darn funny to boring. This is one of the boring ones. You… Continue reading Perfect Day (1929)
It (1927)
Invention I have put this film on my list of required viewing for cineliteracy. The reason is obvious: here we have the creation of a persona that changed the world of film and indeed the world. I believe that the relationship between film reflecting society and inventing it is complex, but in some cases the… Continue reading It (1927)
The Golem (1920)
Life This is the most exciting film I have seen of those made before “Kane.” It is far better than those usually clumped into the so-called expressionist movement, particularly better than “Caligari”. The lighting, framing and rhythm of the thing is about of the same fine quality. Where is astounds is in the sets, which… Continue reading The Golem (1920)