“Keep him busy and don’t let him know he’s the hit of the show.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Note: In his Alternate Oscars book, Peary names Chaplin Best Actor of the Year for this film, pointing out that “as usual, Chaplin’s tramp is both touching and funny as he maintains his dignity”, and — thankfully – “doesn’t play for pity”. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Day in, day out, whistlin’ and howlin’ — makes folks go crazy, especially women!”
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Review: Peary accurately notes that “The Wind is beautifully acted by Gish and the talented, handsome Hanson”, whose portrayal here in a tricky role possesses a surprising amount of subtlety and emotional nuance. Gish, of course, can’t be equalled: as Peary notes, she’s “dynamic in a role that lets her run the gamut of emotions”, and “well aware… it is through her incredible eyes that we perceive the changes her character goes through”; he argues it’s likely that “no one was more aware of the camera than this shrewd actress”. Meanwhile, the film itself is “exquisitely photographed (by John Arnold), with much emphasis on motion”, and Sjostrom creating a “tremendous sense of claustrophobia with repeated shots of the sand swirling towards windows and penetrating everything”. (To that end, one can’t help wondering what area of Texas actually has sandy wind storms that are this insistent and this devastating; would people really choose to live in such a place, given any other option?) The Wind (like all of Sjostrom’s work) is filled with many memorable, psychologically complex images — not just Gish’s “fantasized image of a white horse charging through the skies”, but her very breakdown itself, represented with increasingly expressionistic flair as the elements around her (the incessant sand storms, lecherous Love’s creepy return) eventually destroy every bit of resistance she possesses. Without saying more about the film’s controversial denouement (changed at the insistence of the producers), I will note that the ending manages to satisfy on multiple levels: Gish’s ultimate fate (while perhaps “a little hokey”) is the only one we would have wished for this most put-upon of feminist heroines. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“The mysterious Barren Lands — desolate, boulder-strewn, wind-swept — illimitable spaces which top the world.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: I’m much less concerned than Peary about either of these two issues. Watching how a group of humans manage to survive in seemingly unlivable conditions is sufficient “drama” for my tastes; and while it’s true that many of the scenes were commissioned specifically for the film, as Roger Ebert puts it so bluntly in his “Great Movies” review, “If you stage a walrus hunt, it still involves hunting a walrus, and the walrus hasn’t seen the script.” What does concern me a bit are two other points: first, that Nanook and his “family” aren’t really a family (apparently Flaherty talked openly about this fact, but it’s not mentioned at any point during the film itself, which feels deceptive); and second, that the survival techniques used by Nanook were already becoming antiquated at the time Flaherty shot his footage. In both cases, simply providing a written disclaimer at the beginning of the film would have been enough to satisfy my needs. Regardless, Nanook… remains a movie all film fanatics should see — not only for its incredible pseudo-ethnographic footage of a bygone era, but for its undeniable (if controversial) place in documentary filmmaking history. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“Far into the icy north, deep into the silent nowhere, came an undaunted lonely prospector.”
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… Swain chasing Chaplin around a cabin because he imagines his friend’s a chicken”:
… Chaplin doing the “dance of the dinner rolls”.
However, I’ll admit to finding this film more successful as a comedy than as a romance; Chaplin’s longing for Hale is, for the most part, simply painful to watch. While Buster Keaton’s repeated pursuit of a beautiful woman in each of his films is inevitably accompanied by frenzied attempts to demonstrate his worth (which ultimately pan out), Chaplin’s stance as “the ultimate outsider” makes us feel he can only win the girl through luck and patience. Therefore, The Gold Rush is a film I’ll return to simply for its laugh-out-loud, expertly crafted comedic sequences — not for its central tale of unrequited longing. As Peary notes, “Chaplin serves as a narrator in his revised 1942 version”, which is the one I watched before writing this review; however, it seems to be widely reviled as the lesser-choice, with purists preferring his original silent version (accompanied by inter-titles). For what it’s worth, I believe Chaplin’s narration is unnecessary, but found it fascinating to see the creative way in which he attempted to help later audiences find connection with his earliest work — and for that reason alone, I think film fanatics should check out the narrated version. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“Please love and care for this orphan child.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Peary’s review just about sums up the essence of this historically pivotal film, which paved the way for Chaplin’s future successes, and left us with some truly indelible images — most notably that of Coogan (a marvelous child actor) sobbing for his “father” while being taken away by supposedly well-meaning authority figures. To that end, the storyline is undeniably melodramatic — starting with an unwed mother who must give up her child, and ending with an unrealistically coincidental denouement. But Chaplin handles the material so well — carefully weaving moments of genuine humor into a situation rife with heartache — that we’re willing to forgive the film’s more manipulative elements. My favorite moments: Chaplin rigging an ad hoc milk bottle for the squalling infant (I can only imagine how many hours of footage perfectionist Chaplin must have shot to get the resulting sequence!); Chaplin sneaking Coogan into his bed at a shelter; Chaplin’s pockets being picked by a sleeping neighbor. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Anyone prefers an athlete to a weak-knee’d, teachers’ pet.”
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“I’m my own police.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: However, it’s difficult to contemplate Ladd’s fine performance in isolation, given the importance of his relationship with “beautiful, buxom blonde Lake”, who in this film “found her ideal screen partner”. Peary notes that “with those dreamy eyes, a peek-a-boo hairstyle, and a husky voice to match Ladd’s”, they “are an electrifying screen couple” — a statement made all the more complex given that Lake is happily engaged to a policeman (Robert Preston) who’s on Raven’s trail. Naturally, loyalties quickly become conflicted, and it’s fascinating to watch as Lake and Ladd — who are clearly smitten with each other on some level — carefully negotiate their positions. Indeed, whenever they’re on-screen, we’re glued; the rest of the “taut” storyline, while competent and finely directed, feels mostly like icing. Interestingly, in his review, Peary refers to This Gun For Hire as “one of the few forties crime dramas that weren’t really noir films” — yet it certainly possesses many noir elements (including atmospheric cinematography and a sense of deeply pervasive cynicism), and it’s generally considered by others to be part of this genre. Perhaps Peary’s opinion is due to the occasional shifts in tone throughout the film — most notably when Lake performs a couple of unusual musical ditties (by Jacques Press and Frank Loesser); meanwhile, Cregar’s performance as Raven’s most direct nemesis lacks a requisite sense of menace — he’s a bit too much of a blubbering coward to be fully convincing in the role. However, all told, I would most certainly classify this one stylistically as noir. Two of my favorite moments: Lake unexpectedly pecks Ladd on the cheek; Lake leaves a steady trail of evidence behind her while being held hostage by Ladd. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“All things in heaven and earth are wonderful! But the greatest wonder is man’s freedom to choose between good and evil.”
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Review: The film’s middle scenes — as Faust explores a life of hedonism, then becomes smitten by a fair maiden, while Mephistopheles himself flirts with the maiden’s mother (Frida Richard) — are often noted as its least compelling, perhaps in part because the imagery is no longer quite so consistently stunning; by the film’s final tragic act, however, the momentum and visual interest have picked up once again. Interestingly, it’s Mephistopheles himself (played with impish glee by Jannings) who emerges as the film’s most memorable character. We’re reminded time and again that Faust’s entire journey is predicated upon Mephistopheles’ whims: once Mephistopheles decides that Faust has made a mistake in falling for Gretchen (Horn), he quickly sets the wheels in motion to “help” Faust see the error of his ways. By the end of Faust’s bitterly tragic saga, we come to believe that any type of consort with the devil is truly a compromised bargain: there is no room for goodness or humility once one has crossed over to the Other Side. Note: Interestingly, in his “Greatest Films” review, Roger Ebert points out that Faust is ranked by IMDb users as one of the top horror films of all time (even placing it above Murnau’s more widely recognized, Dracula-themed Nosferatu); however, I’m not quite sure I would label it within that genre myself, as it’s less a horror film than a morality/folk tale. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“This floating palace should put an end to that thing Steamboat Bill is running.”
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Review: My favorite line (as a handful of smuggled tools fall out of a loaf of bread Keaton is trying to hand over to his father in jail):
Note: In his Alternate Oscars, despite conceding that SBJ “isn’t a pivotal Keaton film”, Peary nonetheless names Keaton Best Actor of the Year for his performance here, noting that “one can see why many consider him the most lovable of the silent stars and every bit as sexy as the silent screen’s romantic athlete, Douglas Fairbanks”. Amen to that! Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“If you let your mind wander back through History you will find that the only thing that has not changed since the World began is — LOVE.”
