Tag: African American filmmakers

Ten Great African American Classic Films

February 17, 2023May 28, 2023Shawn Hall2 Comments

Anyone with experience watching classic films has undoubtedly been taken out of an otherwise engaging, entertaining viewing experience when a film swerves into a heavy dose of racism against African Americans. Even well-made and still remembered Hollywood films like The Lost World (1925), Swing Time …

Migrating to the Movies: Cinema and Black Urban Modernity—Book Review

July 13, 2020May 14, 2023Shawn Hall2 Comments

Jacqueline Najuma Stewart’s Migrating to the Movies: Cinema and Black Urban Modernity is a great starting place for anyone interested in learning about African American experiences with and in silent film. In the book, Stewart examines how “the urban and northern immigration of African Americans …

Josef von Sternberg from The Salvation Hunters to Anatahan
4 weeks ago
Whether in a close-up of the glamorous Marlene Dietrich or an alluring wide shot of the Morrocan desert, Von Sternberg’s ability to create a visually stunning image stands unmatched in …
Clara Bow: The Life and Career of Hollywood’s IT Girl Video
2 months ago
Not every day do silent film stars of yesteryear find their way back into the limelight. The namesake of the final title track on Taylor Swift’s upcoming album Tortured Poets’ …
Edmund Lowe: The Wisecracking Wonder
3 months ago
Fame is a fickle thing. Many of the biggest stars of yesteryear are now mere footnotes in pop culture history and remain largely unknown even to us classic film fanatics. …
The Saphead—Buster Keaton’s First Starring Vehicle
4 months ago
I recently finished Buster Keaton’s silent filmography—or so I thought. Focused on watching all Keaton’s appearances in Arbuckle shorts, the 21 shorts he directed, and his silent feature comedies, I …
Top Ten and 2023 Year in Review
5 months ago
2023 was a great year for cinema. It’s the first time in several years it felt like there was always something worth checking out at my local theater each month. …

Roberta, 1935 - ★★
The opening scenes are promising setting up Fred as a musician stranded in Paris without work and Ginger as a Fred’s childhood sweetheart masquerading as […]
He Who Gets Slapped, 1924 - ★★★
Was expecting a little more from this especially with Seastrom behind the camera. It’s not bad and still enjoyable with Chaney yet again playing a […]
I Sell Anything, 1934 - ★★½
I loved spending time with the main auctioneer conman but once he moves uptown the plot becomes pretty predictable as he falls for a high […]
Animal Farm, 1954 - ★★★½
Loved the minimalist UPA animation style. Pretty straight forward adaptation of the Orwell classic but effective.
Escape from the Planet of the Apes, 1971 - ★★★
Manages to get the franchise back on more solid footing on the bizarre mishmash of Beneath the Planet of the Apes. I can’t help but […]