I first watched All Quiet on the Western Front as a college freshman while falling head-first into the classic film rabbit hole. After watching a couple of creaky talkies like The Broadway Melody, I was completely floored by Lewis Milestone’s expertly directed adaptation and …
Continue ReadingNational Film Registry 2023 Ballot
Since 1989 the Library of Congress selects 25 American films deemed culturally, historically or aesthetically significant to add to their official National Film Registry. Not meant to be merely a best-of-list, the National Film Registry signals to studios, copyright holders, archivists, and other moving image …
Continue ReadingThe Third Genius Speaks: Ranking Harold Lloyd’s Sound Films
Of the three silent clowns, Lloyd’s sound career is the least discussed. Keaton’s MGM talkies stand as an example of Buster’s loss of creative and personal control and yet another example of MGM mishandling its comedic talent. Chaplin, after waiting a decade before diving into …
Continue ReadingThe Sign of the Cross (1932): DeMille’s Pre-Code Epic
With only a small handful of Easter related films, DeMille is easily the director most associated with the holiday. A lot of that has to do with the longevity of his 1956 remake of his silent epic The Ten Commandments which ABC has aired on …
Continue ReadingThe Miracle Man (1932): Remaking a Silent Classic
The canon of the greatest films constantly changes as each generation reevaluates yesteryear’s classics and rediscovers previously overlooked films. Oftentimes, films held in the highest esteem by contemporary audiences and critics do not become beloved by later generations. Evolving morals, changing tastes, and decades of …
Continue ReadingCensored: The Private Life of the Movies — Book Review
Film censorship is almost as old as film itself. By the 1910s in America, several states had stringent film censorship boards that would review films and cut out parts deemed to be immoral. After a litany of Hollywood scandals in the early 1920s, calls for …
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