I mostly agree with the review; I saw the film long ago, bug-eyed over its bat shit insanity. But, yeah, it's not a mea culpa so much as a chance to do TBOAN again but more bat shit.
― the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 10 April 2023 19:15 (one year ago) link
I will say I had a lot of fun traipsing around the collapsing sets of Intolerance in the video game LA Noir.
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 11 April 2023 09:44 (one year ago) link
OK, finished it! The second time I've seen the film and it was a lot easier to follow each of the four plots this time. I would say I have softened on it slightly, there are certainly some parts I liked, but overall I still feel its importance is wildly overstated and much of it is bad or dull.Ancient Babylon - this was by far the strongest section, in fact if this were the film I'd probably be singing its praises. The cinematography, the set design, the sheer scale of the thing are incredibly striking and impressive. Constance Talmadge puts in a brilliant performance too. But what is the story? under the spectacle it's a load of nothing, just a few bible verses padded out.Jesus - this story is barely there, less than ten minutes of screen time, but still manages to be heavy-handed incoherent antisemitic guff.St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre - Presumably here as a concrete example of intolerance? But what do we have, an evil woman plans a massacre, the massacre takes place, that's pretty much it, not even interestingly staged, though the killings are surprisingly graphic.Modern day - This is the core of the film really, everything else is presumably here to illustrate it. There is some good cinematography here, some shots are stunning, some editing is fairly good, the chase scene with the car and the train is great (but very much bolted on to the story without any justification) But also what the fuck is any of this? A factory owner massacres his workers for striking, a man is unjustly convicted of murder, but somehow this is not the focus. Instead the moral is that social services and welfare charities are the greatest evil of our times because they take money from honest capitalists and are also ugly jealous old women who take babies away? I mean, what exactly the fuck is that? That's your takeaway, DWG?Also there is a good deal of poor editing and direction in this section, I know it's 1916 but if we are crediting DWG with innovations then I have to say his tricks are not original and others have done better.Overall I also feel like such a long film covering four separate time periods should have a central story or concept uniting the threads, but it's completely missing. I can understand how the French story is about intolerance, but the other three have nothing to do with it by any sane definition. So I'm left trying to imagine what DWG's point is beyond "baddies do bad stuff" and I can't see what it is at all. "The baddies should tolerate the goodies and then get out of their way, the goodies are under no obligation to tolerate the baddies"? I feel stupid even trying to figure it out, it's just his feeling that he has a right to his prejudices and nobody should dare challenge him, presented with a massive budget over several hours.The cases I see for why this film is important are innovation and influence, I would question the first of these as above, the second I'm not sure where to go with - yes there later were some epic dramas which attempted a similar scale. Would they have existed without Intolerance? No idea, it seems perfectly possible, but could concede that - and then what? Why does that make this worth watching?
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Tuesday, 11 April 2023 13:31 (one year ago) link
ugly jealous old women who take babies away?
a menace of our times imo
― the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 11 April 2023 13:33 (one year ago) link
fwiw there is absolutely a terrible history of govt social services being paternalistic-to-outright-hateful to the working class in general and marginalised groups within it in particular, and adoption in particular is a huge can of worms within that context. griffith def not the guy to tackle that tho.
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 11 April 2023 14:44 (one year ago) link
I mean he specifically says they are motivated by being too old & unattractive to attract men any more, right at the start of the film.
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Tuesday, 11 April 2023 14:52 (one year ago) link
Those old caption writers sure did go hard back in the day
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Tuesday, 11 April 2023 14:59 (one year ago) link
Anita Loos wrote the intertitles, so god only knows what DWG would have put there if unfiltered.
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Tuesday, 11 April 2023 15:14 (one year ago) link
All else aside, I appreciate you giving it a fresh shot, caal
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Tuesday, 11 April 2023 15:34 (one year ago) link
no worries, I need something to do while my wife sticks needles in me every weekend.anyone else have a few hours to spare to see if you agree? fine if not.
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Tuesday, 11 April 2023 17:46 (one year ago) link
It was good of you to take one for the team.
― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Tuesday, 11 April 2023 18:23 (one year ago) link
One Way or Another (Gomez, 1974)
This is simply excellent, it's in the top 250 of the S&S poll and a great example of how the poll has improved and isn't shit anymore as you get to see this strange documentary/normie narrative/agitprop hybrid from Cuba.
I think it's still on MUBI UK for a little while.
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 14 April 2023 15:45 (one year ago) link
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Berg-Ejvind_och_hans_hustru_1918_film_poster.jpgThe Outlaw and His Wife, Victor Sjöström, 1918Morbsies #1133Youtube link
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 17 April 2023 18:11 (one year ago) link
That's a good one!
― The Titus Andromedon Strain (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 17 April 2023 18:24 (one year ago) link
Sjöström! I've only watched The Wind.
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 April 2023 18:53 (one year ago) link
I've just got about half an hour left of this one, should have some thoughts tomorrow.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 17 April 2023 20:59 (one year ago) link
For UK readers, this is on Netflix, as part of that weird deal between Netflix and the Swedish Cinematheque.
― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 17 April 2023 21:18 (one year ago) link
does the one on Netflix have a soundtrack? the criterion dvd rips on YouTube are completely silent, this is the only one with sound and it seems to have been tacked on
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 17 April 2023 21:33 (one year ago) link
No soundtrack, no. Nice looking copy tho.
― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 17 April 2023 21:38 (one year ago) link
Some good tunes on that YouTube one tho
― nxd, Tuesday, 18 April 2023 17:06 (one year ago) link
― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 17 April 2023 bookmarkflaglink
Good stuff lol, always wanted to check Sjostrom..
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 18 April 2023 19:51 (one year ago) link
Well that was relentlessly grim.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 19 April 2023 18:43 (one year ago) link
I mean, it was still good. I think. but really not what I needed to see when I'm worrying about how to support my family over the next year, that's for sure.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 19 April 2023 18:47 (one year ago) link
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Buster_keaton_one_week_poster.jpg
One Week, Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline, 1920
Morbsies #947
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 25 April 2023 07:11 (one year ago) link
I went through the Keaton shorts a while ago and this was really a big jump in quality when you watch 'em chronologically, one of his best imo.
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 25 April 2023 08:53 (one year ago) link
Here's the youtube linkYeah, a very enjoyable 25 minutes, every joke felt extremely well-crafted. Not really as ambitious as his longer films, obviously, but for what it is, it couldn't be much better.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 25 April 2023 08:59 (one year ago) link
It's been
― formerly abanana (dat), Friday, 28 April 2023 02:14 (one year ago) link
you know I don't think I've ever heard that song. and yet I got the reference somehow.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 28 April 2023 13:37 (one year ago) link
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/The_High_Sign_%281921%29_-_Ad_1.jpg
The High Sign, Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline, 1921
Morbsies #630
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 1 May 2023 21:39 (one year ago) link
I found this one to be a bit of a step back from One Week, which makes sense as it was actually filmed earlier and held back for some reason. A boilerplate silent comedy short plot - Buster is hired to protect a man from the mob and also hired by the mob to kill him, but of course there are plenty of brilliant stunts and set pieces to keep you entertained, and as it's less than 20 minutes there's no danger of boredom. Still nothing here as inspired as Sherlock Jr, The General or even One Week.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 08:10 (one year ago) link
here's a youtube link
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 08:11 (one year ago) link
Tantalised by the 101 films on @SightSoundmag’s Hidden Gems list? @_edb’s pick, Claudia von Alemann’s ‘Blind Spot’ (1981), is now on @mubiuk. Here’s what Erika had to say about it: https://t.co/b59rDtKdqV pic.twitter.com/ql1eU1TTlc— Arjun Sajip (@ArjSaj) May 2, 2023
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 2 May 2023 09:15 (one year ago) link
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/92/Nosferatuposter.jpg
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, F. W. Murnau, 1922
Morbsies #833Sight & Sound Critics #196
Youtube link
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 8 May 2023 13:52 (one year ago) link
Would anyone be interested in some kind of watch-along stream for the public domain movies?
― formerly abanana (dat), Monday, 8 May 2023 13:56 (one year ago) link
how would that work? like a twitch stream?
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 8 May 2023 14:58 (one year ago) link
i don't know, to be honest.
― formerly abanana (dat), Wednesday, 10 May 2023 10:01 (one year ago) link
Ok, so Nosferatu then. I had already seen this, a few times I think, but in memory it is much less absorbing than I found it this time. Think the restoration job and the soundtrack on the link above really make a lot of difference here. It succeeds where other Dracula adaptations fail because Murnau wisely cuts the interminable gentlemen's meetings, in fact the much weaker second half of the story is cut to less than 30 minutes, and that includes the famous bedroom scene. I don't think it's at all scary, think perhaps due to overfamiliarity. What I have noticed this time around is the antisemitism, and am not sure how I missed it before. it's not just Orlok who's uncomfortably like a hideous Jewish caricature, the estate manager Knock (who doubles as Renfield) is also obviously coded as Jewish. so yeah, that's not great.still there's a lot if great art here, most scenes are intricately set up and lit. shocked to find out that the restoration was needed because a court ordered every print destroyed, and it's a miracle it survived that when the majority of films from this era are gone forever. is this the first ever victim of a copyright troll (in the form of Stoker's estate)? probably someone can think of an earlier one.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 10 May 2023 20:06 (one year ago) link
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Safety_last_poster.jpg
Safety Last, Fred C Newmeyer & Sam Taylor, 1923
Morbsies #1133
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 15 May 2023 21:58 (one year ago) link
I have a blu-ray of this! But for some reason my allegedly region-free Chinese DVD/blu-ray player is insisting that it's the wrong region, so here I am watching it on youtube with the plebs, present company excluded of course.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 15 May 2023 22:01 (one year ago) link
Whole film is apparently embedded on the Wikipedia page as a webm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Safety_Last_(1923).webm
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 15 May 2023 22:05 (one year ago) link
Heard something along the lines of Harold Lloyd's work was exhibited on TV less (I think due to rights issues?) and this accounts for his lower profile when compared to Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel & Hardy.
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 16 May 2023 10:29 (one year ago) link
i do remember harold lloyd on tv in the uk, specifically watching it around my gran's. seemed to be always on. "hooray for harold lloyd"... possibly a clip show.
yeah, these, from 1977 - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2yaO_4_FwpkWNviqJsyrKIw16fVFT9YO
― koogs, Tuesday, 16 May 2023 10:41 (one year ago) link
Yes, I believe that came up in the convo as well, the UK being an exception.
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 16 May 2023 10:57 (one year ago) link
can't believe it took me so long to watch this in full.the building climbing scene, of course this is just fantastic, just the sheer planning and imagination needed, nothing is wasted. enjoyed it as a thriller more than as a comedy.the rest of the film is fine, if a bit weak. I know I've been spoiled a bit with all this Keaton & Chaplin, but Lloyd just doesn't quite have the same charisma, or the same quality of writing.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 18 May 2023 21:32 (one year ago) link
I dispute the notion of Lloyd lacking charisma
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Thursday, 18 May 2023 21:53 (one year ago) link
oh he has it, just not quite as much
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 18 May 2023 22:03 (one year ago) link
ok, back to the main plot
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 22 May 2023 16:46 (one year ago) link
https://i.postimg.cc/HL8sYCqW/18574.jpgMan With A Movie Camera, Dziga Vertov, 1929Morbsies #193Sight & Sound Critics #9Sight & Sound Directors #30
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 22 May 2023 16:50 (one year ago) link
Should really post a youtube link. Very nice post-rock/jazz soundtrack from The Cinematic Orchestra.Should also post some thoughts as I've now watched it three times, but that can wait for tomorrow.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 26 May 2023 22:39 (one year ago) link
I was looking forward to this as I've already used Dziga Vertov's sound collages in my mixes (in fact I structured my 1925 mix entirely around one) but was not ready for how deeply and immediately I would fall for it. I could say it's the way he frames the film with the audience / the orchestra / filming himself filming / his eye / stopping the action and showing the editing of the film we're watching / the intercuts of birth & death - but all of these I'm sure have been talked about a lot already, and are enough to make me admire the work. What I absolutely love about it though is the feel he has for editing at pace, the way the cuts build up and crash down like a symphony. So many shots feel so wildly ahead of their time too, every few minutes there's something I could swear I've seen referenced in 50s/60s/70s cinema.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 27 May 2023 08:21 (one year ago) link