In the last three days, I sat through seven films at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Here are the movies I saw, and here's what I thought about them. Monday I skipped the first movie, Skinner's Dress Suit. A friend told me I didn't miss anything. Actually, I skipped the first film on each … Continue reading The last three days of the SF Silent Film Fest
Category: Silent Films
SF Silent Film Fest, Part 1
This year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival opened Thursday night - the first one since 2019. Rather than write about all the films I've seen so far, I'll give you some highlights and lowlights. But first, here's a taste of what the Castro Theater has become now that it's owned by Another Planet Entertainment (APE). … Continue reading SF Silent Film Fest, Part 1
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is coming back
I love silent movies - especially with live music. I also love the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. You can hear various musical ensembles. People dress for the occasion (well, I don't). You can take a seat for the whole day, usually next to people you know. Between movies, you can talk to important preservationists … Continue reading The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is coming back
Soviet bureaucracy & Vietnam: Two nights at BAMPFA
Over the last weekend I watched two interesting films at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Both presentations involved actual live people along with moving pictures. My Grandmother Friday night, my wife and I attended a screening of the 1929 silent Soviet comedy, My Grandmother, with musical accompaniment by a little-known jazz duet called … Continue reading Soviet bureaucracy & Vietnam: Two nights at BAMPFA
National Silent Movie Day…at home
This coming Wednesday is National Silent Movie Day, which makes it a perfect day to start exploring silent cinema. Here are eight of my nine favorite silent feature films. (The other, Napoleon is too big for most theaters, let alone your living room.) I'm not listing them best to worst, as I usually do. They're … Continue reading National Silent Movie Day…at home
On the 29th, we celebrate silents
September 29 is the first National Silent Movie Day, when we celebrate the years when movies didn't have soundtracks. To celebrate the day, watch silent films, read about their history, and marvel at the glorious restorations of hundred-year-old films. This is not a Bay Area thing. As the name tells us, it's national. However, since … Continue reading On the 29th, we celebrate silents
Broncho Billy & the Movie-Going Experience
This last weekend, the Niles Essanay Silent Film hosted The Broncho Billy & Friends Silent Film Festival. It was virtual, of course. And since it was virtual, the festival was made up of streaming videos and Zoom conferences. There were three separate videos about Essanay's work in Chicago - including one with David Shepard. Les … Continue reading Broncho Billy & the Movie-Going Experience
Silent movies thru a ’60s filter: The Comic
I've wanted for decades to revisit Carl Reiner's dramatic comedy, The Comic. When I first saw it in 1969, I knew almost nothing about silent films. More than 50 years later, they're a life-long hobby. I first saw The Comic when I was in my sophomore year in high school. Around that time, Harold Lloyd … Continue reading Silent movies thru a ’60s filter: The Comic
Early John Ford on Blu-ray with Hell Bent
You've probably never heard of Hell Bent - a very early John Ford western, made in only his second year as a director. He's credited as Jack Ford (his birth name was Sean John Feeney). And yet, sometimes you can see the greatness to come. At this point in his career, Ford was cranking out … Continue reading Early John Ford on Blu-ray with Hell Bent
1928: The peak and the fall
I don't believe in golden ages and "great film years." Every year since the beginning of cinema has had good and bad films. But there's something special about 1928. At least in America, it was the artistic pinnacle of silent film. And yet it was also the year where silence began to die. Movies kept … Continue reading 1928: The peak and the fall
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