1927
So we have at last reached the milestone that everyone has been waiting for...30! I was excited to watch this film when I learned how many movies it had influenced (namely Star Wars). In fact, there were times that I was so taken aback by the sets and the costumes, that I forgot to pay attention to the plot which, as I understand it, was pretty shitty.
This movie is about....oh damn, what was this movie about? This film is set in the future and the world is divided into workers and thinkers. A man from the thinker group experiences the worker's life and I think falls in love. Meanwhile, this mad scientist creates a robot-monster version of the woman and it wreaks havoc.
Well, you can see from above just how memorable the plot was. The acting was rather awful as well (Maria had this weird eye twitch that I think she thought was both evil and sexy). However, the sets were pretty incredible. Some of the shots of the city looked just the city in Attack of the Clones (I was extremely nerded out)! The robot thing was actually the model for C-3PO! The costumes were also pretty erotic for the times. So overall, it is only striking visually; in all other ways it is boring and kind of weird.
RATING: ***--(just because I love Star Wars)
Interesting Facts:
It is said to be Hitler's favorite movie. If that is not a reason to dislike it, I don't know what is.
One of the first sci-fi movies (if you don't count Le Voyage dans la Lune).
Alfred Abel was in this who was also in Dr. Mabuse. It was weird to recognize a silent movie actor other than someone like Chaplin. Or Keaton. Or Gish. Now that I think about it, it is not so weird...
With this movie, there is the restored version and then there is the original. The original is a neat two hours long but you miss a lot. I watched the restored which is available on Netflix Instant. This is the restored version that is available on YouTube:
According to Wiki lore the movie was changed radically shortly after release and the revised version makes very little sense. Which one did you see? The "true" version was only discovered a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteHmmm I can't remember again! But I guess if this was 2011 I would have seen the untrue version.
DeleteTS .. bty 'true' I guess you mean the one that was (something like) found in a cupboard in Argentina? I've not seen that one .. I guess you have .. Is it worth spending good money to see the difference?
ReplyDeleteThe 'true' version makes the movie more understandable, has some explicit scenes, and just looks great. I really enjoyed this version and rank it as one of the best silent movies ever.
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