1001 before you die

I typically shy away from silent dramas. Silent comedies tend to translate well to a "modern sensibility", but in my experience, it's generally not the case for dramas. Too much overacting for me to really immerse myself in the story. But "Greed" is a rare exeption, and is in fact one of the better movies I've seen. Von Stroheim is a masterful director, getting the most out of both his actors and his locations. Gibson Gowland is fascinating to watch; his physical power leaps off the screen, and he has a fascinating, expressive face. At over two hours (cut down from an original nine), the story never slowed, and the ending was good and bleak. Highly, highly recommended.

"Sherlock, Jr.", on the other hand, is not only hilarious but brilliant filmmaking. The scene where Buster gets trapped inside a movie showing at the theater is technically amazing and shows that Keaton had a wonderful grasp on the magic of what film can do. Beyond that, the various comedy bits are still funny after all this time, and Keaton's sense of timing is physically breathtaking. This would be a great introduction to anyone not familiar with how wonderful (and funny) silent comedies can be.

Decent melodrama/noir flick, but in my opinion, there were at least two more people who should have gotten pumped full of lead besides Mildred's second husband (don't worry, I'm not giving anything away). The main reason to watch this one is Eve Arden. She's a cynical, wise-cracking dame who got a chuckle out of me every time she was on screen. It was a nice contrast to the wolves, dishrags, and other assorted unpleasant characters who rounded out the story.

Solid, gritty crime drama PACKED with great performances. James Whitmore and Sterling Hayden stand out as down on their luck criminals, violence seething underneath them, but yet will go out of their way to feed a stray cat or provide a safe haven for a wayward dame. Sam Jaffe is great, and a young Marilyn Monroe is absolutely stunning. It's very clear why she became such a huge star from her small role in this. A dark, gripping heist story with a beautiful ending. As a fan of noir flicks, this is an excellent addition.

Beautiful, bleak, haunting, and uplifting. It's really exciting to watch a silent film in its earlier stages directed by an auteur who really understands the visual power of cinema. This is one of the best silent films I've seen. There are few title cards, proof how well Murnau knew how to tell a story visually, and those title cards that are there are as stylized as much of the rest of the movie (the title card where O'Brien's mistress suggests drowning his wife is particularly effective). The story itself is simple and wonderful, a tale of lust, love and redemption. There are so many striking visuals in this movie, it really is amazing. The scene of O'Brien agonizing over his decision in his bedroom, images of his mistress squeezing and tempting him, the sight of bulrushes on water, the marvelous shots of the city: this is truly a work of art. And there is some great humor in this as well, to balance out some pretty dark themes, including drunken pigs and unruly shoulder straps. Wonderful film and highly recommended!

Yikes. Artful and terrifying. Aesthetically, this is a great-looking movie. Shots of Hitler walking down a long walkway for von Hindenburg's memorial, surrounded by hundreds of soldiers in perfect square formations are pretty stunning to look at. Of course, ethically and morally, this is a pretty terrifying film. Numerous shots of beaming men, women, and children near ecstasy as they get a glimpse of their Fuhrer, the cult-like presentation by the laborers with their creepily happy chant leader, thousands of Germans enthusiastically shouting "Seig Heil!" and of course Adolf himself raving at the mike. Yikes. It's an important film to watch both for its effectiveness and its historical significance, and seen through those lenses, it is shrouded with a sense of foreboding at what will shortly follow this glorification of the Nazi party.

Bright, beautiful, bittersweet, and bon. Maybe call this a pop opera? All of the dialogue is sung, and the subject matter includes war, sex, and lost love: everything you need for a good musical. Catherine Deneuve is gorgeous in this, the music is great, but this isn't a musical like any I've seen. There are no "numbers" breaking up the action, it's all just musical dialogue. It's a beautiful movie to look at, too. The restored version has colors that just pop out of the screen. A great filmic experiment that resoundingly succeeds.

God, I love this movie! It never fails to reduce me to a blubbering idiot several times throughout the movie, and by the time we hit the finale in the Bailey living room, I'm a wreck. George and Mary Bailey are the perfect screen couple, not sickeningly cute, with a small wry streak but basically two decent people who are perfect for each other. It's sentimental, but never really sappy, mostly because Stewart's portrayal of George Bailey has a bit of a dark streak in him. He gets angry, he lashes out, he can be bitter about his life. In short, he's a good ol' American human being, and it's that performance that anchors this one in enough reality to keep this from being eye-rollingly sappy. A truly timeless classic; in my humble opinion, one of the best movies ever made.

The granddaddy of movies like "Waking Ned Devine" and "Saving Grace". A group of islanders, after a severe whiskey shortage, hit the mother lode when a ship full of whiskey runs aground off the coast. And the rest of the movie is them keeping the good stuff away from the Home Guard captain, intent on confiscating the looted goods. It's fun and funny and holds up really well fifty years later. The characters are fun, especially the older folks as they gleefully imbibe. I was chuckling throughout. This one's ripe for a remake, and they wouldn't have to change much to keep it as funny as it is.

I wouldn't recommend this to just anyone; this is a movie for pretty hardcore film lovers. It's a very slow, beautifully composed film that follows the life of a family in Taiwan through the course of a year. The shots themselves are beautifully arranged. There is very little camera movement, mostly static shots with long takes, but composed in such a way that they make ordinary places like living rooms and hallways lovely to look at. My only complaint is that it felt like all the characters were kept at a distance from us. With the exception of the mother's frustration with not know what to say to her mother, all of the emotional scenes are shot from long shot, and in some cases with the characters' backs to us, so we're never really let in and must watch as mere voyeurs. And while there was some humor throughout, all of it very sly and subtle, besides A-Di everyone was so unbelievably somber throughout, even little Yang Yang, who delivered some funny lines with Buster Keaton seriousness. There were no moments of genuine happiness and laughter, every smile and chuckle tinged with sadness and regret. Still and all, an artfully contructed film that's worth the experience.

Much less straightforward narrative than "World of Apu" (haven't seen "Aparajito" yet), but great movie nonetheless. A very slice-of-life story that moves at its own pace, full of the subtle sadness, humor, and fear that make up the human condition.

Probably the weakest of the trilogy, but a weak classic is still a classic. Ray's storytelling style seems to reflect Apu as he grows up. In "Pather Panchali", the narrative was very slice-of-life, moving at its own pace, much like Apu as a child. In "World of Apu", the plot was much more structured as we follow Apu into adulthood. "Aparajito" seems to straddle both these styles, starting out much more leisurely as we follow Apu at ten and becoming more structured as he heads off to college. A good second act in the life of Apu Roy, though it ends a bit abruptly.