I’ve recently watched: Haxan - which I admired a lot for its visual flair and historical detail. For me, it really came to life near the end when the making of the film came under investigation, with the director explaining that the elderly actress playing the woman accused of witchcraft herself bel...

Thanks for this, lzcutter. I always understood that as well as a number of cuts being made, the Born in a Trunk sequence was added after George Cukor's involvement with the film had ended (which sounds a bit counterproductive, if the idea was to shorten the running time). Is this correct, do you kno...

I don't know anything about Winslet's personal life, but if we are going to hold up an actor's speeches at award shows as acting... Exactly how do you design a breakout movie? (Art House or otherwise?) Do the producers sit in a room and say, "Let's make a movie, with a real meaty part (or two)...

I've never read War and Peace, the length has always put me off, is it as good as Anna Karenina? War and Peace is basically just a really brilliant and absorbing story. The trouble is that the title has become a byword for any long and difficult book. I remember somebody coming up to me once when I...

It will always remain one of my favorite books. I couldn't agree with you more, Alison. It's one of the best books I've ever read. Have you read War and Peace? I'm not sure which of the two I think is better/greater/whatever. I've only seen the Garbo-March version of Anna Karenina, and that was a f...

Kate Winslett is one of those actors, who although I can see that they are very talented, I find their off-screen personality off-putting, and it sometimes spoils their acting for me. When KW was busy at the start of the year, touting herself round the American chat shows, doing that exaggerated Eng...

I prefer Garbo's silents, her face is so expressive and says so much. I know what you mean. A year or so ago, I rented Queen Christina from the library and, considering its reputation, was a bit disappointed, and I think the reason why I was was because of the pretty awful mock-historical dialogue ...

Last night I watched The Single Standard (1929), Garbo's penultimate silent. At first, I didn't think I was going to like it: the story seemed very novelettish, some of the character names were absurd (Ding? Packy?), and the the treatment of the great love between Garbo and Nils Asther struck me as ...

Phil Noir, Thanks so much for pointing out that Seberg interview, which did show her intelligent yet rather vulnerable mien. She tried to show flashes of toughness, but I suspect it was a facade, though she handled herself with remarkable poise for a youngster. Speaking of self-destructive but pote...

I think British TV has changed a great deal since the early '90s. I can't imagine any channel putting on that kind of film these days, more's the pity. It certainly has. I find it amazing to think that Kevin Brownlow's Hollywood - The Pioneers was originally shown at nine p.m., on a weeknight, on I...

Just recently I've been having a mini-Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell film festival. On Saturday I watched Seventh Heaven (1927), which - well, what is there to say about it that hasn't been said? - I absolutely loved it! It's no surprise it was a huge hit in its day and made Gaynor and Farrell big...

charliechaplinfan wrote:They won't ship overseas, more's the pity.

I know! Grr. However... they do seem to be listed on moviesunlimited.com (some of them at least; I haven't checked every title), and they take overseas orders.

I can understand you saying that about Emil Jannings, I have enjoyed some of his performances Faust and The Last Command spring to mind. I didn't mind him in The Blue Angel either. Maybe I'm not being fair to Jannings, I've only seen him in Faust and The Last Laugh. I liked him well enough in Faust...

I haven't seen this film, but I remember reading an anecdote about it in a book years ago. Bette Davis had not been easy to work with, and one night she and various members of the cast and crew were watching the rushes. Davis began to criticize the director of photography for lighting her unflatteri...

The only thing Arbuckle missed is a coda with Ignatz. I know! I was waiting for that too. It's fascinating that Arbuckle directed a film for Davies (apparently at her insistence), considering it was Davies' "boyfriend", Hearst, whose newspapers contributed enormously to the outrage that w...