CCF:
You can't go wrong with any Fairbanks, my favorites being both
Zorro's and
The Three Musketeers and its sequel,
The Iron Mask.
The Gaucho is great, too, and provides Fairbanks with a slightly more unusual character (there's a cameo by Mary Pickford, too!). While I also love
Bagdad, I do think it is flawed. Too long, and while some of the special effects are spectacular, some fall a little flat (but then again it does have Anna May Wong!)
Here's a link to my Fairbanks page if you care to read my silly musings....
http://digitalsilents.com/Douglas%20Fai ... banks.html
More silent Russian fare this weekend started with some stop-motion animation films of Wladyslaw Staewicz. Opening with the delightful
Dragonfly and the Ant, a fable about a hard working ant, and a fiddle-playing dragonfly, basically the Three Little Pigs with bugs. The third film in the volume also featured animated insects, but
Lily of Belgium is far more accomplished and fascinating. An allegory of the German invasion of Belgium, this time the grasshoppers and other insects fight the motorcycle ridding, helmet wearing beetles (insert "Ringo" joke here___) who aren't afraid to shoot their weaponry. The animation is amazing (if not a bit odd, what was it about insects, anyway?)
The central film in this volume is the live-action
Christmas Eve. Odd doesn't begin to describe this film, but it is in no way traditional holiday fare. Featuring witches and starring the devil,
Christmas Eve is filled with interesting special effects, but the wacky "plot" is, at times, difficult to follow (not many titles, again). Still, highly rewarding, and often quite funny.
Volume four features two spectacular Provincial films.
The Wedding Day is just that, a celebration of a Jewish wedding, and featuring a boy who continues to mug directly to the camera. He and the entire film feels completely authentic.
By far the best film so far, and, at least for the moment one of my favorite silent film shorts, ever,
Merchant Bashkirov's Daughter is simply brilliant. A daughter is in love, but her father has her promised to another man in an arranged marriage. There is a surprising accidental death, which sets off a nearly "noir-like" set of events that are horrific, but stem from the basis of reality. The naturalistic acting is absolutely fabulous, particularly given the plot (which sounds melodramatic, but is presented in such stark, realistic terms, it really isn't. There is absolutely no moralizing in the film, which is refreshing.). Surprises abound, as the story unfolds, and it all lead to a horrific (if abrupt) conclusion. (Apparently two reels are missing, but, except for the abrupt ending, the story feel complete.)
Wonderful film.
"Let's be independent together." Dr. Hermey DDS