Topic: Silent films

[Najemikon]

2 best scenes in that for me are at about .52 secs, walking through the door and then trying to climb over the gate.

So natural.

Genius.

I watched this again just last night as this thread inspired my choice for "G". I just love the moment when he tries to escape the cannon and even lobs a block of wood at it in desperation!

I've been trying to find the clip, but Jackie Chan did a great tribute to the Steamboat house gag in Project A. Or Project A Part II. Can't quite remember. Similar setup, except Chan turns on his foot into the right position as the window falls over him. He kind of sees it fall toward him, feigns panic and spins into the right spot. I was always fascinated by that.

[Antares]

What's amazing about Keaton is how often he was injured on a stunt, but kept going so as not to lose the shot. In that clip I posted are two scenes where he broke his ankle and his neck on a stunt.

[lovemunkey187]

2 best scenes in that for me are at about .52 secs, walking through the door and then trying to climb over the gate.

So natural.

Genius.

I watched this again just last night as this thread inspired my choice for "G". I just love the moment when he tries to escape the cannon and even lobs a block of wood at it in desperation!

I've been trying to find the clip, but Jackie Chan did a great tribute to the Steamboat house gag in Project A. Or Project A Part II. Can't quite remember. Similar setup, except Chan turns on his foot into the right position as the window falls over him. He kind of sees it fall toward him, feigns panic and spins into the right spot. I was always fascinated by that.

Not the one you mention but

[Kathy]

I remember watching, on PBS I think, a documentary about Jackie Chan's life. He entered the China Drama Academy at age 7 and spent the next 10 years there seldom being allowed to see his family. The students were subjected to such harsh treatment at this school it would be considered child abuse in the US.

[Najemikon]

I have his book and it's fascinating stuff, especially the list of breaks! Take a close look at the first drop in that clip Lovemunkey posted (2.35). He almost broke his neck!

It might be considered child abuse in one respect, Kathy, but the west doesn't have anything to rival the Chinese Theatre as was and it's hard to understand the Chinese mind-set. The sense of self-respect and discipline is on a different scale.

An interesting point, for instance, is that Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Baio were all "Little Dragons" and worked together frequently, but Sammo was the eldest and that brought a degree of seniority. Although they were great friends, I don't think he and Chan have spoken properly since Jackie became the bigger star. I think there has been a relatively recent thaw in the relationship. A shame, because Chan could easily have got Sammo more US work than just Martial Law, but Sammo's pride could never allow him to follow like that. 

[W0m6at]

I blind-bought this years ago, and it's still on my "To Watch" pile. I'm going to have to rectify that!


I'm very keen to watch this too.

I'm also keen to watch:
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) (I have it in a cheapie compilation)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) (same cheapie collection as above)
Metropolis (when the longer version gets released on Blu-ray later this year)
The Hands of Orlac
Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages
The Man Who Laughs
Die Nibelungen
Spione
The Student of Prague (1913 & 1926 versions)

...and the local library has:
The Lost World (1925)
Napoleon (1927)

Any opinions, suggestions or priorities?

[W0m6at]

I've just reserved two short film collections at the local library:

Chaplin: The Legend Lives On
The Genius of Buster Keaton: The Short Film Collection

Hopefully I can find the time to get through a decent portion of each.

[Antares]

Definitely check out the Keaton set. His short films are hilarious, especially Cops and The Playhouse.

[Rogmeister]

I thought I'd mention here that I just ordered my first silent films in the Blu-ray format...

The Black Pirate
The Complete Metropolis

The Black Pirate is a swashbuckling film made in 1926 that was actually one of the earliest films shot in 2-strip Technicolor.  It stars Douglas Fairbanks and will be my second film to star him...I have a DVD also of The Thief of Bagdad.  The Complete Metropolis, of course, is the newly restored version of Metropolis including the footage they found recently that was returned to the film. 

[W0m6at]

I thought I'd mention here that I just ordered my first silent films in the Blu-ray format...

The Black Pirate
The Complete Metropolis

The Black Pirate is a swashbuckling film made in 1926 that was actually one of the earliest films shot in 2-strip Technicolor.  It stars Douglas Fairbanks and will be my second film to star him...I have a DVD also of The Thief of Bagdad.  The Complete Metropolis, of course, is the newly restored version of Metropolis including the footage they found recently that was returned to the film. 

The Blu-ray of Metropolis is great, and it's a wonderful film. The Black Pirate looks pretty promising from what I've seen, in both respects. Be sure to let everyone know what you think of each.