Silent Films
Here I'm looking at silent films and going to describe each.
Here is the film "Show People" from 1928.
I found this film, to be particularly boring and not really my style in which I wouldn't want to watch. However, I found it interesting how things were made and how the camera stayed in one place for a long period of time. I also quite like the style and the lighting of this clip. The lighting struck me because it was quite unique and wasn't too dark, and wasn't too light in some places also the environment is in a normal - real life setting with people walking around whereas the main characters are still the main focus. I also like the way the facial expressions are come across as the woman is totally in awe of meeting this guy and seems genuinely happy. I also liked the music that went with this clip, as it seemed really happy and quirky too, it's very comedy like and seems interesting.
I also like the way they have dialogue cards in which the speech is used by these cards, and that we can tell what the characters are saying.
I found this film, to be particularly boring and not really my style in which I wouldn't want to watch. However, I found it interesting how things were made and how the camera stayed in one place for a long period of time. I also quite like the style and the lighting of this clip. The lighting struck me because it was quite unique and wasn't too dark, and wasn't too light in some places also the environment is in a normal - real life setting with people walking around whereas the main characters are still the main focus. I also like the way the facial expressions are come across as the woman is totally in awe of meeting this guy and seems genuinely happy. I also liked the music that went with this clip, as it seemed really happy and quirky too, it's very comedy like and seems interesting.
I also like the way they have dialogue cards in which the speech is used by these cards, and that we can tell what the characters are saying.
I really found this film to be really different and a little disturbing, this film is The Heart of the World.
What I did like about this film was the use of the colour range, between how dark and light the lighting gets, I also quite liked mood it brought across it is very different compared to the comedy of the previous one. The facial expressions of this clip is rather crazy and quite melancholy too, it's quite disturbing. The music however it quite different as it seems happy and jovial at 0:19 seconds in, it's rather interesting especially for what's playing on the screen as there's people in coffins. The clothes in this film is rather different as it changes from suits and hats to normal everyday clothes.
What I did like about this film was the use of the colour range, between how dark and light the lighting gets, I also quite liked mood it brought across it is very different compared to the comedy of the previous one. The facial expressions of this clip is rather crazy and quite melancholy too, it's quite disturbing. The music however it quite different as it seems happy and jovial at 0:19 seconds in, it's rather interesting especially for what's playing on the screen as there's people in coffins. The clothes in this film is rather different as it changes from suits and hats to normal everyday clothes.
This clip is Underworld from 1927.
I found this clip at first to be rather strange, odd and weird as I didn't understand the concept of the title being called Underworld. Then I watched the clip a few more times and then I kind of understood it. In the beginning in starts off in a party sort of atmosphere and we are focused on one man in the party, who seems to be keeping himself too himself. Then he moves to the stairs and we can see him slowly walking up them, however the people on the ground and on the stairs are rather busy and keep dancing and are having fun. While all this time the man is slowly walking up the stairs and is minding his own business. I then realised that these could be like ants and he is just one by himself and be like the underworld, kind of. It's a really different type of clip as this seems again, rather different. The lighting in this clip is varied as it starts of to be quite natural and normal, as the black and white style film is quite hard to actually describe the lighting. Although it seems quite natural. The clothing is black tie and the woman are in dresses.
I found this clip at first to be rather strange, odd and weird as I didn't understand the concept of the title being called Underworld. Then I watched the clip a few more times and then I kind of understood it. In the beginning in starts off in a party sort of atmosphere and we are focused on one man in the party, who seems to be keeping himself too himself. Then he moves to the stairs and we can see him slowly walking up them, however the people on the ground and on the stairs are rather busy and keep dancing and are having fun. While all this time the man is slowly walking up the stairs and is minding his own business. I then realised that these could be like ants and he is just one by himself and be like the underworld, kind of. It's a really different type of clip as this seems again, rather different. The lighting in this clip is varied as it starts of to be quite natural and normal, as the black and white style film is quite hard to actually describe the lighting. Although it seems quite natural. The clothing is black tie and the woman are in dresses.
The second sequence is her 'Dying Swan', captured in 1916 or 1917. I quite like this little clip because it is rather haunting and the tint that the film has is rather nice and is quite magical. I liked that the dancer kept quite symmetrical when this was filmed, as it looks really interesting and again, has a certain depth toward the film clip itself, I also thought that it was rather nice that she specifically tried to stay dead centre. I liked the way that the lighting was placed on her dress as it makes it looks really white and vibrant, yet the purple hue in the film looks really subtle as well, which has a charm towards it.
Originally released in 1922 as Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens, director F.W. Murnau's chilling and eerie adaption of Stoker's Dracula is a silent masterpiece of terror which to this day is the most striking and frightening portrayal of the legend.
This is the truly original vampire film, "Nosferatu" is a black and white direct copied adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula". At its release it had the exact same characters and plot as the original book but had changed the names of all involved. The story is the same: a clod goes off to a mountainous small town and finds the townspeople frightened out of their wits by the vampyr(vampire) aloft in the castle in the hills. The real estate agent and his sickly palored wife are victims of Count Orlok, portrayed by Max Schreck. The fame that still surrounds this film has nothing to do with its stark German Expressionist surroundings and tone or the fact that Bram Stoker's widow sued over copyright infringement. Much more prevalent to its lasting iconoclastic remembrances, is that fright inducing face. Max Shreck was already quite a sight with his pointed ears and long face, and with the use of face makeup he was transformed into a hideously fanged creature, without the charm and sophistication of the many descendants of Bram Stoker's tale. Much more of a creature feature than later adaptations, Count Orlok comes off less than human. The real estate agent who comes to call on what he believes is a rich man in a small town meets a chalky white monster who preys on his wife in her dreams. The shadow of the vampire coming up the stairs, the slow way the villain is revealed, face forward, stark against a background of black, spider webs covering every square inch of the darkly lit manor, was spine chilling. Much like Bela Lugosi in the much more popular and long staying "Dracula", Max Schreck's performance transcends the film itself. It is his amazing presence in the film that makes it so creepy and yet irresistibly sadistic. Seriously one of the creepiest films of all time, and making it silent made it all the better. The music was sometimes off-putting, and the flow of events was stilted, but it was definitely one of the best vampire films of all time. It not only catches the charisma of a supernatural force but also the deep seeded terror invoked in all of their victims.
A much watch for horror fans or those who want to see a good German Expressionist film.
This is the truly original vampire film, "Nosferatu" is a black and white direct copied adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula". At its release it had the exact same characters and plot as the original book but had changed the names of all involved. The story is the same: a clod goes off to a mountainous small town and finds the townspeople frightened out of their wits by the vampyr(vampire) aloft in the castle in the hills. The real estate agent and his sickly palored wife are victims of Count Orlok, portrayed by Max Schreck. The fame that still surrounds this film has nothing to do with its stark German Expressionist surroundings and tone or the fact that Bram Stoker's widow sued over copyright infringement. Much more prevalent to its lasting iconoclastic remembrances, is that fright inducing face. Max Shreck was already quite a sight with his pointed ears and long face, and with the use of face makeup he was transformed into a hideously fanged creature, without the charm and sophistication of the many descendants of Bram Stoker's tale. Much more of a creature feature than later adaptations, Count Orlok comes off less than human. The real estate agent who comes to call on what he believes is a rich man in a small town meets a chalky white monster who preys on his wife in her dreams. The shadow of the vampire coming up the stairs, the slow way the villain is revealed, face forward, stark against a background of black, spider webs covering every square inch of the darkly lit manor, was spine chilling. Much like Bela Lugosi in the much more popular and long staying "Dracula", Max Schreck's performance transcends the film itself. It is his amazing presence in the film that makes it so creepy and yet irresistibly sadistic. Seriously one of the creepiest films of all time, and making it silent made it all the better. The music was sometimes off-putting, and the flow of events was stilted, but it was definitely one of the best vampire films of all time. It not only catches the charisma of a supernatural force but also the deep seeded terror invoked in all of their victims.
A much watch for horror fans or those who want to see a good German Expressionist film.