I love movies. Great inspiration for writing, and perfect background for knitting! Last week, I watched another silent film, Metropolis (German, 1927). The restored version of this film is available on DVD and streaming from Netflix, and I encourage you to watch it for several reasons. Even if you don't, click the link above to visit the official website for the film (which also has a trailer), which details the restoration process--fascinating!
The movie itself takes a utopian society with a dark secret, a young, idealistic man bent on making things better, a mad scientist and a robotic woman and rolls them all into a captivating film.
It is another silent film on Netflix. No, I'm not talking about the one with the clown. This is a Clara Bow film, about a female shop clerk who falls head over heels for the son of her employer. Cute and funny, it's a romantic comedy rife with misdirection and miscommunication.
Moving forward, I think I've waxed poetic enough about my love for the The Mummy (Hooray for B movies!). I am however, jazzed (pun so intended!) about the Great Gatsby. Keep in mind, I hated the book when we read it in school. I absolutely could not stand it, and I think the only reason anyone in my class even finished it was because the teacher (who caught on to our hatred) made us read it aloud in class. That being said, the visuals for this film are incredibly stunning. I saw the trailer a couple of weeks ago when Missouri and I went to see Oz: the Great and Powerful (also excellent, by the way). I'm a little hesitant, since it has the same producer as Romeo + Juliet, which was horrible, but I'd still like to see it. Maybe I'll wait until it's on Netflix, rather than shelling out $10 to see it at the theater.
Although, in my opinion, no movie with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead can be all bad.
Lately Downton Abbey has been getting a lot of press. Set in England in the late 1910s-1920s, I watched the first four or five episodes, I think, and couldn't get into it. Even though I love the costumes and the setting, most of the characters made me want to smack them, and the ones that didn't were quickly written off/doomed to die in later episodes. I strongly suspect that Gatsby will fall into this category--the type of thing best watched on mute.
What are your favorite movies from the 1920s, or that take place in that decade?
Buster Keaton was a comic genius. I loved watching "Steamboat Bill Jr." on the silver screen with piano accompaniment a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteMetropolis is probably one of my favorite films of all time, and I gave it a big heaping of love on my blog about 6 months ago. The 20's expressionist design is amazing, and if you love the era - you can catch some beautiful design work in the background if you watch it more than once.
ReplyDeleteI also share your trepidation about leo being the lead in 'The Great Gatsby', but... I'm going to go along and watch it for the fashion. It certainly won't be worth seeing for the acting, considering almost every character was miss-cast.
I really get into Metropolis. I was first introduced to it by Scott (above) when he posted on it. It is such a neat movie. There are several silents I have watched and enjoyed throughout my life. I forget the titles.
ReplyDeleteGatsby, yuk. I do agree though the movie seems to be a bit better than the book.
I do not have many favorites from the 20's mine hail from the 30s with the Three Stooges shorts.