How the obsession began back in 2006

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KemEya90llo

Theda...

. . . Bara. I played a ghost inspired by Theda Bara in A Fool There Was in a film I edited in high school. It was my best and only screen performance. It was also by far the most ridiculous four minute film ever made. Here is the real Theda:

L’heureuse Mort

Right after L'Huereuse Mort ended at this year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival, my brother turned to me and asked what I thought of the film. I paused for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts and said "that was a euphoric film experience."

I still think that phrase perfectly describes this film.

PLOT: a desert island, a faked death, a mistaken identity, and of course a happy ending

How I stay awake during film screenings:

Kino: Russian Cinema, the most awesome class ever, has screenings every Monday at 8 pm. I love silent movies, but I still tend to get very sleepy during these screenings. But finally I have discovered a SOLUTION to my slumber: lists!

I love listing things. Its the best. It makes me feel like I know things.Here is a list of 50 silent movies I have seen. Well, I counted 50 in my head but couldn't think of them all when I tried transferring the titles to paper. Oh well.

This is a listing game I invented today! It is a variation on a game I play to keep my mind occupied when I work out. The original game is simple, I have to think of a studio era movie star for each letter. But this variation is a little more tricky, as you can see I didn't fill in all the blanks. I challenged myself to list a movie star with a first name that starts with each letter, and a movie star with a last name that starts with each letter. I still can't think of anyone with a Q first name.(Quincy...nope, Quail Man...no) Ooh and I forgot an important rule, double points if you think of a star whose first and last name start with the same letter. Yay For Greta Garbo!

“I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it will be with a knife.”
-Louise Brooks

Orphans of the Storm, starring Lillian and Dorothy Gish

The beauty shot.

"Shh. . . this is a silent movie"

An actress caught acting. . . crazy.

Now this is the quintessential Lillian Gish face. None of the others compare. You can also find this face in any scene with the abusive father in Broken Blossoms, and all scenes in Way Down East that involve babies or snow. This face is why I love Lillian Gish.

Dorothy doesn't really do it for me, she's alright but her faces pale in comparison to her sister's.

While watching this film I paused on the first shot of Lillian in the film. I asked my brother what he thought of her. He said "She looks like a cat."

My Best Girl, Starring Mary Pickford and Buddy Rogers

"Rich men don't chase after shopgirls for the exercise."

Buddy Rogers and Mary Pickford. The two go together like sunshine and rainbows. Buddy pretty much plays the same character as he did in Wings--a well meaning sweetheart who can be kinda dumb, really dumb. Its not very nice to lie to the girl you love about your identity, your relationship status, and just about everything else. Of course it works out in the end. I've seen this story played out in several other movies, but I think this one may be my favorite. If only because none of the other movies have Mary Pickford dancing the Charleston . Once she started her fake-flapper speech, I knew it was only a matter of minutes before the dancing would begin.

The Temptress (1926), Starring Greta Garbo & Antonio Moreno

My best birthday present this year was the Garbo Silents Collection from TCM. I have seen most of Garbo's sound films, but until I received my gift I had yet to see ANY of her silent films(shocking I know). The collection included three classics, Flesh and the Devil(which I watched immediately), The Temptress, and The Mysterious Lady. I avoided watching The Temptress and The Mysterious Lady for months after viewing Flesh and the Devil. I instinctively knew that no Garbo silent film could live up to my first taste of her alluring swagger. The Temptress was indeed no Flesh and the Devil but it most definitely had its own charm. Although initially I did not understand what the dazzling Elena saw in Robeldo(what a name), he grew on me and by the end I found myself falling for the Argentine and his tiny perfectly groomed mustache. BEST NAME: It was a close race but Manos Duras comes in first with Robledo in a close second. FAVORITE SCENE: Jesus's cameo in the last scene of he film was pretttty darn awesome.

FAVORITE EXCHANGE:






Next up: Orphans of the Storm, or as my best friend described it after watching it: A weird movie with kids in a swamp.

From Lubitsch to Pabst

My Top Ten List (Like the Ten Commandments)

1. Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
2. Diary of a Lost Girl
3. Broken Blossoms
4. Goldrush
5. Pandora's Box
6. City Lights
7. Laugh, Clown, Laugh
8. Phantom of the Opera
9. La passion et la mort de Jeanne d’Arc
   
10. Flesh and the Devil