In which one woman finds two men more than enough company. Often overlooked in his back catalogue, A Woman of Paris is a lost Charlie Chaplin film in many ways. Unlike every other film that Chaplin took a key role in, here he stays behind the camera for all but a brief uncredited cameo. Without his…
In which one roll of film is all the exposure Buster Keaton needs. Until watching The Camerman I had found Buster Keaton to be a less emotional performer than Charlie Chaplin (the comparison is needless, they both excel, but often made). Here, he changed my mind with a central role that’s more sweetly romantic than those…
In which we follow the rise and rise of a commander with a fondness for headwear. Where to begin with Napoleon when it feels like a film that has no end for much of its almost six-hour runtime. That’s not to say it drags, more than it beats on ceaselessly from the past, going through event…
In which a tennis ball to the eye proves an ace. Despite being a fan of many Alfred Hitchcock films, with Rope from time-to-time being my favourite film, I haven’t seen any of his early silent films. I suspect that’s true of many of us, he has so many classics that watching them all is a…
In which we dream a dream of clouds gone by. I believe Un Chien Andalou was the first film on my exploration of 1920’s movies that I had never heard of, let alone seen. Yet, like many of these early cinematic adventures, I had unknowingly already absorbed one of its most famous and striking images into…
In which we begin the legend of the Phantom and the man of 1,000 faces. Claude Rains, my favourite actor of all time, played the lead in the 1943 version of The Phantom of the Opera. His performance, in many ways similar to his take on The Invisible Man, was until recently the only interpretation of…
In which we close in on the final days of a Patron Saint. Where discovering Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin films for the first time has been a true joy, I was apprehensive about taking on The Passion of Joan of Arc. Like many of the movies I’m watching this year, it’s another well-regarded classic…
In which cinema’s most famous stunt falls upon us. After enjoying The General and Sherlock Jr, I approached Steamboat Bill Jr with great excitement for more of Buster Keaton’s mix of physical mastery and succinct storytelling. You know what you’re getting with a Keaton film and this delivers plenty of both. It seems as though these three movies, widely…
In which we meet the world’s greatest detective and find an inception prequel. I’ve always been drawn to anything related to Sherlock Holmes since I first read my way through every story in my teens. From the BBC’s Sherlock, through Guy Ritchie, Chris Columbus’ Young Sherlock Holmes and all the way back to Basil…
In which we learn that a movie is a movie is a movie – no matter the subject. Man With a Movie Camera is perhaps the best example of a film I’d heard of, knew roughly what it was about, understood it was considered very influential and had no intention of ever watching. The great…