In which we learn the lure of a fortune can lead a man to a hearty meal of leather and laces. Ever since I first watched a Charlie Chaplin film on a blu ray sent through the post back in the heady days of LoveFilm, I’ve been a confirmed fan of his effortless direction…
In which we move into a haunted house at midnight to read a will… what could go wrong? I’m a sucker for black and white horror films, especially those from the 1920s and 1930s. There are a couple of things I believe explain my fondness for them. Firstly, they’re not very scary and I’m…
In which we witness rebellion, mutiny and the first famous steps in cinema. The real joy of giving myself a challenge to watch only films from the 1920s in 2020 is the classic cinema that I’m seeing, often for the first time. Films like Battleship Potemkin have been familiar to me for years, I…
In which two parents find, lose and reclaim their most precious passenger. I seem to find with these 1920s films an attraction to iconic actors and influential designs. The Kid merges both of these into a single character, Chaplin’s famous ‘tramp’ who featured in many of his films between 1914 and 1936. Although over a century…
In which we go to the year 2000, where not much has changed but they live underground. More so than The Cabinet of Dr Caligari or Nosferatu, the imagery of Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis influences cinema and pop culture today. The famous poster art of the 1920s inspired cityscape and the iconic look of the robot Maria have…
In which a vampire’s shadow terrorises our sleeping moments and we learn there’s no horror like that of being trapped within our own nightmares. Nosferatu is one of those films that has long since transcended its original purpose of entertaining audiences to become an icon of cinema. It’s the type of film that fans know…
In which we meet a somnambulist, an expressionist master director and a rising body count, all from a century ago. I find it hard to get my head round the idea that we were watching movies a hundred years ago. They’re now officially antiques. Of course, it was a different experience then and not just…
In which we get a return ticket through the frontlines of the American Civil War. Buster Keaton is one of those actors like Charlie Chaplin that we almost all recognise, most of us have seen a clip or still from their films and many can name at least one or two titles. In contrast…