Risselada Blog

Under discussion:

London After Midnight  (2002)

London After Midnight

I am of course writing about the reconstruction of this film commissioned by Turner Classic Movies based on production stills from the film.  I do not have in my possession a coveted copy of the most famous lost film.  And although this is the most famous lost film, stories from people who had seen it suggest that it's not necessarily the top tier classic that really warrants such fame.  Most likely it's Chaney's shocking make-up job that catches people's attention and makes them wish this film was still available.  For old horror buffs, sure this would probably be a great film.  But sitting through a reconstruction made out of just a handful of production stills shown over and over again in slow pans and zooms for forty-seven minutes is not the most entertaining movie experience.  Again, the different shots of Chaney in this frightening make-up are the most captivating portions.

Rating: 5/10

Under discussion:

The Hunchback of Notre Dame  (1923)

The Unknown  (1927)

This blog entry is part of my "movie year countdown round #2".  Read more about that here.

The Unknown

Somehow it seems like I watched this one out of order, not that anyone would care besides me.  And actually I don't really care either.

The Unknown has so many elements that make a great silent film:  an easy to follow plot yet with many surprises, powerful emotive acting without seeming fake, a fantastical yet believable world, captivating cinematography, and it's not too long.  This is only my second Lon Chaney movie after seeing The Hunchback of Notre Dame where he is completely buried in makeup.  But this film gave me much more respect for him.  The famous scene at the end where he goes from this maniacal laughing to completely destroyed and heartbroken is probably the climax of one of the greatest silent film acting jobs I've seen.  Put him next to Emil Jannings as maybe the two best silent film actors I've seen, other than almost pure comedy of Buster Keaton.

I'm excited to see other famous collaborations between Chaney and Browning.  The filmmakers did some great stuff with the staging, editing and everything else.  There are some beautiful shots here.  Some interesting scenes that seem to have been shot through some kind of patterned cloth too.  Lots of interesting stuff they were trying in silent films at that time.

Rating: 9/10