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| A Great Demille Picture; ...plus another one | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 7 2006, 10:19 AM (906 Views) | |
| panzer the great & terrible | Mar 7 2006, 10:19 AM Post #1 |
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Mouth Breather
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The recently-issued DVD of two DeMille pictures from 1918 was a happy surprise. I must confess to a sneaking fondness for DeMille -- he's a right winger, but he's also so purely insane that nobody with a lick of sense could take him seriously -- still, I never thought him capable of anything like a masterpiece. Wrong again, because here it is. THE WHISPERING CHORUS is a moral tale about a guy who starts with gambling, moves on to embezzling and is eventually tried for murdering himself. This is rough on his wife, but I can't tell you more without pulling multiple spoilers, and this is too good to spoil. There's creative use of cinema techniques that were used in silent films more than talkies -- lots of double exposures, clever crosscutting and exotic tinting colors. Strong performance from Raymond Hatton in the lead; he manages to bring off some big Dwight Frye-type effects. Congratulations to Dave Shepard for a splendid print and transfer. Five stars. A movie for anyone who loves silent movies. OLD WIVES FOR NEW is a rather less moral tale on such hot topics as the Importance of Good Housekeeping (the practice, not the magazine). It is above average as such movies go, but the trouble is, they don't go very far. This one also uses creative film techniques to tell its story. In one breathtaking sequence a person gets shot and dies slowly rather than right off the bat. First you wonder if he was really hit, then you wonder if he's really going to die. Then on to the next sequence, where a title informs us that he died hours later. Hitchcock must have seen this! Good transfer from an imperfect print. Three and a half stars. Panzer highly recommends this Kino DVD |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| Frank Hale | Mar 8 2006, 07:13 PM Post #2 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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I think we talked about this before, but one of the bios I read attributed the commercial failure of “The Whispering Chorus” to DeMille’s disavowal of “artistry” and subsequent single-minded pursuit of box-office success. It’s definitely on my list to see. |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Mar 9 2006, 09:32 AM Post #3 |
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Mouth Breather
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I'm not sure if "artistry" is the word I'd use, but it sure is a lot more fun to watch than his other movies. I guess the downbeat ending is what hurt at the box office. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| George Kaplan | Mar 9 2006, 10:54 AM Post #4 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Thanks for the solid recommendation, Mr. Panzer; I'm ordering this one. Last year Image released the second and third installments in the trilogy that begins with Old Wives for New: Don't Change Your Husband (1919) and Why Change Your Wife? (1920). Have you seen either of these? The titles are far from encouraging but probably made for good box office. Another Image DeMille release (from 2000) is The Affairs of Anatol (1921), which I've read was hot stuff in its day. Now that you have me thinking about DeMille again, I may have to look into it. |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Mar 9 2006, 02:52 PM Post #5 |
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Mouth Breather
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I don't recomnmend Affairs of Anatol except to say it's a lovely print with what looks like the original tinting. I find the other two wife/husband flicks largely tedious, though with some good sequences. One DeMille I do highly recommend is MALE AND FEMALE. I think my final judgment on DeMille is that he was immensely talented, but inclined to be a bit of a bore on occasion. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| George Kaplan | Mar 9 2006, 06:01 PM Post #6 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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I like Male and Female quite a bit, but I have yet to see the tinted Image release. |
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| Frank Hale | Mar 9 2006, 07:21 PM Post #7 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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IMO, "Union Pacific" is the best serial ever made, even if it does have only one chapter. |
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| Frank Hale | Jun 15 2006, 07:50 PM Post #8 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Saw “The Whispering Chorus” last night. Definitely no artistic triumph, and I can’t see CB becoming a Philistine over its failure, as Kevin Brownlow would lead us to believe. Especially since Bob Birchard’s recent book tells us that it was not a failure, but a modest success. On the other hand, it’s quite watchable for a 1918 film. Conclusion: CB was fully formed by this point and all his strengths and weaknesses are already on display. A talented guy, but with a taste for unabashed hokum. |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Jun 16 2006, 07:27 AM Post #9 |
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Mouth Breather
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I wholly agree. Can't imagine what had me so enthusiastic about this at first. I've revised my opinion: not a masterpiece, but solid entertainment, which is more than I can say for some DeMille pictures. What Brownlow was thinking is anybody's guess. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| Frank Hale | Jun 16 2006, 05:50 PM Post #10 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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I question if he actually had access to the film: In his book he talks about destroying the face of the corpse with lime, which clearly didn’t happen, and his source for saying the film took a loss was a verbal from Agnes DeMille. Mr. Birchard says the rumor that the film was DeMille's turning point dates back to the 20’s; an “urban legend” you might say. |
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| panzer the great & terrible | May 13 2012, 04:01 PM Post #11 |
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Mouth Breather
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Agnes DeMille's testimony can't be trusted. She was a vain, silly, pretentious bore, but then, so was C. B., on occasion. The difference was, he had talent and courage, and was surely one of the three great pioneer directors in the USA. She disliked him for personal reasons, largely self-invented, and delighted in dissing him. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| Frank Hale | May 14 2012, 11:39 AM Post #12 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Saw The Buccaneer (1938) for the first time a couple of weeks ago on the new Olive disk. The picture quality was not particularly sharp, but I’m glad I finally caught up with it. Generally sprightlier than the remake (which follows it closely). |
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