tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13372093.post5036602983617369035..comments2024-03-27T17:57:30.031-04:00Comments on my new plaid pants: 5 Off My Head: Siri Says 1925Jason Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18254334131909339157noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13372093.post-18392293953854472382021-03-02T05:15:27.309-05:002021-03-02T05:15:27.309-05:00Chaplin is gross. He slept with underage girls. Chaplin is gross. He slept with underage girls. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13372093.post-4414737053899662532021-03-02T02:17:52.592-05:002021-03-02T02:17:52.592-05:00I have to put Battleship Potemkin at the top. The ...I have to put Battleship Potemkin at the top. The Odessa steps sequence is still supremely powerful. It is still impactful after almost a century. Gold Rush second and Phantom of the Opera third. And that’s because those are the only three films I’ve seen from that year. I’m a Chaplin lover so the Gold Rush would have probably been in the top even had I seen more.Shawnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00349063352632344096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13372093.post-88056637657395454932021-03-01T20:32:57.679-05:002021-03-01T20:32:57.679-05:00A 96-year flashback is quite the venture, but it w...A 96-year flashback is quite the venture, but it was a strong year in the silent era. The closer to sound coming in you get the better the silents became. <br /><br />Your top five reflects that you’ve seen some of the best, but you must see The Big Parade. Aside from the delight of a brief skinny-dipping scene with John Gilbert and the other two leads it is a powerful, sobering film. <br /><br />I wish I loved Chaplin as much as most do. I can see the artistry and there are several films I do like (Modern Times, Limelight and a few others) but I’ve never been enchanted by the Tramp. The Gold Rush was fine but not one I hold much affection for. <br /><br />Which leads to another superstar of the day whose appeal escapes me-Mary Pickford. I see you have Little Annie Rooney listed in your haven’t seen, I found it underwhelming but then that’s the case with almost every one of her films so far. She was SO huge in her day, but her style doesn’t translate to modern times, at least for me. She’s usually coy and precious (most of her sound films are endurance tests except her last-Secrets and it’s only okay). She’s to be respected for her part in basically formulating what was the studio/star system for most of a century, her canniness as a businesswoman and her fearlessness at using her power but as a performer I just don’t see it. <br /><br />Be that as it may here’s my top 10:<br /><br />1. The Big Parade<br />2. The Phantom of the Opera<br />3. Ben-Hur<br />4. Strike<br />5. The Merry Widow <br />6. Battleship Potemkin<br />7. The Unholy Three<br />8. Don Q, Son of Zorro<br />9. The Eagle<br />10. Seven Chances<br /><br />There is one other very cool piece of celluloid, it’s not really a film but a promotional short put out by the rather newly formed MGM simply titled “1925 Studio Tour”. Put together to make it seem like they were all one big happy family (most of the stars shown would leave within a few years because of dissension with the brass or kicked to the curb with the coming of sound so it must be viewed with a large grain of salt.) but it does offer a fascinating glimpse of what the behind-the-scenes life of a major studio was like at the time. One major highlight-as they pass through a crowd of contract players they point out “a 1925 find! Lucille Le Sueur” she’s nearly unrecognizable with an unbecoming center part marcelled hairdo and much too much makeup but then she smiles and before your eyes you can see the Joan Crawford of the future revealed. <br /><br />Runner-Ups:<br /><br />Sally, Irene and Mary (one of Crawford’s first featured roles)<br />The Wizard of Oz<br />The Plastic Age<br />Her Night of Romance<br />The Pleasure Garden<br />Master of the House <br />Body and Soul<br />The Monster<br />The Circle<br />Dick Turpin<br />Lady of the Night<br />Go West <br />Too Many Kissesjoel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.com