and in my opinion... BAH! <<< but still necessary. As the good student that I am (even I rolled my eyes typing that), yesterday I started doing the readings for tomorrow. This is mainly because there's a lot for tomorrow and the last thing I want to do is fall behind and not participate in class (otherwise it will be a very long and silent 2 hours). The book we're using is Film Theory and Criticism by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. If you're a film person you've probably seen some sort of edition of this book sometime in your life. While reading my first assignment - a great (but somewhat convoluted) piece by Erwin Panofsky - I realized that early film would have been just CRAZY to people in the early century.
I just want to take for instance Georges Méliès Le Voyage dans la lune (or A Trip to the Moon). Seeing as this is considered the first feature like film ever I would think that a special effect like the umbrella making creatures blow up very disorienting for that audience watching it. It's hard for us today to think of something like that. However creatures meeting their doom from the smack of an umbrella - terrifying (circa 1902). But today, the way the Méliès achieved this is actually quite innovating for the time. Oh, I'll just tell you how he did it... this was during the time that the film had to be cranked through the camera. Méliès figured out that if you were filming an object then stopped the camera and removed the object and then resumed filming it would seem the object just disappeared out of nowhere. Hence being able to disappear by means of umbrella.
So in our first class today we watched Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr. In my vast experience with silent movies (and by vast I mean super incredibly minuscule) I watched another Keaton movie called The General. I found Sherlock Jr. more enjoyable actually. I felt that The General went on a little long in the slap stick area for my liking... on the other hand, slap stick movies were made purely for the enjoyment of movement and not for the narrative quality. Panofsky talks about this in his "Style and Medium in the Motion Pictures".
From a modern stand point (by modern I mean right now... 2011) the special effects that were achieved in the film were actually quite spectacular. I still can't figure out how Keaton jumped through a man... even with cuts. Overall I found the movie enjoyable... it was even probably a little more because my TA though it would be a good idea to watch a silent movie in total silence (she informed us that she didn't like the musical score accompanying the movie). So when cellphones were heard vibrating around the room it made us all chuckle from time to time.
Anyway, from my own opinion I think Sherlock Jr. even had a political tone behind it. Throughout the movie Keaton (who was 2nd to Charlie Chaplin in the slap stick/comedy genre of the day) had problems with technology (even when he was dreaming, he couldn't dream that he could properly use technology). His aspirations throughout the movie was to become a detective, however he never solves a crime... except for in his dream. Also aside from wanting to be come a detective his real job is being a projectionist at a movie theater.
ANYWAY what I'm trying to get to is that Keaton's aspirations to becoming a detective is presumably from watching Sherlock Holmes movies (since the name of the film is Sherlock Jr.). Also at the end of the film when Keaton is trying to woo the girl in the projection room as a film is rolling he has to take his cues from the film itself how to hug her, kiss her, and propose to her. Interesting though, as the movie that he is cuing from rolls on to the next scene the model couple is seen holding two babies... and the movie ends with Keaton scratching his head in confusion obviously thinking "Well, how do we get those?!"
So even during the silent era people knew that movies made a big impact on audience's everyday lives.
Ok, I think I've rambled on long enough. Thanks for listening and let me know what some of your favorite silent films are!!!
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