The conventional wisdom when it comes to the early days of cinema is that five major studios — Paramount, Fox, Universal, MGM, and Warner Bros. — were responsible for key innovations of Hollywood filmmaking, such as the star system, the birth of the feature film, and the creation of nationwide and international distribution networks. In fact, the now largely forgotten Vitagraph Studios did all of these things before the five majors even existed, but the company’s ultimate demise and sale to Warner Bros. in 1925 (where it was renamed Vitaphone and created as an independent unit to produce early sound shorts) led to its near erasure from mainstream film history.
While intrepid souls like film historians Andrew A. Erish and Anthony Slide have tried to raise and sustain awareness of Vitagraph’s contributions, their efforts have often been impeded by the scarcity of the films themselves — even for those of us interested in Vitagraph’s output,...
While intrepid souls like film historians Andrew A. Erish and Anthony Slide have tried to raise and sustain awareness of Vitagraph’s contributions, their efforts have often been impeded by the scarcity of the films themselves — even for those of us interested in Vitagraph’s output,...
- 6/1/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
CA Lejeune on Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and the art of slapstick comedy
It is one of the kinema’s little ironies that among all the makers of comic films there is not to be found a single man who works with comedy as his touchstone. I am not forgetting Chaplin. “The Pilgrim” is indeed my immediate text. But Chaplin, who alone can raise laughter at his will, who is the only complete pantomimist on the screen to-day, and hence the only master of his art, has done what he has simply because he is not what he seems to be. The comic artist is not the ultimate Chaplin. If it were so his universality would localise. We might admire the comedian Chaplin - must admire him for his delicate craftsmanship, - but we should not cherish him. Enthusiasts have called him a tragedian, but neither is he this, his...
It is one of the kinema’s little ironies that among all the makers of comic films there is not to be found a single man who works with comedy as his touchstone. I am not forgetting Chaplin. “The Pilgrim” is indeed my immediate text. But Chaplin, who alone can raise laughter at his will, who is the only complete pantomimist on the screen to-day, and hence the only master of his art, has done what he has simply because he is not what he seems to be. The comic artist is not the ultimate Chaplin. If it were so his universality would localise. We might admire the comedian Chaplin - must admire him for his delicate craftsmanship, - but we should not cherish him. Enthusiasts have called him a tragedian, but neither is he this, his...
- 9/1/2015
- by CA Lejeune
- The Guardian - Film News
On Tuesday morning, Wamg was invited to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ special press preview of John Ford’s Upstream (1927), one of 75 films recently found in the New Zealand Film Archive and repatriated to the U.S. with the cooperation of the National Film Preservation Foundation.
The 1927 silent film, that was thought lost for decades, had it’s re-premiere Wednesday night, September 1, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Many of the VIP’s on hand included Silent Film Historians and those involved with the restoration, as well as the general public.
Having seen the film on Tuesday, I must say the transfer is absolutely beautiful. I was so impressed by the special care taken with the film’s clarity and how vibrant the tinting is on the multiple color frames throughout. The smoky special effects combined with the subtle transitions made me forget I was...
The 1927 silent film, that was thought lost for decades, had it’s re-premiere Wednesday night, September 1, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Many of the VIP’s on hand included Silent Film Historians and those involved with the restoration, as well as the general public.
Having seen the film on Tuesday, I must say the transfer is absolutely beautiful. I was so impressed by the special care taken with the film’s clarity and how vibrant the tinting is on the multiple color frames throughout. The smoky special effects combined with the subtle transitions made me forget I was...
- 9/2/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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