Embedded Files
7/4/22 " A Trip To The Moon" 1902
5/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: When the bullet splats on the moon
Much like how "The Broadway Melody" was the first musical, this was the first Science Fiction movie ever made. It's fitting that I saw this on May the 4th since this influenced an entire genre of film. Clocking in at a measly 14 minutes, this was a very short film, but for the time this was quite long. It retells Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon" which is a classic science fiction tale of French scientists finally achieving the final frontier. This has such a charming vibe to it. The effects aged surprisingly well for being 120 years old and is really iconic. The moon having a face is really funny. I'm sure it wasn't supposed to be funny, but it was. The sets are wonderful and the costumes are incredible. I really appreciate the alien costumes along with how they die in a poof of smoke when hit. As I said, the effects are surprisingly good. The entire science fiction genre has to pay respect to this movie. It's a great early film, but there is no way I can place it too high since it doesn't have any title cards or dialogue.
5/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: When the bullet splats on the moon
Much like how "The Broadway Melody" was the first musical, this was the first Science Fiction movie ever made. It's fitting that I saw this on May the 4th since this influenced an entire genre of film. Clocking in at a measly 14 minutes, this was a very short film, but for the time this was quite long. It retells Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon" which is a classic science fiction tale of French scientists finally achieving the final frontier. This has such a charming vibe to it. The effects aged surprisingly well for being 120 years old and is really iconic. The moon having a face is really funny. I'm sure it wasn't supposed to be funny, but it was. The sets are wonderful and the costumes are incredible. I really appreciate the alien costumes along with how they die in a poof of smoke when hit. As I said, the effects are surprisingly good. The entire science fiction genre has to pay respect to this movie. It's a great early film, but there is no way I can place it too high since it doesn't have any title cards or dialogue.
7/4/22 "The Great Train Robbery" 1903
4/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The Bandit shooting toward the camera.
This was the very first Western movie ever made (Like "The Broadway Melody" and "A Trip to The Moon" for Musicals and Science Fiction respectively). This wasn't really as grand as "A Trip To The Moon" but it was pretty groundbreaking nonetheless. This movie which was made 119 years ago uses a green screen to make it look like they were in a moving train since it would've been impossible for the time to actually film in a train or at an actual train station. This is of course a landmark film, but this aged a little worse than A Trip to the Moon
4/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The Bandit shooting toward the camera.
This was the very first Western movie ever made (Like "The Broadway Melody" and "A Trip to The Moon" for Musicals and Science Fiction respectively). This wasn't really as grand as "A Trip To The Moon" but it was pretty groundbreaking nonetheless. This movie which was made 119 years ago uses a green screen to make it look like they were in a moving train since it would've been impossible for the time to actually film in a train or at an actual train station. This is of course a landmark film, but this aged a little worse than A Trip to the Moon
6/14/23 "Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout The Ages" 1916
1/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The big ol' Babylon set, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This might just be one of the worst films I've ever seen. This was created by the same guy who made "Birth of a Nation" and this is his way to get back at people who thought that Birth of a Nation was racist. Many people thought that this was his apology for making such one of the most horrendously racist films of all time, but most are wrong. This film was actually him trying to tell the audience that it'd THEIR fault and THEY were the intolerant ones. This was originally supposed to be one story, the modern one, but since "Birth of a Nation" did so well he add three other stories, each more expensive than the last. He added a Renaissance storyline about religious intolerance, a Jesus storyline about how intolerance led to the crucifixion, and the fall of Babylon because, you guessed it, intolerance. These four stories cut to each other, making it really hard to care for any of them. Oh yeah! Did I mention this film is THREE HOURS? This film feels like D.W. Griffith showing off how much money he had. All style and no substance. He also puts his initials on every title card so you know he made it! Speaking of the title cards, maybe you don't have a good story if every 10 seconds you need a title card to explain what's even going on!
1/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The big ol' Babylon set, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This might just be one of the worst films I've ever seen. This was created by the same guy who made "Birth of a Nation" and this is his way to get back at people who thought that Birth of a Nation was racist. Many people thought that this was his apology for making such one of the most horrendously racist films of all time, but most are wrong. This film was actually him trying to tell the audience that it'd THEIR fault and THEY were the intolerant ones. This was originally supposed to be one story, the modern one, but since "Birth of a Nation" did so well he add three other stories, each more expensive than the last. He added a Renaissance storyline about religious intolerance, a Jesus storyline about how intolerance led to the crucifixion, and the fall of Babylon because, you guessed it, intolerance. These four stories cut to each other, making it really hard to care for any of them. Oh yeah! Did I mention this film is THREE HOURS? This film feels like D.W. Griffith showing off how much money he had. All style and no substance. He also puts his initials on every title card so you know he made it! Speaking of the title cards, maybe you don't have a good story if every 10 seconds you need a title card to explain what's even going on!
2/1/24 "Easy Street" 1917
6/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The fight scene, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This is a weaker Charlie Chaplin short compared to his others. It follows the tramp accidentally walking into a church and he gets inspired to try to make a difference. He sees that there's an opening to being a cop on Easy Street, a crime-ridden street that's in a poor neighborhood. As a policeman, he sees the inequality firsthand and tries to make a change. It goes on for a little too long for such a simple premise, but there are some laughs involved as well as some moments of heart. As a whole, though not his best, still a very solid Chaplin short.
6/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The fight scene, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This is a weaker Charlie Chaplin short compared to his others. It follows the tramp accidentally walking into a church and he gets inspired to try to make a difference. He sees that there's an opening to being a cop on Easy Street, a crime-ridden street that's in a poor neighborhood. As a policeman, he sees the inequality firsthand and tries to make a change. It goes on for a little too long for such a simple premise, but there are some laughs involved as well as some moments of heart. As a whole, though not his best, still a very solid Chaplin short.
8/25/22 "The Immigrant" 1917
7/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The Diner
This is arguably one of the most important short films of the 20th century. Not only did it establish the tramp character's comedic style, but it also established the heart to many Chaplin films. This film was pretty controversial for Chaplin since this film was poking fun at America and showing the flaws of its immigration system (this short would later be used to prove that he was a communist during the 50s and have him shipped off to Britain and to be banned from the US. It also shows the hardships of not only the trip over on the small often crowded boats in the first half, but it also shows how hard it was to adjust to a new culture in the second half since many of the immigrants during that time were poor and couldn't fit in since the rest of the world was fighting World War 1 at the time and America didn't join the war until a few months later so the economy was up during that time. It was really sad seeing the tramp struggle to try to pay for his lunch. What's so genius about Chaplin's films is the way he hides the sad undertones behind genius gags. The gags in this film are some of the best of the time. Many of these have been replicated and parodied since they are so well choreographed. Iconic
7/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The Diner
This is arguably one of the most important short films of the 20th century. Not only did it establish the tramp character's comedic style, but it also established the heart to many Chaplin films. This film was pretty controversial for Chaplin since this film was poking fun at America and showing the flaws of its immigration system (this short would later be used to prove that he was a communist during the 50s and have him shipped off to Britain and to be banned from the US. It also shows the hardships of not only the trip over on the small often crowded boats in the first half, but it also shows how hard it was to adjust to a new culture in the second half since many of the immigrants during that time were poor and couldn't fit in since the rest of the world was fighting World War 1 at the time and America didn't join the war until a few months later so the economy was up during that time. It was really sad seeing the tramp struggle to try to pay for his lunch. What's so genius about Chaplin's films is the way he hides the sad undertones behind genius gags. The gags in this film are some of the best of the time. Many of these have been replicated and parodied since they are so well choreographed. Iconic
3/1/23 "A Dog's Life" 1918
7/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The knocked-out scene, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: ...It's a silent film, they don't say anything (dingus)
It's insane how much story Chaplin squeezes into a 34-minute film. The story is that the tramp is out on the run from the police when he sees a small dog getting attacked by several bigger dogs. He saves the smaller dog and takes it in as his own. This film has a lot of terrific gags that are timed perfectly. You can clearly see from this film how Chaplin is going to do amazing things two years later when he puts six reels together to make "The Kid"
7/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The knocked-out scene, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: ...It's a silent film, they don't say anything (dingus)
It's insane how much story Chaplin squeezes into a 34-minute film. The story is that the tramp is out on the run from the police when he sees a small dog getting attacked by several bigger dogs. He saves the smaller dog and takes it in as his own. This film has a lot of terrific gags that are timed perfectly. You can clearly see from this film how Chaplin is going to do amazing things two years later when he puts six reels together to make "The Kid"
3/2/23 "Shoulder Arms" 1918
7/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: the Letter scene, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: NO! This is a silent film! WHAT ARE YOU NOT GETTING?!?
I really enjoyed this one. This film has the most drama of his shorts, especially during the letter scene and how sad it is. There was also some action I wasn't expecting! This is lacking however when it comes to comedy and I really didn't like the ending. It's funny how you can see little aspects of the Great Dictator in this film.
7/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: the Letter scene, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: NO! This is a silent film! WHAT ARE YOU NOT GETTING?!?
I really enjoyed this one. This film has the most drama of his shorts, especially during the letter scene and how sad it is. There was also some action I wasn't expecting! This is lacking however when it comes to comedy and I really didn't like the ending. It's funny how you can see little aspects of the Great Dictator in this film.
7/30/24 "Broken Blossoms" 1919
2/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The Boxing scene, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
I've got to say, I really don't like D.W. Griffith's film output. I thought Birth of a Nation and Intolerance were both really horrible films and I was expecting more out of this one, but then the opening title played and I thought "Oh no." This film casts a caucasian actor to play an Asian character and casually drops slurs about that group of people. Lillian Gish does a good job in her roles (she does overact a little). The story follows a young girl who gets abused by her father (which isn't handled in the best way) as she makes friends with the immigrant. Subtly isn't in D.W. Griffith's vocabulary. He uses a ton of title cards to explain what's happening when he can clearly just show it. I feel like one of his contemporaries and business partner, Charlie Chaplin, does a way better job with the silent formula, because he depends mostly on subtle ways to show not tell.
2/10 Stars, Favorite Scene: The Boxing scene, Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
I've got to say, I really don't like D.W. Griffith's film output. I thought Birth of a Nation and Intolerance were both really horrible films and I was expecting more out of this one, but then the opening title played and I thought "Oh no." This film casts a caucasian actor to play an Asian character and casually drops slurs about that group of people. Lillian Gish does a good job in her roles (she does overact a little). The story follows a young girl who gets abused by her father (which isn't handled in the best way) as she makes friends with the immigrant. Subtly isn't in D.W. Griffith's vocabulary. He uses a ton of title cards to explain what's happening when he can clearly just show it. I feel like one of his contemporaries and business partner, Charlie Chaplin, does a way better job with the silent formula, because he depends mostly on subtle ways to show not tell.
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