Style2

Westfront 1918 (1930) Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 8:40 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 19 November 2008)

This is a movie that actually doesn't really have a main plot-line in terms of following one main character and have a clear beginning, middle part and end. Just like war there is no logic in it and things just happen within this movie as the movie moves along. It puts you right in the middle of things and shows you the madness of war.

It handles all different kinds of aspects from the war. It doesn't only show the situation from the viewpoint of the young soldiers but it also focuses on the family and girls back home. It doesn't do this by featuring it too prominently but picks out an handful of minor characters and just a couple of sequences to get the message across. This works out really well and it doesn't feel melodramatic or anything like that. Modern movies can really learn something from this.

But of course foremost the movie gets set in the trenches, somewhere in France. The movie is filled with some WW I battle sequences, which are all surprising good and authentic looking. Guess lots of materials and places from WW I were still around during the production of this movie so they did not have an hard time recreating the look and feeling of the battles fought out in the trenches.

It was the first sound movie from Georg Wilhelm Pabst and this shows. Nothing too major, it are just some little things showing you that 'talkies' hadn't been around yet for very long and Georg Wilhelm Pabst wasn't also too experienced with it yet. He pretty much shot this movie in the same way as he would had filmed a silent movie.

The movie is of course also original with the fact that it tells the story from the German point of view. While watching this movie you don't actually ever give you the feeling you're watching the movie from the 'evil' and bad point of view. All parties are more or less victims within a war and things are not as black & white as they always seem.

Simply a real good and effective WW I production, especially when considering that it got shot way back in 1930.

8/10

L'âge d'or (1930) Directed by Luis Buñuel

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 4:46 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 9 March 2008)

Well, first of all I really liked the earlier surrealistic movie "Un chien andalou" by Luis Buñuel but I guess this movie just sort of went too far for me.

Story-wise, this is just an extreme odd piece to watch. Halve of the time you really don't understand what is going on and what some of the intentions are. But I guess that's also part of the charm of this movie and a reason why you can watch it over and over again, exploring and understanding more of its themes and surrealistic elements every time you watch it.

It's a movie that is also obviously criticizing some themes such as against the bourgeois and religion as well as some social critiques. On that level I liked this movie, since it was also effective with it as well.

Perhaps you also shouldn't view this film as an actual film but more as a piece of art, you can watch from different perspective and unleash your own interpretations on it.

As a movie this one is just too lacking, since its an at times almost impossible movie to watch and follow. The dialog and some of the sequences just seem to pop out of nowhere, without making an obvious connection to the movie as a whole. And as strange as it might sound after criticizing its story, this movie just has too much of a story. "Un chien andalou" was a great dream-like surreal movie, without a story in it. This movie follows a main plot-line with characters in it and does feature dialog. Perhaps I would had liked this film more if it was made as an entirely silent movie instead. It would had most likely strengthened its surrealistic elements. The movie is now instead not surrealistic enough for my liking.

Probably one of the most bizarre movies you'll ever see, without understanding it.

6/10

Anna Christie (1930) Directed by Clarence Brown

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 2:20 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 9 February 2008)

This is Garbo's first ever talking role but she acts as if she has done nothing else before.

What makes the movie however hard and also sort of unpleasant to watch is it's storytelling. The movie is set up like a stage-play, so most of the time the characters just sit around and talk. All we see in the first 30 minutes for instance are characters being drunk and complaining a lot about life. The movie is of course also based on a stage-play, so no great wonder that the storytelling in this movie also feels like one. But if I want to watch something like this I would to to the theater. There are of course some good stage-play to movies translations but I guess that back in 1930 they didn't had a real good idea yet or the experience to translate a stage-play well to the silver-screen. The movie is now instead a sort of a bore in parts, since its obviously dragging at moments. The movie is also of course very limited in its settings and the movie often jumps from the one setting to the other, as if the curtain had dropped and a new set had been build-up during the break. The movie just never really feels as one big whole and it instead feels as if it consists out of different acts. It's a very static movie.

It's not just only a hard movie to follow because of its storytelling and settings but also because of all of the heavy accents of the actors. On top of that, the sound recording quality of course wasn't that good yet back in 1930 so not everything that is being said is understandable.

Also the picture quality of the movie isn't that good anymore. Time hasn't been kind on it. The image is sort of fuzzy in parts and the movie is perhaps more gray than truly black & white.

It is definitely true that the movie gets better and better when it heads toward its ending but it didn't made me forget it's way weaker first 30 minutes and disjointed storytelling in the movie overall.

6/10

Der blaue Engel (1930) Directed by Josef von Sternberg

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 7:41 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 24 December 2007)

This is one great and effectively powerful movie, that focuses all around the mental breakdown of a man, who has given up basically everything for the woman he falls in love with. Love, like always, makes blind, causing things to go from bad till worse for the main character Prof. Immanuel Rath, played by the always impressive Emil Jannings.

The movie is a good looking one with these sort of beautiful fake looking German expressionistic backgrounds and sets, that were mostly popular in the '20's and also part of the early '30's, such as this movie is from. It also at times has got some good cinematography. The sound quality and editing of it isn't always great but who can blame them, considering that this movie is from the period when 'talkies' were still in its baby shoes.

It has a story that sort of slowly progresses and has a couple of overlong sequences. All reasons to not regard this movie as one of the best ever made but that doesn't take away that this is a real good movie from Josef von Sternberg.

Things really start to start off after the movie is about halve way though, when Prof. Immanuel Rath's life and career starts to go in a downward spiral.

Who ever said movies are made only to entertain? I'm sorry by I'm just sort of getting sick and tired of people constantly commenting negatively on movies just because they make them depressed. In that regard "Schindler's List" would be the worst movie ever made. Often these sort of depressing movies are among the best since it means they influence your emotions and touch you therefor are effective and also simply really well crafted ones.

Even though it's an heavy movie with a dramatic story, it also has got plenty of entertainment in it. Lots of moments are really fun and just downward comical like, with also some weird and fun characters in it.

With a great role from Emil Jannings, who was perhaps the very best actor of the '20's and even was the first person to receive an Oscar for best actor in a leading role. What made Emil Jannings mostly so great was that he could both play convincingly in a dramatic and comical way, often also in one and the same movie. This is also one of those movies, in which he plays a very serious character who in this movie also gets in some odd and comical situations. Jannings handles these comical moments extremely well, through minimalistic acting. The movie also features Marlene Dietrich in an early role before her real stardom. This movie was really the one that launched her career. Besided her acting skills, she also gets the chance to show of her singing skills in this movie. Though it's a bit funny that she is supposedly a native English speaker in this movie, even though she has a clear fat thick German accent.

A real powerful and effective quality film, from the early days of sound cinema.

8/10

Watch trailer

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Directed by Lewis Milestone

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 12:46 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 14 December 2007)

There were some anti-war movies before this one but none of them hit the mark- and made its point so well such as this one. It's still one of most powerful movies ever made, out of any genre or time period. And not just that, the movie is also really among the best ever made.

The movie concentrates on a group of German soldiers during WW I, of which most of them are still just only school kids in the beginning. First we see how the very young boys are being reprogrammed as soldiers. Then we see how they all are slowly going crazy, due to the madness of war. After that the movie shows the aftereffects of war, on those who fought in it. From the hospital till their leave back home, this movie shows and tells it all. We further more see them dealing with all kinds of problems; the lack of food, rats, the death and see them discuss the point of war. Or like Paul Bäumer sums up in the movie; "We live in the trenches out there. We fight. We try not to be killed, but sometimes we are. That's all."

It's not hard to see that this movie influenced many other later war/anti-war movies, even till this present day, with "Full Metal Jacket" and "Starship Troopers" as the most obvious and best known examples.

For its time period this was also a very graphic movie, although no way people will now be shocked by any of the 'gore' within this movie. Nevertheless the movie its violence and disturbing moments still haven't lost any of its power. This is also thanks to the great build-up directing by Lewis Milestone. He knows how to create the right certain tension and the atmosphere that goes with it. He also had a real eye for detail, especially of course during the battle sequences. Because of its many little details the movie also becomes a very realistic one.

The movie features some great looking and also at times innovating The camera positions and angles, as well as the good fast editing. It makes this a technical fantastic movie to watch.

Obviously none of the actors are among the greatest of their time but the characters are all nevertheless great, since they are very humane and realistic and each has their own strong identity.

A movie that you HAVE to see at least once in your lifetime.

10/10

Watch trailer

Zemlya (1930) Directed by Aleksandr Dovzhenko

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 8:31 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 17 November 2007)

The movie is not as good and effective with its shots as a Sergei Eisenstein movie for instance. You can see in parts that this movie was really influenced by Eisenstein's earlier work, also in the way of camera-work and editing. But nevertheless the movie has some obvious other qualities of its own that make this a great viewing experience.

I liked the way the movie progressed. Yes, of course it's propaganda but that doesn't make the storytelling within the movie any less great. It isn't the fastest going movie and it takes its time to establish thing, also with the help of long shots of the countryside and other nature elements and symbolisms, which in essence this movie is of course all about.

Of course Russian movie making techniques were a couple of years behind in those days. The quality looks about as good as Hollywood movies from the '20's but I like this, since it also shows that Russian movies from those days had a completely different style and approach, then anywhere else in the world. It always makes it refreshing and something totally different to watch a Russian movie from the '20's/'30's.

it's a bit of a dark movie though and you can wonder if it isn't a bit too dark. Death is an important element in this movie and apparently the dark themes within the movie were also the reason why many Russians at the time didn't very much enjoyed this movie.

Really worth seeing for its imagery and the way the story slowly progresses.

8/10

Brats (1930) Directed by James Parrott

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 4:44 AM / comment : 0 , , , , ,




(Review originally written at 16 December 2006)

 Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were of course already big kids in their movies but this time they also play kids.
Beside the roles of the two young children, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, of course also portray the two fathers. This guarantees some hilarious sequences between the two kids and the two fathers. Most of the time Laurel & Hardy are playing against, well, Laurel & Hardy. It makes some of the sequences work out all the more hilarious.

For the sequences with the children the sets are made to look larger. So large toys, a large bed and a large bathroom, among other things. It makes the movie good looking and above all also very original.

Of course Laurel & Hardy look nothing like children, after all they both were close to 40 years old at the time of this movie. Yet it becomes very believable because of the acting of the two with each other. They both help each other out in this movie to make their performances work out as both good and hilarious.

The movie features some really great and funny sequences, such as Oliver going done a staircase on a roller-skate and Laurel & Hardy being washed away by a large flood wave. The movie has some truly unique and hilarious comical moments in it that makes "Brats" an original as well as an hilarious comedy short. It also features plenty of enough slapstick to please the fans but it above all is a movie that should entertain just basically everybody.

Not just your typical average Laurel & Hardy comedy short!

8/10

Night Owls (1930) Directed by James Parrott

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 2:03 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 31 October 2006)

By no means this is the best short Laurel & Hardy film but it still one that offers some decent entertainment, which is thanks to the stupidity and clumsiness of the boys, especially Laurel's.

The movie and its story are rather simple. It relies on simple one comical premise; The boys trying to break in at the police chief's house, at the request of Officer Kennedy, so he can capture the boys later on and impress his chief, who is not very pleased with the 42 unsolved robberies committed on Officer Kennedy's watch. If the boys don't help Officer Kennedy out, they'll go to jail for 90 days for sleeping in a public park. Sometimes one simple comical premise is enough to fill an entire entertaining and hilarious movie with but the slapstick and moments in this movie begin to get rather tiresome after a while, since it's mostly more of the same, when the boys begin to try and break-in. The movie is perhaps lacking in great true comical originality but yet it's perfectly executed in the movie, which still makes sure that this movie is a very good and fun one to watch.

The Laurel & Hardy regulars also make sure that this movie provides some great entertainment, such as James Finlayson as Meadows, the police chief's aid and Edgar Kennedy. Kennedy's role is rather limited down, almost to an non-comical one. Baldwin Cooke also shows up in a small part as one of the police officers.

The comical situations and slapstick in the movie works out well, though it's never anything too original. It's one of the reasons why this movie is not really more than a slightly above average Laurel & Hardy short, that is perhaps a bit disappointing, despite its entertainment value.

7/10

Below Zero (1930) Directed by James Parrott

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 1:27 PM / comment : 0 , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 21 October 2006)

This is a rather enjoyable short Laurel & Hardy picture with again a story divided in two parts, that are both good and enjoyable in their own way.

Problem with some of the Laurel & Hardy pictures is that the movies that are divided in two separate parts are not the best or most consistent ones, due to the fact that often the one part is better than the other. In this case both parts of the movie have their own certain charm and entertainment value and they go very well together.

The first part is fun and a bit slapstick like and features some good old fashioned snowball fights. To be honest in the second part nothing really happens but it's hilarious nevertheless, due to the very fine comedy execution from director James Parrott and actors Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It makes both parts solid and should more than please the fans.

8/10

Another Fine Mess (1930) Directed by James Parrott

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 8:47 AM / comment : 0 , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 20 September 2006)

I don't really understand why this movie is rated so highly, especially when compared to other far more superior Laurel & Hardy shorts.

Real problem with this movie is that it only relies on one comical premise. The jokes and humor are because of that restrained and too often too much of the same. The movie is lacking in some true laughs and comical/slapstick moments, even though of course the movie still perfectly entertains.

The story is simple and a remake of the far superior comedy short "Duck Soup". Of course Laurel & Hardy movies always have a simple story, as they should in my opinion but in this case some more creativity wouldn't had been a bad idea.

Not even James Finlayson in a small role can make the story feel lively and creative. Basically the most amusing character of the movie is being played by Charles K. Gerrard. Never a good sign when the most amusing character in a Laurel & Hardy movie is being played by a supporting actor. Sure, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are amusing in their roles and they provide the movie with some good moments but it all was a bit too simple for my taste and really lacked in true comical creativity.

Certainly not a bad movie and still worth seeing and entertaining enough but nevertheless the movie isn't as good or funny as the rating here at the moment (7.4) would suggest.

6/10

Hog Wild (1930) Directed by James Parrott

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 9:08 AM / comment : 0 , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 3 May 2006)

This movie shows what Laurel & Hardy shorts are all about. Crazy situations, silly antics and some crazy stunts.

This short is truly one of the best from Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The story is very simple and basically only serves as a lame excuse to make the boys do some crazy things and to get them into some (unlikely) silly situations. The movie becomes absolutely hilarious due to its simpleness. The comical slapstick situations are top-class and absolutely hilarious to watch. The movie is fast paced which makes this movie an almost non-stop constantly laugh filled one.

The situations and troubles the two boys get into this time are highly original. The movie and its story might be simple but its comical situations are not. They are well build up, executed and timed.

This is what Laurel & Hardy is all about! One of their best and most typical shorts. An absolute must-see!

9/10

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930) Directed by James Parrott

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 1:55 PM / comment : 0 , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 25 March 2006)

As a spoof of murder-mystery movies and plays this movie is great fun. It has all the clichés from that genre in it and perfectly spoofs those clichés and characters in this movie. The movie has the usual suspects in it and a police inspector (Fred Kelse) who tries to solve the case. Yes, like I said before, it perfectly spoofs some of the murder-mystery clichés. As a spoof it sill applies today.

The 'spooky' elements of the movie are also a welcome addition and provides the movie with some fun moments. Seeing the boys being chased by a white-sheet is a pretty funny sighting. Frank Austin is also perfectly spooky as the stereotype old butler.

Too bad that the pace of the movie isn't the best at times. The movie is dragging on for too long at times, which makes some of the jokes feel stretched out a bit too much.

It overall does have its moments, especially when it spoofs the murder-mystery genre but it's a bit too much dragging movie to find it a hilarious one, or a must-see for the Laurel & Hardy lovers among us.

7/10
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Copyright © 2014 Boba_Fett1138's movie reviews
⬆
Top