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Film

'The Douglas MacLean Collection' Pokes Fun at Our Love of Clam, Cabbage, and Kale*

The bamboozle is on in silent films One a Minute and Bell Boy 13, starring comic actor Douglas MacLean.

Film

Hitchcock, Quietly Suspenseful

Hitchcock's silent films demonstrate that he was not only a master of visual storytelling but confidently made silents as though they had sound effects.

Film

Venus as a Boy in Silent Film 'Little Old New York'

Sidney Olcott's silent film Little Old New York falls into a tradition of men who find themselves strangely attracted to boys that turn out to be girls in disguise.

Film

Silently Yours: The 10 Best Silent Films on Blu-ray in 2019

In our era of relentless "noise", if you will, there's a growing appreciation for silent film, as seen in the rise of festivals and the flourishing availability of silent film on Blu-ray. Fans and initiates are certain to enjoy Michael Barrett's 10 best silent films released on Blu-ray this year.

Film

Hitchcock 101: 1927 - 1934 - 'The Lodger' to 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'

In today's installment of our retrospective survey of Alfred Hitchcock's singular career, we revisit his first major statements. Thrillingly, all of Hitchcock's trademark themes and signature moves are visible in these early masterpieces -- an uncanny talent, Hitch arrived, it would seem, fully formed.

Film

Hitchcock Breaks the Sound Barrier in Early Films 'Blackmail' and 'Murder!'

Hitchcock's motif of treacherous toying with filmgoers is intriguing to spot in his early silent-to-talkie thrillers, Blackmail and Murder!

Film

Fatcats and Amnesiacs: On Silent Films L'Argent and Fragment of an Empire

Masterpieces of the silent era, L'Argent and Fragment of an Empire (Oblomok imperii), revel in the delirium of creativity.

Film

Silent Magic: The Films of Charley Bowers and Herbert Brenon

Flicker Alley's The Extraordinary World of Charley Bowers gathers and restores what remains of an elusive and very clever film pioneer, and Kino Lorber shares the silently charming magic of Herbert Brenon's Peter Pan.

Film

When the Camera Swings: Silent Film Master Paul Leni's 'The Man Who Laughs' and 'The Last Warning'

Paul Leni loved to move the camera to unsettle viewers -- under curtains, through doors, down trapdoors, swinging on ropes -- as seen in The Man Who Laughs and The Last Warning.

Film

The Rise and Fall of Female Silent Filmmakers

Filmmaking was only one element of a much wider feminist movement that was manifesting itself in various forms, from the flapper to the suffragette to the birth control advocate to the bohemian female writer and political activist.

Film

Three Stylish British Silents: 'Shooting Stars', 'Underground' and 'The Informer'

While Anthony Asquith's Shooting Stars and Underground look excellent on Kino Lorber's digital restoration, Arthur Robison's The Informer, looks most spectacular, thanks to working from the original negative and a tinted nitrate print.

Film

Harold Lloyd Proves Himself a Real Hickory in Silent Film 'The Kid Brother'

Over 90 years later, silent film The Kid Brother works well as entertainment for modern audiences, for whom its calculated old-fashioned corn and apparent simplicity aren't a problem but par for the course.

Film

A Silent Clown Is Given Voice with 'The Alice Howell Collection'

Silent film actor Alice Howell conveyed the persona of a working-class clodhopper with a huge pile of frizzy hair plopped on top of her head, and she threw herself into physical comedy as much as Lucille Ball.

Film

Sherlock Holmes' Silent Film(s) 'Der Hund von Baskerville'

A boon for Sherlockians and silent film fans, Flicker Alley presents Der Hund von Baskerville, a DVD/Blu-ray combo containing the 1914 and 1929 silent German versions.

Film

The Joy of Silents: Méliès, Reininger, Gance and Murnau

Flicker Alley, Milestone Films and Kino Classics offer the works of silent film directors Georges Méliès, Lotte Reiniger, Abel Gance, and F. W. Murnau on Blu-ray.

Film

'Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers' Brings Forth a Time When, Unlike Today, Women Made Lots of Movies

Pioneers is an essential gathering of early film treasures that help redefine an era of glorious creativity by women filmmakers and often surprising access to means of production.

Film

Slavery, Piracy, and Shirtless Men in Silent Film, 'Old Ironsides'

Kino Lorber's release of Old Ironsides offers derring-do with cannons firing and masts breaking off and hundreds of extras swarming all over each other's ships.

Film

Mary Pickford: Hollywood's Most Powerful Waif

Well into her 30s, silent film star Mary Pickford was the waif-iest waif in film history, and the number of convincing variations she wrung on this theme is remarkable.

Film

Silent Film 'You Never Know Women' Makes the Most of Light and Shadow

William Welllman has made elegant use of shadows to convey serious issues before, and uses them in silent film You Never Know Women with a flourish.

Film

Silent Film Sleuths Unearth Crusty Gems with 'Found at Mostly Lost, Vol. 2'

Engaging Flow: On Ruttmann's 'Berlin, Symphony of a Great City'

One way to understand the form of Walther Ruttmann's Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, is to see it as producing states of flow that reinforce a flat ontology among humans, animals, machines, buildings, bodies of water, etc.

Film

Becoming the Latin Lover: Rudolph Valentino Collection, Vols. 1 and 2

Flicker Alley collects works from one of Hollywood's most glamorous stars -- and one of its most glamorous casualties -- Rudolph Valentino.

Film

Codes of Silents: Weimar-Era 'The Ancient Law' (Das Alte Gesetz)

Like many of the best comedies and tragedies, this Weimar-Era silent film understands how each mode is often a hair's breadth from the other.

Film

Becoming Douglas Fairbanks: 'The Half-Breed'

Throughout his career, Fairbanks scrubbed his scripts of racist elements. The Half-Breed is a rare example when racism is foregrounded as a theme.

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29 Black Music Documentaries for Black History Month 2020: #3 'The Weird World of Blowfly'

England's Postwar Paranoia Creeps in the Shadows of Three Film-Noirs

Perfect Harmony: An Interview with Legendary Vocal Group the Waters

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The bamboozle is on in silent films One a Minute and Bell Boy 13, starring comic actor Douglas MacLean.

Hitchcock's silent films demonstrate that he was not only a master of visual storytelling but confidently made silents as though they had sound effects.

Sidney Olcott's silent film Little Old New York falls into a tradition of men who find themselves strangely attracted to boys that turn out to be girls in disguise.

In our era of relentless "noise", if you will, there's a growing appreciation for silent film, as seen in the rise of festivals and the flourishing availability of silent film on Blu-ray. Fans and initiates are certain to enjoy Michael Barrett's 10 best silent films released on Blu-ray this year.

Hitchcock's motif of treacherous toying with filmgoers is intriguing to spot in his early silent-to-talkie thrillers, Blackmail and Murder!

Masterpieces of the silent era, L'Argent and Fragment of an Empire (Oblomok imperii), revel in the delirium of creativity.

Flicker Alley's The Extraordinary World of Charley Bowers gathers and restores what remains of an elusive and very clever film pioneer, and Kino Lorber shares the silently charming magic of Herbert Brenon's Peter Pan.

Paul Leni loved to move the camera to unsettle viewers -- under curtains, through doors, down trapdoors, swinging on ropes -- as seen in The Man Who Laughs and The Last Warning.

Filmmaking was only one element of a much wider feminist movement that was manifesting itself in various forms, from the flapper to the suffragette to the birth control advocate to the bohemian female writer and political activist.

While Anthony Asquith's Shooting Stars and Underground look excellent on Kino Lorber's digital restoration, Arthur Robison's The Informer, looks most spectacular, thanks to working from the original negative and a tinted nitrate print.

Over 90 years later, silent film The Kid Brother works well as entertainment for modern audiences, for whom its calculated old-fashioned corn and apparent simplicity aren't a problem but par for the course.

Silent film actor Alice Howell conveyed the persona of a working-class clodhopper with a huge pile of frizzy hair plopped on top of her head, and she threw herself into physical comedy as much as Lucille Ball.

A boon for Sherlockians and silent film fans, Flicker Alley presents Der Hund von Baskerville, a DVD/Blu-ray combo containing the 1914 and 1929 silent German versions.

Flicker Alley, Milestone Films and Kino Classics offer the works of silent film directors Georges Méliès, Lotte Reiniger, Abel Gance, and F. W. Murnau on Blu-ray.

Pioneers is an essential gathering of early film treasures that help redefine an era of glorious creativity by women filmmakers and often surprising access to means of production.

Kino Lorber's release of Old Ironsides offers derring-do with cannons firing and masts breaking off and hundreds of extras swarming all over each other's ships.

Well into her 30s, silent film star Mary Pickford was the waif-iest waif in film history, and the number of convincing variations she wrung on this theme is remarkable.

William Welllman has made elegant use of shadows to convey serious issues before, and uses them in silent film You Never Know Women with a flourish.

Sponsored by the Library of Congress, Mostly Lost is an annual film workshop in which unidentified or mis-titled silent films are screened to an audience of scholars and fans who try to figure out what they are. Sometimes they succeed.

One way to understand the form of Walther Ruttmann's Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, is to see it as producing states of flow that reinforce a flat ontology among humans, animals, machines, buildings, bodies of water, etc.

Flicker Alley collects works from one of Hollywood's most glamorous stars -- and one of its most glamorous casualties -- Rudolph Valentino.

Like many of the best comedies and tragedies, this Weimar-Era silent film understands how each mode is often a hair's breadth from the other.

Throughout his career, Fairbanks scrubbed his scripts of racist elements. The Half-Breed is a rare example when racism is foregrounded as a theme.