Some screenshots from a few recently viewed films...
I am kinda stuck in silent film mode lately! Within the last 2 weeks I've watched "Seventh Heaven" and "Street Angel" both directed by Frank Borzage and starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell and "Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Tempest" starring John Barrymore...
"Seventh Heaven" is a must-see for silent film lovers! It pours on the sentiment REAL heavy and Charles Farrell is about as subtle as a sledge-hammer but it's very well done and Janet Gaynor is just so amazing one gets caught up in their story instantly! 
Chico is a "very remarkable fellow"!
"Chico....Diane....Heaven!"To give any more away would be unthinkable!
Janet Gaynor in "Street Angel", this was one of 3 films that got her the first Oscar for best actress....the others being "Sunrise" and "Seventh Heaven".
The print I saw was really in bad shape but I enjoyed it anyway!The 2 barrymore films were well-worth seeing but not on par with these Borzage films, and since I dont wanna get too stuck in a rut it was time for something different...
Jackie Chans' "Legend of Drunkenmaster", one of the most unbelievable martial arts films I've ever seen! The first action scene takes place underneath a train and a pier!
The second fight sequence is where Jackie hilariously goes into "Drunken Boxing" mode!
Another action sequence has Jackie and a pal take on an axe gang in a restaraunt! This scene has to be seen to be believed, it is mind boggling!
Same scene, Jackie wreaks havoc on about 3 dozen guys with this bamboo staff, all very gracefully I may add, but then what would one expect from a martial artist whose idols are Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Buster Keaton!
The final incredible fight scene takes place in a metalworks and at one point Jackie, the screens most endearing masochist, gets thrown onto a bed of hot coals! The outtakes show that this was not faked at all as he was immediately doused with fire extinguishers!
Jackie never takes things too seriously!hmmmm, what next? "300" and "Bringing Up Baby"?
4 comments:
I have been watching a lot of silent movies too lately. They're so addicting. I had no idea Jackie Chan idolized Gene Kelly, Buster Keaton, and Fred Astaire, although now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense!
yeah he's said it in interviews many times and also there are many homages to them in his films. i should've added harold lloyd too, i think it was in "project A" that he did a ridiculously dangerous stunt hanging from a clock tower!
Thank you for the tribute to Janet Gaynor. She's incredible, isn't she? "Chico...Diane...Heaven!" Yes. My print of Seventh Heaven is poor and is obscured by a red haze throughout, and yet Gaynor sweeps everything before her. I can't think of another actress who could be so delicate and so powerful at the same time.
i have to agree Margaret! I've always liked her because of Star is Born and Sunrise but these films she made with Farrell and Borzage are really quite amazing, mostly because of her. She had a great face, right up there with Clara, Louise, Garbo and Gish. of them all Lucky Star was my fave, i think it was the appex of the collaborative talents of those stars and director at that time. but they're certainly all well-worth seeing and i'm sure i'll enjoy them again many times in the future. you should look into getting a newer copy of Seventh heaven, the one i watched was really clean. Street Angel is in dire need of resoration though! glad you enjoyed the post!
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