tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post4930934820731308811..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: Lying in the Gutter You Can See the StarsSJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-81768996081578076462015-12-07T12:15:12.118-06:002015-12-07T12:15:12.118-06:00I can see the connection to The Big Parade.
Gayn...I can see the connection to <i>The Big Parade</i>. <br /><br />Gaynor is the draw here. From the directorial point of view, that shot up the side of the building is pretty spectacular. SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-89555558723077168922015-12-07T12:13:13.628-06:002015-12-07T12:13:13.628-06:00Stewart does seem like a terrible choice for a Fre...Stewart does seem like a terrible choice for a French guy. It's a shame, too. I like Stewart and Simone Simon, but I can't see this working.<br /><br />A lot of the good does come from Borzage, who managed to find something here. SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-84625748593215007652015-12-07T11:43:41.850-06:002015-12-07T11:43:41.850-06:00I liked this one and I see from Letterboxd that yo...I liked this one and I see from Letterboxd that you gave it the same rating I did. I agree Gaynor is the one who draws attention when on screen. Parts of this reminded me of silent comedy/drama The Big Parade (1925).Chip Laryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00787403805554027107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-15488682540990700892015-12-07T08:06:32.009-06:002015-12-07T08:06:32.009-06:00There really isn't much to the remake. It'...There really isn't much to the remake. It's missing the lyricism and ethereal quality that Borzage was able to add to the original having a flat studio look. A very by the numbers affair.<br /><br />It might not be so bad if not for the sticks out like a sore thumb Jimmy Stewart. He's certainly not to blame since being a contract player, and new to films, he had no choice but to play the role. How the studio could have thought he'd be remotely believable as a Parisian, or possessed the dreamy quality necessary for the role, is beyond me. Of course at this point Metro hadn't figured out what to do with him yet sticking him in all sorts of, in retrospect, inappropriate parts but if anybody ever reeked of that All-American apple pie feeling it was the young James Stewart so this one seems the most outré. The film might have worked better with Charles Boyer in the part along with Simone Simon to at least give it a hint of authenticity but I don't think even that would have made it anything beyond the pedestrian flick that it is.joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-33492978255017434862015-12-06T22:16:24.236-06:002015-12-06T22:16:24.236-06:00Given my druthers, I'll pick a silent comedy o...Given my druthers, I'll pick a silent comedy over a silent anything else every single time. Keaton, Lloyd, and Chaplin are all still funny. So is Fatty Arbuckle if you can find any of his films. Second choice would be horror/thriller stuff, since a lot of that still has merit, too. I watched a couple of Lon Chaney films not too long ago and liked them both. The adventure stuff like <i>Thief of Bagdad</i> would probably come third, although I did really enjoy the hell out of that and Fairbanks.<br /><br />I didn't know there was a remake of this, but I can't imagine there would be much to it. It's an okay film, but this is not a case where sound is going to make this easier or better.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-48951879261385568032015-12-06T21:58:32.867-06:002015-12-06T21:58:32.867-06:00I caught this as a sort of duty watch while trying...I caught this as a sort of duty watch while trying to see all the Best Actress winning performances and surely Janet Gaynor's work is the reason to seek this out, I think I preferred her performance in this to Sunrise even though that was a much better film. Farrell can't compete acting wise but talk about your movie star looks! After watching I felt similar to you, glad I saw it but I'll never look at it again.<br /><br />If you want a real challenge try watching the 30's remake of this with Simone Simon (who at least really is French) and Jimmy Stewart!!! as Chico. It was a test even for an ardent Stewart fan like me to make it to the end.<br /><br />I see your point about silent dramas, you can't just dive in willy-nilly. For me they fall into a couple of categories. The first: I have to really like the star, I've managed to get through all Garbo's films because she communicates so effortlessly and has a modern quality even without sound but I've given up on Valentino-he's attractive in his way but a hopeless actor. Even when I do like the performer though the film can be a struggle, Broken Blossoms and Way Down East come to mind although Lillian Gish is a mesmerizing presence. <br /><br />Then there are the ones I feel that are necessary to see and those are the ones that are often a real test of endurance, Birth of a Nation, Intolerance and Mr. Wu, though sometimes they come up a winner like The Last Command or The Wind. <br /><br />I'd still rather watch an adventure along the lines of The Thief of Bagdad or a Tod Browning/Lon Chaney collaboration like The Unknown if I had a choice.joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.com