Silent Old Ireland

15 Tuesday Nov 2016

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Ireland, Irish Film Institute, Kalem Studios, Movies Silently, O'Kalems, Silent Movies

ifiplayer I’d like to share another gem I discovered through Fritzi Kramer’s ever wonderful blog, Movies Silently. So yes, it’s silents films, today… Continue reading →

Backstage Blogathon: John Ford’s Upstream

17 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by la Clarina in Silents, Stories, Theatre

≈ 8 Comments

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Backstage Blogathon, Earle Fox, Emile Chautard, John Ford, Movies Silently, Nancy Nash, Silent Movies, Sister Celluloid, Upstream

backstage-blogathon-show-people So, this is my contribution to the Backstage Blogathon, an exploration of how the movies used to portray themselves and the other performing arts – co-hosted by Movies Silently and Sister Celluloid.

I’m sure you won’t be shocked to find out I chose a movie about… theatre folks – and the movie is John Ford‘s once lost silent “Upstream.”

Shall we?

Upstream had been on my Treasure Hunt List for some time – actually, since I heard about its European début at Le Giornate del Cinema Muto di Pordenone, back in 2010. I must say I’m not a Ford fan, but I find it hard to resist the appeal of things lost and found – and, more significantly, this was a tale about theatre… Continue reading →

Silent 1776

21 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by la Clarina in Silents

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1776, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Silent Movies

There is something about these very early Biograph silent movies… Stories compressed in ten or twenty minutes, the transition in progress from stage to screen, an endearing amount of unreality and naïvety…

Take for instance The Hessian Renegades, from 1909 – with a very young Mary Pickford already showing much promise in one of D.W. Griffith’s earliest efforts: Continue reading →

Before The Talkies

26 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by la Clarina in Stories

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Movies Silently, Silent film, Silent Movies

Silent movies are another of those things.

I love silent movies, I’m forever pestering friends about making a toy silent movie, sooner or later – and I’m good at pestering, so perhaps one day…

Meanwhile, I thought I’d share the link to one of my favourite websites on the subject, the wonderful Movies, Silently, a real trove of information about movies, actors, directors, with plenty of reviews, images, articles and bios, a section about lost movies, slightly bizarre and highly fun things like themed months, challenges, animated gifs, lots of links, and a healthy sense of humour.

My predilection goes perhaps to the double reviews of silent and talkie versions of the same title, but there is a wealth of wonders. If you want just one site about the silents, this is the right place to go.