Reply to Topic
Silent Movies and Live Music - D W Griffith’s Intolerance
I’m wondering…how many film fans have ever seen old silent movies accompanied by live music. I’ve had the opportunity several times in recent years, notably versions of Nosferatu, Phantom of the Opera, Metropolis and most recently Intolerance.
Does anybody else have similar experiences to report?
If you’re not up on your silents, Intolerance (1916, a century ago) was the movie that D W Griffith made to stage a comeback after his extraordinary and unbelievably racist Birth of a Nation. BOAN still stands as a benchmark in cinematic racism, so extreme that it’s nearly comical. After BOAN was banned in some states (it was offensive even by 1915 standards), Griffith claimed to be unaware of its racism having been raised in the deep south, thinking that redemption by the Klan WAS history. His comeback movie, Intolerance, was to be an illustration of the disastrous effects of the subject of intolerance in 4 different time periods - - the fall of Babylon, the Crucifixion of Jesus, the slaughter of the Huguenots in France and an early 20th century, wrongful death penalty. Like BOAN, it was a technical tour-de-force, using every technique available to a film maker back then. In addition, it was a huge scale production, with a “cast of thousands” (really), dancing girls, battles and sets so enormous that they sat in a Hollywood back lot for decades and were repainted to serve in later movies.
In addition to its huge cast, dolly shots, big sets, it also used constant cross cutting between time periods in order to play out 4 plot lines over the impressive 3 1/2 hours of run time. This is a monster of a movie.
I recently had the pleasure to see this film on a big screen, with live music, at Baltimore’s Creative Alliance. The group, “Boister” specializes in silent accompaniment with musicians on both sides of the screen. I admit that silent movies are a stretch for most of us, although the recent success of the nearly silent “The Artist” should put some doubts in the minds of anybody that can’t deal with them. You have to go in to the building, promising to suspend disbelief, letting the film play out in all of its grainy, jerky, narrow screen, tinted glory.
I have to admit, that by the second half hour, I was completely engaged. The music was excellent, as was the movie. This really IS a completely non-digital spectacle. It was pre-code, so there are lots of glimpses of body parts that were banned a few years later. Costumes were creative and amazing, the sets were astounding and the acting, of course was a lot like mime…lots of big gestures, facial close-ups and eye makeup. Once you decide to go with it, it’s fun. I defy you to not enjoy the performance of several female leads, especially Mountain Girl (Constance Talmage) and The Dear One (Mae Marsh) and Brown Eyes (Margery Wilson). Robert Herron is heart wrenching as The Boy.
Film history tells us that BOAN, in spite of its awfulness, was the first really big movie, ever. Fortunately, Intolerance comes without all of BOAN’s ugly baggage, so it’s much easier to enjoy. This whole monster was made in about a year which is hard to imagine now. If you get a chance to see something like this live, it’s well worth a night’s entertainment.
I’m wondering…how many film fans have ever seen old silent movies accompanied by live music. I’ve had the opportunity several times in recent years, notably versions of Nosferatu, Phantom of the Opera, Metropolis and most recently Intolerance.
Does anybody else have similar experiences to report?
If you’re not up on your silents, Intolerance (1916, a century ago) was the movie that D W Griffith made to stage a comeback after his extraordinary and unbelievably racist Birth of a Nation. BOAN still stands as a benchmark in cinematic racism, so extreme that it’s nearly comical. After BOAN was banned in some states (it was offensive even by 1915 standards), Griffith claimed to be unaware of its racism having been raised in the deep south, thinking that redemption by the Klan WAS history. His comeback movie, Intolerance, was to be an illustration of the disastrous effects of the subject of intolerance in 4 different time periods - - the fall of Babylon, the Crucifixion of Jesus, the slaughter of the Huguenots in France and an early 20th century, wrongful death penalty. Like BOAN, it was a technical tour-de-force, using every technique available to a film maker back then. In addition, it was a huge scale production, with a “cast of thousands” (really), dancing girls, battles and sets so enormous that they sat in a Hollywood back lot for decades and were repainted to serve in later movies.
In addition to its huge cast, dolly shots, big sets, it also used constant cross cutting between time periods in order to play out 4 plot lines over the impressive 3 1/2 hours of run time. This is a monster of a movie.
I recently had the pleasure to see this film on a big screen, with live music, at Baltimore’s Creative Alliance. The group, “Boister” specializes in silent accompaniment with musicians on both sides of the screen. I admit that silent movies are a stretch for most of us, although the recent success of the nearly silent “The Artist” should put some doubts in the minds of anybody that can’t deal with them. You have to go in to the building, promising to suspend disbelief, letting the film play out in all of its grainy, jerky, narrow screen, tinted glory.
I have to admit, that by the second half hour, I was completely engaged. The music was excellent, as was the movie. This really IS a completely non-digital spectacle. It was pre-code, so there are lots of glimpses of body parts that were banned a few years later. Costumes were creative and amazing, the sets were astounding and the acting, of course was a lot like mime…lots of big gestures, facial close-ups and eye makeup. Once you decide to go with it, it’s fun. I defy you to not enjoy the performance of several female leads, especially Mountain Girl (Constance Talmage) and The Dear One (Mae Marsh) and Brown Eyes (Margery Wilson). Robert Herron is heart wrenching as The Boy.
Film history tells us that BOAN, in spite of its awfulness, was the first really big movie, ever. Fortunately, Intolerance comes without all of BOAN’s ugly baggage, so it’s much easier to enjoy. This whole monster was made in about a year which is hard to imagine now. If you get a chance to see something like this live, it’s well worth a night’s entertainment.
Last edited by skizzerflake; 03-09-16 at 04:22 PM.
Reason: Addition
