Film Persona

  Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor's "Safety Last!"  Everyone is familiar with the image of Harold Lloyd dangling from the clock on top of a skyscraper. This iconic image is from the 1923 comedy " Safety Last! ' The film was both commercially and critically successful, often being cited as an explosive new form of comedy. Part of the reason is due to the increasing levels of death-defying danger Lloyd's character goes through, ending with him scaling a large building. How exactly was this stunt performed and what did it add to the overall comedic tone the filmmakers were looking for? The film sees Lloyd's character move to the big city to make it big so he can have enough money to propose to his girlfriend and start a family. However, things don't go according to plan, as he is only ever to become a sales clerk at a department store. When his girlfriend stops by for a visit, he enacts a ruse to make it appear like he is the manager of the store. Thro...

Benjamin Christensen's "Haxan" While Robert J. Flaherty was inventing the documentary structure with his 1922 film " Nanook of the North ," Benjamin Christensen was creating the 'essay film' in the same year with " Haxan ." Containing both a documentary-style structure as well as dramatized narrative sequences, the film recounts the historical roots of superstitions surrounding witchcraft. Although the film was well received within its own country, many other countries, such as Germany, France, and the United States, banned the film because of its salacious depictions torture, nudity, sexual perversion, and anti-Catholicism. The film itself hints that the real demons of history are the church, not any sort of real actual witches or demons. However, in the later part of the 20th century, the film was rediscovered via restoration processes. Through this rediscovery, many film historians view it as Christensen's masterpiece, citing his combina...

  Robert J. Flaherty's "Nanook of the North" We all know what a documentary film is. We understand that it typically features an explorer, historian, journalist, or similar figure documenting non-fictional events through the lens of the narrative they've constructed. But where did this format originate? The answer lies with Robert J. Flaherty's " Nanook of the North ," which appears to document the harsh conditions and daily life of an Inuk family in the Canadian Arctic. We see Nanook and his family hunting walruses, building igloos, and performing other tasks. The film is presented as an inside look into a non-colonized world. Audiences who flocked to see the film marveled at an environment, a people, and a daily routine that were completely alien to them. However, despite the film's legacy of creating the documentary format, it was, in fact, a staged production. While most documentaries capture life as it unfolds, Flaherty constructed a fictionaliz...

  Rex Ingram's "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" Rex Ingram's " The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse " is widely considered the first anti-war film. In its depiction of the tragic events of World War I, it neither glorifies war nor overlooks its losses. It had a huge cultural impact and even became the highest-grossing film of 1921. The film also ignited the career of Rudolph Valentino, who would become the typecast actor for the 'Latin Lover' trope. The film was written by June Mathis, who rose from the success of the film to become one of the most powerful women in Hollywood, second only to Mary Pickford. The massive popularity allowed its writer, its director, and its stars to skyrocket to national fame. The film follows Julio, a smooth-talking womanizer, who is the favorite grandson of a rich landowner, Madariaga. The character of Julio sparked the 'Latin Lover' trope that would become famous in Hollywood films at the time. Not only th...

  Karlheinz Martin's "From Morn to Midnight" 1920 brought an explosion of Expressionism to German films following the massive success of " The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." Karlheinz Martin attempted to recreate the magic of that film by creating a work that mirrored its minimalist set pieces. With " From Morn to Midnight," Martin used stylized sets, like those in  "Caligari"  to demonstrate an avant-garde approach to illustrating an abstracted environment around the character.  The film is broken down into five acts. These five acts tell the story of a banker who suffers an exestential crisis. He begins to see skeletons in the faces of others, which makes him reflect on his impending death. Furthermore, he grows tired of his wife, daughter, and mother at home. So, he steals money from the bank and decides to spend the rest of the day living frivolously.  The film attempts to represent the Germany mindset after the war. Faced with the immediacy o...

  Paul Wegener & Carl Boese's "The Golem" In this German Expressionist work, writer/director Paul Wegener brings to life "The Golem," the clay figure from Jewish folklore. Wegener was inspired to create this film after learning about the legend in Prague while filming his 1913 film, " The Studen Price on Prague ." He made a version of the Golem story in 1915 but was largely dissatisfied with the result due to compromises during production. However, when he reworked the film in 1920, it became a major success, unlike its predecessor.  According to Mia Spiro, who wrote " Containing the Monster: The Golem in Expressionist Film and Theatre ," the film "sold out the Berlin Premiere at UFA-Palast am Zoo on October 29, 1920, and played to full theaters for two months straight." It also had a successful run in the United States, where it played to packed houses at New York City's Criterion Theater for 16 consecutive weeks.  The film...

  Robert Wiene's "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" Robert Wiene, a German film director from the silent era, created one of the most important works of cinematic art. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is widely regarded as a masterpiece of visual expression and psychological horror. The film explores themes of authority, fear, and the blurred boundaries between sanity and insanity. This haunting work would not only inspire the German Expressionist movement of the 1920s but also become inextricably linked to the fear and turmoil of the Weimar Republic. The film was written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer, who both harbored a deep distrust of authority following World War I. Janowitz, having served as an officer, became embittered by the experience and adopted pacifist views. Mayer, on the other hand, feigned insanity to avoid military service, which led to an intense examination from a psychiatrist - this psychiatrist would later serve as the template for the character of Dr. Calig...

  Fritz Lang's "The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse" In 1960, Fritz Lang returned to Germany to make his last film before his death, The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse . Lang adapted the story from Mr. Tot Buys a Thousand Eyes by Jan Fethke. The story does not contain Dr. Mabuse in actuality, however, his name is used to carry out grand destinies. The film is about a hotel owner who manipulates political diplomats in his hotel by spying on them with cameras and see-through mirrors. As all of Lang's Mabuse stories, the film is a representation of a contemporary Germany. At the height of the Cold War, Germany was in a surveillance state, as differing factions of Russian and Americans occupied it. The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse envisions a scenario in which the surveillance state is used to escalate global conflict, resulting in a Nazi-esque plan to create chaos and destruction so that a true leader will dominate in the ashes.