Thatababy by Paul Trap for November 01, 2020

well, that was fun while it lasted

If it’s so highly thought of, it is strange I’ve never heard of it.

From IMdB:

“An allegorical tale about a man fighting the good and evil within him. Both sides are made flesh – one a sophisticated woman he is attracted to and the other his wife.”

People who rate so-called “classic” fiction never seem to care about how enjoyable it is.

I’ve probably seen The Maltese Falcon 10 times and love it every time and notice something new almost every time. Lawrence of Arabia—probably 6 or 7.

I can’t watch movies from the 70s and earlier, generally. I was an 80s kid, and anything earlier pales in comparison for me. Aliens > Alien, Goodfellas > The Godfather, any horror movie > Jaws. Heresy, I know. I wonder if young people are the same way, and they prefer Skyscraper to Die Hard.

Sunrise was one of the first, if not the first to use the rear projection method for backgrounds. Also had some ground breaking cinematography, using overhead rails to track the scene.

Many of those silent movies are tough to watch – the weird makeup, the exaggerated movements, the slides with the text. I’d recommend an “action” movie like Wings (1927) or a romcom like City Lights (1931). For a bit of terror go with a foreign film: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I’d recommend a remastered version of Metropolis, too. (maybe I need to look at this 100 movie list to see what’s on it… )

“Sunrise” is a wonderful movie. The first to have synchronized sound for the music and sound effects. I love old movies! They’re unique, not formulaic, and weren’t created just to sell us toys (Baby Yoda, anyone?)

And for Thatadad: A tie in to modern fan loved movies: I watched Wings and Midway (with Tishiro Mifune of Kurosawa movies (Samurai and others) movie fame – and the Star Wars movies are all about Kurosawa and Samurai) before the Star Wars movie the Force Awakens… and ya know what – Lucas is NOT that great of a director – I don’t think he was going for an homage – so I’m guessing he’s just “stealing” ideas and settings/scenes.

Movies ARE generational; same as music is. However, there are many movies along with music that are enjoyed by multiple generations…..

Some of my favorite movies are silent, The Big Parade, Wings, Metropolis. Note I did not list Sunrise.

“I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to SPEED around the city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode! I think it was called … ‘The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down’.”

~ Homer Simpson

It IS the greatest silent film-in fact, it is the greatest film, period.