Still wonderful, isn’t it? And no dialogue. We didn’t need dialogue. We had faces. There just aren’t any faces like that anymore. — Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard Of all the faces to grace the silver screen, none were greater or … Continue reading COLLEGE
Another summer is upon us, and that means it’s time for another season of silent film at Chautauqua. For those unfamiliar with the silent era, a quick primer: Movies didn’t always talk. True, we now call them silent movies, but … Continue reading Send in the Clowns: Chautauqua Silent Film Series (2017)
What used to get my goat at MGM were comedians like The Marx Brothers or Abbott and Costello who never worried about the script or the next scene. My God, we ate, slept, and dreamed our pictures. I always want … Continue reading Born On This Day — October 4, 1895
The 1925 Buster Keaton classic Go West opens, “Some people travel through life making friends wherever they go, while others—just travel through life.” When Keaton traveled, he sauntered, adorned by his flattened porkpie hat and too-short tie. Dubbed “The Great Stone Face,” … Continue reading GO WEST
2014 marks the centenary for one of cinema’s most important faces and minds, Charlie Chaplin. Kid Auto Races at Venice debuted on Feb. 7, 1914, ran 11 minutes and introduced the world to The Little Tramp. On May 4, 1914, Chaplin stepped … Continue reading LIMELIGHT
“The first thing I did in the studio was to want to tear that camera to pieces. I had to know how that film got into the cutting room, what you did to it in there, how you projected it, … Continue reading Born On This Day — October 4
The first thing I did in the studio was to want to tear that camera to pieces. I had to know how that film got into the cutting room, what you did to it in there, how you projected it, … Continue reading In Their Words — Saturday, December 22, 2012
Michael J. Cinema 