Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film - End of an Era
by David Gill, Kevin Brownlow
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Actor: Art Acord, Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, James Mason, Ren?e Ador?e, Roscoe 'Fatty' ArbuckleDirector: David Gill, Kevin Brownlow
Producer: David Gill
Writer: David Gill
Producer: Kevin Brownlow
Writer: Kevin Brownlow
Producer: Mike Wooller
Producer: Raye Farr
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Running Time: 60 minutes
Release Date: 1998-06-02
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Hbo Home Video
Studio: Hbo Home Video
VHS Movie Reviews of Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film - End of an Era
Movie Review: Amazing, Exciting, and Touching...
Summary: 5 Stars
I am very glad I got this collection, new, when I did!
This set of mini-documentaries and interviews are a treasure that is woefully overlooked in the growing interest in silent film groups.
Oh - to have it in DVD!
The silent star recounting their excitement and memories are infectious. This is a classic work - very well done - and but for the intro music and some graphics, holds it's age .
As many silent film collections that have come forward in the last few years - some very obscure - this set would have more mass-appeal - and including the later classic actors' views on the silents would be interesting to Classic Movie Fans as well.
That it includes very major silent film stars interviewed in-depth is remarkable and one can see and feel time roll back - and the actor/actress reborn. Some of my favorites are Viola Dana recollecting the death of her fiance in an aerial stunt for the movies. The other is (I believe - I'm writing this from memory) Hal Roach's ribauld memories and also King Vidor's observations.
It's like sitting on the backlot of an old movie studio - and hearing the gossip retold of the teens and twenties!
This set caught my interest in silent film when I was in my teens viewing it in the early 1980's. It never let-go.
Does anyone know who can be written to request the DVD version be produced?
Thank you.
Movie Review: One episode only, but great
Summary: 5 Stars
I wish they would bring the whole series by Kevin Brownlow out on DVD, but since they haven't, I settled for getting the one episode(there are many) I wanted the most. This DVD includes two parts, one on Clara Bow and one on John Gilbert. Both of these great silent stars didn't make it into the sound era. I am fascinated with John Gilbert's story, so I wanted to see this. I've actually seen the entire Hollywood storyMovie Review: THE DEFINATIVE DOCUMENTARY ON THE HISTORY OF SILENT FILMS.
Summary: 5 Stars
I fell in love with this series when it first appeared on PBS. Not only was it an excellent documentary, it gave many viewers their first and, probably, last look at stars from the silent era; most of whom would be dead within the next 5 years. Also since saving film wasn't much a concern back then, many of the clips used have probably deteriorated to dust. My only complaint is that this excellent 11+ hours series isn't released on DVD in America, as yet, and I still have to lug out 13 individual VHS tapes to watch it instead of 2 or 3 DVDs in a compact case.Movie Review: Heartbreaking documentary/ Brilliant and British
Summary: 5 Stars
Before there was Ken Burns to do it, there was an extraordinary documentary about silent film. Absolutely riveting in its wonderful arcana, in-person interviews, stock photos and footage, narration by James Mason, and the terrific music by the brilliant Carl Davis, this series is a must-see for anyone who loves film and wants to know where it all started!! There are facts and anecdotes here to amaze, and break the heart as well. Mason's voice-overs are perfect....one minute he's the objective narrator, and the next moment, his inflection can have you chuckling, or tearing up at the stories of all the various players in the early days of Hollywood. And has there ever been a more beautiful score for television, or film for that matter, than the work of Carl Davis?? His opening title alone for the credits is gorgeous, and the producers then use different pieces that Davis has composed for these silent films. If only his music had been available to the original producers and directors for them to hear. Obviously, Davis must be one of the biggest fans of silent film of all time. If you can get a copy of this series, do so. It is never shown on television anymore, and it's a terrible thought that this series could be lost through neglect the way so much of the film from the 20's and 30's has been lost. It has been estimated that more than half of all silent film has disintegrated or been disposed of. Let's hope that the producers of this major documentary series re-release it on DVD as soon as possible for the many fans who remember it, and for the many more fans who will, I'm sure, be thrilled to discover it.Movie Review: A Fitting Testament To The Unsung Heroes Of Hollywood
Summary: 5 Stars
Having written a school drama project on stuntmen this episode, from what I would call the definitive series on Hollywood and the names that made it famous, is a gold mine of information for the researcher. This episode in particular is filled with sheer pathos and moving accounts from the memories of the great unsung heroes of the silver screen. A crying shame then that there is no dvd release of this valuable series. Many of them involved in the interviews (even the narrator) are now dead. How important then that this documentary needs re-releasing?
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