How's Your April Looking?

If you live in Toronto, your April's looking slushy. But there's a reprieve. From April 6th to 15th, our fair city plays host to the inaugural Toronto Silent Film Festival. I can't wait because, as someone who's seen more silent films than, well, anyone I know, I still find several unexplored gems in this lineup. If you're a silent film newbie, be assured the selections also include big-time, accessible classics like Buster Keaton's Seven Chances (1925). Check it out, and if you see me at the concession stand, by me a cookie.

The programme is here. I will be there. There's no slush in the theatre. What more could you ask for, silent fans?

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Another detour from silent cinema. I can’t completely control what Zip.ca sends me through the mail... but at least it sends me good stuff. Some spoilers follow.

Would you be afraid of Gort? I’d be afraid. What’s not to fear from a malleable metal juggernaut from another world, with the strength of a tank and a death-ray built into his head? When Gort’s visor rises, he can direct the ray so precisely that it can disintegrate a soldier’s rifle and leave the soldier unharmed. But if Gort wishes, that ray can do the same to any human being, reducing him or her to bubbling slurry on the grass.

Incredimazing

http://incredimazing.com/page/Its_the_hat

Safety Last! (1923)

Joe Shuster, co-creator of Superman, once said there was a “little bit of Harold Lloyd” in his character’s alter-ego, Clark Kent. I can see it. Like Kent, Lloyd’s characters tend to be earnest go-getters; inept at first-glance, but underestimated. They’re unfailingly good men, and though they make bad decisions, it’s usually for the right reasons.

The Boy in Safety Last! is a typical Lloyd character, and as it happens, he also follows a trajectory not so different from Superman’s. Country-raised, he longs to marry the Girl, and so he seeks his fortune in the big city.

Like the red-and-blue hero—and unlike many country types of the silent era—the Boy remains uncorrupted. In fact, he lives city life as cheaply as possible, even going without food so as to afford presents for his Girl, which he mails to her along with letters extolling his success.

The Holy Grail?

Is Metropolis finally complete? Ain't It Cool says yes.

Count me among the thousands who'll be buying a ticket to see this one--in the theatre, as God and/or Lang intended--when it arrives in Toronto. Metropolis is the world's most famous silent film, and deservedly so. Not only has it inspired thousands of filmmakers, it's also been the first step to silent film-fandom for hundreds of thousands of cinema lovers, myself included. Love it or hate it (and it does inspire its own brand of passionate haters), Metropolis remains a uniquely accessible silent film. I can't wait to see what I've been missing.

For a story about how I first discovered Metropolis (and by extention, the very subject of this blog), click here.