A number of personal, “tone-poem” slice-of-life films were made at the tail end of the silent era. The ones often mentioned are titles like Sunrise (1927), The Crowd (1928) and Lonesome (1928). Even von Stroheim’s The Wedding March (1928) has… Read More »Speedy Has Quite The Hold On An Audience
Is Silent Movie “Cosplay” Necessary? I don’t spend a lot of time watching silent films made recently or any time after sound came in. Maybe I should. In pondering the idea of making one myself, I’ve often wondered how important… Read More »Silent Filmmaking Then and Now
Ernie Kovacs hated working with a live audience for his TV shows. His TV shows feel like you’re having a visit with him. Having spent 8 years in radio before starting in TV, in its own nascent years, Ernie carried… Read More »Just You And Ernie Kovacs…And a Theatre Full of Fellow Fans
The Persistence of Vision in Projected Film vs. Projected Video With all the advances and advantages there are in digital video, there is one element of cinema it has yet to replicate. It’s a subtle, literally invisible one, and I… Read More »Don’t Blink Or You’ll Miss It
Hi! Earlier today I imported my podcast from another site to my main one, and now you are getting emails about each episode. It’s a bug with my site, and I’m sorry this is happening. Feel free to delete these.… Read More »I’m so sorry about the multiple podcast emails…
I’m very interested in how music was and wasn’t used in sound films made 1929-36. The TCM Classic Film Festival’s screening of Merrily We Go To Hell that I attended provided a fascinating example of a sort of scoring that… Read More »When a 1932 Film Score Isn’t A Film Score
On April 13, 2019 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Kevin Brownlow was presented with the 2nd Robert Osborne Award. Last year’s recipient was Martin Scorcese. The ceremony was held on the Saturday night of the 10th annual TCM Classic… Read More »Where is the Hollywood Series?
Some shows I do are B.Y.O.O. — Bring Your Own Organ. Perhaps I should say “bring my own organ”, as it’s usually my idea to bring a portable Wurlitzer to your theater. Who thinks of that? Usually, the request is… Read More »Bringing the Movie Palace Sound To A Theater Near You
This was my second time doing the red carpet event on opening night of the TCM Classic Film Festival. Why was a silent film accompanist invited to walk down the red carpet? Who knows? It was part of the invite… Read More »Called On The (Red) Carpet
There is a warning that appears at the beginning of many Scott Joplin piano rags. I remember seeing this in high school when I was learning a lot of the pieces. It is a note from the composer himself, admonishing… Read More »When A Loveseat Is Not a Sofa