Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)
Directed by: Benjamin Christensen
Starring: Astrid Holm, Clara Pontoppidan, Benjamin Christensen
Rated: NR (Suggested PG-13 for Thematic Elements and Partial Nudity)
Running Time: 1 h 44 m
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Influence, Inventiveness, Structure, Themes
WEAKNESSES: Pacing, Small Target Audience
A silent era documentary concerning medieval beliefs about witchcraft.
Read More
Master of the House (1925)
Directed By: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Starring: Johannes Meyer, Astrid Holm, Karin Nellemose, Mathilde Nielsen
Rated: G
Run Time: 1h 51m
TMM Score: 4
Strengths: Progressive Message
Weakness: Very Basic Story
Viktor loves his wife Ida but as work has gotten hard, so has he. In fact Ida is working herself to the bone to maintain the home and please him but this has not gone unnoticed by her mother or Viktor’s childhood nanny, Mads. Can they save the marriage of their beloved children?
Read More
City Lights (1931)
Directed By: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill
Rated: G
Run Time: 1h 27m
TMM Score: 3 Stars
Strengths: Chaplin’s Charm, Heart, and Gags
Weakness: Some Gags Too Drawn Out
The Tramp befriends a blind girl selling flowers who mistakes him for a wealthy man. After befriending a Millionaire on a bender, the Tramp realizes the friendship allows him the money to take care of her if, that is, he can maintain that difficult friendship.
Read More
The Gold Rush (1925)
Directed by: Charlie Chaplin
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Georgia Hale
Rated: NR (Suggested PG for Mild Comic Violence)
Running Time: 1 h 23 m
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Humor, Story, Acting, Cinematography, Production Design, Pacing
WEAKNESSES: -
A prospector goes to Alaska in search of gold, and ends up finding so much more.
Read More
Nosferatu (1922)
Directed by: F.W. Murnau
Starring: Max Schreck, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schroder, Alexander Granach
Rated: NR (Suggested PG for Some Scary Images)
Running Time: 1 h 34 m
TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Max Schreck, Cinematography, Direction, Acting
WEAKNESSES: Pacing
An unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, featuring the vampire Count Orlok.
Read More
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Directed By: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Starring: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Sylvain, Andre Berley
Rated: NR
Run Time: 1h 54m (sort of)
TMM Score: 5 Stars
Strengths: Cinematography and Acting
Weakness: Some of the Sets
Joan of Arc, capture by the English, stands trial for heresy.
Read More