A review of the Sunrise Silents DVD: This movie is worth seeing if only for its gorgeously pictorial photography; but of course it relies for its entertainment quality on more than just artistic lighting and captivating tints. One of its chief pleasures is the chance to catch the great Pauline Frederick in a typical role and thus be able to understand and appreciate why she became such a favorite with both critics and fans. She is superb: a subtle yet charismatic actress whose expressive eyes and even her stance convey emotive power. With the exception of the lovely Marian Nixon, the other players don't come close to Miss Frederick's eye-catching performance, but they give it a good try nonetheless. And it's certainly a revelation to see the young George J. Lewis impart such a virile yet charming account of the hero. Director Frank O'Connor is obviously a master of the camera-chained-to the-floor school of film-making (but see his next movie, The Block Signal, for a real change of style). His pacing is so agile and his staging and compositions so attractive, however, that few (if any) paying customers will notice that Barlatier's camera remains absolutely stationary for every second of the film's 70 minutes. In short, a must-see silent for every fan of the genre.
The above review was based on the tinted, full-framed (black bars top and bottom) DVD that was once available from Sunrise Silents, a firm that has since gone out of business. A different print of the movie is now available from Alpha Video, which has both advantages (it runs longer and has not only extra scenes, but extra shots here and there) and disadvantages. Oddly, Alpha's longer black and white print isn't half as engaging. It has also been cut at the sides to enable full framing. More importantly, the extra coverage given to scenes such as the marriage market, including the whole sequence with the prisoner who is locked out, both enhance our interest in the proceedings, yet dissipate our involvement in the main action with Pauline Frederick and Richard Tucker.
All told, I much prefer the shortened Sunrise Silents version, particularly because Pauline Frederick's performance comes across far, far more effectively. It's marvelous how a little extra coverage can either enhance a performance or undermine its effectiveness. Seeing the longer Alpha version makes you wonder why all the critics rave about Pauline Frederick. It's not only that Alpha's extra footage makes her pacing too slow, but that Alpha's music track distracts rather than enhances our attention.
The above review was based on the tinted, full-framed (black bars top and bottom) DVD that was once available from Sunrise Silents, a firm that has since gone out of business. A different print of the movie is now available from Alpha Video, which has both advantages (it runs longer and has not only extra scenes, but extra shots here and there) and disadvantages. Oddly, Alpha's longer black and white print isn't half as engaging. It has also been cut at the sides to enable full framing. More importantly, the extra coverage given to scenes such as the marriage market, including the whole sequence with the prisoner who is locked out, both enhance our interest in the proceedings, yet dissipate our involvement in the main action with Pauline Frederick and Richard Tucker.
All told, I much prefer the shortened Sunrise Silents version, particularly because Pauline Frederick's performance comes across far, far more effectively. It's marvelous how a little extra coverage can either enhance a performance or undermine its effectiveness. Seeing the longer Alpha version makes you wonder why all the critics rave about Pauline Frederick. It's not only that Alpha's extra footage makes her pacing too slow, but that Alpha's music track distracts rather than enhances our attention.