"Hollywood" (1980)TV mini-series

Directors:

Kevin Brownlow
David Gill

Writers:

Kevin Brownlow (writer)
David Gill (writer)

Release Date:

9 febrero 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

The definitive documentary about the American silent film industry.

Plot Keywords:

Film History | Nostalgia | Reminiscence | Showbiz | Silent Film Maker

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Superb Look Back At Silent Cinema

Cast

James Mason	...	Himself / Narrator (voice)
listado alfabético del resto del reparto:
Art Acord	...	Himself (archive footage)
Renée Adorée	...	(archive footage)
Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson	...	(archive footage)
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle	...	(archive footage)
Dorothy Arzner	...	Herself
Irving Asher	...	Himself
Mary Astor	...	Herself
Agnes Ayres	...	Herself (archive footage)
Monty Banks	...	Himself (archive footage)
Vilma Bánky	...	Herself (archive footage)
Theda Bara	...	(archive footage)
John Barrymore	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lionel Barrymore	...	Himself (archive footage)
Richard Barthelmess	...	Himself (archive footage)
Cedric Belfrage	...	Himself
Rex Bell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Eugenie Besserer	...	Herself (archive footage)
Billy Bevan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Eleanor Boardman	...	Herself
Joe Bonomo	...	Himself (archive footage)
Clara Bow	...	(archive footage)
Louise Brooks	...	Herself
Clarence Brown	...	Himself
Karl Brown	...	Himself
Mrs. Patrick Campbell	...	(archive footage)
Yakima Canutt	...	Himself
Frank Capra	...	Himself
Harry Carey	...	Himself (archive footage)
Olive Carey	...	Herself
Gaylord Carter	...	Himself
Lon Chaney	...	(archive footage)
Charles Chaplin	...	(archive footage)
Iron Eyes Cody	...	Himself
Lew Cody	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chester Conklin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jackie Coogan	...	Himself
Calvin Coolidge	...	Himself (archive footage)
Gary Cooper	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dolores Costello	...	Herself
George Cukor	...	Himself
Dorothy Dalton	...	(archive footage)
Viola Dana	...	Herself
Bebe Daniels	...	Herself (archive footage)
Dorothy Davenport	...	Herself (archive footage)
Marion Davies	...	(archive footage)
Marceline Day	...	Herself (archive footage)
Lee De Forest	...	Himself (archive footage)
Agnes de Mille	...	Herself
Cecil B. DeMille	...	Himself (archive footage)
William C. de Mille	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rose Dionne	...	(archive footage)
Louise Dresser	...	Herself (archive footage)
Marie Dressler	...	Herself (archive footage)
Allan Dwan	...	Himself
Jeanne Eagels	...	Herself (archive footage)
Douglas Fairbanks	...	Himself (archive footage)
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Himself
Geraldine Farrar	...	(archive footage)
Victor Fleming	...	Himself (archive footage)
George J. Folsey	...	Himself
John Ford	...	Himself (archive footage)
William Fox	...	Himself (archive footage)
Greta Garbo	...	(archive footage)
Lee Garmes	...	Himself - Interviewee
Janet Gaynor	...	Herself
Valerie Germonprez	...	Herself (as Valerie von Stroheim)
John Gilbert	...	(archive footage)
Leatrice Joy Gilbert	...	Herself (as Leatrice Gilbert Fountain)
A. Arnold Gillespie	...	Himself
Dorothy Gish	...	Herself (archive footage)
Lillian Gish	...	Herself (archive footage)
Elinor Glyn	...	Herself (archive footage)
Dick Grace	...	Himself (archive footage)
D.W. Griffith	...	(archive footage)
Chauncey Haines	...	Himself
George Harris	...	Himself
William S. Hart	...	(archive footage)
Byron Haskin	...	Himself
Henry Hathaway	...	Himself
Howard Hawks	...	Himself
Sessue Hayakawa	...	Himself (archive footage)
Will H. Hays	...	(archive footage)
Jean Hersholt	...	Himself (archive footage)
William Hornbeck	...	Himself
R.L. Hough	...	Himself (as R. Lee 'Lefty' Hough)
Al Hoxie	...	Himself
Lloyd Hughes	...	Himself (archive footage)
Thomas H. Ince	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rex Ingram	...	(archive footage)
Paul Ivano	...	Himself
Al J. Jennings	...	Himself (archive footage)
Al Jolson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mrs. Buck Jones	...	Herself
Alice Joyce	...	Herself (archive footage)
Leatrice Joy	...	Herself
Buster Keaton	...	Himself (voice from radio interview) (voice) (archive footage)
Donald Keith	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joseph P. Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Henry King	...	Himself
Paul Kohner	...	Himself
Barbara La Marr	...	(archive footage)
Harry Langdon	...	(archive footage)
Jesse Lasky Jr.	...	Himself
Charles A. Lindbergh	...	Himself (archive footage)
Max Linder	...	Himself (archive footage)
Harold Lloyd	...	(archive footage)
Ormer Locklear	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jacqueline Logan	...	Herself (archive footage)
Anita Loos	...	Herself
Bessie Love	...	Herself
Ben Lyon	...	Himself
Marion Mack	...	Herself
Paul Malvern	...	Himself
Percy Marmont	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tully Marshall	...	Himself (archive footage)
Samuel Marx	...	Himself
Shirley Mason	...	Herself (archive footage)
June Mathis	...	Herself (archive footage)
May McAvoy	...	Herself (archive footage)
Harry McCoy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tim McCoy	...	Himself (as Col. Tim McCoy)
Adolphe Menjou	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lewis Milestone	...	Himself
Mary Miles Minter	...	(archive footage)
Tom Mix	...	Himself (archive footage)
Colleen Moore	...	Herself
Louis Mountbatten	...	Himself (as Lord Mountbatten)
Mae Murray	...	(archive footage)
Nita Naldi	...	Herself (archive footage)
Ramon Navarro	...	(archive footage)
Alla Nazimova	...	Herself (archive footage)
Pola Negri	...	Herself (archive footage)
Marshall Neilan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mabel Normand	...	(archive footage)
Warner Oland	...	Himself (archive footage)
Catherine Dale Owen	...	Herself (archive footage)
Seena Owen	...	Herself (archive footage)
Mary Paige	...	Herself
Harvey Parry	...	Himself
Jack Pickford	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mary Pickford	...	(archive footage)
Zasu Pitts	...	Herself (archive footage)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Himself (archive footage)
Virginia Rappe	...	Herself (archive footage)
Wallace Reid	...	(archive footage)
Hal Roach	...	Himself
Albert S. Rogell	...	Himself (as Al Rogell)
Charles 'Buddy' Rogers	...	Himself
Will Rogers	...	Himself (archive footage)
Gilbert Roland	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bob Rose	...	Himself
Adele Rowland	...	Herself (archive footage)
Alma Rubens	...	Herself (archive footage)
Harold D. Schuster	...	Himself
Mack Sennett	...	Himself (archive footage)
Adela Rogers St. Johns	...	Herself
Slim Summerville	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mack Swain	...	Himself (archive footage)
Gloria Swanson	...	Herself
Blanche Sweet	...	Herself
Norma Talmadge	...	(archive footage)
Richard Talmadge	...	Himself (archive footage)
William Desmond Taylor	...	(archive footage)
Conway Tearle	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alice Terry	...	(archive footage)
Irving Thalberg	...	(archive footage)
Olive Thomas	...	Herself (archive footage)
Fred Thomson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ernest Torrence	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ben Turpin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Albert Valentino	...	Himself (as Alberto Valentino)
Jean G. Valentino	...	Himself (as Jean Valentino)
Rudolph Valentino	...	(archive footage)
Lupe Velez	...	Herself (archive footage)
Bobby Vernon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Florence Vidor	...	Herself (platfom diver, USA) (archive footage)
King Vidor	...	Himself
Eva von Berne	...	Herself
Erich von Stroheim	...	(archive footage)
Raoul Walsh	...	Himself (1973 interview) (archive footage)
Fannie Ward	...	Herself (archive footage)
Jack L. Warner	...	Himself (archive footage)
Sam Warner	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Wayne	...	Himself
Lois Weber	...	Herself (archive footage)
William A. Wellman	...	Himself (1973 TV interview)
Alice White	...	Herself (archive footage)
Grant Whytock	...	Himself
Lois Wilson	...	Herself
Fay Wray	...	(archive footage)
William Wyler	...	Himself

También conocida como:

Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film (USA) (video box title)

Duración:

60 min | 676 min (13 Episodes)

País:

UK

Idioma:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sonido:

Mono

Filming Locations:

BBC Enterprises, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Thames Television

Movie Connections:

Features Play Safe (1927)

Superb Look Back At Silent Cinema

Here is the definitive video history of the art of the American silent film. This 13-episode documentary was literally produced in the nick of time, as many of those interviewed would be deceased in a few short years - their wonderful memories lost forever.

Produced in 1980 for Thames Television, this is certainly one of the crowning achievements of the British team of Kevin Brownlow & David Gill, who together have done so much to preserve not only the history of silent cinema, but also the actual films themselves.

The one great lesson of the series is that non-talking films were a distinct art form, complete & satisfying, which had developed a universal language, understood everywhere, through the perfected medium of mime. This was all swept away with the arrival of Talk. So complete was the dismissal of silent films (which were never really silent) that within a short period of time they would be disparaged as intrinsically valueless & technically inferior.

As HOLLYWOOD triumphantly shows, nothing could have been further from the truth. Films of enormous expertise & intense emotional impact were almost routinely created by the pioneers who were perfecting their new invention. The achievements of Silent Cinema's 35 years constitute a new cultural renaissance.

Episodes focus on such topics as Westerns, comedies, war films, stunts, camera techniques & scandals. Not only do we hear from such luminaries as Lillian Gish, Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. & even John Wayne, but we are also enchanted by the recollections of Viola Dana, Leatrice Joy, Bessie Love, Colleen Moore & Blanche Sweet, performers in danger of obscurement due to the fact that their careers were so very long ago and their films are largely unavailable or lost. Hearing Miss Dana discuss the death of the stunt pilot she loved, or Miss Joy recollecting a tender note from husband John Gilbert, or Miss Moore hilariously describing her voice lessons when talkies arrived, is to inculcate real human personalities into what would otherwise be only historical footnotes.

A parade of directors, cameramen, stunt men & theater musicians also reminisce, as do writer Adela Rogers St. Johns & choreographer Agnes de Mille, who between them seem to have been everywhere & known everyone. Even Lord Louis Mountbatten recalls his memories of halcyon days at Pickfair.

While some fans may not want to have all the mysteries revealed as to how Douglas Fairbanks & Harold Lloyd achieved some of their most famous stunts, it is still fascinating information and detracts not a whit from the stars' prestige. It is rather sad, however, to see such stars as John Gilbert, Roscoe Arbuckle, James Murray & Ramon Novarro in their prime, with the knowledge of what Fate had in store for them...

Fans of HOLLYWOOD will be pleased to know that in the decades that have passed since its production many of the silent films it highlights have been fully restored and show now to much greater advantage that the rather faded appearance they make in the documentary.

Much appreciation must go to two men whose contributions go very far in contributing to the success of the series. Carl Davis provides a wonderfully evocative score for HOLLYWOOD, his use of traditional tunes & his own lilting melodies a splendid match for what is taking place on screen. James Mason's narration is absolutely perfect - his rich voice, so warm & intimate, ironically proving that there is a place for talking pictures after all.