Intolerance and Greed

 As I'm going to be writing about silent-era Hollywood, I figured it was about time I did the deed, sat down, and watched these. 


Intolerance was made over 100 years ago. There were almost no special effects (except probably the guy getting his head chopped off in battle) - that was really a bazillion extras storming the walls of Babylon on Sunset Boulevard. I was interested to see how sophisticated the filming techniques were, including a lot of stuff that's still being used (that little shot of speeded-up double-exposed ghost-figures scurrying around the villainess's office to indicate passage of time - that's still a pretty common short-hand for, "some time went by...."). The "barbarian soldiers" were pretty hilarious. Griffith had a beautiful sense of images, and the version I'm watching (in several installments - I don't have more than an hour or so of down-time 4 nights a week) isn't horrendously long. It's not like trying to sit through Cleopatra, for instance. And the score, by Carl Davis, is excellent.

Since Erich von Stroheim is a walk-on cameo in "One Extra Corpse," I knew eventually I'd have to watch Greed. I enjoyed Merry Widow and Foolish Wives, and of course the man was the emotional heart and core of Sunset Boulevard. I think I'll have to approach Greed as a mini-series, like the extended Tolkien Marathon. I certainly don't expect to enjoy it. The most I'll get (besides research) is bragging-rights - those FB surveys, "One Point for Each of These Things You've Done." "Ridden a camel - gone zip-lining - been skinny-dipping - sat through 'Greed'..." My motto as an author has always been, "No experience is ever wasted."


In other news, more back-list specials from Open Road Media.

Tomorrow, Friday, May 27, Traveling With the Dead is on sale, digital, $1.99, US only.

Saturday, May 28, The Silent Tower and George's short-story collection Dirty Tricks will be on sale, $1.99 apiece, digital, US only, through Open Road Media.



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