1932 Movies
OSCARS Won/Nominated
Freaks
Dir: Tod Browning 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die You know why this 1932 film is so successfully disturbing and horrifying? Because they used real "freaks" when they made it. To watch the film populated with pinheads, people with no arms, no legs, midgets, transsexuals, giants, and all other matters of weirdness is just plain hard to do...especially when none of them are in makeup or anything. The moral of the story is don't mess with Circus Freaks or their whole fraternity will attack you. I wouldn't want to be anywhere NEAR these people, let alone attacked by them. In that respect, it is a pretty successful horror film. No wonder it has been banned for decades in various countries. B+ |
Speak Easily
Dir: Edward Sedgwick Stars: Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante This is my first Buster Keaton "Talkie"...and it is still a lot of fun, especially Jimmy Durante's turn. I think Keaton is still a great physical actor but I do feel he is a bit constrained now that he can talk. Previously, he was a master of facial expression and physical stunts/humor. I think the filmmakers felt they didn't need to tap into that as much now that the film isn't silent. It is a shame...because when Keaton is good...he shines. This is madcap and ridiculous...but impossible not to have fun during. B |
Vampyr
Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Well...I guess I just don't quite get Carl Theodor Dreyer's fame. I wasn't much impressed with his The Passion of Joan of Arc and I wasn't too impressed with this spook story either. The man, for the time, had a good eye and projected eerie visuals onto his film...but Vampyr just seems to meander along without direction or purpose, and the fact that this was his first non-silent film...is obvious. There is hardly any dialogue so the story is told through walking, seeing, and making faces...and it is simply odd. C- |