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Sep 18 10 3:15 PM
Wich2 wrote: With respect, Rick, I think that - outside of our circle - the winner of that title is either GREED, or Orson's cut of AMBERSONS.
Sep 18 10 3:20 PM
Sep 18 10 5:13 PM
Sep 18 10 6:21 PM
Sep 18 10 7:40 PM
stuthehistoryguy wrote: Michael Elliott wrote: I've seen over 125 Griffith films but THE GREATEST THING IN LIFE might be my #1. I read a scene-for-scene layout of the film and the scene of the dying black soldier in the arm of the racist white man sounded incredible. Apparently the rest of the film wasn't as powerful but this scene certainly makes me wish the film turns up.LAM probably wouldn't make my top 10 list. The hype everyone has built up over the film would only lead to disappointment even if it was a good film (which most say it wasn't). There are many other Chaney films I'd pick before this one as well. It seems the legend of LAM comes mainly from those who saw a certain picture in FM magazine. Many other silent boards don't seem to be all that impressed when they make their lists of what they want found.I'd expand on that just a bit in that EVERY picture I've seen from LAM has made me want to see that movie, and I do think this is a key to why it's discovery is such a priority for some people. There is a plethora of publicity shots for the movie and each one (well, nearly each one) looks so impressive that the vampire movie and Lon Chaney cultists mentally slate it in their lists of must-see flicks, then are driven to frustration when they can't check it off. I used to have a bit of a thing for John Wayne movies myself, and his first billed role is in a lost film, Words and Music. The John Wayne cult is at least as driven as the vampire movie sect, but I've never heard a fan of the Duke pine to see WAM because there's no enduring image of it--nobody cares. The stills from LAM look like their from a great silent film, so we care.More to your excellent point, Michael, is there a base of people seeking The Greatest Thing in Life with anywhere near the ardor of the London After Midnight crowd? If not, do you think it's because there just isn't the sexy angle to drive such a furor?
Michael Elliott wrote: I've seen over 125 Griffith films but THE GREATEST THING IN LIFE might be my #1. I read a scene-for-scene layout of the film and the scene of the dying black soldier in the arm of the racist white man sounded incredible. Apparently the rest of the film wasn't as powerful but this scene certainly makes me wish the film turns up.LAM probably wouldn't make my top 10 list. The hype everyone has built up over the film would only lead to disappointment even if it was a good film (which most say it wasn't). There are many other Chaney films I'd pick before this one as well. It seems the legend of LAM comes mainly from those who saw a certain picture in FM magazine. Many other silent boards don't seem to be all that impressed when they make their lists of what they want found.
Sep 18 10 9:12 PM
TServo4 wrote: If I had my "one pick," it would be WANDERERS OF THE WASTELAND (1923) — Irvin Willat's western epic, shot entirely in Technicolor and based on a story by Zane Grey. Willat apparently had the last known print, which unfortunately decomposed. Bob Birchard said that when he interviewed Willat's daughter, she mentioned that she remembered the day when he had first discovered that WANDERERS had decomposed. She said he went upstairs to his bedroom, closed the door and cried for three hours.
Sep 19 10 11:31 AM
Sep 20 10 12:20 PM
Rick wrote: There are probably a zillion lost films that are better movies than LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. I'd dearly love to see DER JANUSKOPF, A BLLIND BARGAIN, LIFE WITHOUT SOUL, IL MOSTRO DI FRANKENSTEIN, DRAKULA HALALA, THE HAUNTED HOUSE, and on and on. And, apart from horror films, another of my obsessions is to see every movie ever nominated for an Academy Award, so THE PATRIOT, WAY OF THE FLESH and about a dozen others are high on my list. But the question posed is "Is LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT the Most Sought Lost Film?" I think no matter how much better other films might be, and no matter how much it might aggravate a lotta folks -- particularly silent film buffs -- the answer to the question at the top of this topic is undeniably "Yes."
Sep 20 10 12:55 PM
stuthehistoryguy wrote:In terms of raw numbers of seekers, absolutely. We have demonstrated that in many different ways. HOWEVER, to muddy the waters* a bit, is this true in terms of total RESOURCES expended? To wit, are there major initiatives from film studies departments or national film institutes whose resources (in terms of staff and what not) expended in tracking down the lost reels of Greed or Eisenstein's lost porno footage or Leni Riefenstahl or whatever may exceed that of the LAM seekers?I'm coming at this from ignorance--I've only done one conference paper on film, and that was pretty specialized. Beyond that, I'm a fanboy in the presence of his elders.*I have only myself to blame for humming "I Can't Be Satisfied" for the rest of the day.
Sep 20 10 1:53 PM
Sep 20 10 4:12 PM
PhantomXCI wrote: stuthehistoryguy wrote:In terms of raw numbers of seekers, absolutely. We have demonstrated that in many different ways. HOWEVER, to muddy the waters* a bit, is this true in terms of total RESOURCES expended? To wit, are there major initiatives from film studies departments or national film institutes whose resources (in terms of staff and what not) expended in tracking down the lost reels of Greed or Eisenstein's lost porno footage or Leni Riefenstahl or whatever may exceed that of the LAM seekers?I'm coming at this from ignorance--I've only done one conference paper on film, and that was pretty specialized. Beyond that, I'm a fanboy in the presence of his elders.*I have only myself to blame for humming "I Can't Be Satisfied" for the rest of the day. The answer to this one is "No", too. Although there are many "fan groups" which raise money to preserve certain films made by their favorite actors, all of those films are extant and already held in archives. Nobody has ever put out money to search for a lost film. I mean, what would you spend it on... airfare to check out the sub-basement in the Croatian Film Institute?Nowadays, lost films are found by making phone calls and checking internet databases. When something does turn up buried behind the wall in a demolished theatre, archives are usually notified, and then they respond "Send it to us and we'll check it out. You pay the postage."
Sep 20 10 4:29 PM
stuthehistoryguy wrote: Good points. Searching for lost films is such a fool's errand in most cases that funding an inquiry would be cost prohibitive--though I would hope that an interested institution (UCLA's Film School, AFI, etc.) would pay a preservationist's way to Zagreb if they got word that the CFI had a massive cache of prints that might fill in some film history gaps. I've seen odder things funded.
Sep 20 10 4:50 PM
Burgomaster
Sep 20 10 5:02 PM
Sep 21 10 8:56 PM
Sep 21 10 11:23 PM
Sep 22 10 7:23 AM
Sep 22 10 8:52 AM
Saturday8pm wrote: I think a real bummer here is the fact that Chaney's son was still alive when news of the fire became known,and if I were he, I'd be royally P'dO that the studios let one of Chaney Sr's films go so unceremoniously.
Sep 25 10 2:36 PM
Wich2 wrote:With respect, Rick, I think that - outside of our circle - the winner of that title is either GREED, or Orson's cut of AMBERSONS.
Sep 25 10 4:26 PM
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