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Topic: What Films did you show last night?
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Akshay Nanjangud
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 637
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2011
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posted March 23, 2012 02:58 AM
Murnau moves from Dracula to a doorman.
Tonight, we were privileged to watch F.W. Murnau's The Last Laugh. When I started out on this hobby, I just wanted to fool around with film. Instead, film projection has opened up a world of features I just hadn't heard in the world of DVD, Blu-Ray and Streaming. For example, all I'd heard of Buster Keaton were The General, Sherlock, Jr. and other famous titles. There just was no mention of Cops. Where was Harry Langdon's Soldier Man? Where were Thelma and ZaSu? ..... I'd watched Nosferatu. But where was The Last Laugh? Ha! It is on Super 8!
For me, the story of this livery obsessed doorman just edges out the tale of the blood thirsty Count. They say a classic rings true even today. If that is so, The Last Laugh must surely classify as a classic. Roger Ebert put it in his Great Movies list in 2000. What took you so long Ebert?
The questions it raises, ah! Why is one job better than the other? Why must not the poor and the rich eat the same food? Why do some feel shame in old age? Is luck the only way out of poverty? The most important question of all has to be: why didn't someone ask Mr. Pink ,from Reservoir Dogs, to watch this film?
I watched this feature as some sort of homework for Abel Gance's Napolean. My idea was to watch a silent film, with a soundtrack, to psyche myself up for the five-and-a-half hour feature. It is playing at the Oakland Paramount Theater the day after tomorrow. Now F.W. Murnau's The Last Laugh isn't as long, yet I feel prepared for the epic of epics: Napolean.
Fellow forum member Joseph Morrison, thanks for this title.
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Dino Everette
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1535
From: Long Beach, CA USA
Registered: Dec 2008
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posted April 01, 2012 01:28 AM
Tonight was a very special screening on 9.5mm at The Berkeley Underground Film Society. For anyone not familiar with the society this is the brainchild of Gerald Santana, whom I had the pleasure of meeting face to face this evening. Gerald is a film devotee who has taken the initiative to present free film shows for his community, and I wanted to show him that I support him so I brought my Specto, some films and my wife to do a show....We had a really enjoyable time with the small but enthusiastic group that braved the rain to come out and see some rare silent comedies...My wife jokingly states that I could program an empty theatre...What she means is I often want to watch titles that are so obscure no one would come. But that is just me I guess, so tonights' rundown was as follows:
Shiver and Shake (1922) Paul Parrott - 12 min. Sky High (1922)Hallroom Boys - 12 min. Chicken Cooped (1926) Flora Finch - 12min. Bonzo The Traveler (1925) Animated dog - 12 min. Walter’s Paying Policy (1921) Walter Forde - 22 min. Vagabond Queen (1928) Betty Balfour - 45 min.
The first pic is Gerald introducing the evenings' titles, then shots from the films, then the glowing 'S' from my Specto, and finally a shot of part of the audience watching the films....After the screening Gerald and his family were kind enough to drive my wife and I back to our hotel, so we can rest up for tomorrows' Napoleon marathon.
-------------------- "You're too Far Out Miss Lawrence"
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