First Blog - The Technology of Film...

Silent movies are an important stepping stone to the films that we have and enjoy today. Although silent movies are pretty much obsolete in this day and age, their importance are momentous. One of the biggest characteristics that separate silent films from "talkies" is the over acting that was needed for the stage, which would eventually be toned down significantly with the introduction of microphones. The actors and actresses would hover around stationary microphones which showed the director that one could act out a scene without overacting the part. The element of overacting and to be honest the many early experimentations in the infancy of film most likely will not be missed. These were more or less the stepping stones to the final product. No one misses the prototypes of a product if the end product is so well put together as in the evolution of films. One would have to make the best visual presentation to be able to profit off of a silent film these days. As mentioned in my discussion board entry last week, I consider the sound of a movie as important as the actors themselves; thus for me, silent movies are dead. Not that I will not watch a classic like The Lost World or one of the silent movies on TCM in the middle of the night but for new productions to not include sound effects and talking would be an unfinished product.
Now a days in Hollywood, directors are making a killing on churning out remakes. Any of the classic and well made silent films from the genesis of film creation could be made into great movies for this generation. One would have to integrate the sound effects and voices for it to sell. For example The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923 was a silent film that was made into a couple of talking versions that were excellent; including a Disney version which proves it is a solid story that may always stand the test of time. Most audiences, no matter what decade, will be able to relate feeling like an outsider, being judged on appearances and sorting through the insecurities that come with loving a person that is out of your league. There are some movies that may never make it like The Birth of a Nation because the story behind that film is a sad and dark look into our history specific to that era. On the other hand, The Mark of Zorro and Robin Hood are other fine examples of silent movies successfully modernized. The stories are timeless and can cross any barriers that come along in the development of storytelling. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Last of the Mohicans are also prime examples. The point being that even though these movies started out as silent films the stories are not dead. The technical aspect of how the story is told will always change, be it with silent moving pictures that had the occasional text dialogue or digital picture with ear popping Dolby Digital Surround 7.1 sound. It is the story that will last, not the technology. Yet one of the technologies that have still managed to remain throughout all this progression would be the zoetrope. I discovered this on the first day of class and am reminded every time I visit Jerome, AZ. The technology is still around however now it is simply a novelty relic of days passed. Silent movies are dead and will probably stay that way, it is the influence and technology that has taken movies this far and should never be forgotten. I would love to see a newer version of Nosferatu though; silent or not that was a great flick.

Movies that keep returning throughout our lives...

     I have never written a blog before so i thought I would give it a try and since this is a blog of the movie theme I thought I would share a movie memory that has just surfaced within the last week.  When I was young I used to watch a lot of movies, specifically the horror movies.  For example, the Friday the 13th series, A Nightmare on Elm St. series, Puppet Masters and many of the Full Moon movies.  Every now and then there is that one movie that is not that special but keeps on returning in your life; that movie for me is a little known cult classic called Phantasm.  Phantasm is by no means a good movie, the acting is bad and the plot is not that clear.  It is about a crypt keeper that steals bodies and turns them into the little hooded  creatures similar to the characters from Star Wars that buy and sell robots to Jaba.  This movie comes up frequently while hanging out with friends. We re-watch it and talk about why on earth anyone would make five sequels following the weak plot.  This week it was just the title that brought up memories.  When I was about 16 or 17 years old I met a guy named Charles. He let me learn and play bass in his band named Phantasm.  We became close friends and eventually roommates while i worked at an old video store in town called Video City my senior year of high school.  I brought movies home from work just about every night.  Now every time I think about the movie Phantasm I think of the band Charlie and I were in.  To this day I believe with no certainty that movie's name was the inspiration for our bands' name.  I know not for sure if he liked the movie but the title seems to have stuck with him.  Unfortunately, I will never know the answer to this question because my life long buddy passed away the fourth of this month.  A lot of my answers left with him, but I do know we had matching collections of A Nightmare on Elm St. and we were in a band named Phantasm.  So how do movies influence our lives and how much?  I would have to say movies influence us a lot. Every time I see the cover of that horrible, low budget movie from my youth I remember my buddy Charles.