By Yun-hua Chen. Showcasing restored films that are over 20 years old, the festival embraces the entire arc of cinematic history….” Now in its eighth year, the Budapest Classics Film Marathon showcases restored films that are over 20 years old. The festival embraces the entire arc of cinematic history—from the […]
Ben Model, Keeping Silent Movies Alive and Well
By Jeremy Carr. I realized that anything I had ever done related to silent film had just sort of handed itself to me, and I leaned into that….” —Ben Model Ben Model loves silent movies. In case it isn’t obvious by his live performances, online videos and podcasts, and the […]
Now Available – Becoming Nosferatu: Stories Inspired by Silent German Horror
A new collection featuring stories and poems in the tradition of Nosferatu and other silent expressionist classics….” Becoming Nosferatu: Stories Inspired by Silent German Horror, edited by Matthew Sorrento (editor, FilmInt Online) and Gary D. Rhodes (contributing editor) is out now from BearManor Media, featuring stories and poems in the tradition of Nosferatu and other silent expressionist […]
Two Early Genre Gems: The Bat (1926) and The Canary Murder Case (1929)
By Thomas Gladysz. Released by Undercrank Productions, The Bat stands as a high point in the ‘old dark house’ genre / sub-genre.” In the first decades of the 20th century, film was finding its way. Then, the various genres were being defined — and redefined, with the release of just […]
Rediscovering a Hollywood Luminary: Francis Ford & The Craving
By Jeremy Carr. Ben Model’s Undercrank Productions has once again sifted through the annals of film’s rich origins and, with producer and Ford scholar Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, worked to digitally restore and release a key Francis Ford feature as well as a grouping of shorts….” Before he was known simply as […]
When Radiohead Met Nosferatu: Josh Frank on Silents Synched Event Cinema
August 1, 2024
In running a tiny drive-in, I found over time that people were not coming for new releases or even often caring that it was an old movie, they wanted a special movie experience. This got me thinking about how to customize the experience of going to the cinema, horror and […]
In Love and Pain – Vampires in Silent Cinema by Gary D. Rhodes
A Book Review by Dávid Szőke. A carefully detailed account of the vampire archetype’s journey from literary and folkloric origins to the silent screen….” “Schreck’s peculiarities are like lovemaking games,” so says the fictional F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) in E. Elias Merhige’s Shadow of the Vampire (2000), a vampire film […]
More Happy Accidents: Accidentally Preserved, Vol. 5
By Jeremy Carr. Ben Model and his Undercrank Productions continue to deliver eclectic fare from the annals of film history, distributing movies that shed light on their respective era, their audiences, and their creators.” Given the nature of what is discovered, handled, and ultimately distributed as part of the Accidentally […]
Laughter over Comedy: from the Introduction to Death by Laughter: Female Hysteria in Early Cinema
By Maggie Hennefeld. Imagine being so hilarious that your jokes, impressions, or other repartee literally caused someone to laugh themselves to death.1 —“Does Your Stand-Up Act Need Death by Laughter Insurance?,” Trusted Choice, insurance web advertisement, August 10, 2019 Imagine being so wild and free that your laughter literally killed […]
Florid in a Good Way: Herbert Brenon’s The Spanish Dancer (1923)
By Thomas Gladysz. With a range of pictures to his credit – fantasies, adventure films, melodramas, historical epics – there are those who feel Brenon was a director without a defined, or at least a dynamic, style. There is truth to that assertion…. Adaptability, however, shouldn’t detract from an appreciation […]