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Sunday, January 16, 2011

THE MARK OF ZORRO (1920)

Douglas Fairbanks largely set the style & the tone for the remainder of his silent film career with this, his first period swashbuckler.  Hell, it pretty much set tone for the genre right up to today.  Just now it’s THE GREEN HORNET/’11 . . . unfortunately.  Cheery, self-mocking tone; Milquetoast who morphs into superhero; spirited damsel-in-distress; impossible last-minute rescues; even suffering locals silently bearing the brunt of all burdens.  All the tropes already in place, but with a fresh scent of discovery that would prove difficult to recapture.  Newbies to silents will be surprised at how natural most of the acting is, with only Noah Beery’s comic villain chewing up the scenery.  Fred Niblo’s helming is more solid craftsmanship than freely imaginative, but it’s easy enough to adjust to the reticent camera movement & editing patterns of 1920 moviemaking with a print as consistently stunning as the Flicker Alley DVD edition.  If more silents were in such good physical condition, the format just might make a comeback!  The cause might also be helped if film schools could be persuaded to show ‘mere’ entertainments like this along with all those historically important arty classics.

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  Instead of a storybook at bedtime, try a silent film adventure with inter-titles you can read out loud.  Do it in chapters.

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