Impressions
This is a pretty impressive film, and one of the last of the silent era to garner acclaim. The story is somewhat lacking... it's essentially Top Gun meets Pearl Harbor, but it has some incredible moments of pathos and some pure drama that make for an interesting watching experience. Most of the silent movies I see are Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin shorts (and the occasional feature length), so watching a true drama in silent form was new ground for me. Of course, I wasn't expecting slapstick, but I was truly surprised by how dramatic, intense, and focused this film could be, even within the constraints of silence and title cards.
Clara Bow is a really luminous actress, and it's no surprise that she slept with everyone in Hollywood. Despite her relatively small part, she truly carries this film. As the Mary Jane back home, she provides the heart and the yearning that set the tone for the entirety of the film. However, the screen presence of the two leading men is nothing to be scoffed at; they were entirely convincing as dashing but flawed WWI pilots, drawn into the war simply because it was their call of duty. It was fascinating to watch their personal dramas and growing camaraderie become as much of an emotional incentive to win the war for the Allies as their duty to their nation. This movie is also known as the first movie to ever feature a male-on-male kiss, but we waited in vain for a Heath-Jake-style makeout session and felt pretty stupid when the kiss shown was a very honorable and chivalrous farewell to a friend. The heart-wrenching dramatic irony of a pilot shooting down his own best friend was portrayed gracefully and without any of the overwrought emotionalism that plagues a lot of silent films.
The best part of this film, however, is the dogfighting, and the spectacle is definitely worth the price of admission. Some of the cinematography techniques were just mindboggling -- the kind of thing you didn't know existed back then. There's also a really brilliant tracking shot that flows energetically and smoothly through the crowd and over several dinner tables in a beautiful French cafe while the flyboys are on leave from war. Visually, the film is a totally believable representation of the horrors and oddities of war. Extended montages showing massive trench battles take up most of the middle portion of the movie, and they're pretty intense. Definitely not the cartoon war stuff I've seen in other silent films.
Why did this movie win Best Picture?
It's a a visually impressive movie that, while not a total war masterpiece, is a pretty powerful ode to friendship and love in war. For the first Best Picture ever, the Academy no doubt wanted to reward a movie with star power, cinema wizardry, high production values, a tragic story, and a movie that totally glorifies America in every way possible.
An overall decent movie that impressed me with its relevance and watchability. A worthy BP winner, definitely. 7/10
(Note to myself: BUBBLES!)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment