1925 - The Year in Review

I'm now beginning my year-by-year overview of the best films of each annum, leading up to the present. Inspired by the Wonders in the Dark crew, headed by Sam Juliano and Allan Fish, I'm starting with the first year I can confidently talk about, 1925.  Here are my choices, and here are the winners as determined by the dedicated readers at Wonders in the Dark. NOTE: These are MY choices for each category, and are in no way reflective of the choices made by the Oscars: 



PICTURE: BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (USSR, Sergei Eistenstein)
2nd: The Gold Rush (US, Charles Chaplin), followed by:
The Phantom of the Opera (US, Rupert Julian)
Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ (US, Fred Niblo)
Seven Chances (US, Buster Keaton)
The Freshman (US, Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor)
The Merry Widow (US, Erich Von Stroheim)
The Unholy Three (US, Tod Browning)
The Imaginary Voyage (France, Rene Clair)

DIRECTOR: Sergei Eisenstein, BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (2nd: Charles Chaplin, The Gold Rush, followed by: Buster Keaton, Seven Chances; Erich Von Stroheim, The Merry Widow; Tod Browning, The Unholy Three)



SHORT FILM: JEUX DE REFLETS ET DE LE VITESSE (France, Henri Chomette) (2nd: Das Wiedegefundene Paradies (Germany, Walter Ruttmann and Lotte Lendesdorff), followed by: The Rat's Knuckles (US, Leo McCarey); Rhythmus 25 (Germany, Hans Richter); Isn't Life Terrible? (US, Leo McCarey))



ACTOR: Charles Chaplin, THE GOLD RUSH (2nd: Lon Chaney, The Phantom of the Opera, followed by: Emil Jannings, Variety; Lon Chaney, The Unholy Three; Harold Lloyd, The Freshman)



ACTRESS: Greta Garbo, JOYLESS STREET (2nd: Mary Philbin, The Phantom of the Opera, followed by: Mae Murray, The Merry Widow; Renee Adoree, The Big Parade; Belle Bennett, Stella Dallas)

SCREENPLAY: Charles Chaplin, THE GOLD RUSH (2nd: Nina Agadzhanova and Sergei Eisenstein, Battleship Potemkin, followed by: Clarence Aaron Robbins and Waldemar Young, The Unholy Three)

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Eduard Tisse and Vladimir Popov, BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (2nd: Roland Toheroh, The Gold Rush, followed by: Milton Bridenbecker, Virgil Miller and Chales Van Enger, The Phantom of the Opera)

ART DIRECTION: BEN HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST, The Phantom of the Opera, The Imaginary Voyage

COSTUME DESIGN: BEN HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST, Lady Windermere's Fan, The Phantom of the Opera

FILM EDITING: BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, Seven Chances; Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ



MAKEUP: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, The Unholy Three

Happy Birthday, Charlie Chaplin!

In celebration of Charlie Chaplin's 122nd birthday on April 16th, here are ten of my favorite Chaplin clips. Of course, his genius needs no explanation other than what you see here:


(from The Circus, 1928; Chaplin did over 200 takes inside the cage with the lion, and never trembles once. My favorite moment: when the dog comes up barking, and Chaplin puts his fingers in his ears as if that'll make the problem go away.)



(The inimitable globe scene, from The Great Dictator, 1940; here Chaplin deftly spoofs the guy that stole his mustache, Adolf Hitler, by playing Hynkel, ruler of Tomania, mad with power as he toys with the Earth.)


(the first part of A Dog's Life, 1918, in which the Tramp teams up with a little thoroughbred mongrel named Scraps. Chaplin's chase scene, with that pit bull hanging onto the Tramp's pants seat no matter what, is the very definition of athletic hilarity.)


(Chaplin's famous table ballet--using forks and rolls--from The Gold Rush, 1925.)


(from Shoulder Arms, 1918; Chaplin as a WWI soldier making all the wrong moves to the tune of "Over There.")


(Chaplin's darkest role was as the murderer of rich women in Monsieur Verdoux, 1947; here's perhaps Chaplin's sharpest dialogue scene, as he discusses death with The Girl, played by Marilyn Nash, and then thinks again about sending her to her own demise.)


(from Modern Times,1936; Chaplin as the put-upon factory worker testing out the new eating machine. I love the Oscar-nominated sound effects here in this famously late-period silent movie!)


(the meeting of two greats: Chaplin and Buster Keaton do a stage performance in what is arguably the filmmakers last major work: Limelight, 1952).


(from The Kid, 1921; the denouement of this magnificent comedy is at once exciting, moving, and funny. It also contains one of the greatest of all screen kisses, between Chaplin and his young co-star Jackie Coogan--that's Uncle Fester to most of you.)


(And, finally and fittingly, from City Lights, 1931, one of the finest endings to any movie, and seriously a tearjerker, even if you've never seen the whole movie. The flower girl--an extraordinary Virginia Cherrill--has regained her sight thanks to Chaplin's Tramp. She has never seen him, and thinks that a rich man helped her. And then she and the Tramp meet. Incredible.)

Again, happy birthday, Charlie! Thanks for the laughs and tears.