He Who Is Mr. Lon Chaney

Jennifer found a wonderful shot of Mr. Chaney taking "5" with some of the others from "He Who Gets Slapped". What a great shot!

SCHEDULE UPDATE

Hello everyone....hope you had a great holiday....here's an update on our schedule:

As you know, we covered Fritz Lang's "M" the last time...that is fodder for the final test. On the 2nd we meet...I will give back your last test, which we will go over. Continuing our transition to the "talkies", we are watching "White Zombie" with Lugosi.

The next time we meet will be the 9th. YOUR TERM PAPER IS DUE ON THIS DAY. The final lecture and film is "King Kong" and Willis O'Brien. We will review for the final test if need be.

The final test is on the 16th, REGULAR CLASS TIME (2-5). It will cover the 3 films listed above. I'll return your term papers at this time as well. We'll have a bonus "farewell" film at that time!

Shell Shock Cinema-New Book!

Jill Carrington has given us a "heads up" on this fantastic, award-winning resource for your term papers. Carol Scamman, our research librarian, has rush-ordered a copy for us, and it will be available at the library in the next few weeks!

September 30, First Exam: The Silents of Germany

Our first exam is this Friday. As stated, in order to be best prepared, you need to know the lecture material, have read chapters 1-3 in your textbook and know the 4 major films we've viewed thus far: "The Man Who Laughs", "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", "The Hands of Orlac" and "Pandora's Box". Study hard, and I'll see you in class!

Silent Horror: Section II...Fall 2011!

....That's right, kiddies....we'll be running part 2 of our class in the Fall, so better sign up while you can..the slots are going fast! Same set-up, for the most part, as part 1, but we'll cover films we couldn't get to in the first part: The Man Who Laughs, The Golem, The Hands of Orlac, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Unholy Three with Chaney are some of the classics I plan on covering...several other surprises in store as well.

It's always a little bit heartbreaking to part ways with a great class, but many of you have signed up for the second portion, so that's good. It is my greatest hope that these films will be part of your lives, now that you are "in the know", and you'll do your best to spread their joy to other people!

I hope you will explore many of the art movements that have influenced these films as well; German Expressionism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, Romanticism, and many others. As discussed in class, these films were not created in a vacuum, and, if not for these movements in art, there would be little on the screen to catch your eye.

This particular class has done very well on enthusiasm, attendance and grades...you should be proud of your hard work. Be prepared for the final test and review the films for it. Have your term papers ready for me as well.

See you Friday the 13th at 2:00 (there will be a bonus screening at the conclusion of the final test...stay tuned for the very entertaining mystery film)!

Friday the 13th...How Lucky Can One Be?

An amazing photo of Max Schreck taking a break on the set of Nosferatu (thanks Sarah!). Not so sure I even believe this photo: I've never encountered it anyplace in 35 some-odd years of horror research, but that's no indication of anything. There's just something about it that seems "photoshoppy", but then again, I'm probably wrong and it's as amazing (and rare) as it appears!

As we wind down, we have a lecture on Mr. Tod Browning, Bela Lugosi and the film Dracula; a "talkie" that is a natural extension of the silent horror film. Then, Friday the 6th, we cover Carl Dryer's Vampyr, and talk about the final test which is rolling around on Friday the 13th!

You can't have a luckier day to take a test in a horror cinema class!

A Wealth of Silent Horror Classics...Priced to Collect!

The quality may not be Kino or Criterion, but for only a few dollars you can purchase dvds of a ton of rare silent horror films. Alpha Video may be known for "bargain bin" cheapies, but how else are you going to score a double feature of Lon Chaney for 6 bucks? Those of you living the "virtual download" life, may see little value in owning the thing on plastic, but for the few (like myself) who have to own a hard-copy to feel like you own something, then this may be a good way for you to "mop up" some of the harder to find titles. Holy cow, just check out their "Classics of Early Cinema" set: Cabinet of Dr. Caligari/Phantom of the Opera/The Golem/Nosferatu/The Hunchback of Notre Dame/Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.....all for 10 bucks!! Click on the oldies.com link to the right to access the Alpha catalog!

Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages

This Friday we will be covering "Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages". This remarkable 1922 Danish/Swedish film investigates the misunderstandings around mental stress and illness as it was mistaken for witchcraft historically. In addition, we'll discuss your term papers. Be narrowing in on what topic you wish to cover for this important paper! See you all in class.

Test for the Bus Trip Travellers

For the 4 of you going on the Houston bus trip to the art museums: you'll be taking the test on the following date...Monday, the 28th of February, at 9:00 a.m. in the shop area upstairs. It's crucial that you make this test date on time in order to keep things balanced fairly with the rest of the class that are taking their test the Friday before. DON'T FORGET!

The Steen Library Bibliography

The class owes a big thank you to Wade Carter, from the SFA library, who has composed an incredible bibliography of books available to us at our library. This is excellent for those of you working on your research paper and to learn even more about the subject than the class can offer!

SFA LIBRARY COLLECTION

A rare silent from 1922...just ordered my copy for less than 6 dollars! I love Alpha Video. Maybe they're no Kino when it comes to a quality print, but where else can you find this sort of scarce scare!

GET IT HERE FOR CHEAP

Apologies for class being canceled due to weather Friday...too bad too; Nosferatu would have been the perfect film for an icy night. That's okay though, we'll be viewing the film this Friday, so stay tuned! Please bring your textbook to class if you have received it yet. See you in class...don't miss out!

Best Price For the Textbook. Buy DIRECT!

Thanks to Herbert, in our class, here's a direct link to the textbook. You may have noticed that we quickly made this book popular over on Amazon, soaring the price to over a 100 bucks! Avoid that, and go here instead and get it at a good price!

http://www.midmar.com/historysilentscreams.html

Blog Updated...

I've gotten rid of the dead Youtube links to films and re-upped as many as possible. Older postings contain links to films that still work, so you might check into it when searching for a film.

"Wolf Blood" (1925)

Stan Laurel "Dr. Pyckle & Mr. Pryde" (1925)

"Metropolis" (1927)

The link here does not include the newly-discovered footage, however, this should get you the film in a more recent released version. You might check Youtube for other versions (I couldn't bring myself to post the full version that's being offered over there because there is a 20 sec. advertisement at the beginning that ruins the link on our page, in my opinion. If you click on that version you can see the film in a single session without having to click on "parts", but Youtube, more like "Theirtubes", ad policy I find disgusting and distasteful).

Luis Bunuel/Salvador Dali "Un Chien Andalou" (1929)

Georges Meiles "The Haunted Castle" (1897)

Here is a re-post of Melies' "Haunted Castle", an example of, not only hand-tinting, but the illusionist George Melies' early use of film to enhance his stage show.

Newly Restored: METROPOLIS on Kino

Kino has released the definitive version of the classic "Metropolis". I believe this will be the definitive version this time, as it's been released many times before in different "versions" and edits. The most remarkable thing about this edition is the addition of missing footage! Though it was discovered in Argentina in "deplorable condition", Kino has restored it in their usual meticulous manner. Aside from a few missing frames that are a minor loss, this is most likely to be the most complete version available, now or in the future.

Chronicles of Terror: Silent Screams...New Textbook!

I've discovered a textbook that eerily follows our course trajectory perfectly; Steven Haberman's Chronicles of Terror: Silent Screams, published by Luminary Press! We now have a text that very closely follows the template of the course, both in content and lecture. Our university bookstore has assured me that they will have copies waiting, and I'm quite certain you can pick the book up for the class by going online as well.

I've found the book to be very well constructed, and well written. There are plenty of still-shots, poster images and curious information to add even more flavor to the course. One thing I like is that the book is hardbound too. It has an excellent bibliography that will save you a lot of research time when it comes to constructing your term paper for the class.

Overall, it's an excellent read that supports our course very nicely!