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Author
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Comment
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isthmus
nekoi
Registered User
(10/10/02 2:26:31 pm)
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fairy tales and early silent film
I'm noticing some French Impressionist film from the 1920s are based on fairy tales, and many have fantasic themes. Does this relate in any way to the French salon writers?
Even if there is no connection, I wonder what the links are b/w cinema (the 'new' art), modernity, the art/design movements of the time (art deco, art nouveau, impressionism, futurism etc) and fairy tales. Also it's interesting to see how the early New Wave cinema of France and Germany (and perhaps Japan) turn to themes of the fairy tale and horror in the context of 1) post WWI clime 2) formation of a national/international cinema countering the rise of the Hollywood majors. From this perspective, how ironic it should be that *Disney* would be the name synonymous w/fairy tale and film!!
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fherman1
Unregistered User
(10/25/02 7:47:33 pm)
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fairy-tale silent films
Well, if you're thinking in reference to early modernist stuff, here's a few silents that come to mind:
_The Thief of Bagdad_, Douglas Fairbanks version. Extremely energetic version of the story; whatever Fairbanks was on, I want some. Though, since it's a Hollywood film, this may not be what you're looking at. (OT note: The 1940 version starring Sabu is, imho, the single best fantasy movie ever made.)
_Die Nibelungen_ (German), actually two Fritz Lang films. The first, _Siegfried_, is a straightforward retelling of the Siegfried myth, and is worth watching for the cinematography even though the morals are dubious and the hero is really pretty dopey. But Part II, _Kriemhild's Revenge_, is awesomely dark and intense and brilliant.
_Metropolis_ (German), Lang again. SF, but as fairy-tale (and cinematically influential) as it gets. Look out for a retelling of the Tower of Babylon story that certainly doesn't match the Bible's!
_The Phantom of the Opera_. Lon Chaney (okay, Hollywood again). Watch his face when the crowd catches up to him. Wow.
Okay, this is turning into fanboy bibbling instead of what you're asking about; sorry!
Fred
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isthmus
nekoi
Registered User
(10/29/02 8:01:54 am)
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Re: fairy-tale silent films
Hey, no need to apologize! Super thanks for the pointers!
Even though Fairbanks worked in Hollywood there was certainly a lot of international distribution going on, I'm sure by then everyone had seen Griffith and suchlike. Plus, by the first world war, Hollywood was pretty much taking over the film industry so yeah, American films were quite influential at the time ^_^
I was just wondering w/all these film makers collaborating w/other artists of different mediums, if there was a general movement going on in Europe at the time.
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Jess
Unregistered User
(10/29/02 4:58:26 pm)
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The Blue Light
More about a legend than a fairy tale - still interesting if only from the historical perspective. Actress, director, writer Leni Reifenstahl became infamous for her propaganda during World War II. This movie is earlier.
Btw, I didn't know there was a second Lang film on the Seigfried tales. Wow! What a find.
Jess
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Becca
Unregistered User
(10/29/02 5:38:41 pm)
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French Film
Actually, I've been taking a french film class and I've noticed the same penchant for the fantastic that you have. In some of the very, very first silent films (just at the turn of the century) by a gentleman named...um...Georges Melies (yeah, thats it). He was originally a stage magician so he loved to take and adapt stage tricks to the screen. Nearly all of his films deal with 'magic' acts or some element of the fantastic. Imps, mermaids, wizards, curses, and beautiful fairies all make all sorts of appearances. They're fun to watch even today. I think, on the whole (and alright, this is a grand generalization) the french are more comfortable with the fantastic. Or at least thats what I've noticed in the films I've seen. I don't know if its a legacy of the salon writers or not, but wouldn't that be cool?
~Becca
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isthmus
nekoi
Registered User
(10/31/02 8:27:18 am)
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Re: French Film
Thanks for the suggestions, Jess. I've only seen a little of Reifenstahl's propoganda stuff; mostly midair shots of men diving. I figured it was all like that :P
Yes, Becca, Melies is pretty fun to watch, esp if they put good music to it, and it would be really cool to find out if there was influence from Salon writers ^_^ But the French were not the only ones to dabble in the fantastic; some very famous early German films are also right up there (Nosferatu, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari being the most famous). Although I'm not sure there is a literary corellation, or if there were a lot of ppl writing horror during the times. I think Freud may have had something to do w/it; the psychological... brutality of his 'id' concept. Also, after WW1, Germany was in total economic turmoil. But whether this is negotiated in the literature through the fantastic.....?
Edited by: isthmus nekoi at: 10/31/02 8:30:03 am
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