Hollywood

Here is the definitive video history of the art of the American silent film. This 13-episode documentary was literally produced in the nick of time, as many of those interviewed would be deceased in a few short years - their wonderful memories lost forever.

Produced in 1980 for Thames Television, this is certainly one of the crowning achievements of the British team of Kevin Brownlow & David Gill, who together have done so much to preserve not only the history of silent cinema, but also the actual films themselves.

The one great lesson of the series is that non-talking films were a distinct art form, complete & satisfying, which had developed a universal language, understood everywhere, through the perfected medium of mime. This was all swept away with the arrival of Talk. So complete was the dismissal of silent films (which were never really silent) that within a short period of time they would be disparaged as intrinsically valueless & technically inferior.

As HOLLYWOOD triumphantly shows, nothing could have been further from the truth. Films of enormous expertise & intense emotional impact were almost routinely created by the pioneers who were perfecting their new invention. The achievements of Silent Cinema's 35 years constitute a new cultural renaissance.

Episodes focus on such topics as Westerns, comedies, war films, stunts, camera techniques & scandals. Not only do we hear from such luminaries as Lillian Gish, Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. & even John Wayne, but we are also enchanted by the recollections of Viola Dana, Leatrice Joy, Bessie Love, Colleen Moore & Blanche Sweet, performers in danger of obscurement due to the fact that their careers were so very long ago and their films are largely unavailable or lost. Hearing Miss Dana discuss the death of the stunt pilot she loved, or Miss Joy recollecting a tender note from husband John Gilbert, or Miss Moore hilariously describing her voice lessons when talkies arrived, is to inculcate real human personalities into what would otherwise be only historical footnotes.

A parade of directors, cameramen, stunt men & theater musicians also reminisce, as do writer Adela Rogers St. Johns & choreographer Agnes de Mille, who between them seem to have been everywhere & known everyone. Even Lord Louis Mountbatten recalls his memories of halcyon days at Pickfair.

While some fans may not want to have all the mysteries revealed as to how Douglas Fairbanks & Harold Lloyd achieved some of their most famous stunts, it is still fascinating information and detracts not a whit from the stars' prestige. It is rather sad, however, to see such stars as John Gilbert, Roscoe Arbuckle, James Murray & Ramon Novarro in their prime, with the knowledge of what Fate had in store for them...

Fans of HOLLYWOOD will be pleased to know that in the decades that have passed since its production many of the silent films it highlights have been fully restored and show now to much greater advantage that the rather faded appearance they make in the documentary.

Much appreciation must go to two men whose contributions go very far in contributing to the success of the series. Carl Davis provides a wonderfully evocative score for HOLLYWOOD, his use of traditional tunes & his own lilting melodies a splendid match for what is taking place on screen. James Mason's narration is absolutely perfect - his rich voice, so warm & intimate, ironically proving that there is a place for talking pictures after all.

Hollywood (1980)

**** (out of 4)

---See episode list for reviews of each of the 13 on their own---

The film tells thirteen different stories of the silent era with things kicking off with THE PIONEERS, which features discussion of the earliest film to THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY and then D.W. Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION. Episode two, IN THE BEGINNING, takes things to California where the industry begins to pick up steam before crashing down with the arrest of Fatty Arbuckle, which is documented in SINGLE BEDS AND DOUBLE STANDARDS. This third episode is perhaps the greatest of the set because it really shows what type of hypocrisy was going on in this country and how the studios were clearly only interested in money and they weren't going to stop even if it meant hurting someone. Hollywood GOES TO WAR covers, as the title says, talks about Hollywood and how it showed us in the war. This includes Griffith going to the front lines to get footage for HEARTS OF THE WORLD and how after the war people didn't want to see these types of films until John Gilbert showed up in THE BIG PARADE. One of the greatest things about silents are the amazing stunts and these are covered in HAZARD OF THE GAME, which talks about how these were done and we also get to hear about how many lives were lost.

SWANSON AND VALENTINO, perhaps the weakest in the set, looks at the two stars and how they rose to be the giants they were. THE AUTOCRATS looks at Cecil B. DeMille whose wild demands made him a legend while the craziness of Erich von Stroheim ended his career. COMEDY - A SERIOUS BUSINESS gives small bios of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd and Langdon with some nice interviews and plenty of great footage. OUT WEST explains why Westerns were one of the most popular genres in the silent era and why the Old West dying sent a flood of real cowboys to Hollywood looking for a way to make a living. THE MAN WITH THE MICROPHONE focuses in on directors and their crazy attitudes and demands. TRICK OF THE LIGHT takes a look at cinematography and how the men behind the camera were often more important than some of the stuff in front of it. STAR TREATMENT goes back the hypocrisy of Hollywood and how Clara Bow's sexuality made her a star only to have the sex in her real life kill her career. We also hear about John Gilbert's rise to fame and the legends around his eventual fall. Finally, END OF AN ERA talks about the many early attempts at sound and the eventual release of THE JAZZ SINGER.

These thirteen episodes pretty much tell you all you'd need to know but I'm going to guess that a majority of those familiar with silent cinema will know many of the scenes here. There is so much wonderful footage here that if you don't know a film then you're going to be doing research trying to figure out what it is and find out how to buy it. If you know the film then seeing the clips are just going to make you want to see it again from start to finish. I think what makes this documentary so important is how wonderfully well-made it is because I really do believe you could show episodes of this to people who don't like silent movies and I think they'd open up a little bit. I'm not sure if the majority of them would become silent film buffs but I think they'd view the films in a different light. I think the third episode about Fatty would show them that Hollywood has always had its scandals and it didn't start with recent celebrities. I think the stunt episode would show people how much more exciting these films were than the CGI, safe films of today. I'm sure even the most jaded person would be outraged at how the career of Clara Bow fell apart simply because of some weird folks with morals that were nothing more than double standards.

Another major plus of watching this are the amazing interviews with the likes of Lillian Gish, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Frank Capra, Harold Lloyd, Gloria Swanson, Harvey Parry, Bob Rose, King Vidor, Janet Gaynor, Colleen Moore, Allan Dwan, Karl Brown and countless others. It's a shame that so many other well-known stars turned down the opportunity of being in the picture but we can at least be thankful for who is actually here. A lot of the interviews here are the only ones these folks did so these are quite important for that alone. The amazing thing is that the memories are so crystal clear and you can tell these people are having a great time reliving these early days of Hollywood. You can't help but wonder how many more stories they had and I'm sure several were just bursting to tell them and finally had the chance with this documentary. Again, there's plenty of footage shown from dozens of silent films but sadly many of them are still unreleased to VHS or DVD, which is a real shame. I personally can't understand how studios like Kino and Image can release lesser known silents yet the major guys can't get bigger films released.

This series was the finest documentary on the early days of Hollywood ever made. Put together in late 1970's, many from the silent era were still alive and they gave their very last interviews for this documentary. I can't say enough about this brilliant series. A must see for any movie fan.

Indescribably essential. Kevin Brownlow, the late David Gill, and their superlative production and support staff at Thames Television created the absolute apotheosis of film documentary in this series. AND, to boot, they provided undoubtedly the greatest single service ever rendered to film history in seeking out these amazing pioneers and capturing their recollections and memories, shortly before they all passed forever from the scene. I have seen this innumerable times, yet I still fall back in awe at sequences such as director Allan Dwan describing his entry into the film industry in 1911, or cameraman Karl Brown speaking of the 1915 opening night of "Birth of a Nation". I also highly recommend Brownlow's predecessor book "The Parade's Gone By" (1969), and the companion book to the series "Hollywood, the Pioneers" (out of print). Also, the subsequent Brownlow documentaries on Chaplin, Keaton, Harold Lloyd, DW Griffith, and Lon Chaney are all of equal quality, and beautifully augment original the series. I can only hope that when the DVD version of Hollywood is released, it will include unedited interviews with the participants.

I heard of this documentary years ago and bought it on Laser Disc (that's right, Laser Disc, eat your hearts out!) in the 90's. This is THE BEST documentary on silent film I have every seen. 10 of 10!

If my house was on fire, and I only had time to grab one laser disc, this would be it. From the fantastic, sweet music of the opening titles to the end of part 13, this will HOLD your interest for 12 hours (each part is about 52 min. long). The 4 page essay by Kevin Brownlow with the laser disc set is fantastic.

Watching silent film on television at home is different than watching a sound film. With a sound film, you might glance at the newspaper, let the dog out, etc. and still use your ears to keep up with the story, but a silent film HOLDS you to the screen.

To quote the last lines of the Brownlow essay: "It is impossible to listen to these people without marvelling; they are so extraordinary in their old age... what must Hollywood have been like when they were all young? This series tries to find out."

I agree: WHERE IS THE DVD!!!!