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$14.00 The Classic Russian SciFi Movie
Aelita, The Queen Of Mars DVD
This is the very first Russian Science Fiction movie ever made. Made in 1923. It is a Silent Black and White movie
with a musical score added. A true collector's item showing love, Early Russia after the Communist Revolution and what
happens when they attempt to export Communism to Mars! Well worth the buy.
Actors: Yuliya Solntseva, Igor Ilyinsky, Nikolai Tsereteli, Nikolai Batalov, Vera Orlova,
Directors: Yakov Protazanov
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Language English Region: All Regions
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Reputed to be the only film in history utilizing Constructivist set design, 'Aelita' is also notable as one of the earliest
feature films to feature interplanetary flight as a narrative component. I think it was clearly intended to be taken seriously
as both artistic and political filmmaking. It definitely succeeds on the first count: the Constructivist sets and costumes
used for the Martian sequences really are remarkable and are historically significant examples of what was once considered
the cutting edge of visual design.
Yuliya Solntseva, who played Aelita, Queen of Mars, later became the wife of the great filmmaker Alexander Dovzhenko
and, after his death, became a distinguished director in her own right, realizing her husband's uncompleted film projects.
In 'Aelita', her performance is graceful and dignified. I was most taken, however, by Aleksandra Peregonets, who plays the
Queen's maid Ihoshka, who eventually comes to represent the proletariat of Mars and, when threatened with a most horrible
punishment, comes to illustrate the righteousness of the Martian Revolution.
$10.00 Douglas Fairbanks silent classic film.
The Black Pirate
The Black Pirate was hailed in 1926 as the "return" of the Douglas
Fairbanks who'd breezed through several peppy comedies before starring in lavish costume epics like Robin Hood (1922) and
Thief of Bagdad (1924). The story involves a young nobleman (Fairbanks) whose father is killed by pirates. He vows to avenge
his dad's death by becoming a buccaneer himself and routing out the villains. Along the way, he rescues damsel-in-distress
Billie Dove (likewise of noble birth) and engages in a few bloody duels with the swarthy likes of Sam De Grasse and Anders
Randolph. Charlie Stevens, a grandson of American Indian chief Geronimo -- and whom Fairbanks regarded as a "lucky charm"
-- appears in several tiny roles. The Black Pirate was originally presented in two-color Technicolor form; the black and white
prints are the most-often-seen version of the film, however.
An unqualified masterpiece of the silent era, "The Black Pirate" is now restored
to its original splendor. Made at the height of Douglas Fairbanks' career, this grand-scale epic tells the story of
Michel, the sole survivor of a ship pillaged by buccaneers. To infiltrate the nest of bandits, he poses as the mysterious
Black Pirate in order to recover the pilfered treasure and save a divine princess.
Blood And Sand $9.00 DVD
Actors: Rosa Rosanova, Leo White, Rosita Marstini, Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee Directors: Dorothy Arzner, Fred Niblo Format: Black & White, NTSC, Silent Language English Number of discs: 1 Run Time: 109 minutes
Rudolph Valentino stars in this silent-era drama as a young poor Spaniard apprenticed as a shoemaker, who wants to become
a famous matador. Determined to escape poverty and support his widowed mother, Juan quickly rises to national prominence as
a bullfighter and marries Carmen, his longtime childhood love. As Juan's celebrity grows, his devastatingly good looks and
growing appetite for everything leave him vulnerable to the throngs of women who want him. When Dona Sol (Nita Naldi), a beautiful
and exotic society woman, seduces Juan, this marks his fall from grace, as gradually his fame, wife, and mistress all desert
him.
$12.00 A horror masterpiece!
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari DVD
A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first "art films" to gain international acclaim, this eerie German
classic from 1919 (Theatrical release 1921) remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art
of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film's painted sets--distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture--was
designed to reflect (or express) the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist
(Conrad Veidt) as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is
surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like
character at its center, Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves
through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, '30s, and beyond. Caligari
still casts a considerable spell. German silent film in black and white with English sub-titles.
Der
Golem $12.00 DVD
Silver Screen 1st!
A relic certainly, but a fascinating one, Der Golem is perhaps the screen's first great monster movie. Though it was
actually the third time director-star Paul Wegener had played the eponymous creation, the earlier efforts (sadly lost) were
rough drafts for this elaborate dramatization of the Jewish legend. When the Emperor decrees that the Jews of mediaeval Prague
should be evicted from the ghetto, a mystical rabbi creates a clay giant and summons the demon Astaroth who breathes out in
smoky letters the magic word that will animate the golem. Intended as a protector and avenger, the golem is twisted by the
machinations of a lovelorn assistant and, like many a monster to come, runs riot, terrorizing guilty and innocent alike until
a little girl innocently ends his rampage. Wegener's golem is an impressively solid figure, the Frankenstein monster with
a slightly comical clay wig. The wonderfully grotesque Prague sets and the alchemical atmosphere remain potent. 1920 Silent
black and white film.
Faust
DVD $12.00
The story is Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe's; the film is unmistakably F.W.
Murnau.
The Archangel and the evil one are in a struggle for the world. Both are sure they know best. A bet is stuck for
the soul of a religious alchemist named Faust as we can see he has knowledge of the elements yet maintains a moral attitude.
A great plague appears and with all of his books and learning Foust can not save anyone. He turns to prayer and seems
to get nowhere. So in a fit he burns his books; in the embers he spots a book that suggests he call on Mephisto . He does
so and is repelled at what he did. However after some dickering he accepts a one day contract to at least be able to help
some of the plague victims. Naturally he is to reject God and sign in blood. And you guessed it things go wrong. He is tempted
by youth, "Your Life was only the dust and mold of books.", and distracted with an Italian cutie Duchess of Parma just long
enough for the sands to run out on him. From there things go down hill but the story heats up.
For all intents and purposes,
this is THE silent film to own, if one can own just one.
$12.00 Classic Lon Chaney Silent movie.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
Actors: Lon Chaney
Directors: Wallace Worsley
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Language English
Region:
Region 1, Number of discs: 1
Classification: Silent Black & White 1923
Adapted from Victor Hugo's novel, Quasimodo falls in love with a gypsy girl, Esmerelda and comes to her aid when she
is accused of murder.
Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, was best known for playing Quasimodo and the Phantom of the Opera. But the former
role in The Hunchback of Notre Dame was clearly the most ambitious of his illustrious career, full of such longing and anguish.
It's as though his entire being was consumed by this ugly outcast with a heart as big and beautiful as Notre Dame itself.
And the makeup is still astonishing. The rest of this unrequited love story is pretty effective as well, with the re-creation
of medieval Paris a standout for its lavishness. Like all great silent films, it delivers a poetry of life that is abstract
and tangible at the same time.
Last Of The Mohicans $12.00 DVD
Actors: Wallace Beery, Barbara Beldford, Alan Roscoe, Lillian Hall, Henry Woodward Directors: Clarence Brown, Maurice Tourneur Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC Language English Region: All Regions Aspect
Ratio: 1.33:1 Number of discs: 1 Run Time: 74 minutes
Probably the best filming ever done of this classic story. I am reminded of what remarkable directors Clarence Brown and Maurice
Tourneur were and what a remarkable achievement this film is. Of all the existing versions this one is by far and away the
most faithful to the James Fennimore Cooper original (the Daniel Day-Lewis version strays the farthest). The film was beautifully
photographed on mostly natural locations (Yosemite Valley) and features fine understated performances from all the principal
players especially Barbara Bedford as Cora (Boris Karloff is briefly seen as an Indian who throws a baby up in the air). The
film is co-credited to Tourneur and Clarence Brown (Garbo's favorite director and maker of THE YEARLING). Tourneur was injured
during the filming and Brown shot most of it. In a magnanimous gesture Tourneur wanted Brown to receive full credit but Brown
refused saying that he only followed what Tourneur had already laid out and that he learned his craft from him. The print
used here is from the George Eastman House and it is beautiful with subtle tints and proper framing. The title cards are new
as is the electronic music score. While the score is perfectly suitable it really needs a chamber ensemble or small orchestra
to fully bring it to life but this is a small quibble. The DVD is presented to fill the void of this great movie missing for
so long.
The Mark Of Zorro $12.00
DVD Actors: Sr. Noah Beery, Jr. Noah Beery, Charles Belcher, Gilbert Clayton, Sidney de Grey
Directors: Fred
Niblo Format: Black & White
Language English Region: All Regions
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Classification: Unrated, Silent movie, English Subs
Run Time: 79 minutes Released 1920
Here, Doug has a ball playing dual roles, as hopeless fop Don Diego and as masked caballero Zorro, sworn enemy of all
oppressors. When he isn't dueling with the evil Capt. Ramon (Robert McKim) or rescuing peasants, Don Diego/Zorro courts the
lovely Lolita (Marguerite de la Motte) with bad magic tricks and worse manners. In the end, when Lolita's family is jailed,
our hero throws off his masquerade, whips out his rapier, and wins the leading lady's hand.
The Mark of Zorro is the swashbuckling story of a nineteenth century Robin Hood intent on freeing his beloved San Juan
Capistrano from an evil Governor and his lecherous Captain. Don Diego Vega (Douglas Fairbanks) must assume the masked identity
of Zorro to convince the Caballeros to join him in his quest to save the city from certain ruin.
Martyrs Of The Alamo $12.00 DVD
Actors: Ora Carew, Sam de Grasse, John Dillon, Douglas Fairbanks, Juanita Hansen Directors: William Christy Cabanne Format: Black & White, Colour, DVD-Video, NTSC Language English Region: All Regions Aspect Ratio:
1.33:1 Number of discs: 1 Studio: FWD Computing Audio & Video DVD Release Date: 2 Jan 2008 Run
Time: 102 minutes Producer D.W. Griffith
Groundbreaking filmmaker D.W. Griffith produced this 1915 epic adventure that tells the story of the birth of the state
of Texas. Featuring a big budget with amazing special effects, expansive sets, and stirring battle scenesTHE
MARTYRS OF THE ALAMO The earliest surviving Alamo film, produced in 1915 by American film pioneer D.W. Griffith, Martyrs of
the Alamois truly a rare cinematic treat. Telling the tale of the courageous American stand against
oppression and tyranny, with its impressive sets, wonderful battle scenes, and expressive performances, Martyrssurpasses the
expectations implied by the words "epic filmmaking."Witness the birth of Texas and get the true meaning to the immortal words,
"Remember the Alamo," with this rare and thrilling cinematic treasure
Metropolis
$10.00 DVD
Fritz Lang's greatest silent film, "Metropolis," is a masterpiece of the
sci-fi genre, with some thought provoking social commentary and an amazing, nightmarish vision of the future. In fact, it
ranks among the best movies ever made.
Fritz Lang's Expressionistic masterwork continues to exert its influence
today. In the stratified society of the future, the son of a capitalist discovers the atrocious conditions of the factory
slaves, falling in love with the charismatic Maria in the bargain, who preaches nonviolence to the workers. But even the benevolent
leadership of Maria is a challenge to the privileged class, so they have the mad-scientist Rotwang concoct a robot double
to take her place and incite the workers to riot. The story is melodrama, but it's the powerful imagery that is so memorable.
One of the most arresting images has legions of cowed workers filing listlessly into the great maw of the all-consuming machine-god
Moloch.
$14.00 Metropolis remastered and restored 2 DVD set.
Metropolis - restored version
The most complete and restored version of this film known. Original score and much improved video on a 2 DVD set.
The industrial tycoon Fredersen (Alfred Abel) rules over the divided city METROPOLIS. The elite resides in skyscrapers;
the w o r kers live deep underg round. Maria (Brigitte Helm), the heroine from the Underground City, turns up in the "eternal
gardens" where the sons of the wealthy amuse themselves; Freder (Gustav Froehlich), the ruler's son, falls in love with her.
His father commissions the inventor Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) to make the robot he is working on look like Maria. The artificial
Maria is supposed to incite the workers to unrest so that the authorities have an excuse to crack down on them all the more
brutally. The plan is successful – the workers destroy the machines. But in doing so, they flood the Underground City
… Although it seems that a quarter of Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS is irretrievably lost, the film, after having been reconstructed
by Enno Patalas in the 1980's and a digital restoration commissioned by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation, can now be
seen largely in its original sequence of scenes and image quality. The film was declared part of the World Cultural Heritage
by UNESCO.
Nosferatu The First Vampire $12.00
Nosferatu on DVD
F.W. Murnau changed the name and ghastly appearance of his villain, and thankfully this masterpiece survives, for despite
its liberties with the novel, this 1921 horror classic remains the most beautiful and resonant interpretation of Stoker. Though
the plot remains essentially the same--naive real-estate clerk Thomas is sent abroad to finalize a sale with the nocturnal
Count Orlock, who imprisons Thomas and travels to England to claim Thomas's beautiful young wife, Ellen, as his own--the visual
realization creates a very different story. Schreck plays the vampire as a grotesque demon, with his claw-like hands, bald
head and sharp, bat-like ears, and he rises from his coffin with an supernatural stiffness, like a tent pole pulled upright.
When the eerily empty ghost ship carrying his coffin arrives in Thomas's home port, a river of rats pours out and spreads
through the town like a plague. With his stark, symbol-laden visual scheme and sacrificial conclusion, Murnau creates
a more mythic tale than any subsequent adaptation of Stoker's novel.
The Ten Commandments
$12.00 DVD
Actors: Theodore Roberts, Charles de Rochefort, Estelle Taylor, Julia Faye, James Neill Directors: Cecil B. DeMille Format: Black & White, HiFi Sound, Silent, NTSC Language: English Number of tapes: 1 Studio:
FWD Audio & Video 2008 Run Time: 146 minutes
The famous "Ten Commandments" story (10 plagues of Egypt, Israelites leave via parting of the Red Sea, Moses receives 10
Commandments on Mt Sinai while Israelites misbehave and make a golden calf), is actually only the PROLOGUE in this silent
1923 version, and the larger part of the story is a contemporary drama showing the modern-day relevance of the ten commandments
with similar dire consequences to those who defy them. This might be a disappointment to those who expect a full Biblical
epic and a famous Cecil B DeMille spectacle, but if you value a brilliant story with poignant highlights to impress its ideas,
this one rates the full 5 stars. The prologue (about 45 minutes) with its beautiful Egyptian sets and convincing special effects
has a special feature, namely a 20-minute colour sequence of the highlight, the parting of the Red Sea, and although the colours
look soft, weak and washed-out, it's interesting to see one of these first experiments with colour.
The contemporary
story shows a mother with two sons; one is a god-fearing and humble carpenter, the other an unbelieving go-getter determined
to prove his mother's teaching of the Ten Commandments of no use in the modern world. Although you can guess that this defiant
son's attitude will be proven wrong, being the parallel to the defiant Pharaoh of Egypt in the prologue, DeMille's direction
of the story is still unpredictable and suspenseful enough to keep you enthralled and wondering exactly how it will turn out.
He also gets the main message across several times in various effective ways, namely that defying God's AND man's laws only
leads you to ruin, but far from feeling lectured or preached to, this excellent film gets you involved with the characters
and the morale of the whole story.
Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea".
Very rare movie! $12.00 DVD
This 1916 Black and White Silent movie has been digitally enhanced from the original. Howard Crampton, Jane Gail
Directors:
Stuart Paton
Format: Black & White, NTSC, Language English
Region: All Regions, Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Jules Verne's classic tale of revenge and undersea adventure with the first submarine.
The 1916 version of 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea was a landmark in special effects in its day, partly from being the first filmed successfully filmed
underwater.
Prince Daaker AKA Captain Nemo has searched 20,000 leagues under the sea for revenge. The daughter of Prince
Daaker (Lois Alexander) was abducted. Prof. Aronnax (Dan Hanlon) is invited by the US navy to track sown a sea monster that
is interrupting shopping. He takes his daughter (Edna Pendleton). A balloon is blown off course and carries four men to the
south pacific. An evil yacht owner looks for a girl from his past. All of these stories and the story of a Child of Nature
in a chic leopard skin outfit will converge on a mysterious island for the final scenario.
We find this version of 20000
Leagues Under the Sea the closest made to the actual book.
$10.00 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Monster Classic
The Lost World DVD
THE LOST WORLD is a very early (1925) example of monster movies. Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) puts together an
expedition party to return with him to the amazon jungles, in order to prove his claims of living dinosaurs. Once there, we
are treated to some ultra-cool dino-battles and high adventure! First, we see a pterodactyl flying around. Then, we get to
watch an allosaurus fight triceratops! Our human heroes become a sideline to the spectacle before us. Willis O'Brien handled
the stop-motion with care and detail (the dinos "breathe" and check out the stringy saliva / gore in the allosaurus' gaping
maw). Soon, a brontosaurus thunders along, eating plants and minding it's own business, when -BAM!- Another unprovoked allosaurus
attack! During it's fight for survival, brontosaurus falls over a cliff, landing in a mud-pool, stuck but still alive. Challenger
and company decide to cage the beast and take it back to London. Upon their return, the mega-ton monster gets loose, running
amuck through city streets, becoming the world's most dangerous vegetarian. A silent film with sound effects.
$14.00 Another rare collector's
film.
Carl Theodor Dreyer's VAMPYR
It was done by the very famous Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer in 1932. A very dark film noire story of vampires
as conceived at that period in time. A true collector's item.
Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932)
Young traveller David Gray arrives in a remote castle and starts seeing
weird, inexplicable sights (a man whose shadow has a life of its own, a mysterious scythe-bearing figure tolling a bell, a
terrifying dream of his own burial). Things come to a head when one of the daughters of the lord of the castle succumbs to
anaemia - or is it something more sinister?
Simply: it´s beautiful work of art. No action. No slasher scenes. There is almost less speaking than in Aki Kaurismäki´s
films. Master of the silent movie, Carl Th. Dreyer, uses more silent film magic than any spoken voices. Movie´s style is from
another world. Living shadows, ghosts, vampire in the foggy wood and (of course) the famous scene where man watch himself
to be buried alive. There is no way you can say what in this film is true and what is dream. It´s like Dreyer had put his
own dream in to the screen. Nobody has done anything like this later, perhaps because the gray light that is all the time
in the film came by an accident. There is no other movie like this and no way there is another horror movie like this!
See you at the Computer Shows and Sci-Fi Conventions.
FWD Computing* P.O. Box 17* Mexico, IN * US *
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