The Son of The Sheik (1926) - Rudolph Valentino

This excerpt illustrates what captivated filmgoers saw in Valentino - and why reformers thought he was too hot for the screen.

The Sheik with Rudolph Valentino - 1921 Part 3 of 9

The film that made Valentino an international sensation - and film history's prime instance of the movie star as sex symbol. The displacement of sexuality on to exotic cultures was already firmly established in films when "The Sheik" appeared - but Valentino's performances embodied the idea as no one else's ever did.

Tumbleweeds - W. S. Hart 1925

Hart's films set the terms and conventions for much of the history of the Western - one of the most influential and enduring of Hollywood genres.

D. W. Griffith - Way Down East (1920) Part 14 of 15

The famous and still amazing ice-floe sequence.

D. W. Griffith - Broken Blossoms (1919)

Considered by many the most poetic, profoundly resonant American silent film. The story of a young girl, brutalized by her father, who takes refuge with a kind (but sexless) man in London's Chinatown still has the power to shock and distress.
(The other sections of the film are also available on YouTube.)

DW GRIFFITH - ONE IS BUSINESS THE OTHER CRIME - 1913

One of Griffith's most radical statements - and one that influenced many of his admirers among left-wing movements in Europe.

DW GRIFFITH - DEATH'S MARATHON - 1912

Another outstanding example of Griffith's mastery of meolodrama.

DW GRIFFITH - MUSKETEERS OF PIG ALLEY 1912

Griffith uses the conventions of 19th-century melodrama to tell a story about contemporary urban life - in perhaps more realistic detail than anyone else had previously done. Despite the unapologetic racism of "Birth of a Nation," Griffith shows his abiding and progressive impulse to portray American life as a melting pot of diverse ethnic groups and economic classes.

DW GRIFFITH - A CORNER IN WHEAT 1909

A landmark in two significant ways - one of Griffith's earliest developed, sophisticated narratives; and an outstanding example of his attempts to bring social awareness to the emerging art of cinema.

Further Reading

The Phillips had an exhibit about 3 years ago called Moving Pictures: American Art and Early Film which showcased a few of the films we have seen in class. Here is a page from the Washington Post that has a few articles on the exhibit that I thought would be enlightening to the class. When I went to the exhibit, what I found interesting was the movement (no pun intended) from art to cinema. While we may see these short films as being boring or trite, I like to imagine what people in that time thought of this revolutionary idea.

It is too bad this exhibit is long gone because it provides a different perspective on early film than I think we perceive it to be. We are familiar with the dramatic and often dim narratives of modern "art films" but these early works are a more literal take on the relationship between art and film.

Muybridge Revisited

A short key-framing animation that reminded me of Muybridge motion ...
What really was interesting for me was the process in his era for doing this motion and how today you can do it.

Morgan Spurlock at the Corcoran Tuesday, February 2 at 7 pm

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock will discuss his work in the Corcoran auditorium this Tuesday, February 2 at 7 pm.
Mr. Spurlock is best known for the documentary Super Size Me, which chronicles the effects of eating exclusively McDonald's meals for thirty days. (They weren't good.) Super Size Me was the first documentary to make it to The New York Times' list of Top Ten Films Now Playing and was nominated for an Academy Award.
His current project is 30 Days, the documentary television series for which he and other subjects have tried out an unfamiliar job, way of life, or social setting for a month.

Mr. Spurlock will be (briefly) introduced by your instructor for this course, Bernard Welt.
The Special Events Office wants you to know they'd love it if Corcoran students attended this interesting event. Please contact them about attending, or show up early to inquire about seats.