King Vidor's Big Parade

[GallatinHatMan]

One of those channels i regularly watch is TCM because its really classic movies. On Memorial Day they ran a silent classic in King Vidor's Big Parade. It is the story of a vacant idle son of American affluence coming of age in the War to End All Wars. To help set its scene, it displayed a variety of stereotypical Americans, working men, cowboys, etc., in addition to the affluent. One of they ways it set this scene was through their hats. I was much taken by this glimpse of 1925 looking at the recent past (1917-18) and the way it depicted men, and women, dressed and wearing their hats.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e255/MikePappa1/bigp4.gif

 

["Skeet" McD]

One of those channels i regularly watch is TCM because its really classic movies. On Memorial Day they ran a silent classic in King Vidor's Big Parade. It is the story of a vacant idle son of American affluence coming of age in the War to End All Wars.

I finished watching it last night...its almost impossible to see any WWI film the way "they" saw it, because of our post WWII eyes, film and otherwise; but you can see what a sensation this must have been in its day.

We are lucky to live in a period when "silent" film is no longer silent...and we can appreciate them with the musical scores they were intended to be shown with. This film, I think, is a very good example: it is impossible to watch it without thinking "the cognate art form is....grand opera." Not musical comedy...the music runs constantly behind the action...and the characters and scenes are delineated musically by recurring motives.

I'm old enough to remember when--if you were lucky enough to see a silent film at all on TV--it really WAS silent. A very different experience indeed.

"Skeet"

 

[Jack Scorpion]

I set my TiVo to record The Crowd, too.

 

[skyvue]

THE CROWD is a classic.