“So that’s the other end of your party line….”

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This review may contain spoilers.

love that the termites somehow made a matter rearranger and had no clue what it did.

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Met a friend yesterday. 📷🐛💧

I don’t know why I’m ever skeptical of silent films that are highly regarded. I’m always so hesitant to watch - surely they’d be dated by now. But with The Passion of Joan of Arc, Chaplin’s silent films, and now this, I’m ditching that skepticism for good. What an awesome film. Terrible in the biblical sense. Strikingly relevant even today.

Favorite moments (incomplete and in no order):

• The legend of THE TOWER OF BABEL” - what a beautifully framed sequence (literally, love the creative vignette), and a really interesting take on the story.
• Freder’s struggle over the clock. The end of his shift is seconds away... and then the hands of the clock move backwards. Everyone who’s worked a day in their life can relate.
• Brigitte Helm!! What a crazy performance. To swing between two extremes of acting like that... just incredible. Also... Saoirse Ronan is clearly her reincarnated.
• “MOLOCH!”
• The chase scene in the catacombs. Very inventive use of light and framing. Brigitte Helm’s movements are almost dance-like.
• Speaking of dance-like... the robot Maria’s dancing is hilarious. Literally the most goofy dancing caught on film and all the dudes in attendance are like 👁️🫦👁️
• The creatively animated intertitles were incredible. A lost art for sure.
• The montage of the eyes and then of the faces watching the robot Maria.

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Simply outstanding. Enrapturing and engaging in every possible way. Emergent gameplay abounds. The ending will stick with me for a loooong time.

Fun swinging and good message, but some frustrating segments that ruin the flow.

This review may contain spoilers.

Loved it. Scattered thoughts follow.
- I was worried about keeping up with all the characters but found it pretty easy. Each one is very clearly and uniquely characterized and has their own individual arcs.
- Very satisfying watching the samurai plan and execute. Like a heist film but for village defense.
- The way the daisies shook while Katsushiro watched that first sword fight with the bandits was a perfect way to make the tension palpable.
- Wasn’t completely satisfied with the way Shino is treated. Obviously Manzo isn’t cast in the greatest light. His “damaged goods” line would either not be present in a modern rendition, or he would have been strongly rebuked by the samurai. Instead it’s sort of left unspoken, and it seems Shino might never recover from the shame. A smaller tragedy in the grander tragedy this movie tells.
- Teared up when Kikuchiyo was holding the village orphan. He went from my least favorite character to top three at least by the end of the film. Now That’s What I Call Character Redemption®︎.
- Even in small village skirmishes, war is hell.

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