Mediatheque

On the 25th June 2010 we as a class went to the BFI Mediatheque in Waterloo where we are able to search through the BFI film archive, searching specifically for 'Silent Movies'. Whilst riffling through, i watched a few clips and movies prior the 'talkies' era of the late 1920s.

East Is East (1921)

A silent film written and starring Henry Edwards alongside leading lady Florence Turner. It is a early day rags to riches story, allowing us to gently follow Turner as she inherits a fortune and slowly loses all trace of her previous lifestyle and friends. Edward uses lingering shots of the English countryside which adds greatly to the films flow. Whilst watching I also noticed how Edwards uses long takes and hardly any major or dramatic camera movements. This could be because as there is no dialogue, the audience have to consume as much visual information without movement or distraction, so we understand the storyline. Unfortunately i was unable to find a clip online of this brilliant and heartwarming film, but our trip to the BFI was worth it and would suggest you take a 'look-see'


Cottage on the Dartmoor (1929)

Directed by Anthony Asquith, the film follows a barbers assistant's infatuation with a female customer and as she received more and more male attention his jealousy grows, reaching a murderous end which leads to his imprisonment. The first scene is of the present day where the barber has escaped from prison to take revenge on the woman. At this point it is unclear of what she had done to him so we are taken back via flashback to see. The director used a traditional pianist ,and at times strings or a full orchestra, to follow the flow of the story as it changed so did the music, which made it extremely tense. Since there was no dialogue, we were able to know that something bad was coming up due to the parallel non-diegetic sound.