“The Lodger was the first true ‘Hitchcock’ movie.” —Alfred Hitchcock The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog was Hitchcock’s first thriller, and his first critical and commercial success. Made shortly after Hitchcock’s return from Germany, the film betrays the influence of the German expressionist … [Read more...] about The Lodger
Little Toys
In a small village in the early 1920s, Ye, a mother of two, makes intricate, hand-carved toys, which are sold at the market by her husband. Ye and her family’s rural idyll is destroyed by a series of tragedies brought about by the Japanese invasion and the simultaneous development of a capitalist … [Read more...] about Little Toys
L’Inferno
With its horned demons, headless specters, and winged harpies, 1911’s L’Inferno revels in the grotesque, the feudal, and the macabre. Like a fairy tale gone wrong, or a Hieronymus Bosch painting set in motion, the canonical work of Italy’s early silent era infused biblical subject matter with … [Read more...] about L’Inferno
Lights of Old Broadway
By 1924, Metro Pictures was ailing. Founded in 1915 it had major successes with child star Jackie Coogan, “Great Stone Face” Buster Keaton, and sensational Rudolph Valentino in Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). But Metro lost Valentino to Paramount and was also in need of more theaters to … [Read more...] about Lights of Old Broadway
The Lighthouse Keepers
Obscure outside of France, the great director Jean Grémillon is a tantalizing figure even for those Americans who discover him, since most of his films remain difficult to see. Those lucky or determined enough to track them down find works of singular grace and sensitivity, with a vision that is … [Read more...] about The Lighthouse Keepers
l’Homme du Large
L’Homme du Large sits near the dawn of Marcel L’Herbier’s career. The director was thirty-one and had completed three films prior, but never with the resources being offered him now. Here was his best chance yet to make a film in the Impressionist mode—testing, redefining the limits of the cinematic … [Read more...] about l’Homme du Large
L’Heureuse mort
A frothy farce of false identity, L’heureuse mort reveals little of the upheavals—wars, revolution, exodus—that lie behind its existence. It was produced by Russian filmmakers who fled the rising tide of revolution and landed in Paris. It was directed by Serge Nadjedine, a shadowy figure with little … [Read more...] about L’Heureuse mort
Les Deux Timides
You can read the program essay for our 2016 screening of Les Deux Timides here A talented batch of new directors redefined the French film scene in the 1920s. Artists like Jean Gremillon, Jean Renoir and Luis Bunuel combined avant-garde and commercial film techniques during the post-war years. In … [Read more...] about Les Deux Timides