The Birth of a Nation

1915

Directed by D.W. Griffith

Starring Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mae Marsh, Lillian Gish

A pivotal moment in Film history. Birth of a Nation was the first important feature length film. After Birth, nothing was the same: not the way the audiences watched movies, not the ways filmmakers created them.

The film tackled the sensitive issues towards black slaves. This was ciriticized by modern audiences and was picketed. Despite protests, Birth sold more tickets than any other movie, a record that stood for decades, and President W. Wilson famously compared it to "history written in lighting". That judgment has lasted.

It remains to this day one of the most shown most controversial films ever made. None-the-less it also remains a visionary film that still merits examination. And Griffith remains one of the cinemas greatest directors.

The Goddess (Shen-nu)

Directed by Wu Yonggang
1934
Starring: Ruan Ling-yu, Zhang Zhizhi, Li Keng

The Goddess tells the story of a young mother who earns money for her child as a prostitute. One night while hiding from the cops, she has the misfortune to duck into the wrong room. It's occupied by a lowlife gangster type, who decides to make her his property. No matter where she tries to hide, or where she stashes her hard-earned money, he finds it and takes it for himself. When she manages to get her son enrolled in school, the community tries to get him expelled for fear that his mother's lack of morals will rub off on the rest of them.

Ruan's performance is so heartrendingly pure that the film is almost unbearable to watch. Her eyes radiate anguish and exhaustion in every frame, and no more so than in the final tragic moments. This great performer lends weight to the argument that the purest films came out in the silent era.

The Goddess is a treasure!

The Circus

Directed by Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Allan Garcia, Merna Kennedy
1928

The Little Tramp brings his slapstick hijinks to the big top. Charlie Chaplin's film The Circus begins in a fading circus, where the equestrienne (Merna Kennedy) can't jump the hoops and the clowns can't make the audience laugh. Outside on the midway, The Little Tramp falls into a series of wonderful comic routines that end when, pursued by a cop, he bursts into the tent's center ring and wows the audience. The circus owner/ringmaster (Allan Garcia) auditions The Little Tramp as a clown but discovers he is only funny when he isn't trying. He tricks The Little Tramp into joining the circus as a prop man who wreaks havoc with whatever he does and who unknowingly becomes the star of the show.

The Circus is one of the best silent films I've ever seen. Charlie Chaplin is hilarious and will keep you in smiling and laughing throughout the film.

This is comedy without a net!

Award:
1927-28 Oscars' Honorary Award For acting, writing, directing and producing
Charles Chaplin