Well, hello faithful readers (there have to be at least a couple of you out there...)!
I'm here to depart two very important pieces of news. I have good news and bad news. First, the bad news.
Tomorrow I will be starting the fall semester of my senior year of college. I will be juggling six classes and my graduation project. Yes, I said SIX classes. Don't ask...
As a result, I will not be able to do as many reviews a month. Since the inception of this blog, I have made it a personal goal to do at least six entries a month. I have always been able to keep up with this goal. But with my new schedule and work load, doing six reviews will be impossible. So, I will reduce the number of reviews a month down to only four.
But now the good news! With my work load reduced to only four reviews a month, I will be able to provide something that I have never been able to before: a consistent schedule.
You heard me.
A single, reliable update schedule.
I will post a new review every Saturday afternoon. Scout's honor.
To all the great readers out there who have read and supported my blog for so long, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please, please, PLEASE leave comments so that I can know you are there and I can gauge what kind of reviews you all like. Please feel free to leave suggestions, recommendations, or even critiques and insults in the comments section. I appreciate every and any kind of feedback.
With any luck, I will still be able to write about great, under-appreciated movies for a long time to come.
Thank you again!
Nathanael Hood
Editor and Writer
I just recently found your blog and find it very interesting! I'm not artistic and often asked "Why can't a blue sky just mean it's a blue sky??!!" in my own college classes. When I read your reviews though, it does make sense that certain things can mean something different.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you post about these movies, especially the older ones. I just finished watching "The Phantom Carriage" on YouTube and am anxiously awaiting the release of "The Red Chapel".
Keep up the good work!
I can't express how glad I am to hear that! If you have any suggestions for films that you think are unknown classics, please let me know!
ReplyDeleteWhat college do you go to?
Hello Mr. Hood!
ReplyDeleteI attend a community college here in Texas. I don't have any suggestions, I enjoy what you're able to find! :D
Texas?
ReplyDeleteNo kidding? I may live in Pennsylvania now, but I'm a Texan. I grew up right outside of Dallas!
Well, anyway, I'm glad that you like the blog. I hope that you leave more comments in the future! It really helps to know that people are actually reading what I'm writing.
So, what did you think of "The Phantom Carriage?" And how many of my articles have you read? If you liked "The Phantom Carriage," I would highly recommend that you read my review for "The Unknown." It's another classic silent horror film.
Well so far, we've only gotten halfway through. My husband and I watched it together and talked about it. I'm hoping that we'll finish it tonight.
ReplyDeleteWith silent movies, did they play music in the theater, like what you described in "A Page of Madness"? Or was it truly silent? So far, I've really enjoyed the story and looking at all the scenery in the movie itself. It's amazing to me to look at their clothes, the lamps, the pictures on the walls, etc.
I'm hoping that we can watch "Angels with Dirty Faces" next.
Well, Japan is kind of an anomaly. They had "Benshi" as I explained in my "A Page of Madness" review. They served to narrate what was going on in the film.
ReplyDeleteBut usually, in the West movies were played with musical accompaniments. Usually, they were just somebody playing a pipe organ or a piano. I'm not sure how it worked in Scandinavia, though. I'm GUESSING from what I've seen in Swedish films like "Everlasting Moments" that they had musical accompaniments as well.
Sometimes it's fun to watch silent films without any sounds. There are times when only the echos in your head can match the images on the screen. But there are other times when soundtracks enhance silent films.
One time, I saw the old documentary on witches entitled "Haxan" on youtube. The guy who put it up synced the entire film with Black Sabbath albums. It actually worked really, REALLY well.
There are even bands and orchestras that focus solely on accompanying silent film.
I hope that you like the rest of "The Phantom Carriage." After you watch "Angels with Dirty Faces" I hope you will leave another comment!
That's neat to know! The host of "Phantom Carriage" on You Tube had a pretty good soundtrack added, but it looped over and over and over again so much that it became a major distraction. So we turned off the volume.
ReplyDeleteI'll certainly add my humble opinion to your review. Thanks again for the website and educating folks, like me, who otherwise would have never heard of these films!
That's all I hope to do! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Nathanael. Since you were nice enough to introduce yourself on my site, it should be only polite that I do the same.
ReplyDeleteYour name looked familiar upon first glance. And then your list of links confirmed my hunch. You must have located me through the comments section of Roger Ebert's blog. Our mutual respect for the man can count as another thing we have in common.
As of now, I have only read your introductory post. Such a great concept you've got going. I'm always on the lookout for new movie material to view and I'm looking forward to learning about what you value in a film and why certain ones deserve more recognition. Acting bold and taking a stand for what you love is an admirable thing.
I've also noticed that you have lived in Japan for a while. The country has always been somewhat fascinating to me and I look forward to reading those stories too.
All the best to you, Nathanael. Keep up the great work!
Why thank you very much. I'll add a link to your blog on my site.
ReplyDeleteI'm always on the lookout for more movies that I can write on. If you know any films that you feel are under-appreciated, please let me know! I'll be more than happy to give you the credit for the discovery in the article.
And Roger Ebert is the man.
We can all agree on that.
These entries are actually modeled after his Great Movies reviews.
Please feel free to leave more comments telling me what you think about my entries.
Peace!