Movies to watch

[Jingles in Boofland]

If you're a fan of silent films like me, try watching the 1925 version of Ben-Hur, starring Ramon Navarro, Francis X. Bushman. May McAvoy, and Betty Bronson; directed by Fred Niblo - The racing chariot scene is so much more exciting than the 1959 version of the movie starring Charlton Heston -

If you've never watched a silent, give it a shot, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised - It took so much skill to get the point across just using pantomime, body language, facial expressions, and title cards - I've been a fan of silents since I was a little kid, and no, I am not old enough to have seen them first-run in a movie theater! - But, if you ever get a chance to see a silent in a movie theater accompanied by live music, it's an experience you'll never forget - I saw the restored version of Abel Gance's Napoleon [[1927) at Ford Auditorium in about 1981 - It had hand-colored, tinted frames in segments of the film, and was accompanied by Carmine Coppola [[Frances Ford Coppola's father), conducting the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, playing the film's soundtrack.

Also, try The Big Parade [[1925) starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, and Hobart Bosworth, directed by King Vidor - It tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division; is sent to France to fight in WWI, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl. The film was groundbreaking for not glorifying the war or its human costs, exemplified by the lead character's loss of a leg from battle wounds. It heavily influenced all subsequent war films, especially All Quiet on the Western Front [[1930). - [[The Big Parade description taken from Wikipedia).

Both of these movies can be found on www.archive.org under moving images, but I'll try to get a link up for them both to make it more convenient.

I couldn't find either of the two movies mentioned above [[they could've been removed), but here's a link to a Buster Keaton comedy called One Week [[1920), starring Keaton, Sybil Seely, Joe Roberts, and Lon Chaney [[my favorite silent actor) - Keaton considered this short film to be the first film he ever produced solely on his own - It's funny and charming: http://www.archive.org/details/OneWeek