Stay updated with breaking news from Donald crisp. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Whiplash, Saturday, BBC Two, 11.20pm The dramatic possibilities of obsessions and obsessive behaviour are red meat for film-makers, particularly where the arts are concerned. Think Black Swan, The Red Shoes, maybe even Amadeus and Birdman, which deal with ballet, classical music and theatre acting respectively. Director Damien Chazelle hit critical paydirt in 2016 when, aged 32, he became the youngest winner of the Academy Award for Best Director for the musical La Land, featuring Ryan Gosling as a Los Angeles jazz pianist struggling to make a name and a career. But two years earlier he had announced himself with another jazz-themed film, Whiplash, and boy does this one feature obsessive behaviour. At its heart, a troubling and abusive teacher-pupil relationship.
THIS WEEK’S MOVIES A-Z Advertisement An alphabetical listing of movies on TV the week of the week of March 14 - 20, 2021 a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z A Advertisement a -- b -- c -- d -- e -- f -- g -- h -- i -- j -- k -- l -- m -- n -- o -- p -- q -- r -- s -- t -- u -- v -- w -- x -- y -- z
How do I select the movie I pick each week? It’s not particularly scientific, I look through what I can easily find – which is very easy in the silent era, since everything is old enough to be in the public domain at this point, provided that it wasn’t lost completely, like The Miracle Man, which had the biggest box office of 1919 but no longer exists – and pick something that seems interesting in some way. In the case of Broken Blossoms, I picked it entirely because of the man who made it, D. W. Griffith.
It’s impossible to talk about the silent era without talking about Griffith, who was one of the major directors of the time. His films contributed to the way movies looked, and how movies still look - his use of close-ups is still a basic part of film grammar today, but was revolutionary at the time. But the problem with Griffith is that while he was technically brilliant, he also made Birth of a Nation, which was incredibly racist. Not just racist in a modern context, which is the most common case when we look at old art. It was considered incredibly racist in 1915, there were boycotts and protests even as the film made millions of dollars. And that made sense, it was a film celebrating the founding of the Ku Klux Klan, it presented anyone African-American as a violent rapist who was obsessed with fried chicken. It was a huge financial success and it pushed the boundaries of how film could look, but it’s so racist that it’s almost unwatchable for a modern audience. I watched it as part of a film class, and we were not fully prepared for the descent into ugliness that defines the last half.
Ever since I first saw it decades ago, Dr Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet, released by Warner Bros. in 1940 (with a screenplay that included John Huston among the talented writers), has struck me as one of the most memorable and noble films in Hollywood's inventory of biopics. The word that defines this film is uplifting. Edward G. Robinson, an unforgettable actor of immense range, is simply magnificent in his portrayal of Ehrlich. As the anonymous author of the retrospective appreciation we publish below correctly notes, he is virtually absorbed by the role: "Robinson is wonderful in Dr Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet, disappearing into the character of Paul Ehrlich in a way that, given the strength and distinctiveness of his own personality, is quite remarkable." The rest of the cast is equally outstanding. This is indeed an extraordinary, timeless, film that redeems the much maligned studio system, and will remain one of the gems of the genre, produced, not by accident, by Warner Bros, easily the topically most progressive and socially conscious of all the great studios. As a builder of moral character in a society practically adrift due to its pervasive nihilism, mendacity and largely induced confusion, this is the kind of cinema that should be included in all high school and higher education curricula, and that parents should make sure their children experience. Service to others, dedication to causes that transcend self-interest, is the cornerstone of a healthy society, and key to a life well lived. This film reminds us that we forget such essential truths at our own peril.—PG