Customer Reviews

Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius [VHS]

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Film historian Kevin Brownlow (who befriended Harold Lloyd in the 1960's) and the late David Gill gave the great Lloyd the recognition he was long overdue in this entertaining, insightful two-hour documentary, which is essential for appreciating Lloyd's popularity and impact. With the cooperation of Lloyd's family and estate, they had unlimited access to his films, archives, and home movies. Most critically, they were able to interview a number of Lloyd's associates who were still living in the late 1980's, including Lloyd's legendary partner and early producer Hal Roach, then in his mid-nineties (he died at age 101 a few years later). Music by the premiere silent film composer Carl Davis also adds tremendously to the video.

What I considered to be the only drawback of the program upon its release - the all too-brief glimpse it gave us of Lloyd's amazing, then unavailable films - was finally rectified in late 2005 with the release of the tremendous DVD package of Harold's films. Hopefully this wonderful documentary will follow soon on DVD.

I had seen this biography of Harold Lloyd years ago on one of the local PBS stations, and it was excellent! It documents his life very well, and has plenty of classic snippets from all of his films. Definitely worth seeing, especially if you're not all that familiar with Lloyd's films. He really is one of the forgotten comedic genuises of the early days of cinema. END

This is a wonderful bio from the guys who brought you Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow and Unknown Chaplin. Although they found less source material to use (and fewer of Lloyd's peers left to interview) this is wonderful stuff. I really hope it gets DVD treatment someday soon, but if it doesn't, try to find a VHS or put the title on your TiVo search.