Customer Reviews

Hollywood A Celebration of the American Silent Film Episode 4 - Hollywood Goes to War [VHS]

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I first saw this awesome series back in the early eighties, and as a young boy it completely captured my imagination and sense of wonder.

I would have to say this is the definitive history of early Hollywood and film making in general, essential viewing to anyone interested in film and its history, but the amazing thing is this documentary is so well written with such great love and attention to detail that it can easily engross the casual viewer. It is simply compelling stuff.

The greatest thing is this documentary was made in the late 1970's, just as all the amazing stars and behind the scene people were slowly fading away, leaving only their shadow captured in nitrate. They now may be gone, but their spirit lives on through this series.

I feel a secret envy when I listen to the silent stars and crew enthusiastically speaking about what life was like back then, it really was new territory they were treading. The film footage used in the series is great and there are many excerpts of lost/rare films. It's a shame that people think silent cinema is all high speed flickering car chases and cream pies in the face... this series shows how it developed from a primitive side show entertainment to a fully fledged art form capable of crossing cultures all over the world. We think we know about fame today... these early stars were WORLD famous in every sense, thanks to the fact the films they appeared in depended so much more on the actual image and less on the words. Title cards were easily translated.

I think there is one interview that captures it all... during the end of the "Stuntmen" episode, the old stuntman who was interviewed, verging on tears, looks to the interviewer and points to his heart, and says "I wish I could get what is in here, out...." It was if he was saying the times were so magical, that it is impossible to describe how amazing they were.

I love this series... I will get the video sometime soon, but my only question is WHEN WILL IT BE RELEASED ON DVD? This has to be re-released! Someone hear our pleas! It's just too good to leave on VHS

The upcoming UK DVD release of this title has now been withdrawn, after several delays. I wonder what type of problems prohibit the DVD release of a 26 year old TV series, while seemingly everything else ever released on TV is in our DVD shops. The problems didn't seem to arise when releasing the title on VHS.

The series is still the best survey of cinema ever made. In particular it is an extremely valuable record of the achievements of silent film and the opinions of the actors who starred in those films.

A lot of people want this series on DVD. What a pity it is crumbling away on tape, soon perhaps to be lost for ever.

One of the finest documentaries on film period. I taped it off the air when broadcast, replaced those with the videos when they came out, then followed the videos with the laserdiscs. A complete labor of love and stunning in every aspect. If it came out on DVD, I would probably buy it again. By the way, if you had taped it off the air, each tape includes material that was cut for the television broadcasts.

Before there was Ken Burns to do it, there was an extraordinary documentary about silent film. Absolutely riveting in its wonderful arcana, in-person interviews, stock photos and footage, narration by James Mason, and the terrific music by the brilliant Carl Davis, this series is a must-see for anyone who loves film and wants to know where it all started!! There are facts and anecdotes here to amaze, and break the heart as well. Mason's voice-overs are perfect....one minute he's the objective narrator, and the next moment, his inflection can have you chuckling, or tearing up at the stories of all the various players in the early days of Hollywood. And has there ever been a more beautiful score for television, or film for that matter, than the work of Carl Davis?? His opening title alone for the credits is gorgeous, and the producers then use different pieces that Davis has composed for these silent films. If only his music had been available to the original producers and directors for them to hear. Obviously, Davis must be one of the biggest fans of silent film of all time. If you can get a copy of this series, do so. It is never shown on television anymore, and it's a terrible thought that this series could be lost through neglect the way so much of the film from the 20's and 30's has been lost. It has been estimated that more than half of all silent film has disintegrated or been disposed of. Let's hope that the producers of this major documentary series re-release it on DVD as soon as possible for the many fans who remember it, and for the many more fans who will, I'm sure, be thrilled to discover it.

This VHS is one of the best in the series. Its main focus is to show us the different styles of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon. Each star has a segment that analyzes his work and runs about 10 minutes long. However, the video starts out showing us the origins of comedy, particularly Mack Sennett. One of the best parts of the video shows us the difference between the various pratfalls and the way they were identified.

I caught this series on TCM(Turner Classic Movies) some years ago and was astonished at the immensity of the documentary. This is really where I was introduced to Kevin Brownlow(and the now deceased Gill), as well as with "The Unknown Chaplin", which is the best thing I've ever seen on the comic, as the respective Keaton and Lloyd bios. Brownlow's TCM originals are quite good: "Cinema Europe", "Universal Horror", etc. However, none of them quite equal this. Why it has not been released on DVD, yet, is just plain odd. After all, this is the kind of thing for DVD-although I realize this isn't the same as episodes of "Friends" and the recent JLo bomb.

I first saw this series 20 years ago on TV in Australia. I bought the only merchandise available at the time, the record and the book. Recently the series has been rerun (some dusty vault must have been opened) and reminded me of how marvelous it is. In this DVD age I WANT TO OWN THE DVD of this series. The video isn't good enough. Produce the DVD and I will purchase one for myself and one for my sister as a gift.

At least one other reviewer has screamed for the DVD - it can't be that hard guys......

An enthralling, beautifully written and edited recollection of the days when movies could be eloquent without speaking a word. Full of priceless interviews with the stars, directors, writers and craftspersons who made all those miracles happen in so short a span of years. It is time to get this series into DVD format!

I remember watching this series on HBO in the early 80s - that's when my love of silent films began. I found this on VHS at my local video store in the 90s and rented every one multiple times until they finally sold some of them to me. Sadly, the 'collectible' price makes purchasing VHS set out of reach. So when will TCM, who so often show Brownlow & Gill documentaries (one of whom has since passed away), repackage these and release them on DVD?? I think we need to make the request to TCM!!!

Many people do not know of silent film as a form of entertainment; they look at it as ancient and silly. Most of that is due to ignorance. This series is an excellent companion for silent film newbie or veterans. It provides an in-depth look into a forgotten era, one whose history is anything but silent.

There are 13 tapes in the series narrated by James Mason; each examines a different bit of film history. There is a tape for comedy, a tape for westerns, a tape for war movies, a tape for cameramen, a tape for directors, a tape for the stars, a tape for the scandals, a tape for the end of it all, pretty much a tape for everything. Each one is carefully researched and lovingly compiled by wonderful historians Kevin Brownlow and David Gill to truly accentuate the importance and specialness of the silent film era.

The theme music is great too, an essential part of any silent film.

There are also many wonderful interviews with so many assets to the silent era ranging from major stars to stunt doubles to directors to assistants. These include Irving Asher, Mary Astor, Charles Belfrage, Eleanor Boardman, Louise Brooks, Clarence Brown, Karl Brown, Yakima Canut, Frank Capra, Olive Carey, Iron Eyes Cody, Jackie Coogan, George Cukor, Viola Dana, Agnes DeMille, Allan Dwan, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., George Folsey, Leatrice Gilbert Fountain, Lee Garmes, Janet Gaynor, A. Arnold Gillespe, Lillian Gish, Chauncy Haines, George Harris, Byron Haskin, Henry Hathaway, William Hornbeck, Lefty Hough, Al Hoxie, Laurence Irving, Paul Ivano, Mrs. Buck Jones, Leatrice Joy, Henry King, Paul Kohner, Jesse Lasky Jr., Harold Lloyd, Anita Loos, Bessie Love, Ben Lyon, Marion Mack, Paul Malvern, Sam Marx, Col. Tom McCoy, Lewis Milestone, Colleen Moore, Lord Mountbatten, Harvey Parry, Hal Roach, Al Rogell, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Bob Rose, Harold Schuster, Adela Rogers St. John, Gloria Swanson, Blanche Sweet, Alberto Valentino, King Vidor, Valerie von Stroheim, Raoul Walsh, John Wayne, William Wellman, Grant Whytock, Lois Wilson, and William Wyler.