A Life In Movies

Andy at Fandango Groovers Movie Blog is hosting a new blogathon that involves choosing your favourite film from each year of your life up to the present. It's a very fun idea so I thought I would give it a try, obviously it's not going to be as long as the others seeing how young I am, but no matter...
Anyway, these choices aren't exactly what I think are the greatest films of each year, but the ones that had the most impact on me or that were the most memorable.

Silent Film Marathon: Film 5

Nosferatu, one of the most widely known of all Silent films and one of the most instantly recognisable Horror films of all time. Loosely based on the amazing "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, and remade by Werner Herzog and yet I had not seen it until now.

Silent Film Marathon: Film 4

The fourth film of this marathon is the German Expressionist Classic The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.
It is one of the earliest examples of the Expressionist movement and is a fascinating film that has been hugely influential.

Silent Film Marathon: Film 3

For the third part of this marathon I'll be writing about Griffith's follow up to his infamous The Birth of A Nation.
But before I start the review I must mention that I have been unable to see the entire film due to technical difficulties. Basically, I managed to watch about 2 hours and a half of the film, but the remaining 1 hour seems to be corrupted and unwatchable.
So this isn't really a review of the entire film, just some thoughts on what I did see. 

Silent Film Marathon: Film 2

The Birth of A Nation is one of the best known of Silent films, mainly because of the controversy that surrounds it.
It is widely claimed to be a major step forward in Cinema in terms of technical abilities, budget and the amount of money it made, among other things.
It was the highest grossing film of the Silent era, making about 10 million dollars.

 I had heard much about it before viewing it, the controversy, the ground breaking technical achievements etc. And was curious to find out for myself what all the fuss was about.
Some reviews I had read criticised the film in the strongest possible terms for it's content which they labelled nothing less than racist. Some called for people to look past the controversial content and recognise the films technical achievements. I can't recall any saying they enjoyed or could relate to the story though...

Silent Film Marathon: Film 1

To open the marathon I've chosen the Italian Epic Cabiria directed by Giovanni Pastrone and released just before WWI.

Made in 1914, this is the earliest of the films I'll be watching as part of the marathon and additionally, the only Italian one.
I had not heard much about it, but one of my friends who is very knowledgeable in Cinema recommended it so I acquired it and went in with rather high expectations but knowing little about the actual content.