Reading Room

The Enchanted Drawing: Blackton's Early Animation (opens themarginalian.org in a new tab)

Analysis of J. Stuart Blackton's pioneering proto-animation techniques and their influence on cinema.

The Marginalian

On The Enchanted Drawing

Beginner's Guide to Alfred Hitchcock: Murder! (1930) (opens talkfilmsociety.com in a new tab)

Guide to Hitchcock's exploration of theatrical spaces and wrongful accusation themes.

Talk Film Society

On Murder!

A Cinema History: Life of an American Fireman (1903) (opens acinemahistory.com in a new tab)

Historical analysis of the film's significance in developing narrative cinema techniques.

A Cinema History

On Life of an American Fireman

The Impossible Voyage (opens scifist.net in a new tab)

Critical essay on the film's significance in science fiction cinema history.

Scifist

On The Impossible Voyage

A Cinema History: Rescued by Rover (1905) (opens acinemahistory.com in a new tab)

Historical examination of the film's editing techniques and narrative innovation.

A Cinema History

On Rescued by Rover

Radical Object: The Blue Angel (1930) (opens historyworkshop.org.uk in a new tab)

Essay examining the film's transgressive elements and cultural significance during Nazi era.

History Workshop

On The Blue Angel

West of the Divide (opens publicdomainmovie.net in a new tab)

Essay on this early John Wayne western and its themes of child abuse within a morality play tradition.

Public Domain Movies

On West of the Divide

The Blue Angel (1930) | The Definitives (opens deepfocusreview.com in a new tab)

Critical analysis of Sternberg's direction and Dietrich's iconic performance as Lola Lola.

Deep Focus Review

On The Blue Angel

AN INN IN TOKYO (Yasujiro Ozu, 1935) (opens grunes.wordpress.com in a new tab)

Critical analysis of Ozu's transitional film blending silent melodrama with postwar formalism.

Dennis Grunes

On An Inn in Tokyo

Minding the Gaps: 'The Devil Is a Woman' (1935) (opens thereveal.substack.com in a new tab)

Essay on Sternberg's final Dietrich collaboration and its extreme aestheticism and pessimism.

The Reveal

On The Devil Is a Woman

The New Gulliver (opens neweastcinema.pitt.edu in a new tab)

Essay on Ptushko's pioneering stop-motion animated feature with its Communist allegory.

New East Cinema Symposium

On The New Gulliver

Home Movies: By the Bluest of Seas (opens filmcomment.com in a new tab)

Essay on Barnet's joyful romance combining Soviet realism with musical theater elements.

Film Comment

On By the Bluest of Seas

DISORDER IN THE COURT (1936) -- ThreeStooges.net (opens threestooges.net in a new tab)

Overview of this Three Stooges courtroom comedy short known for anarchic slapstick.

ThreeStooges.net

On Disorder in the Court

My Man Godfrey: The Right Kind of People (opens criterion.com in a new tab)

Criterion essay on La Cava's screwball comedy and its Depression-era commentary on class.

Criterion Collection

On My Man Godfrey

The man who came to buttle (opens rogerebert.com in a new tab)

Ebert's great movies essay celebrating this quintessential 1930s screwball comedy.

Roger Ebert

On My Man Godfrey

Westfront 1918 (opens criterion.com in a new tab)

Criterion release with essay on Pabst's pacifist war film and its innovative sound design.

Criterion Collection

On Westfront 1918

Neglected film: OUR DAILY BREAD (1934) (opens oforinvolvingmotionpictures.wordpress.com in a new tab)

Essay exploring Vidor's Depression-era collective farm drama and its social commentary.

Of or Involving Motion Pictures

On Our Daily Bread

The Art of Lotte Reiniger: The Adventures of Prince Achmed (opens thelastdrivein.com in a new tab)

Critical appreciation of Reiniger's artistic vision and technical mastery.

The Last Drive In

On The Adventures of Prince Achmed

People on Sunday (opens criterion.com in a new tab)

Criterion release with essay on this Weimar-era film by young filmmakers including Siodmak and Ulmer.

Criterion Collection

On People on Sunday

Notre-Dame de Paris/The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1911) (opens markdavidwelsh.wordpress.com in a new tab)

Critical review of Capellani's film d'art adaptation and its faithfulness to the source.

Mark David Welsh

On The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Ozu's Space Adventures: Editing in PASSING FANCY (opens criterionchannel.com in a new tab)

Essay examining Ozu's distinctive editing and compositional techniques in this family comedy.

The Criterion Channel

On Passing Fancy

The Unholy Three - San Francisco Silent Film Festival (opens silentfilm.org in a new tab)

Festival resource on Browning's unique approach to grotesque cinema.

On The Unholy Three

Hell's Angels (opens criterion.com in a new tab)

Criterion release featuring essay on Hughes' epic war film and revolutionary aviation sequences.

Criterion Collection

On Hell's Angels

A Silent Giant: 1923's The Hunchback of Notre Dame — American Cinematographer (opens theasc.com in a new tab)

Analysis of Lon Chaney's legendary makeup artistry and pantomime performance as Quasimodo.

On The Hunchback of Notre Dame