Reading Room

film essay for 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' — Library of Congress (opens loc.gov in a new tab)

Library of Congress preservation essay on Ingram's epic World War I drama starring Valentino.

On The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

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 Aquatic Allure of The Kingdom of Fairies (opens trettleman.medium.com in a new tab)

Scholarly essay examining the film's visual composition and theatrical influences on cinema.

Medium

On The Kingdom of the Fairies

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

film essay for 'Tol'able David' — Library of Congress (opens loc.gov in a new tab)

Library of Congress essay on Henry King's coming-of-age drama set in Appalachia with acclaimed cinematography.

On Tol'able David

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

Vampyr at 90: how Carl Dreyer conjured a waking nightmare — BFI (opens bfi.org.uk in a new tab)

Retrospective essay celebrating Dreyer's creation of atmosphere through visual innovation and technique.

On Vampyr

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

film essay for Foolish Wives — Library of Congress (opens loc.gov in a new tab)

Library of Congress essay on Stroheim's million-dollar Monte Carlo con artist drama and Gothic sensibility.

On Foolish Wives

Thoughts on 'True Heart Susie' (opens silentology.wordpress.com in a new tab)

Essay analyzing Griffith's intimate drama and Lillian Gish's performance of elemental emotional truth.

Silent-ology

On True Heart Susie

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

Festival analysis of Dupont's revolutionary mobile camera techniques.

On Variety

Thoughts On: 'The Musketeers of Pig Alley' (1912) (opens silentology.wordpress.com in a new tab)

Critical analysis of Griffith's pioneering gangster film and its innovative cinematography.

Silent-ology

On The Musketeers of Pig Alley

MoMA | G. W. Pabst's Westfront 1918 — Museum of Modern Art (opens moma.org in a new tab)

Analysis of Pabst's effective realism and brilliant use of sound in this anti-war film.

On Westfront 1918

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

Festival resource on Hitchcock's directorial debut and early thematic concerns.

On The Pleasure Garden

Early Silents: The Great Train Robbery and The Lonedale Operator (opens ptsnob.com in a new tab)

Comparative analysis of narrative editing innovation in early American cinema.

PT Snob

On The Lonedale Operator

The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) Film Synopsis and Discussion (opens obscurehollywood.net in a new tab)

Historical examination of the film's creation of the gangster film genre.

Obscure Hollywood

On The Musketeers of Pig Alley

The Cameraman's Revenge (1912): The Truly Weird Origin of Modern Stop-Motion Animation (opens openculture.com in a new tab)

Essay on Starewicz's revolutionary use of articulated insects in stop-motion animation.

Open Culture

On The Cameraman's Revenge

A Page of Madness - San Francisco Silent Film Festival (opens silentfilm.org in a new tab)

Festival documentation of Kinugasa's pioneering avant-garde masterpiece.

On A Page of Madness

City Lights (1931) | The Definitives (opens deepfocusreview.com in a new tab)

Critical essay on Chaplin's final silent film and its combination of comedy and profound emotion.

Deep Focus Review

On City Lights

Battling Butler - San Francisco Silent Film Festival (opens silentfilm.org in a new tab)

Festival documentation of Keaton's personal favorite and commercially successful comedy.

On Battling Butler

The Last Days of Pompeii (1913) | Turner Classic Movies — Turner Classic Movies (opens tcm.com in a new tab)

Critical essay on the film's visual composition and depiction of ancient Roman society.

On The Last Days of Pompeii

La Bohème - San Francisco Silent Film Festival (opens silentfilm.org in a new tab)

Festival resource on Vidor's romantic tragedy and Gish's acclaimed performance.

On La Bohème

City Lights movie review & film summary (opens rogerebert.com in a new tab)

Ebert's essay on Chaplin's masterpiece and its lyrical romanticism and defiance of sound cinema.

Roger Ebert Great Movies

On City Lights

Flesh and the Devil - San Francisco Silent Film Festival (opens silentfilm.org in a new tab)

Festival resource on Garbo and Gilbert's chemistry and film legacy.

On Flesh and the Devil