The Fall of the House of Usher

Description

As his beautiful young wife Madeleine dies slowly of some dread ailment, fevered artist Roderick Usher asks his old friend Allan to keep him company in these morbid times. Shortly after Allan arrives, Madeleine dies--or does she? As Roderick himself succumbs to the melancholy, noises from Madeleine's tomb cry out--Death is not the end! Working from several of Edgar Allen Poe's stories, French avant-garde visionary Jean Epstein crafted one of the most highly acclaimed and internationally renowned film adaptations of Poe. Co-directed with surrealist filmmaker Luis Bunuel and starring Abel Gance's wife as the undead Madeleine, this 1928 classic is a true feast for the eyes and proof positive that the German Expressionists did not have a corner on the Gothic horror market. Newly mastered from a 35mm preservation positive, with a soundtrack by acclaimed music historian Rolande de Cande adapted from medieval music.

Customer Reviews:

The Fall of the House of Usher.......2007-06-20

Epstein's sterling adaptation of the well-known Poe story today remains one of the most haunting and visually adventurous horror movies of the silent era. Certainly, the film's expressionistic use of slow-motion techniques and eerie settings owes a lot to the presence of surrealist Luis Buñuel, who served as assistant director. Gance (wife of French director Abel) is radiant, too, even as a shrouded specter. With its lurid, foggy air of mystery and demented otherworldliness, "Usher" is a triumph of the gothic sensibility.

Fall of the House of Usher a great film ruined.......2007-03-23

I looked forward to receiving this film from the moment I ordered it, having a great interest in early European Cinema, particularly French and German Cinema, this was going to be a treat to behold.
I had no worries about the lack of extras, or a glossy booklet, the original French titles were enough, then I heard the voice! All of the titles and inter-titles are spoken in English, aaaahhhhhrrrrggghh! Imperialistic, cultural vandalism. This is a French film, and a silent french film at that. To watch it is like having an idiot sat behind you who talks all the way through the film, I was waiting for him to tell me the ending just before it happened. I cannot imagine the thought process that came up with this.

In summary, a great film, a visual treat, but totally ruined.

The avant-garde masterpiece.......2006-08-05

This is an amazing visual treat and an excellent adaptation of Poe's classic, at once haunting and captivating although some liberty has been taken with the story replacing the Usher sister with a wife. Special mention should be made of the haunting music score that accompanies the movie.

Film-buff beware!.......2005-07-27

I can't believe I'm writing a negative review of a French classic I should revere! But here are the facts. Since my childhood, I have been impressed by a still in Henri Agel's "Histoire populaire du cinéma" depicting Madeline's funeral from this film. It shows black-clad gentlemen in stove-pipe hats photographed from a distance carrying a coffin, surrounded by cathedral-like trees with the superimposed image of lighted candles adding to the solemnity. I was impressed by both the technical achievement and the atmospheric result. Unfortunately, if ever there was a film whose stills are superior to its viewing, this is it! Watching this pristine print for the first time, I was disappointed by many elements: the tampering with Poe's story (where his themes boil down to Roderick's poor choice of real estate), the imitation of Murnau's "Nosferatu" (arrival at the inn, reluctance of peasants to drive the newcomer to the estate); the expressionistic acting (it's really very, very bad); the gratuitous quirkiness (books cascading off their bookshelves, windows that stay open at all times even during a full storm, a revived woman we are expected to believe has walked a great distance and even swam a lake after waking up in a family tomb miles away from her castle, a doctor whose character or purpose is never explained, copulating frogs, an owl that may or may not be stuffed); the overwhelming feeling of boredom; the shoddy artistic direction, especially in the use of miniatures to suggest the castle and its demise, the night sky, the bogs, the fog, the storm, etc., all bad. Worst of all, perhaps, is the music on this DVD by Roland de Candé (not "Rolande de Cande" as written up everywhere) which is an unoriginal hodge-podge of borrowings from undistinguished recordings of John Fahey-like mediaeval music and electronic-sounding "madhouse" noises (probably pinched piano wires) that sound atrocious and misguided and rob the film of any gothicness, dignity or solemnity it might have preserved otherwise. "Pelléas et Mélisande", this ain't! The only way it could have been made worse, I suppose, would have been commissioning Philip Glass to write a little something (brrrr!). The film is interesting because of its historical value, its photography, editing and superimpositions, which may or may not have been daring for the time - but in 1928, I seriously doubt it. That does not make it a masterpiece and not even a film I'd like to own or watch twice.

Best Classic Poe Tale Ever!!!!!!!!!!.......2005-02-16

This one is really cool I mean I read alot of Stories by Edgar Allan Poe Because I am a big fan of Poe and even though I would say that The Fall of the House of Usher was one of my Favorite Stories of all time and I really like this movie. And it really has beautiful Music to this and This one is very silent but you may have heard that this is what Movies where like back in the 1920's!

Average customer rating:

Mysteries Tomb Down as Autumn Leaves.
DR. RAINER'S OPUS
Silent Fall was not so silent after all!
sleeper hit of the year
Intriguing

Silent Fall
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss , Linda Hamilton , John Lithgow , J.T. Walsh , and Ben Faulkner
Director: Bruce Beresford
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B00000FYSU
Release Date: 2000-08-01

Description

An autistic boy is the only witness to his parents' murder. A psychiatrist with a troubled past of his own attempts to help the boy deal with his loss and to recount his recollection of the crime.

Customer Reviews:

Mysteries Tomb Down as Autumn Leaves. .......2006-09-14

"Silent Fall" (1994) is a very good "whodunit" movie. It keeps you hooked from the very beginning.

Aussie director Bruce Beresford is something more than a good artisan. He is an artist, even if not so very recognized in the USA, where he received "only" two Oscar nominations. He has been endorsed with four Golden Berlin Bear nominations and a huge variety of awards.
He has delivered at least one unforgettable film: "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989).
At the present movie he manages to present a not very complicated thread as to what happened the crime's day, yet full of surprises and twists.
He also shows a sure hand directing boy actor Ben Faulkner in his only movie appearance.

The story is as follows a brutal butchery is perpetrated in well-to-do family's mansion.
A couple is stabbed to death, their teenage daughter is found alive but bloodied and in shock inside a closet and their ten years old autistic son has a huge knife in his hands and refuse to give it to the police or calm down.
The worried Sheriff resorts to his friend Dr. Jake Rainer to help him out of this situation.
From here on, a classic "whodunit" situation arises: the two witnesses are handicapped one way or the other. The girl wasn't able to see murder's face and was violently thrown into unconsciousness. The boy has seen everything but is unable to communicate verbally with coherence and answer questions.
No other clues arise from the following investigation.
When all leads are followed to no result the Sheriff is forced to recur to Dr. Harlinger's help. He is psychiatrist and prone to use drugs. Dr. Rainer interposes and asks to let him try to extract the information from the deeps of Timmy's mind.
This investigation is fascinating and full of turns and twists up to the end.

Playacting is good without being superb. Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Rainer and Ben Faulkner as Timmy are the best. Linda Hamilton (the unforgettable Sara Conner of "Terminator") is correct as Rainer's wife. John Lithgow as Dr. Harlinger gives one of his "traditional" performances. Last but not least Liv Tyler ("Lord of the Rings") performs her debut and that is noticeable, yet without demeaning the whole story.

A special note for Peter James (Aussie and usual collaborator of Beresford) his photography of fall landscape bursting with yellow, red and orange leaves is very beautiful, showing he has deservedly won five award from Australian Academy.

If you like whodunit films do not miss this one!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

DR. RAINER'S OPUS.......2005-03-11

Richard Dreyfuss' quiet, restrained performance highlights this durable little thriller from Bruce Beresford, the director of such movies as BREAKER MORANT, DOUBLE JEOPARDY and of course, the Oscar winning DRIVING MISS DAISY. Dreyfuss portrays a psychologist who finds himself involved in the brutal murder of a couple, whose autistic son was found holding the murder weapon. Ben Faulkner as little Tim is quite good in his role, with evocative brown eyes and a cherubic little face. Liv Tyler plays his older sister, who was also at the scene of the crime. Tyler's first role is a difficult one, and her inexperience shows in her incomplete performance, but she does have a few good moments. J.T. Walsh shows up as the sheriff who was also having an affair with the boy's mother. John Lithgow plays a callous doctor who wants to medicate the little boy; Lithgow is pretty much wasted in the role. Ditto to Linda Hamilton, who shows up as either Dreyfuss' girlfriend or wife, one never knows which. She seems to have little interest in her role or her performance. In spite of this, however, SILENT FALL engages the viewer in the whodunit aspect, although the murderer is pretty obvious. Beautifully filmed in Baltimore County, the movie manages to intrigue and entertain.

Silent Fall was not so silent after all!.......2004-10-20

The only movie I can really compare Silent Fall to is Mercury Rising, which I have seen several times and never tire of it and have yet to sell my copy. I now regret selling my copy of Silent Fall since Ben Faulkner plays the non-verbal autistic child, Tim quite accurately. It is kind of freaky how both children in these movies resemble my own non-verbal son. Luckily the viewer does not have to witness the murders that take place in the parent's bedroom.

Silent Fall begins in the aftermath at the residence with Tim holding the knife which is presumed to be the murder weapon. The eighteen year-old sister Sylvie is portrayed by Liv Tyler, and hiding in her closet, apparently attacked by the intruder. Supposedly she was shopping at the mall and came home while the murders were taking place.

Law enforcement has enlisted the assistance of a psychiatrist played by Richard Dreyfuss, who immediately informs them the child is autistic and sends one of the officers around the house in search of a deck of cards. At first Jake runs out not wanting to get involved with the case, but a moment later enters the house and is able to render the knife away from Tim.

Since the sister is eighteen the issue of who will take care of Tim is never really addressed, although they did stay with some relative for one day, but the incident at the dinner table resulted in Tim tearing up the kitchen.

I believe this was the first role for Liv Tyler, and her acting was quite rigid at times with no real facial expressions or hints of sadness at the loss of her parents. You could tell the compassion for her brother, but this was by the tone in her voice at times it became higher pitched.

John Lithgow plays Dr. Harlow who uses drugs on patients and is not a friendly type of Doctor. There is some connection between the two Doctors and the Sheriff. A few times Jake brings up the past incident where a former patient who was also autistic and non-verbal committed suicide by jumping in the lake at Jake's residence. It was not fully explained, but from what I gathered this is where it took place. At one point Jake is discussing this child, Billy, with his wife. Linda Hamilton is a lawyer who has a small supporting role. She is instrumental in getting Jake to take on Tim as a patient.

It was never mentioned what the drug was that the other Dr wanted to inject Tim with and I was not positive if the other patient Billy ever had an injection. At times you could see the concern from Sylvie for her brother and at other times she made no sense. I believe Sylvie was going to college during the day while Tim was working with Jake. The house they lived in was very large and creepy at times when they walked up the winding staircase.

Silent Fall did keep me guessing and also questioning some things, but it held my interest the entire time and I was satisfied for the most part with the way autism was presented, especially since it was not a true story and more of a thriller. One disturbing aspect is when Tim is using echolalia and repeating the F word that his father had used toward him.

Richard Dreyfuss did a good job with his performance, although at times it was hard to tell what the character was thinking or feeling. His depiction of a child psychiatrist was believable and he showed interest in the patient and he seemed to have knowledge in the subject of autism. John Lithgow was the Doctor you grew to despise, although his character was under developed.

The best actor in Silent Fall by far was Ben Faulkner, who played the boy, but he did not seem to be a nine-year old since my son is the same age. His blank stares and vocalizing with noises was right on target and gave me goose bumps at times. For those that like mystery thrillers this is a good flick to consider and get a inside look at the world of a non-verbal autistic child with some off the wall scenarios.

sleeper hit of the year.......2004-04-23

This was a very intriguing movie. I liked it for its plot. Nice little whodunit. It was different. Very quiet movie. Not slow, just very quiet and steady. Parents murdered in their bedroom and the only witness is a little boy who's autistic and can't tell what he saw. Richard Dreyfus, Liv Tyler, and especially the little boy were all good. Linda Hamilton has a very minor role. I believe this was Liv Tyler's first movie -- she's not great, but not bad either.

Intriguing.......2002-02-25

I liked this movie. I saw it a long time ago and would like to see it again. It was interesting, but I don't remember much about it. The only thing that is wrong with it is that Liv Tyler is in it. She has to be the worst actress in the world!!! I don't know why people like her. If she hadn't been in it the movie would be better, but I still liked it. I reconmend it.

Average customer rating:

An OK Documentary

Mary Pickford
Starring: Eileen Whitfield , Jesse Sweet , Scott Eyman , Douglas Fairbanks , and Charles Chaplin
Director: Sue Williams (II)
Manufacturer: Pbs Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000A6T1JA
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Description

It was the golden age of silent film, and she was the world's most celebrated actress. Known as America's sweetheart, Mary Pickford was famous for playing darling girls and feisty young women in wildly popular films seen around the globe. Her love affair with Hollywood's leading man, Douglas Fairbanks, turned her into an icon of glamour and romance, the Hollywood dream come true. But, as Mary would learn in the most painful way, fame is fickle and life at the top is precarious.

Customer Reviews:

An OK Documentary.......2005-11-26

This DVD is the PBS Special about Mary Pickford, part of the American Masters series. Mary Pickford was the most popular actress of the early 1900s. Before the public knew actress' names, they dubbed her "The Girl With the Golden Curls" and "America's Sweetheart." She was the first woman to make a million dollars in a year and she was a pioneer in films. She is credited for creating acting for the camera, or realistic acting. Her film career spanned from the 1900s until the 1930s when she made her last screen appearance. Even afterward she kept up with business in her studio United Artists and was a producer and remained a household name.

This documentary features commentary by many of Mary's biographers and film historians including Eileen Whitfield, Scott Eyman, Jeanine Basinger, and Kevin Brownlow.

It is filled with rare photographs and some film clips from some of the more rare Pickford films including many Biograph shorts, the first Tess of the Storm Country, and Poor Little Rich Girl. However, it does skip over quite a few of Mary's films including those silents made after Little Annie Rooney even though the last, My Best Girl, is mentioned later.

The music used is very sad throughout which creates a dismal feeling for the audience. This is unfortunate because even though Mary went through tragedy and sadness especially in her later years, much of her life was happy and she was a very positive person.

This is by no means the best documentary available about Pickford's life, but no perfect documentary exists. For further information or explanation of Mary's life, one might try Mary Pickford: A Life on Film released by Milestone, but even it is not perfect. Neither mention Mary's writing or go into great depth about her relationship with her brother or sister or her sister's daughter Gwynne who lived with Mary. However, this documentary is adequate.

Average customer rating:

Incredibly awful remake of great classic
TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!!
Disappointing DVD
Disappointing DVD
Blood and Sand

Blood & Sand
Starring: Christopher Rydell , Sharon Stone , Ana Torrent , Guillermo Montesinos , and Albert Vidal
Director: Javier Elorrieta
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305645477
Release Date: 2001-07-24

Customer Reviews:

Incredibly awful remake of great classic.......2004-01-08

Blood and Sand was made twice before, in 1922 with Rudolph Valentino and 1941 with Tyrone Power. The first version was good but not excellent, but Tyrone's version was, mostly due to the lavish Technicolor and the excellent supporting cast. But this 1989 remake is absolutely ridiculous; it shouldn't have been made to begin with. None of the stars can save the plot, which is marred a thin, convoluted plot. So if you want to see this bullfighting story, do NOT get this version. Instead get the 1941 version with Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Rita Hayworth. You will not be disappointed. Trust me.

TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!!.......2003-03-25

I bought this film in anticipation of seeing the beautiful Sharon Stone in some really hot scenes....on this count it was a letdown, you don't see much of the gorgeous Ms Stone, certainly nothing like in Basic Instinct/Sliver/The Specialist.I was also expecting a brilliant storyline like the 1941 version with Tyrone Power,the alluring Rita Hayworth and Linda Darnell...again another terrible disappointment. Really dull plot, totally disjointed and bordering on the incoherent.Finally..the quality of the picture was poor with blurred colour and almost hazy images. Undoubtedly this DVD is the worst I've ever purchased....if it wasn't for the stunning Ms Stone and her sex appeal it probably should NOT have been inflicted on the movie market at all!!!

Disappointing DVD.......2002-01-03

Face it, This was a widescreen movie. On the DVD however, it has been encoded using 1.33:1, the tasteless TV format with only 2 sound channels. I did not read the technical details before i bought it. I think you should read the details. It is like watching a movie with good VHS resolution. nothing more! What have North Americans done to deserve censored DVD versions of European movies. They pay the same price and it is not for public use. Any DVD without 5.1 channel or DTS sound and without anamorphic widescreen dimensions i.e 2.25:1 should be avoided. The stunning beauty of young Sharon Stone makes up for these technical goofs.

Disappointing DVD.......2002-01-03

Blood and Sand.......2001-12-08

Sharon Stone looks great in this. It has a good plot and is quite fast moving.

Average customer rating:

A cinematic and historical treasure
The first feature is also a fine feature
An Early American Treasure Dazzles

Richard III
Starring: Carlotta De Felice , Albert Gardner , Robert Gemp , Carey Lee , and George Moss
Director: André Calmettes
Manufacturer: Kino Video
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ASIN: B00005JH9F
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Amazon.com

A genuine treasure for film collectors, this 1912 version of Richard III is an artifact to cherish. Donated to the American Film Institute by film collector William Buffum in 1995, this hand-tinted vehicle for noted thespian Frederick Warde was thought to have been lost forever. Restored to remarkably good condition (despite some ghostly shimmering due to nitrate deterioration), it now survives as the oldest American feature, still impressive in the way it distills Shakespeare's play, through action and descriptive title cards, while retaining its dramatic essence. Director James Keane's camera is hopelessly static compared to D.W. Griffith's innovative work from the same period, and in the title role Warde is prone to grandiose theatrics that were unnecessary even in 1912 (after all, film acting was still in its infancy). And yet, with its evocative latter-day score by Ennio Morricone, this is a vivid and valuable film, offering ample proof that movies were rapidly maturing. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Long lost until 1995, Richard III (1912) was donated to the AFI by Oregon-based collector William Buffum, who preserved the nitrate reels in his basement from 1960 onwards. The film has survived in near mint condition by Buffum's meticulous yearly rewinding each reel to guard against sticking and to look for signs of deterioration. The Institute when restored the fading tints with funding support form the Joseph H. Kanter Foundation and commissioned Italian film composer Ennio Morricone (The Good the Bad and the Ugly, The Mission, The Untouchables) to score the silent tragedy.

With Frederick Warde as Richard, James Keane's Richard III is the classic interpretation of the rise and demise of the villainous king. Shot for $30,000, at the time a huge budget, Richard III is the first Shakespearean feature film ever made. There are many interior castle scenes recreated in the studio, but there is also on-location cinematography shot in Westchester County and the Bronx, which makes for a film which interestingly shifts between expressionism and realism.

The discovery of Richard III is one of the most significant of thousands of historic film finds made by AFI over the last 30 years. AFI has also been a major collaborator in several of the most prestigious film restoration projections of the last 10 years, including Lawrence of Arabia, My Fair Lady, and Vertigo. In another of its most widely-recognized film preservation projects, AFI spearheaded the decade-long worldwide search to recover lost footage from Frank Capra's classic film Lost Horizon and supervised the film's subsequent restoration.

The great challenge and dream for any actor, Shakespeare's Richard III is the ultimate exercise in expressing the breadth of human emotion. The portrait of the cold-hearted King, from his bloodlust for power to his internal doubt, has such nuance and subtly that any leading man would find it daunting.

From Laurence Olivier's classic Technicolor widescreen Richard III (1954), to Al Pacino's exploration of an actor's will and desire of playing the villain-king in his documentary Looking for Richard (1996), Shakespeare's Richard III has seen many an incarnation, including Chilean auteur Raoul Ruiz's 1986 version and Richard Loncraine's highly original 1995 interpretation with Ian McKellen as the lead.

Customer Reviews:

A cinematic and historical treasure.......2007-02-02

With so many of the earliest films lost to us forever, this 1912 production of William Shakespeare's Richard III is an absolute treasure, both historically and cinematically. It is, among other things, the oldest surviving American feature film, with the original five-reel production running just under a full hour. Not only that, the quality of this restored edition is absolutely amazing - much better than even most 1930s silent films I've seen. The lion's share of the thanks for this belongs to former projectioner and film collector William Buffum, who lovingly preserved the original nitrate film for decades before turning it over to the American Film Institute in 1996. It should be noted that nitrate films such as this were and are very unstable, highly flammable and prone to destructive deterioration (which is exactly why so many of these early films simply no longer exist). The restored tints differ somewhat among individual scenes, but every aspect of the film image, from actors to background props, is sharply delineated. I believe the intertitles may have been recreated, but everything else is just the way audiences saw the film almost a century ago - probably even better, actually.

Obviously, it is difficult to capture the true essence of a Shakespearian drama with a complete absence of dialogue, but this production certainly captures the spirit of the Bard's original play - the whole of it, not merely a particular act or two. It helps to have an accomplished Shakespearian actor playing the lead, and that is exactly what we have here in leading man Frederick Warde, an English tragedian who enjoyed a long career as an actor as well as a lecturer on Shakespeare after coming to America in 1871. A youthful 61 in 1912, his performance in Richard III offers viewers a rare window into the acting style of late 19th century drama. Director James Keane also takes a turn in front of the camera as Richard's nemesis, Richmond - I'm sure many a director has wanted to slay one of his stars at one point or another, but Keane actually does it, bringing to an end Richard's ill-gotten reign.

Before he became King Richard III, the man who would be king was the Duke of Gloster (the obviously Americanized version of Gloucester used in the film), a crooked-back man who schemes and kills his way to the crown. According to the information on the back of the DVD (I must admit I have not yet read Shakespeare's play), he supposedly earns a measure of sentiment from the audience in the final act, but I never warmed up to him at all. Having slain all of his enemies (including the two young princes born of the murdered king), the fact that he goes to war over the love of a fair maiden doesn't really rehabilitate him in my book. He is in fact so villainess a creature that a prologue and epilogue were added showing Warde in his true, gentlemanly form bowing to the audience.

A new original score by composer Ennio Morricone accompanies the film. I can't say I particularly care for the music (early on, I think it sounds like something written by John Cage's cat), but it does finish strongly in the film's dramatic conclusion. The DVD also includes an informative essay by Douglas Brode and a 17-minute documentary called Rediscovering Richard: Looking Back at a Forgotten Classic. The first half of the documentary is excellent, featuring an interview with William Buffum and a comparative glance at several other cinematic productions from the early twentieth century. From there, though, it morphs into a look at the cinematic history of Richard III up to the present day rather than going into further detail on the making of this particular movie.

This early production of Richard III is pretty much invaluable as both entertainment and history. With its static shots of each scene, it doesn't push the envelope of early film techniques the way an early D.W. Griffith classic might, but it does mix make use of a huge $30,000 budget to include on-location shots from the New York countryside alongside standard in-studio shots, frame Richard's portentous dream outside Bosworth Field with a little double exposure magic, and fill the crowd scenes with plenty of extras. Basically, Richard III is an American treasure, and you can't help but be blown away by the remarkable clarity of such an early, feature-length film.

The first feature is also a fine feature.......2001-07-12

Richard III would be an important film even if it were barely visible and of poor quality as a film. The reason for this is that it was made in 1912 and is the earliest surviving American feature film. However, Richard III turns out to be a remarkably entertaining film with good production values, fine acting and a well-told story. It is thus not merely of historical value, but also of value simply because it is a good film.

The film starts and finishes with Frederick Warde, the actor who plays Richard, taking a bow before the audience. He appears in modern dress looking congenial and thus distancing himself from the character he plays. This device also emphasises that we are watching a play and thus anticipates the framing device used in Henry V (1945). The story of Richard III is conveyed with brief titles describing the action of the scene. There are no dialogue titles as such. Thus some of Shakespeare's most famous lines are not even hinted at. In this film there is no sign of Richard saying `Now is the winter of our discontent', and perhaps more surprisingly, because it could easily have been filmed, his despairing cry of `A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!' Nevertheless the film on the whole follows Shakespeare's play quite closely. Some of the detail may be lost but this is still clearly Shakespeare.

The acting in the film is different from the style of later silents, not least because the actors do not appear in close up. It is thus not as subtle as later acting which could make use of the eyes and close ups of facial expressions. Nevertheless Warde's performance especially is good, conveying the menace of Richard without descending into caricature. The acting is helped enormously by the amount of effort and money spent on lavish sets and costumes. The film even has a full size galleon.

The quality of the surviving print is first rate. Richard III looks better than many silent films from the twenties. The print is tinted using mainly pinks and blues and although at times the image is somewhat faded for the most part it is wonderfully sharp and clear. The film is enhanced by a moody score composed by Ennio Morricone. The DVD includes a short documentary Rediscovering Richard which is mainly of interest because it introduces the collector William Buffum who preserved the print of Richard III. Everyone who is interested in film should thank this man, for without him a fine film from 1912 would certainly have been lost for ever.

An Early American Treasure Dazzles.......2001-06-29

I have been waiting for this Kino International release ever since I first saw it announced on their website. It has been well worth the wait. I have just finished watching RICHARD III for the THIRD time and find the film endlessly fascinating. Part of the fascination lies in the age of the film itself. You rarely get to see a film from 1912 much less one in excellent condition. I read about the amazing steps taken to preserve the film and the restoration job by AFI is top notch. After the initial viewing, I felt as if I had gone back in time to a 19th century theatre which in effect I had as the actor playing Richard (Frederick Warde) was a legendary stage actor who came out of retirement to reprise his favorite role on film and have it captured for posterity. Much of RICHARD III is appropriately theatrical in nature with very theatrical sets but it is the exteriors that turn it into a real motion picture. Although the camerawork is static, the editing is imaginative and keeps it from being just a filmed play. This video edition is truly dazzling. The color tints (mostly yellow and red) are effective and the print is truly pristine. The period intertitles are intriguing with Gloucester spelled phonetically (Gloster) for some reason. The commissioned score from Ennio Morricone is powerful, relentless, and highly effective. I strongly recommend this video to anyone interested not only in early movies but also in theatre history. This is a rare opportunity to see a genuine 19th century performance and the oldest surviving American feature film.

Average customer rating:

A Mystery among the Falling Leaves.

Silent Fall
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GAKBJO
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Customer Reviews:

A Mystery among the Falling Leaves........2006-12-05

"Silent Fall" (1994) is a very good "whodunit" movie. It keeps you hooked from the very beginning.

Aussie director Bruce Beresford is something more than a good artisan. He is an artist, even if not so very recognized in the USA, where he received "only" two Oscar nominations. He has been endorsed with four Golden Berlin Bear nominations and a huge variety of awards.
He has delivered at least one unforgettable film: "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989).
In the present movie he manages to present a not very complicated thread as to what happened the crime's day, yet full of surprises and twists.
He also shows a sure hand directing boy actor Ben Faulkner in his only movie appearance.

The story is as follows: a brutal butchery is perpetrated in well-to-do family's mansion.
A couple is stabbed to death, their teenage daughter is found alive but bloodied and in shock inside a closet and their ten years old autistic son has a huge knife in his hands and refuse to give it to the police or calm down.
The worried Sheriff resorts to his friend Dr. Jake Rainer to help him out of this situation.
From here on, a classic "whodunit" situation arises: the two witnesses are handicapped one way or the other. The girl wasn't able to see murder's face and was violently thrown into unconsciousness. The boy has seen everything but is unable to communicate verbally with coherence and answer questions.
No other clues arise from the following investigation.
When all leads are followed to no result the Sheriff is forced to recur to Dr. Harlinger's help. He is psychiatrist and prone to use drugs. Dr. Rainer interposes and asks to let him try to extract the information from the deeps of Timmy's mind.
This investigation is fascinating and full of turns and twists up to the end.

Playacting is good without being superb. Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Rainer and Ben Faulkner as Timmy are the best. Linda Hamilton (the unforgettable Sara Conner of "Terminator") is correct as Rainer's wife. John Lithgow as Dr. Harlinger gives one of his "traditional" performances. Last but not least Liv Tyler ("Lord of the Rings") performs her debut and that is noticeable, yet without demeaning the whole story.

A special note for Peter James (Aussie and usual collaborator of Beresford) his photography of fall landscape bursting with yellow, red and orange leaves is very beautiful, showing he has deservedly won five award from Australian Academy.

If you like whodunit films do not miss this one!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

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Silent Fall W/Coupon
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape

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ASIN: 6303398650
Release Date: 1995-04-04

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