Silent Movies at MOMA

I happen to be in New York City this weekend, so I'm planning to head out to MOMA this evening, to see a silent film as part of the Hollywood on the Hudson: Filmmaking in New York, 1920–39 exhibition.

Tonight's movie is While New York Sleeps. I'm looking forward it it; it's supposed to have some wonderful scenes of New York in 1920.

I'll update when I can, and let you know how it was.

New York Times' Critic's Choice

The New York Times has posted this week's Critic's Choice DVDs; this week it includes a selection directed by William Cameron Menzies.

Menzies is best noted as a set designer during the silent era, but according to the article he did try his hand at directing, most notably science fiction and fantasy (which I did not know).

Interesting brief, and the film sounds interesting, too. If anyone happens to see it, and would like to write a review, please let me know!

Estate Formerly Known as Pickfair

The Real Estalker has an entry about the Estate Formerly Known as Pickfair; evidently, the current owner has it up for sale for a staggering $60 million.

The original Pickfair that Doug and Mary built and lived in (and later Mary and Buddy) was torn down soon after it was purchased by "actress" Pia Zadora and her gazillionaire husband, Meshulam Riklis.

Regardless, the entry is interesting if for the views of the estate's current incarnation and a few nuggets in the comments section from people who claim to have been in the original home before it was torn down.

The Real Estalker is always worth a visit, especially for Mama's wit and wisdom.

Kino is Having a Sale

FYI: Kino Video is having a birthday sale through the month of September. There are a few silents for sale, if you're interested.

Quick Update

Just a quick update: I've gone through a few more pages of the At the Movies section, updating links where necessary, deleting outdated ones and adding a few new. They'll be marked [updated].

It's a little depressing how many really great sites are gone.

If you have a site, or a favorite one, or come across one, and it's not already included, let me know - I'd love to include it.

New Article Added

I've added a new-old article, one I've kept meaning to add. It's a 2003 article from USA Today, on a Harold Lloyd retrospective that was to be aired on Turner Classic Movies.

It's a really interesting article, talking about why Lloyd isn't as well-known today as Keaton and Chaplin. It quotes his granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, as saying it was his reluctance to show his movies on TV as being largely responsible, and Leonard Maltin agreeing.

I don't know. I think anyone who loves silent movies quickly learns about the three greats of silent comedy: Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd. (In fact, I would argue that it's the great Max Linder and Harry Langdon who suffer from obscurity, but that's another topic for another day.)

In the meantime, enjoy the article. I've included links to the book Suzanne co-wrote about her grandfather, available through (yes) Amazon.com, along with a three-volume collection of his films.

Also of note: Remember the article on pioneer women film directors I referenced earlier? I've also added links to films referenced in the article available for purchase on Amazon as well as a book on Alice Guy-Blache published by one of the interview subjects, so if you're interested... I still plan on doing that with all of the other articles in News & Notes, as time permits.