Friday 7 March 2014

The TSorensen 1001 movie award part 2





The TSorensen 1001 movie award part 2




Welcome back to this ongoing award ceremony covering the first 200 film on the List.


This time I give the award for:


MOST SPECTACULAR SET


With budgets in their millions we are used to absolutely insane sets in modern movies, but early cinema was surprisingly good at giving us over the top sets. While a magnificent set does not make a good movie it does give us something to marvel at.


 The nominees are:


  1. Intolerance. Here I am of course referring to the totally over the top reconstruction of ancient Babylon. An insane feat that almost ruined Griffith. And consider how early this film is!
     
  2. Das Kabinett Des Doktor Caligari. The set of this film takes expressionism to its most extreme. Everything is off-kilter and adds to the gothic feel of the film
     
  3. Metropolis. The mother of all science fictions, this film gave us an entire world where the set was an active part of the story.
     
  4. The General. When Buster Keaton crashed that train it was the most expensive scene in movie history to that date and it took quite a few years before it was topped.
     
  5. All Quiet on the Western Front. This was a realistic portrait of life in the trenches. Here we are talking authentic outdoor mud and barbed wire at a time where sound film was restricted to specialized studio sets. How did they do it?
     
  6. Footlight Parade. The trio of acts at the end has to my mind never been topped in a musical.
     
  7. Gone With the Wind. The fire in Atlanta in Technicolor. I do not really need to say any more.
     
  8. The Wizard of Oz. From the twister to the colorful land of Oz there is so much to look at in this film and it is so seamless.
     


Worthy mentions: Frankenstein, Triumph des Willens, The Adventures of Robin Hood, A Throw of Dice.


This is a very close race and my final choice must be very subjective but the winner is:


Das Kabinett Des Doktor Caligari


This is a movie I never tire of looking at. There is so much to see and it works exactly right for the mood and the story. Haunting starts right here.

4 comments:

  1. Wow, what a list! Don't know how you narrowed it down to one but "Caligari" is certainly a worthy choice.

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    1. Frankly, it could have been any of them. On this parameter they all shine. But Caligari has that special place in my heart and that probably made the decision. Good that I do not have to defend my decision for a froathing public like the Academy.

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  2. I definitely agree with this choice. There's a lot to like about Caligari, but the set has got to be number one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. Though it was difficult to choose among all these excellent sets.

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