De Mille just simply knew how to make films. Period. It's totally amazing that he is still the champ of all time.
A lot of all star casts flounder with weaker directors and scripts, but de Mille is epic.
This is story telling. The story here is based around Riel and the Mounted Police of Canada. We even begin with Riel, but soon the wing of the film takes the turn towards the big name stars.
The scenes with the two minor love interest characters are the most stunning. You know there will be a tragic end, but you aren't sure what the tragedy will be. Always the expert, de Mille knew that had he staged these scenes with the leading love triangle, we would not have the suspense. We would know they would turn out okay. Masterfully, he arrays them in a position of caring about the wild young beautiful couple, and their beauty is cinematic greatness, perfectly filmed and choreographed. Paulette Goddard, from her very entrance, is breath taking, and her beauty is perfectly enveloped with de Mille's cameras. Incredible, astounding, and unsurpassed to this day.
The spectacle of de Mille has never been surpassed, and neither has his directing of characters. As in UNION PACIFIC, it is the minor characters such as Overman and Tamiroff who take this up to the top notch. The comic relief here is one that we also see leading up to a Shakespearean style duel.
The characters and the story keep you riveted. This is a long movie, but it seems like it takes only a few minutes. The mixture of spectacle, action, comic relief, characters, suspense, romance, adventure, and perfect cinematography is the sought after recipe that wise directors will copy and jealous directors will foolishly ignore.
And the moron who put this on the 50 worst films of all time list, we have to wonder what hallucinogens he was on. This is one of the 50 best films of all time. THIS is a clinic. THIS is how to make a film.
A lot of all star casts flounder with weaker directors and scripts, but de Mille is epic.
This is story telling. The story here is based around Riel and the Mounted Police of Canada. We even begin with Riel, but soon the wing of the film takes the turn towards the big name stars.
The scenes with the two minor love interest characters are the most stunning. You know there will be a tragic end, but you aren't sure what the tragedy will be. Always the expert, de Mille knew that had he staged these scenes with the leading love triangle, we would not have the suspense. We would know they would turn out okay. Masterfully, he arrays them in a position of caring about the wild young beautiful couple, and their beauty is cinematic greatness, perfectly filmed and choreographed. Paulette Goddard, from her very entrance, is breath taking, and her beauty is perfectly enveloped with de Mille's cameras. Incredible, astounding, and unsurpassed to this day.
The spectacle of de Mille has never been surpassed, and neither has his directing of characters. As in UNION PACIFIC, it is the minor characters such as Overman and Tamiroff who take this up to the top notch. The comic relief here is one that we also see leading up to a Shakespearean style duel.
The characters and the story keep you riveted. This is a long movie, but it seems like it takes only a few minutes. The mixture of spectacle, action, comic relief, characters, suspense, romance, adventure, and perfect cinematography is the sought after recipe that wise directors will copy and jealous directors will foolishly ignore.
And the moron who put this on the 50 worst films of all time list, we have to wonder what hallucinogens he was on. This is one of the 50 best films of all time. THIS is a clinic. THIS is how to make a film.