Pioneers
- Episode aired Apr 28, 1980
- 52m
IMDb RATING
8.7/10
101
YOUR RATING
Contrary to popular belief, the silent film in general had reached a high state of sophistication by the late 1920s.Contrary to popular belief, the silent film in general had reached a high state of sophistication by the late 1920s.Contrary to popular belief, the silent film in general had reached a high state of sophistication by the late 1920s.
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James Mason
- Self - Narrator
- (voice)
Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilming for this documentary began in the mid 1970s. Among those who either declined to be interviewed, or were scheduled to be interviewed, but canceled at the last minute, included: Myrna Loy, Dolores Del Río, Fay Wray, Richard Arlen, Charles Farrell, Lew Ayres, Alice Terry, Anita Page, Jean Arthur, Beatrice Lillie, Pola Negri, Loretta Young, Walter Pidgeon, Marceline Day, Frank Coghlan Jr., George O'Brien, Lina Basquette, Frankie Darro, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Virginia Grey, Alice White, Jean Acker, Ernest Morrison, Gilbert Roland, Sally Eilers, Arthur Lake, Nils Asther, Carmel Myers, Baby Peggy (Diana Serra Cary), Noble Johnson, Dorothy Mackaill, Evelyn Brent, Joseph Henabery, George Jessel, Stepin Fetchit (nee Lincoln Perry), Joan Bennett, George K. Arthur, May McAvoy, Barbara Kent, Carolynne Snowden, Doris Kenyon, Sally Blane, Una Merkel, Esther Ralston, and Ricardo Cortez among others. Kevin Brownlow and David Gill reportedly tried to contact Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, and William Powell for interviews, but all could not be reached.
- Quotes
Byron Haskin: [of director Michael Curtiz] He was an acrobat or something from one of those obscure Magyar countries somewhere between Czechoslovakia and Yugoslovakia.
- ConnectionsFeatures Annabelle Sun Dance (1894)
Featured review
It's great if you realize it really doesn't fit with the other episodes
This episode, from the very beginning, grabs you with the power of silent film and what was lost. When Al Jolson says the series' first words "Wait a minute! You ain't heard nothing yet!" that really was true of the silent era, at least pertaining to speech.
So then the documentary jolts you with a climactic scene from 1927's Fire Brigade" to illustrate how silent film and music come together to create a very emotional experience, not necessarily jerky frames on a screen in an absurd situation with a tinny sounding piano in the background for accompaniment. Although you can find the absurd ones if you look, especially before 1920. After driving the point home that silent film had reached a peak of high art just before that was all lost, the episode oddly jumps back to the birth of the movies.
In this second half, you basically get a lesson in the advancement of the art of silent films from the end of the 19th century through Birth of a Nation, with stress on D. W. Griffith who basically was the father of the feature film in America, although some had been made before Birth of a Nation. It is also pointed out that the Europeans were far ahead of the Americans in production values in the silent era. So with a long discussion on Birth of a Nation, the episode ends quite suddenly compared to the others. During its original broadcast this titular first in the series was actually shown last, several weeks after the final episode on the transition to sound.
If you realize that this episode is more like a preface to the entire series, I think it will be appreciated more. Also you have to love the interviews with actors, actresses, cinematographers, directors, and art directors who still survived into the late 1970s and were available for comment during the filming of this series. Lillian Gish's insights on the filming of Birth of a Nation were invaluable.
So then the documentary jolts you with a climactic scene from 1927's Fire Brigade" to illustrate how silent film and music come together to create a very emotional experience, not necessarily jerky frames on a screen in an absurd situation with a tinny sounding piano in the background for accompaniment. Although you can find the absurd ones if you look, especially before 1920. After driving the point home that silent film had reached a peak of high art just before that was all lost, the episode oddly jumps back to the birth of the movies.
In this second half, you basically get a lesson in the advancement of the art of silent films from the end of the 19th century through Birth of a Nation, with stress on D. W. Griffith who basically was the father of the feature film in America, although some had been made before Birth of a Nation. It is also pointed out that the Europeans were far ahead of the Americans in production values in the silent era. So with a long discussion on Birth of a Nation, the episode ends quite suddenly compared to the others. During its original broadcast this titular first in the series was actually shown last, several weeks after the final episode on the transition to sound.
If you realize that this episode is more like a preface to the entire series, I think it will be appreciated more. Also you have to love the interviews with actors, actresses, cinematographers, directors, and art directors who still survived into the late 1970s and were available for comment during the filming of this series. Lillian Gish's insights on the filming of Birth of a Nation were invaluable.
helpful•10
- AlsExGal
- Jul 13, 2021
Details
- Runtime52 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of Pioneers (1980) in Australia?
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