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Reviews
Camille (1921)
Nazimova's hair steals the show
Whatever made Nazimova think she could be Camille, one of the most sought after "courtesans" in Paris? Or maybe French men really did have a thing for flat-chested, shapeless women with big feet and bigger hairdos. Surely that was a wig. There is no way they could have tossed up that concoction on a daily basis. And Rudolf Valentino falls hopelessly in love with her at first sight. Really? Valentino might could have added something to this picture if Nazimova would have allowed it. Instead, she chose to keep his appearances brief and subdued, and even to keep him off-screen as much as possible so as to keep the (very soft and fuzzy) focus on herself. On the positive side, there are some very interesting set designs, especially Camille's Paris apartment and the casino. I especially liked the women in silhouette behind the screen and their Egyptian-evoking movements. Valentino's second plaything, Olympe, looks like she may have just stepped out of a Venusian spacecraft. But then it was Paris. I see that many people are impressed with all of the "artistic" innovations introduced by Nazimova, including her rather unique acting style. To me, it seems to date the picture. Possibly in 1921 Nazimova was all the rage, but not for long. It could have been a better movie with more Valentino and less Nazimova--and a lot less hair.
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
A sometimes difficult movie to watch
I have seen this movie several times, and I find it a difficult one to rate. On the one hand, it gets high marks for craftsmanship, storytelling, acting (given the conventions of the era), and certainly it's place of importance in cinematic history cannot be debated. Even the just too precious Mae Marsh is less irritating than usual. On the other hand, there is it's subject matter, which is race relations during the Civil War and Recontruction. It would be hard to imagine a more blatantly biased presentation. I still cannot watch the second half without wincing at times. Every time I see Elsie and her Klansman proudly leading the parade of the Klu Klux Klan, I want to scream, "Lillian, how could you?" Fortunately, all ends well with a resurrected white South and the blessings of Christ, himself. Oh, my. Nevertheless, I give it a begrudging 7.