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FATHER GEEK opens your cyber window for a real blast from THE WIND
You know one of the things FATHER GEEK likes best about his role here at
AICN’s Geek Headquarters is the ability to discover, and/or rediscover true jewels of the
silver screen past and extant, and present those findings to you our loyal readers. Well,
such a gem caught my eye Tuesday night at the old Alamo Drafthouse. As part of an on
going series showcasing female screenwriters of the late 20’s and 1930’s the Austin Film
Society presented Frances Marion’s 1928 masterpiece THE WIND.
Now Father Geek was very familar with Ms. Marion’s work. She won much
deserved Academy Awards in 1929 for THE BIG HOUSE and in 1931 for THE CHAMP,
and she was nominated again in 32 for THE PRIZEFIGHTER AND THE LADY. She
would have been doubtlessly honored by them much more, but the great bulk of her 150
produced screenplays were for films made before the Academy existed. Films like 1916’s
CAMILLE, 17’s REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM, 25’s STELLA DALLAS,
1926’s SCARLET LETTER and SON OF THE SHEIK. Her early sound era triumphs
included 1930’s ANNA CHRISTIE, 33’s DINNER AT EIGHT, and 37’s CAMILLE, but
some how THE WIND had slipped through the cracks in ol’ Father Geek’s education,
blown into that forgotten pile of celluloid in the ash cans that rest in the dark corners of
our collective film consciousness. Exiled to the wind swept isle of lost souls that is the fate
of most silent cinema. To be buried there in the sands of time till some old Ben Gunn digs
it up and presents the treasure to his young master. So it was that hearing of the AFS’
screening with a live music accompaniment at the Alamo Father Geek and son headed
downtown to literally be blown away.
deserved Academy Awards in 1929 for THE BIG HOUSE and in 1931 for THE CHAMP,
and she was nominated again in 32 for THE PRIZEFIGHTER AND THE LADY. She
would have been doubtlessly honored by them much more, but the great bulk of her 150
produced screenplays were for films made before the Academy existed. Films like 1916’s
CAMILLE, 17’s REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM, 25’s STELLA DALLAS,
1926’s SCARLET LETTER and SON OF THE SHEIK. Her early sound era triumphs
included 1930’s ANNA CHRISTIE, 33’s DINNER AT EIGHT, and 37’s CAMILLE, but
some how THE WIND had slipped through the cracks in ol’ Father Geek’s education,
blown into that forgotten pile of celluloid in the ash cans that rest in the dark corners of
our collective film consciousness. Exiled to the wind swept isle of lost souls that is the fate
of most silent cinema. To be buried there in the sands of time till some old Ben Gunn digs
it up and presents the treasure to his young master. So it was that hearing of the AFS’
screening with a live music accompaniment at the Alamo Father Geek and son headed
downtown to literally be blown away.
THE WIND was based on the controversal novel of the same name by Texas
writer/scholar Dorothy Scarborough. It dealt with the tragic life led by many women on
the Texas frontier of the 1870’s and 80’s. It’s tale has no real good guys, the honorable
cowboy myth is stripped bare by the sand blasting winds. There are no idealic green
valleys, only dust, and grit, and grime that cover everything and everybody in it’s world.
Life was hard, dirty, and unpleasant with little, or no rewards; and the women that didn’t
die young often went crazy with grief, fear, and loneliness. Frances Marion’s script
captures every angst filled bit of the original chiller. The Texas town of Sweetwater near
where the tale is based burned the books publicly when it was first published. The tragedy
of early pioneer life in the area had way more pathos than the locals wanted to face. It
took several printings of the shocker and considerable pressure by the powerful Marion to
get a studio (MGM) to turn it into an actuate motion picture version of the novel in 1928.
MGM sought out a director who could turn Marion’s words into living, breathing
images on America’s motion picture screen. They chose the man Charles Chaplin called,
“the greatest director in the world.” A Swedish Writer/Director/Actor who came to this
country with Ernst Lubitsch and Erich von Stroheim, a man all too familar with the
isolation, desolation, and terrifying winds of his country’s vast northern ice deserts, they
picked Victor Seastrom. Unlike his filmmaking countrymen Seastrom did not stay long in
Hollywood, his best known American works are probably 1926’s SCARLET LETTER
and 28’s THE WIND, two indisputable masterworks. However, he had a successful career
that stretched from the teens well into the late 1950’s. If he is known at all to modern
audiences in this country it is probably in his role as Professor Berg in Ingmar Bergman’s
1957 masterpiece WILD STRAWBERRIES.
Marion handpicked Lillian Gish to star in THE WIND. Gish had been a top tier
performer since 1912 and would continue to act in film until 1987’s WHALES OF
AUGUST. In 75 years before the cameras she would provide us with many dozens of
memorable characters, but none better done than her virgin Virginian battling the men and
the elements on a 1800’s dustbowl ranch 15 miles from the Sweetwater, Texas railhead.
She was in BIRTH OF A NATION and INTOLERANCE, she was momentous in 1920’s
WAY DOWN EAST and 22’s ORPHANS OF THE STORM, and in the sound era she
gave great performances in 46’s DUEL IN THE SUN and 55’s NIGHT OF THE
HUNTER, but when she guns down that crud who rapes her, burying him in the sand a
few yards from her wind swept cabin’s door; when she watches through her broken
blanket plugged window as the wind digs him up again; when she is forced by the place
and times she lived in to marry another man, a lout who disgusts her; when you bare
witness to these and other tragedies that are her life in this film you will agree with Father
Geek that THE WIND is probably Gish’s greatest starring role. A dramatic tour de force
that no present day actress has managed to pulloff successfully.
Alot is made of today’s special effects and computer graphics, and don’t get me
wrong I love them and live for them as much as anybody, but somehow, for some reason
they seldom really truely work for me. Father Geek just doesn’t get a real feeling of fear
for the characters in say TWISTER, or VOLCANO, or TITANIC. They’re pretty effects,
I appreciate that, I really do, but something is missing, they just don’t usually feel right.
Well, going to see a 1928 movie that I had never heard of was the last place I expected to
see it done right. No surround sound, no stereo at all, shit no sound at all. No color 70mm
digitally tweeked images, hell no color at all, the picture was square for god’s sake. But
Harry and I were treated to a splendidly staged climactic desert dust storm as well as one
very real looking cyclone that strikes during the town’s hoedown. Using the most
primitive of methods these early technicians managed to do what the 3 films above never
could do for me or Harry. They got us involved, they made us fear for the safety of Ms.
Gish, they made us believe in THE WIND and that geeks was one hell-of-a-ride for our 35
cents admission.
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+ Expand All
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Like I said, I just wanted to be first
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And I've always wanted to be second!
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Apr 16, 1999 8:41:51 AM CDT
Copernicus: who are more stupid - studio heads or talkback poste
by copernicus
Hey you freaks, Jay just posted some thought provoking words on a piece of cinematic history, and all you can think to say is "I'm first," or "I'm second!" What the hell is that? Who the fuck cares! What are you like 6 years old, because that is exactly what I'd imagine what a six year old would say. Every time I get a little faith in humanity I am robbed of it by imbeciles. I understand if you don't have anything to say about the movie, but what about all of the other topics that were brought up?
(SPOILERS)
Anyway, Johnny Wad, Police Woman, and I were there at the earlier screening and enjoyed the movie, for the most part, thought the ending kind of ruined it for me. This was supposed to be a tragedy, but the studio people changed the ending of the movie so that everyone lives happily ever after. What started as an almost shakespearian tragedy ended more like a farce. It was almost your anti-"hero's journey." She goes on this trip to the unknown frontier, but insead of an older, wiser guide, she meets someone that ain't exactly Obi-Wan Kenobi. But it is more complex than that because villians become heroes and heroes become villians - you are never sure who to hate. Many of the people in this movie are not one dimensional. I like complex characters. Anyway, instead of assembling a band of heroes she has to go it alone, and instead of triumph in the face of adversity she is beaten down at every turn. That's what this is supposed to be - a tale of how women were treated in 1880s frontier towns. They weren't lauded as heroes - the cowboys were iconified and turned into a cultural symbol, but the women were ignored and taken advantage of. This battle against her environment was symbolized by the incessant wind in the movie, and the imperfections of the world she lived in by the grime and dust that covered everything. But then at the end of the movie she says that she loves the wind! They tore out the soul of the movie and book for the sake of a Hollywood ending. That made me want to throw up. Comforting to know that moronic studio heads have been around since the beginning of film. Maybe there is a long line of them - when one retires he picks someone even more incompetent than he is. Then they both post to talkback with "I'm first!" postings. -
It's always nice to be reminded that the really great films are all about storytelling, a collaborative effort of the hundreds of people necessary to get a film to the screen, whether the film be black and white or colour, silent or talkie, square or widescreen. CGI, like all special effects, can be used to help tell an otherwise untellable story (e.g. Titanic) or, sadly, it can be a crutch used instead of a good story (e.g. Godzilla). I'll have to see if I can look up a copy of The Wind. =)
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Wooo! I am 12th! (Sarcasm)
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...its sex. That...and an all CGI version of Starsky and Hutch.
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I have never seen The Wind but I will make a point to find it. The comment that was made about the tension that was built in this movie however is right on point. Obviously I haven't seen it but itis apparent that many modern filmmakers rely on their effects to build the tension rather than developing the story and the characters. Movie characters often tend to be two dimensional and underdeveloped. If you ask me, one of the greatest jobs of character development I have ever seen is in the movie, Sullivan's Journey, that was made in the mid to late 30's. It's about a Hollywood producer who decides to make the film for the comman man so he borrows a hobo outfit from costumes and sets off on the back of a freight train to see the country and the common man. He quickly realizes that he knows nothing about the common man because the common man isn't anything like what is depicted in the movies. I don't want to give away the story to those of you who haven't seen it but I strongly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.
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-George Lucas
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Glaze, the name of that movie is Sullivan's Travels, and I agree that it's a great example of character development.
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Far and away the best actress of the silent era, and one of the best, period. I've not seen The Wind (and from Father Geek's description, I would certainly like to), but IMHO the best film featuring the divine Ms. Gish is 1919's Broken Blossoms, a amazingly still-relevant work about abuse, racism, and kindness. It is available on video, so GO RENT IT!
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I agree wholeheartedly with Glaze and Carey N. on Sullivan's Travels (and yes, it IS "Travels"). On top of the reasons they give to see it, it also stars the yummy Veronica Lake.
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I saw the Wind in one of my film classes, and yes it is an early masterpiece, and yes is Ms. Gish wonderful. Some good stuff that everyone should take a look at.
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YEAH BABY!!!!! I'm 16th!!! In YOUR FACE!!!! ITS MY BIRTHDAY ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!! OOOOOOOOHHHHHH YYYYEEEEAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!! Copernicus, from someone who liked The Faculty, I find it difficult, at best, to take the insult of "imbecile" with any seriousness. 16th!!!!!! YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!!!!! I ROCK!!!!!!!
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