Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1923) **1/2

A cult movie in more ways than one.

Shown as a Witching Hour film since the 1960s, this 1923 Ben Christensen silent docuhorror (I think I just made this genre up) is a study of witchcraft through the ages. It's supposed to be a "documentary", but I don't know how realistic one can truly be when it comes to filming reenactments of the Devil & Co. I can just imagine the outrage the release of this film caused in strict-Lutheran Sweden and Denmark! In America, a Variety reviewer said this about the film: "Wonderful though this picture is, it is absolutely unfit for public exhibition." Satanism, overt sensualism, and a bit of nudity were just too darn much for 1923!

While the story is not bowl-you-over compelling (though it is both spooky and comical at the same time), the set design, makeup, costumes, and lighting are imaginative. And who doesn't love a story with the devil, horns and all, seducing young women? An interesting film to watch, sober or otherwise.

 

The Wheel (La roue) 1923 **

Greek tragedy in a French setting.

The original cut of this Abel Gance 1923 silent was over 9 hours long. What remains of the original cut today is over 4 hrs. long. After watching this cut I asked myself how anyone could watch 5 more hours of this film. I’m not saying the film is bad, because it is actually entertaining at times. I just think that it is a bit overdrawn and that this can take away from the overall pleasure of the film.

In this story you have railroad worker, Sisif, as a modern day Sisyphus (yes, the rock and hill guy). In an advanced action sequence of a train wreck, Sisif finds an orphaned baby girl (Norma) whom he decides to raise alongside his own son, Elie. Eventually Norma grows up to be a looker and both father and son finds themselves attracted to her. This is where the incestuous Oedipus references come into play. Sisif unhappily marries Norma off to a rich man. The relationship between Norma and Elie develops into a romance and both husband and brother/lover are killed. This causes Sisif to become blind (not by way of knitting needles, though) and leads to a bleak ending.

The opening train wreck is something to behold for a 1923 picture. The incorporation of music into the development of the story (through montage) brings a nice element to the film. I also enjoyed the winter shots on Mount Blanc. The story, however, is very melodramatic. The literary references are an added bonus for some, but not everyone knows a lot about Greek tragedy.

At times an interesting film to watch, but not one of my favorites.

Our Hospitality (1923) **

Who needs Tyson vs. Holyfield? McKay vs. Canfield: Inbreeding at its best!

This 1923 Buster Keaton silent finds Keaton’s character smack-dab in the middle of a long-standing southern family feud. NY raised Willie McKay finds himself on a comically antiquated train headed down south with the girl of his dreams. Little do the lovebirds know that their families have a long-standing southern blood feud. Introduced to and recognized by the Canfield men as their sworn enemy, Willie soon becomes their object of prey. Unfortunately, southern hospitality dictates that they be polite to him while he’s in their home. And, this is where the hilarious cat-and-mouse game between Willie and the Canfields begins.

The comic timing of Keaton is genius. The stunts he performs with the train, bike, and log/waterfall sequences are inspired. One of the most famous scenes in silent movie history is Willie’s perilous rescue of his girlfriend just before she goes over a waterfall. It always amazes me how fearless Keaton must have been to perform such dangerous stunts. Today’s “action” stars can’t even blow their noses without a stunt double.

Funny and entertaining, this is an enjoyable movie.

Foolish Wives (1923) **

Sexiest monocle wearer of all-time: Charlie McCarthy vs. Eric von Stroheim—you be the judge.

In what is considered his masterpiece, Eric von Stroheim directs himself and a whole cast of oddballs in this 1923 classic silent. Grifter/gigolo “Count” Karamzin (von Stroheim) trolls through Monte Carlo with his card-cheating cousins on the lookout for, you guessed it, foolish wives. Since there never has been a shortage of these, he soon finds himself seducing an American diplomat’s wife, who, like many Americans, is easily charmed by the idea of nobility (see The Princess Diaries series making over $200 million). Compromising situations abound and duels are proposed, and in the end Karamzin ends up in the appropriate place, dead in a sewage drain.

The film is funny (I don’t know if this is what von Stroheim had in mind) and entertaining. The technical elements of the film are superb and the photography is marvelous. I can't say that von Stroheim was the most believable cad, but the film is still enjoyable to watch.