Movies
A classic epic. Cecil B. DeMille set out to create the definite film adaptation of the story of Moses. With a huge cast (and even more extras), state of the art special effects and a runtime of nearly 4 hours, he certainly made a real effort. And yet, the result is utterly dull and boring. What a slog this was. The performances are pretty weak and terribly overstated, there's way too much dialogue for a 4-hour film that relies on spectacle, and the effects didn't really hold up. Fans of classic epics might get something out of it, I'm just glad I somehow got through it and never have to look at this again.Read all
Early DeMille that fails to impress. I've said it before, but silent cinema doesn't work that well for straight drama/crime narratives. Unsubtle performances make it hard to care for the characters, while awkward alternations between scenes and intertitles slow the whole thing down unnecessarily. It's a pretty simple story that goes from A to B without too many surprises. Performances are well over-the-top, the cinematography is rather bland and characters are flimsy. In its time it might've been an interesting film, considering all the limitations directors had back then, but films like these just didn't age well at all. It's only an hour long, but it felt much longer.Read all
According to this film, the greatest show on Earth is ... a circus. I never understood the appeal of these shows and this film didn't clarify anything. The circus footage is messy, dull, and often annoying. The weird narrative layered on top didn't help things either. All it did was extend the runtime beyond the acceptable. A lot of the film consists of bare circus show footage, which gives it an almost documentary-like feel. The shows are terrible though, no entertainment value whatsoever. The narrative part is badly acted, poorly scripted, and terribly integrated. And this mess lasts a full 150 minutes. Good riddance to circus culture if you ask me.Read all