The first bit of Erotica I ever reviewed for Cult Epics was “American Nudes,” a three disc compilation of erotica shorts that started in the mid-twenties and the silent era and ended in the late nineties where the production qualities were much better but the sex much more artificial. Never remiss to explore all facets of erotica in its truest forms, Cult Epics has compiled a two hour array of vintage lesbian erotica from the 1930’s to the 1960’s that’s both fascinating in its delving of photography and the lengths of innocence and horseplay among its female cast, and rather arousing if you’re in to the girl on girl fetish.
Tag Archives: Silent Film
The Dragon Painter (1919)
While I would have loved to adore “The Dragon Painter” and the story that unfolds, I can’t say that I did. For a movie made in 1919, Sessue Hayakawa’s film is a wonderful epic with some rather incredible splashes of stark color and sweeping landscapes. Even for a print that’s aged and was nearly lost the picture transfer for “The Dragon Painter” is awfully fantastic with crystal clarity, and an incredible score. Even those who dislike the movie will find some value in the backdrops and set pieces, including Hayakawa’s eagerness to break all stereotypes of the Asian culture.
The Jazz Singer (1927) (Three-Disc Deluxe Edition) (DVD)
I always manage to garner negative reactions from fellow movie geeks who find my sheer stern love for film rather irritating. I’m told to lighten up, I’m told that I take this stuff too seriously, and that movies are just entertainment; “They’re just movies! They’re there to entertain above everything else! Don’t be so critical!” The reason why I hold movies to such a high regard with a strong importance is because movies are a powerful form of art and expression, and images in film can hold a great deal of power that can affect everyone from casual observers to the deepest of film buffs. If it were the contrary, Warner Bros. would have included the most famous image of “The Jazz Singer” on the box of this new deluxe edition, rather than opting for an image of Jolson’s shadow in a beaming spotlight.
The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville) (2003)
Hitchcock once said, “If it’s a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on”. This wonderful French animated adventure “Triplets of Belleville” does the trick pure and simple and not only puts Hitchcock’s theory to work, but it manages to prove it without a doubt. It’s very rare we get great films that are silent these days yet manage to tell more of a story than any mainstream Disney film could ever hope to tell. Hitchcock would have loved this because it does an incredible job putting that theory to work throughout the entire story which has no dialogue whatsoever from any of the characters, but tells such a clear story.