Posts tagged ‘silent film’
Sound and Vision: Charlie Chaplin and the Sound of Silence
First things first: this post is in conjunction with the Park Circus Charlie Chaplin Blogathon … for which I am shamefully late. The blogathon wrapped two days ago, but I absolutely HAD to contribute. Park Circus does amazing work: a UK-based organization dedicated to bringing classic films back to their home on the big screen. Not being a part of their Chaplin blogathon would be unforgivable!
So. That being said…
I thought it would be fun to explore Chaplin’s fascinating love/hate relationship with a little thing called … sound. Chaplin may have been the one filmmaker to hold out the longest against sound, but he also happened to be one of the earliest filmmakers to embrace it. A fitting contradiction given Chaplin was a man of so many contradictions. Read more ►
The Great Big Beautiful Project Keaton Blogroll
Wow! What a month it’s been. I hardly know where to start .
Project Keaton has been a daily thrill over on the Project Keaton Tumblr page as well as here on The Pictorial, and with the project officially ending yesterday, I am delighted to post the our Great Big Beautiful Project Keaton Blogroll. The following is a list of every single contributor with links to their respective sites. If you haven’t been following Project Keaton on Tumblr, this is your chance to catch up on a month long of Buster Love. (Click here for a PDF of our blogroll_list.)
Silent film fans from all over the globe came out in droves to show their support for the project: England, Scotland, The Netherlands, Australia, Spain, South America and North America. The creative output has been fantastic. Thanks to every last blessed one of you for giving Buster something to smile about in October. Read more ►
Project Keaton: Buskerfly Productions Tip Their Hat to Buster
Buskerfly Productions is truly delightful. This Boulder-based production company embraces the elements of classic film-making while utilizing the latest in modern technology, producing work that is of pristine, high-def quality while maintaining its integrity to the original medium that is their inspiration: silent comedy.
Buskerfly reached out to Project Keaton and was so kind as to edit a special clip from their silent feature, BUSKERS BOUNTY. Watch as they so effectively channel Keaton’s timelessly hilarious “hat scene” from his 1928 masterpiece STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. Many thanks to producers Philip Van Scotter and Abbey Pleviak for reaching out— and for their fabulous work!
Visit Buskerfly Productions to see more of BUSKERS BOUNTY, and to learn about their exciting upcoming projects!
and the original source of inspiration:
Project Keaton: John Bengtson's Buster Keaton and Film Noir
Silent film historian John Bentson is pretty much THE authority on filming locations of the silent masters. His holy trinity of silent comedy filming locations Silent Traces, Silent Echoes and Silent Visions are dazzling, in-depth histories of the films of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd, respectively. His blog, Silent Locations, digs even deeper into the past, unearthing (with incredible precision) the exact locations of even the most obscure silent films.
His latest post Buster Keaton and Film Noir is proof of his sleuthing skills and we are proud to have him on board for Project Keaton!
Project Keaton
For the month of October, the Pictorial will be heavily focusing on the life, work and art of the legendary Buster Keaton. It felt right we should do so, given Buster’s 116th birthday on October 4th, the month-long salute to Keaton’s films on Turner Classic Movies, and some exciting new releases from Kino video.
Project Keaton will be a month long open forum in which writers, artists, everyday Joes and everyday Janes (like me) from all over the world are being invited to tip their pork pie to Buster. The goal is to foster a month of creative exchange, with Buster as muse, and to celebrate one of cinema’s few, true geniuses.
There are no rules as to content: essays, reviews, art, critiques, tributes, prose, poetry, all are welcome. And, since this is a month long project, there are no pressing deadlines: participants may contribute as little or as much as they wish any time at all during the course of October.
The Pictorial has some fun Keaton-related giveaways planned (more on that later!) and plenty of goodies to keep your slapstick sweet tooth satisfied. (Alliteration foul, I know, couldn’t resist.)
I’m also hoping Project Keaton will provide a great cross-platform for writers and artists to explore each others work. All participants’ contributions will receive coverage here on the Pictorial blog, our Twitter feed as well as the special Project Keaton Tumblr and Facebook page.
If you are interested in participating, please send an email to thekeatonproject@gmail.com or respond to this thread with your appropriate contact email and we’ll add you to the Project Keaton roster.
C’mon, everyone. Let’s really give Buster something to smile about!