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Cleopatra (1912)
Sep. 7th, 2008 11:40 pmActress/Producer Helen Gardner was quite the figure in her time. She was the first actor to start their own production company, Helen Gardner Picture Corporation. She had her own physical studio. She made movies for both herself and her original contact owner. Everyone earned tons of fame and made tons of money. In her time, she was one of the most powerful figures in the business. Now, she doesn't even warrant her own Wikipedia page.
Even this film is a bit of a trailblazer. It clocks in at around 90 minutes from a time when most movies didn't go past 30. In the pre-Birth of a Nation era, studio heads didn't believe that the audience would sit around for it. Times have certainly changed. And you certainly realize it by watching this movie.
"Stagy" is a good word for it. The camera is static and all the action takes place front and center. The whole thing appears to be more of a series of scenes than a coherent film. The movie was shot outdoors with painted background scenery. This is quite nice when the scenes in question occur outside. When scenes occur inside, the draft becomes annoying as it flicks the scenery and runs through the actors' clothes. The acting is also kind of "stagy" but not abhorrently so.
The terrible thing, though, was the soundtrack. Singer/Songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk and former Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida are responsible for a work so mismatched with its inspiration that it leaves you stunned. The music is obnoxiously monotonous and doesn't seem to take into account what is actually going on with the scene. Pieces just drone on without regard for emotional nuances or rising/falling action and the music only seems to change when the scene changes. The vocal work, in particular, is very distracting - it's twee and sounds like a bug buzzing around your ear. It's not that one can't do different or avant-garde things with a soundtrack. It just shouldn't suck.
Overall, you should catch this film for the glimpse it offers at old-time movie-making. Just expect to be bugged by the sounds that go with it.
Even this film is a bit of a trailblazer. It clocks in at around 90 minutes from a time when most movies didn't go past 30. In the pre-Birth of a Nation era, studio heads didn't believe that the audience would sit around for it. Times have certainly changed. And you certainly realize it by watching this movie.
"Stagy" is a good word for it. The camera is static and all the action takes place front and center. The whole thing appears to be more of a series of scenes than a coherent film. The movie was shot outdoors with painted background scenery. This is quite nice when the scenes in question occur outside. When scenes occur inside, the draft becomes annoying as it flicks the scenery and runs through the actors' clothes. The acting is also kind of "stagy" but not abhorrently so.
The terrible thing, though, was the soundtrack. Singer/Songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk and former Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida are responsible for a work so mismatched with its inspiration that it leaves you stunned. The music is obnoxiously monotonous and doesn't seem to take into account what is actually going on with the scene. Pieces just drone on without regard for emotional nuances or rising/falling action and the music only seems to change when the scene changes. The vocal work, in particular, is very distracting - it's twee and sounds like a bug buzzing around your ear. It's not that one can't do different or avant-garde things with a soundtrack. It just shouldn't suck.
Overall, you should catch this film for the glimpse it offers at old-time movie-making. Just expect to be bugged by the sounds that go with it.
