Sunday, November 11, 1956
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Pnnp Thret*
t
k
The Cinema Transition
Tracing The Development From Silent to Sound Motion Pictures
ByALF IVR F mental principles of the sound
jN DEVOTING the first six of its film were worked out by Euroean
ten proras to the transitiondrectors - chiefly Fritz Lang,
troin the silent to thse sound film Jean Vio, Reie Clair and G W.
the Gothic Film Society deals with , Pabst
an extraordinarily creative peiod
By 1927 the silent filim had de- ic W. Pabst first gaiied ani h-
veloped a unique eloquence. The "ratioial reputation in 1925
very absence of speechi impelled i by his fue direction of Greta
directors ind acors to search forbs and Asha Nieen in The
expressive meatns transcendiiig the (Jolsse Street. In 1927, however,
sokeis word. Actors like Clhaplin h a his outstanding silent
nd Emil Jaainsgs, directos like film-The Love of Jeanne Ney,
D. W. Griffiths aiid Seeri Eisen- Apoduced in Germany,
tciii, not oily helped create a ness The plot of The Lie of Jeanne
art. but ediicated mass a udieces Ny as in most of Pabst's work,
in the unclestancins, of cinsenmatic is higlynelodaiati . But the'
1laisgisaveffilma succeed overwhelmingly as
Throughout tie aworld, orcdisary f a document of Europe in dcay,
mnsaiid swomn iiresponded tppei INCOMPATIBLE-Renelaiii s SNiiw.;,Is Iilere" of society in dissoltion, of moral
catissly to thle films puiposefud vaus shredding apart. Based
cistoirtionnof irality.rihe begn- PsirWainrBtersindiceen- ad ifoimed tliiistI r ip t eIn the steecttesN is po iupotin nadventure noel by Ilya
iis ahad been anictain. When, t do a rodcenrs ho sire beng e s'tworOf thetwtenties-thy Marx Brothers also peseit Eirnsbrir - then a Bohemian
ince 101 dsinS Pil ttciiout by th i i t concerns- To th r is s rai k a, ispleindid reminder of wha t is on ustlivin in P.ia -it
otltred i close-sit of isn.actoii perrmitited otity a ininiin it ofsbest bot the silent era: its ca-las is plot far beyond in is
lie ~s si i i i ti gu Piisua Isad i a Ntin t vi ii wittsn scens leain' oasi mhito tuncaepofiiid cxporatioi of perso-
fitn geooctTriiBbl ak the rink ot o necessity. 2heir paiysmhw cmrvr m h ra ri obrafitid rneptri and style of di-its a ay more teling for thIvryaity and atmospshere.
t sisevi tossshouted it 55555 t iitlsoussd films constassind cly retion. And cotol oairue e- lack of wrds. Iarpo, sithis;It Jeanne Ney, Pabst made iti-
Tuec:imrana iautrsm01ilccuse 1spscisesh crdin ptoicss wass so etude tisat d~imb sad naive ouuisressee pottnt costriburtions to silent
emphali sis cdase to thta is sa iftrissh diii wicssimnsodssDibsnethtisuse sund sci s a on of conrst fartecniue en as the era wit
its feataisom sck.rcoidentiosn at ciicsthe il-
sensitiveylc-ti n hc rdohddiirctorsaforat mtptesie trothers forissimo madntess clsisg Etering psrdtion js
Snilarly, audiences 0f191mt5 sei ai a could nsot cotrol the balasne of Hlowever, with the eceptioansoa after a stccessionsoa excelleit
learnsec thtat whets 0. W. Griffithis soundic-fotunid theseuesw pto-i'vicesit craiwd scenes. By 193, hint; Vidor's It. elujalt made Gerisan fitnis like The Last Lagh
camecra cut bark iand faiths between n cicitecd a taste for repsiodiced tiese suc sioilar problems cvrc by Hoyodllywood in 1929, the fuittda- See TILE GRtAT, ae 11
the threatenss ero rinse of The snvas httrctingr i n Whe A JoI in poce sof solution, - -
Birlh of a.Nation ansd her ap-ss ti er iii~ihsTeIc
itsrescies, lse wre wt~t'stsgSiner late in 1927, the moguls re TAIGSe e-re o
stt same error as caprice o1 thec traice fell beforeIlseeIpublic the mature sound fibn frsam this
diretor, but the cisematic equissi citzc fot 'talking pictures."By res of coifusia, the Gothic
leisi of "Meanswhile, back a t te lL iey.ro lefrtesn Film Soiety i viewing two film
ranc isl -patrallel editing. pece soud film -- Watrners ab - 'froni Americans comedy, two from
sorbed Frt Natioial.cscsokoCi VPibtsdto
So it wsswuitht hicentire tne i h oko .W asadto
of film techniques - the whole of Rene Clai's;
repertoire of dtrvices by sthich tie 1fBUT the reluctancec of cle critics One of te mot adroit of lit
f ilms treats ime, space and objets peristed. Tliey either predicted canedianss. the Ameriesn Bustr gg
for its ostn purposes. As .audiencesj a retuiii to sitence atier the novel- K eaton reached the apogee of his,
reased to be aw are of them, theirty had pissed, or tell into despair. art jut at the end of thin silent
implact becaus te mscooe effective Ins 190 filmn theoretician Pant phase, in The General. Int his
Both, Siroed definitety that the film Keaton dealt with iis favor-
TBAT the audiecev:eas minisa sccen must necesa-iily be speecti- ie them: the relatioiaship be-
tioal addcd not only to the less: tacen imats and thin machin.
msarketa biity of hice ew t, but 4 It is an acepeited and 'sab- The film, whichs is laid during t lr swl.Tefna -lse atta luiaino h
to ts lor vswel. T fusdaenmishd bfviucttalilmsinispofc-thie IsCivitXWar, isconerned with
cal themes of drama, told and re-Iisdb vsaliusrteinrsprc .ccKe, Inss pursuit of a loco-
told ini tho languagcc of gettre and tidally instantneous, sthile the mostivec a sory drawn from the
in itermitteint titles easily trans- literary meaning of speech re-Isatme hisorical icident as Watt
latable, were easily accessible to ;quires ais appreciable amonunt of Disne y The Great Loomotve
all despite latnguage barriers, time to produce its effect .. But Chose
The tw e n t i es, though thtey whets a visual imae is seen on Buste's face, as in all his films,
brought a tide of ephemeral aind the screen and dailogue is syn- rmamsns rigid and imperturbable
shoddy productions, also witnessed chronized to its action, although I yet it s joined to a body of a- It ilhrltntptitwotpstwe yu
a seady refinement and expansion tesa.1img srcivdqik iobatic 'race that is ceaselesly in
oh technique, The dcade saw en than the dialogue hic latter motiot. In the coitrast between dcorat him irsa sparkling nw Saffell & Mus
Chaplin's The id, Shoudr AetnaI commanids more attention, for it the epresioiless face aind the, slit Sfel&Bs shr. rermbcas
and T1he Gold Rush. From the Da-I is ieary and nan-imagintive lastic ody, ie the pabt of shr - atl&Buhhisaetrnbcue
nish director, CarI Dreyer, came a Continual adjustment and iead- Butri relationhip ha the inc- they fi - Saffel & Bcsh shirts are synononmous
fil wic scme t ehaut h njutmnit of the senses occrs . I"oable locotntive: the iputse,
fimssc endt xsutteAilent fimi apbeo. he-with stylt -. Chck Iis size (necks ann seev,
express ive potentiassa hch a mi aal of ahehhuman that drive the locomotive is as
face, The Passion of Joan of Are luig a more dramatic, lasting and 1mysteriotus as that which so im- please) . We willlhelp yotin make a perfect
The German screen, though lism- posterful effect by its singleness pobably animates Buster,
Ioapeltaadilgefl"..selecton.
ited by a heavy pessimism, devel o tpalta isau i Btween Keaton and the in- i
aped a wondrfuly deli cate use of But if the critics' theomries poed chine eist. a pattern of wild bud 3 C s/cu anti his
ighting and camera-movement. omarng their immediahe predictons(
putrposeful m adness in which Ra-
In The 'as Laugh, the Germans were confirmed. The dialogue film ton eptoits -equally sitill logic
attempted "perfect" silent films- aas osced back within laguge and fanasy - every detail at con- to 9
works without titles, delendin' boundaries, alt but de.troyinsg the tact between hic human and the
olely on pictorial values In !Swedish Danih atid English cane- meehancal. The struggle betwen
France, a vivid style origin-aing! mas Speech diph-aced the setss thnetwo ends its victory fr the
in the primitive films of Gerte ive us e of citemaic resouicesniani because Keaton knows how
Melies at the turn of the cenisr and films becamte eprodustons 'to coprte with hic power ofI;
found a brilliantt practitionier in at plays tatically photographed the machine whie preserving his
flue young-Rie Cair. Thouh and theticaly acted. enimatc detachment.
critics were aisguished by Batty- Appalted, the editors of "Close( Thin audience at the twenties
wood's egregious comiercialisn-tUp" an eminent filtm peridcl coud hardly help but understand
sucking, in and diuting the talentt ceased publication, declaritng thad at some level of explicitness this
of European actors and directois---l he film as an art was dead With1 alegory of industrial man. In both
the prospects for a further social them into inactivity went a arge the universal nature of its theme
and artistic development at the number of artists foat whom the and its acrobatic style, The Gener-
film seemed good, dematsds of the sound-track meant I spletididly represens the peak
piofessional death. ofa sitent comedy
W ITH the exception of a fewI
directors, no one, least at all VET, by 1930, superb soumid filnms jt was the toss of artists like
producers and owners, desired the1 were already beiing made, andI Keatan that disc critics justlya
itrtoduction of sounsd. Recording the aeathetic crisis was resalving. mourned. But in the Marx Broth-
sotind on film had been technically Mitch af the difficulty had been era, thacigh they lacked Keaton's
possible since bfore 1999, but caused by transient technsical dif- unforced profundity, American ;
stithout a sufficiently powerful fclis The early microphones film comedy was ccen in sheer't
means of amplification, this kisow- mercilessly reproduced the noise absurdity. In films like Duck SoupP1
ledge remained unusabte. of an operating camera, ccquiring -the titles of which bore ab-
The vacuum tube, and mare ef- that the camera be iamaobilized solutely no relation to their some-~
ficient synchronizatahon, salved within a heavy, sound-proof box. Whsat shsifting subject matter-che
the problem in 1926, when Bel Thtus inprisotied, it could no long-. Marx Brothers retained the acro-
Laboratories attempted to sell its er probe character aind nviran- batic movement of the silent SA FIIE 'C IFb 11SC 11
new Titaphonse process to tthe ma- mendt with the senssitively chosen screen white adding a new ele- SA F LIL I ( I ~ it
guts. They would have none of it. movements and angles thtat had mett the nonsense of irrelevant,
The necessary investment in new 'nd extravagant speech.,uSaeSre
equipment was too costly, the im- IVr. Silver is a graduate stat- Thseir dialogue is bizarre i its 'aOiSaeSre
pact on establishbed stars and detitocaicolg n tter discontnectedness; the reso- Fro faqatrC'ilr
routines too uncertain, pbi ac- directro h ohcFl o lution of a s ituation Is usually
ceptance tocionjec ural sess t, fte oti imS- brought aout by iwhatever hap
cojetualB ' ciety,