Sunday, August 26, 2018

The Big Parade

The Big Parade is a 1925 silent film directed by King Vidor and starring John Gilbert. from Wikipedia: "the film is about an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes a friend of two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl." I don't tend to like war movies, and yet this is a riveting story.

trailer:



You can watch it online at this link, or watch it here:



Senses of Cinema says,
Filmed seven years after the war when memories of the conflict were still fresh in the minds of its contemporary audiences, The Big Parade is definitely not a pro-war film but neither is it as anti-war as its director once thought.

The New York Times has a review of the DVD release that says,
the film remains a heartfelt but shrewdly judged blend of comedy, romance, action and tragedy — a movie that perfectly embodies the classical Hollywood ideal of providing something to appeal to every member of what, in the 1920s, was a wide public still unsevered by demographic categories.

It's included in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 100%. FilmSite has background and an extensive and detailed plot description. Slant Magazine says, "For all its grandeur, The Big Parade concerns the individual response to forces bigger than any one person".


8 comments:

  1. Haven't see this, but it reminds me of "All Quiet on the Western Front"

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    1. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is a remarkable film. I've only seen it once, but I still remember it, especially some scenes which are still clear in my mind even now.

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  2. Not heard of this film, it gets excellent reviews 😁. Thanks for sharing and Happy Sunday! J 😊 x

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    1. People don't much watch the silents anymore, and from what I hear getting younger folks to watch a black and white film can be a challenge these days. Happy Sunday :)

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  3. I've also never heard of it, but was surprised to read what you wrote about young people today. They also don't know how to read and write like they are on Twitter. Like Jo, I agree it has excellent reviews, so I hope to catch it tonight.

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    1. I just like movies, so the prejudice against silents and b&w films doesn't make sense to me. But then I like foreign films, too, and I know a lot of people who either have trouble with the subtitles or are distracted by dubbing issues. I'm very flexible when it comes to movie-watching :)

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  4. This was really quite well acted for a silent film. Some of them are SO overacted. Was really interesting to see the time period and with the special effects for that time that really did the war scenes well. It was quite the love story--romantic love and love for your friends. I enjoyed it. Thanks! :)

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    1. I'm glad you liked it. I agree about the acting. Another thing that I was impressed with was how few inter-titles they were able to use. King Vidor was a genius :)

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