579 The Phantom Carriage

[TMDaines]

I love it when silents appear on Blu-ray. This looks magical!

I hope we'll see more from you lot then soon!

[colinr0380]

Mondo Digital review

[Person]

For a 35mm film shot in 1920/21, this one looks AMAZING. Blu-ray (not that it is definitive) is revealing the hard work of men older than my old-as-fuck grandfather. And he himself worked hard. Not now. Now he smokes the black stuff with me since grandma died. He used to be uptight, but now he doesn't give a fuck. Sinatra at the Sands has taken on a whole new dimension.

It's 2011. Let's just enjoy ourselves while we can.

[whaleallright]

I believe the negative of this one was lost in the devastating 1941 (?) fire that destroyed nearly all of SB's film archive. So it's doubly remarkable that the Blu-Ray should look so nice. Once again, here's to some enterprising company taking a chance on some of the Sjöström films that immediately preceded this, esp. Girl from the Marsh Croft, Ingmarssönerna, and Mästerman -- not to mention a version of Berg-Ejvind that's taken from the most recent SF restoration, not the sped-up, VHS-era master Kino used for their DVD.

[ando]

Nothing beats a free try before I buy.

Someone recently put this one up in its entirety on (dare I mention it??) Youtube. The score is great though the poster doesn't indicate which of the composer's work is featured.

I still have a problem with a part of the story; namely, why do George's two drinking buddies resort to killing him after he refuses to visit the dying woman? The reaction seems extreme and overdone. I'm trying to imagine how I'd tell the tale, which is an intriguing one, without making George's murder seem incredible.

[Michael Kerpan]

Currently not available directly from Amazon:

Item Under Review

While this item is available from other marketplace sellers on this page, it is not currently offered by Amazon.com because customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are shipping it, or the way it's described here. (Thanks for the tip!)

We're working to fix the problem as quickly as possible.

[naersjoen]

This customer seems to think it's to do with the fact that the Blu-ray is in 1080i.

[ptatler]

I have no idea whether it's 1080i or not. But I can attest to The Phantom Carriage's awesomeishness. As a matter of fact, here's a link to my blog that links to my review.

[swo17]

It is 1080i, as it should be.

[Wombatz]

I still have a problem with a part of the story; namely, why do George's two drinking buddies resort to killing him after he refuses to visit the dying woman? The reaction seems extreme and overdone. I'm trying to imagine how I'd tell the tale, which is an intriguing one, without making George's murder seem incredible.

From memory: they're killing him because that's how drunken brawls end, no sense in it. He's got it coming after he has rejected his guardian angel, though.

[hearthesilence]

Almost perfect. It's missing just one bonus feature that I would've loved to hear...the live score composed and performed by Jonathan Richman of the Modern Lovers ("Roadrunner," "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar").

[Kokomo Blues]

Nothing beats a free try before I buy.

Someone recently put this one up in its entirety on (dare I mention it??) Youtube. The score is great though the poster doesn't indicate which of the composer's work is featured.

I still have a problem with a part of the story; namely, why do George's two drinking buddies resort to killing him after he refuses to visit the dying woman? The reaction seems extreme and overdone. I'm trying to imagine how I'd tell the tale, which is an intriguing one, without making George's murder seem incredible.

Actually, they don't kill him -

SpoilerShow

he gets up and runs home.

And he’s in a state of alcohol induced paranoia that his wife is about to kill her children.

Explained by the over-elborate dream sequence when he is unconscious.

If you skip from when his buddies flee to when he gets back on his feet you will see no evidence that the wife is trying to harm the kids.

[neilist]

Almost perfect. It's missing just one bonus feature that I would've loved to hear...the live score composed and performed by Jonathan Richman of the Modern Lovers ("Roadrunner," "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar").

Wow! Why didn't I know that he'd done this? Was it ever recorded at all? Did he only make one performance of it?

[matrixschmatrix]

Man, I really did not especially care for Sister Edit in this. I mean, part of it's that I don't care for the Salvation Army in the first place- it strikes me as being something of a missionary order, and Sister Edit behaves something like a missionary, helping in ways nobody asked for, forcing her morality and religion on people, etc. I was particularly annoyed at her pushing David's wife to get back together with him- which is essentially enabling abuse- and then regretting doing so only because it pushed David into further sin, and not for the effect it had on his poor wife and kids. There's a certain sanctimoniousness in the way she is unconcerned about her own soul, too- as though she never stops to think about whether she herself does right or wrong, only about whether she can force someone else into line before she goes.

I didn't actually like pre-repentance David, but he did have a certain élan about him that I enjoyed- I particularly liked his little object lesson to Edit about unwanted help, when he rips the patches out of his coat in her face. There's a wicked sense of humor to doing something like asking his fellow consumptive to cough in people's faces (because hey, fuck them) that animated the movie in a way it's otherwise sorely lacking. I'm not entirely cynical, and I did like the film (and find the ending moving) but a lot of the melodrama of it seemed like it was aching to be read against the grain.

[Perkins Cobb]

This is such a welcome package that I shouldn't complain, and yet ... after reading the liner notes, I'm really bummed that Criterion didn't license either of the remakes by Julien Duvivier or Arne Mattson as bonus features.

[Calvin]

The Phantom Carriage topped FLM's poll to find the top 25 Swedish films of all time

[MichaelB]

I love national polls like this, especially since they're far more likely to throw up genuine surprises and worthwhile discoveries than more generalised ones (a case in point: Marketa Lazarová topping the 1998 Czech poll, which provided a significant marketing hook when the film was belatedly rediscovered).

In fact, has anyone compiled a collection?

[Calvin]

In fact, has anyone compiled a collection?

Not that I'm aware of but it would be an interesting project.

[MichaelB]

I might give it a go myself when I have a moment. I also vividly remember the way Zoltán Fábri completely dominated the Hungarian equivalent, even though he's barely known internationally (certainly when compared with Jancsó, Szabó and Tarr).

[repeat]

Hey, could a thread be opened where national polls like this could be listed? It would be truly amazing if people from different countries could take the time to locate and post similar listings or polls. (I promise to do one if no one beats me to it)

[martin]

Hey, could a thread be opened where national polls like this could be listed? It would be truly amazing if people from different countries could take the time to locate and post similar listings or polls. (I promise to do one if no one beats me to it)

I agree, let's post some country lists/poll. The Swedish list from the FLM magazine has been posted in the "Other Lists" subforum. But I guess some countries can potentially have a lot of lists/polls. In Denmark, for instance, there are 12 canonical films chosen by The Ministry of Culture. Then there's the top 100 list from The Danish Film Institute. And there are film magazines, critics, books on films, and even web-polls - all with their own lists.

What would be the best way to present such lists? One thread per country?

[repeat]

I think it would probably stay tidiest as a single thread with one main post for each country, and one person updating that post as necessary..?

[TMDaines]

Isn't one master post organised by country enough?

Also, I imagine the "sources" section on the TSPDT list will be a good source of national lists: clicky.

[Calvin]

Voilà

[Saturnome]

I wish there was a neat topic for Victor Sjöström where I could ask this, but I'll post it here I guess : Is there any detailed account about why he left film directing? Was making talkies that bad? Or how he went back to it one last time in the United Kingdom (Under the Red Robe, 1937) ?