I am always surprised at the number of people who love silent movies that have not seen The Crowd. I suppose I shouldn't be considering its lack of availability on DVD, which is another surprise to me. Why no DVD? This movie is a masterpiece.
Director King Vidor made a film about all of us - our unfulfilled dreams, falling in love, the reality of marriage, the joy of having a family as well as the tragedies we all encounter in life. It's all there and it's told simply and beautifully making it easy to see why this picture is on the top ten lists of most silent movie enthusiast.
The Crowd stars James Murray, an actor pulled literally from a crowd of extras, and Eleanor Boardman as the everyman couple who fall in love and innocently collide with the realities of everyday existence. It's portrayal of lost dreams and unfiltered hope is haunting in it's ability for us the viewer to see ourselves in the mirror that this movie creates.
Thanks to TCM, The Crowd does get some occasional airings, which is better than the alternative, but the real crime is that this movie is not easily assessable. One needs not to be a silent movie buff to be taken in by it's power and beauty, but if you are, it's the perfect example of how a good story can be told without speaking a single word.
The Crowd. Find it. Watch it. Cherish it.
Director King Vidor made a film about all of us - our unfulfilled dreams, falling in love, the reality of marriage, the joy of having a family as well as the tragedies we all encounter in life. It's all there and it's told simply and beautifully making it easy to see why this picture is on the top ten lists of most silent movie enthusiast.
The Crowd stars James Murray, an actor pulled literally from a crowd of extras, and Eleanor Boardman as the everyman couple who fall in love and innocently collide with the realities of everyday existence. It's portrayal of lost dreams and unfiltered hope is haunting in it's ability for us the viewer to see ourselves in the mirror that this movie creates.
Thanks to TCM, The Crowd does get some occasional airings, which is better than the alternative, but the real crime is that this movie is not easily assessable. One needs not to be a silent movie buff to be taken in by it's power and beauty, but if you are, it's the perfect example of how a good story can be told without speaking a single word.
The Crowd. Find it. Watch it. Cherish it.
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