Thread: Silent Films
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Old 2nd January 2006, 04:04 PM   #15 (permalink)
GrownUp
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Re: John Barrymore's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Quote:
Originally Posted by McMurphy
The 1920's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde film starring Drew Barrymore's great grandfather, John Barrymore, as both transformations is a silent film I have on DVD and have enjoyed repeated viewing.

The make-up job on Mr. Hyde, which, to me, seemed to be in the tradition of the appearance of 1922's Nosferatu. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is surprisely violent and creepy for its time (for example, Hyde beating someone to death with a lead pipe), and the super-imposed image of a giant spider crawling over the foot of the bed and entering Jekyll's mind was brilliant.

This film is one of my favorite silent films I have ever seen.
Oh I concur. They showed it on the TV a while ago. It was dark, and violent, but I was most absorbed by how the complexity of the story was portrayed.

The subtlety of it was an eye-opener certainly. It is not what you expect from a silent film. A thinker. Makes you think about it for a while afterwards.
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