Format:
[DVD]
Uniform Title:
Thanhouser: A Study in Film - Volume 1
Content:
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912): The Thanhouser version downplays the horror element in favor of the thematic conflict between the good and evil sides of one personality. Perhaps unique among all Jekyll/Hyde adaptations is using two actors to portray the two aspects of the same character. The credits list James Cruze in both parts, but Harry Benham played the crazed Hyde in several scenes, simplifying production. Transformation trickery was done with careful cuts and quick in-camera dissolves with no changes in lighting. [www.thanhouser.org]
Content:
The Cry of the Children (1912): "The Cry of the Children" is the most famous and best documented of all Thanhouser films. In its day it was recognized as one of the most important expressions of the pre-World War One reform movement, in particular child labor. Perhaps because the uncompromising content drew all the attention, the film was not then recognized as the artistic masterpiece it is. [www.thanhouser.org]
Content:
Their One Love (1915): One of the many Civil War movies made during the 50th anniversary of the conflict. This was one of Thanhouser's last one-reel dramas and was released just after Griffith's Civil War epic "Birth of a Nation". Griffith's monumental picture had included three long-shots of nighttime pyrotechnics that included superimposures to complete the effect. "Their One Love" has an elaborate and spectacular eleven-shots night battle sequence with pyrotechnics and electric lighting effects, plus far more elaborate staging, editing, action, and pictorial drama than Griffith's example. Thus, film historians consider "Their One Love" to be the first fiction film to fully realize the technique of night cinematography. The night sequence was filmed three weeks after "Birth" opened in New York. [www.thanhouser.org]
Note:
Stummfilm mit engl. Zwischentiteln
Language:
Undetermined
Keywords:
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