Scotland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 May

L’Inhumaine   (Dir.  Marcel L’Herbier, 1924) (Screening format – not known, 135mins)  Famous singer Claire Lescot (Georgette Leblanc), who lives on the outskirts of Paris, is courted by many men, including a maharajah, Djorah de Nopur (Philippe Heriat) , and a young Swedish scientist, Einar Norsen (Jaque Catelain). At her lavish parties she enjoys their amorous attentions but she remains emotionally aloof and heartlessly taunts them. When she is told that Norsen has killed himself because of her, she shows no feelings. At her next concert she is booed by an audience outraged at her coldness. She visits the vault in which Norsen’s body lies, and as she admits her feelings for him, but all is not what it seems and further tragedy looms. While the plot of the film was something of a creaky melodrama with strong elements of fantasy,  from the outset L’Herbier’s principal interest lay in the style of filming: he wanted to present “a miscellany of modern art” in which many contributors would bring different creative styles into a “single aesthetic goal”, in effect a manifesto of the modern decorative arts.   Find out more at sensesofcinema.com .   With live musical accompaniment from pianist Jane Gardner and violonist Roddy Long.  Institut Français Écosse, Edinburgh  Link

28 May

The Big Parade (Dir. King Vidor, US, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 151mins)  One of the earliest films produced by a newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, The Big Parade was a huge box office smash (MGM’s highest grossing silent feature) and cemented King Vidor as a prestige filmmaker. The story of idle American James Apperson (John Gilbert), who is deployed to Europe when the USA join WWI, its plot points were heavily borrowed from 1924 Broadway play What Price Glory?. Centred around his romance with a French local (Renée Adorée), it is full of strange, wonderful moments and impressive scenes of battle.  Find out more at sensesofcinema.com .  With recorded soundtrack.  Filmhouse, Edinburgh    Link

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