Sunday January 7th 2018, The Crowd (1928). Director: King Vidor. 98 minutes, black & white, silent. Doors open at 8pm, film starts at 8:30pm.
Regularly described as a masterpiece, one of those films the director had to fight to make. It was a studio production, but it’s not a ‘studio film’.
An ordinary American, John, from a small-town, born on the 4th of July, heads into the big city, believing the American dream that everyone can ‘be Somebody’. He’s in the crowd, and visually so is the film, angular geometry and large architecture abound. You can but see references to this film in so many others that follow it, the worker at his desk, among hundreds, a small part of the bigger machine; the couple a part of the audience. In the end you care about what happens to these characters and their marriage. It might even be hopeful, if not for the American Dream.
Sadly never remastered, this will be a proper low-res experience.
Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net
