Silent cinema, despite serving as one of the fundaments of today’s popular culture, is obscure. For most people it is like Classic literature – something they know it exists but nobody would bother for read it. Those that actually watch and appreciate silent films have almost never been introduced to them directly on the big screen. Instead, an intermediaries were necessary and for most of past century or so such intermediary was television. Of all television works that brought world of silent cinema to new generations few were as important and effective as Hollywood, 13-part British documentary series written and directed by David Gill and Kevin Brownlow, originally produced by Thames Television and aired on ITV in 1980.
Subtitled A Celebration of the American Silent Film, the series deals roughly with first two decades of Hollywood, which the authors view as the most dynamic, most creative and almost magical period of film history. They make such point in the opening episodes, trying to fight popular image of silent films as “funny” and “primitive” by setting 1903 classic short A Life of an American Fireman against The Fire Brigade, 1926 silent film that covered exactly the same subject but provided audience with strong drama, superb editing, special effects and spectacle that could easily pass as content of blockbusters today. Gill and Brownlow thus establish how quickly nascent film industry evolved during the course of single generation and next twelve episodes chronicle the process.
Each episode is dedicated to certain aspect of early Hollywood. Second episode chronicles its beginning – arrival of film makers from US East Coast which saw Southern California with sunny days and lax business-friendly atmosphere as ideal staging ground for building their future empires. Other episodes deal with specific genres like comedy or Westerns, or specific film-related professions like stuntmen, camera operators or directors. Some episodes are dedicated to specific events like First World War and the way it influenced content of early Hollywood films while also allowing American film industry to expand at the expense of its war-ravaged competitors. A scandal that ruined career of popular comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and almost did the same for Hollywood itself is an opportunity to explore social mores of Hollywood and the way it developed self-censorship in order to prevent backlash. Brownlow and Gill also give emphasis on certain larger-than-life individuals that symbolised glitz, glamour and excesses of silent Hollywood – Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Cecile B. DeMille, Erich von Stroheim, Greta Garbo and John Gilbert. The final episode deals with arrival of sound films and the way how it quickly transformed the industry.
Kevin Bronwlow is considered the greatest film historian living today. Much of his fame was built on lifelong passion for silent films which he collected, researched and, in past few decades, worked hard to restore and make them presentable to newer generations. Same kind of hard work was invested in Hollywood, which features clips from almost all most important and popular silent films made in Hollywood from early 1910s till late 1920s. But even more important work was gathering large number of actors, writers, directors, stunt people and cinematographers who had been working in 1920s Hollywood who were still alive and more willing to share their experiences in often fascinating interviews. One of the more interesting among them features Gloria Swanson, silent film superstar who with great frankness discusses her rise and fall, the latter immortalised in the role of her washed-up alter ego in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard. Various film clips are accompanied by narration by grand British actor James Mason who was, like Brownlow, great silent film enthusiast. But even more valuable is music score by Carl Davis, composer who delivered one of them most memorable and effective scores in history of television. Davis, with his recognisable style, would later bring life to various silent film classics, including those restored by Brownlow. Hollywood represents not only an excellent reminder of times when British documentaries used to be synonymous with quality television, but also an important starting point for any cinephile to explore tragically neglected chapters of early film history.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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