Tag Archives: clothing & fashion

Sangue Bleu | Blue Blood (IT 1914)

Posted on 15 December 2014 by

With the release of Sangue Bleu in 1914, reviews were glowing: “This splendid masterpiece is transfused by all of Ms. Bertini’s soul as an incomparable artist.” Francesca Bertini was already launched as a film star, and as a major production, Sangue … Continue reading →

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Death, love, and beauty: Lyda Borelli in Rapsodia Satanica (IT 1917)

Posted on 13 December 2014 by

Lyda Borelli is the star of this update of the Faust legend. La diva Lyda plays Contessa Alba d’Oltrevita, who at the beginning of the picture is an elderly woman, looking on jealously at the youthful beauty that surrounds her. … Continue reading →

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Ma l’amor mio non muore! | Love Everlasting (IT 1913)

Posted on 10 December 2014 by

Lyda prima diva! What better place to begin Diva December than the film that started it all: Ma l’amor mio non muore! | Love Everlasting (IT 1913), starring the inimitable Lyda Borelli. Ma l’amor mio tells the story of Elsa Holbein, the … Continue reading →

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Das Liebes-ABC | The ABC of Love (DE 1916)

Posted on 28 August 2014 by

Asta Nielsen: great actress, or greatest actress? She’s by far one of my favourite things about the silent era. Much has been written about her vitality, her versatility, and her charisma, so I won’t belabour the point – but it … Continue reading →

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La Dame Masquée | The Masked Lady (FR 1924)

Posted on 23 August 2014 by

Incredible visual design is the most salient aspect of La Dame Masquée. The film was produced by the legendary Albatros studio at Montreuil, made up largely of Russian émigrés who fled their country in the wake of the Bolshevik revolution and … Continue reading →

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100 years ago in Holland: cross-dressing at the seaside, and winter scenes (NL 1914)

Posted on 22 July 2014 by

This week I’m profiling two films from the Netherlands: Toffe jongens onder de mobilisatie, and Hiver en Hollande, both 1914. Toffe jongens onder de mobilisatie was produced by Filmfabriek Hollandia, the most significant Dutch film production company of the 1910s.  Hollandia was founded in … Continue reading →

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100 years ago: Amor Pedestre | Love Afoot (IT 1914) … plus bonus football

Posted on 30 June 2014 by

Recently on European Film Gateway, that goldmine of early cinema, I came across this intriguing short film: The film was directed by Marcel Fabre (Marcel Perez – currently the subject of this Kickstarter), the popular cinematic clown Robinet; he played this … Continue reading →

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That girl is trouble … Nana (FR 1926)

Posted on 23 June 2014 by

Nana: a woman who brings men to ruin through her vanity and impulsiveness.  In his second major production, Renoir adapts Émile Zola’s novel of 1880 with his then-wife Catherine Hessling in the title role. We first meet Nana when she … Continue reading →

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