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Recent Posts
- The fallibility of film history: Valeria Creti unmasked as Filibus
- Il cinema ritrovato 2018 in review
- Bologna-bound: Il cinema ritrovato 2018
- Buster on the big screen: a visit to the delightful Time Cinema
- The perilous camera-eye: El sexto sentido | The Sixth Sense (ES 1929)
- Coda to Valentine’s Day: silent film postcards
- Power couples of Italian silent film
- Pride and passion: Pina Menichelli in Il padrone delle ferriere (1919)
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Tag Archives: excellent women
The fallibility of film history: Valeria Creti unmasked as Filibus
I wrote about the delightful 1915 action caper Filibus a few years ago: a wonderful gender-bending tale of intrigue and adventure, one of my favourite silents. In particular, I praised the performance of Cristina Ruspoli as the title character Filibus, … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Misc
Tagged adventure, cinema of 1915, cinema of Italy, Cristina Ruspoli, excellent women, film history, Valeria Creti
28 Comments
In search of Astrea, mysterious ‘strongwoman’ of the Italian silent cinema
The silent era was something of a golden age for athletic female stars. American serial queens were beloved by audiences around the world—it would be hard to overestimate how popular (and bankable) stars like Pearl White were at their peak. … Continue reading
Mistinguett on film: three shorts
Mistinguett must be considered one of France’s great entertainers. Born Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois in 1875, in the early twentieth century she was a huge star of the French music hall, lighting up the stage of such legendary venues as the Moulin … Continue reading
Emilie Sannom, daredevil of the movies
In the history of film, the 1910s was the premier decade for female action stars. Long before Ellen Ripley became the prototype for the modern female badass, silent movie screens were filled with fearless women, female daredevils, adventurers and spies. … Continue reading
The film star performing the film star: Asta Nielsen in Die Filmprimadonna (DE 1913)
“Lower the flags in her honour; she is incomparable and without peer.” So wrote early film theorist Béla Balázs of Asta Nielsen in his 1924 book Der Sichtbare Mensch (The Visible Man). It is well-known that Nielsen was one of the first international … Continue reading
Posted in Film
Tagged Asta Nielsen, cinema of 1913, cinema of Germany, EFG, excellent women, film about film, nitrate damage, Urban Gad
5 Comments
“Gossip is a fearful thing”: Ruan Lingyu’s 新女性 | New Women (CN 1935)
I’ll be in China in less than a week! So this seems like an appropriate time to take a look at another Chinese film from Shanghai’s golden era: 1935’s 新女性 | New Women, starring Ruan Lingyu in a heart-breaking role. … Continue reading
Posted in Film
Tagged Cai Chusheng, cinema of 1935, cinema of China, dangerous female sexuality, excellent women, Ruan Lingyu, Zheng Junli
9 Comments
Better living through athletics: Li Lili in 体育皇后 | Queen of Sports (CN 1934)
The first Chinese silent film that I ever saw was 1934’s 体育皇后, or Queen of Sports. It would have been 5 or 6 years ago, at the lantern festival in my home city, where they showed a few films on … Continue reading
Posted in Film
Tagged athletic heroines, cinema of 1934, cinema of China, excellent women, Li Lili, memory lane, patriotism, propaganda, sports, Sun Yu
8 Comments
Mistress of disguise, pirate of the skies: Filibus (IT 1915)
Have you ever wanted to watch a film about a masked female criminal mastermind who flies around in a zeppelin, perpetrating audacious schemes for the thrill of it as much as for the spoils of victory? Well, not only does this … Continue reading
Karalli & Bauer: Счастье вечной ночи | The Happiness of Eternal Night (RU 1915)
This week, a return to the Yevgeni Bauer hour of power! The Happiness of Eternal Night sees Bauer working with actress and ballerina Vera Karalli, actor Vitold Polonsky, and cameraman Boris Zavelev; the same core of After Death, which was released just six … Continue reading
Posted in Film
Tagged blogathon, Boris Zavelev, cinema of 1915, cinema of Russia, excellent women, Vera Karalli, Vitold Polonsky, Yevgeni Bauer
13 Comments
Xirgu on film: Alma Torturada | Tortured Soul (ES 1916)
I first became interested in Margarita Xirgu a year or two ago, when I saw a performance of the opera Ainadamar (‘Fountain of Tears’, 2003). The opera centers on the relationship between the poet Federico García Lorca and the actress Xirgu, his close friend, muse, … Continue reading
Posted in Film
Tagged cinema of 1916, cinema of Spain, EFG, excellent women, forgotten film stars, Magí Murià, Margarita Xirgu, original research
1 Comment
Silents, Please! 