Computer Animation Arts

"F.W. Murnau's German silent classic The Last Laugh (Der Letze Mann) stars Emil Jannings as the doorman of a posh Berlin hotel. Fiercely proud of his job, Jannings comports himself like a general in his resplendent costume, and is treated like royalty by his friends and neighbors. The hotel's insensitive new manager, noting that Jannings seems winded after carrying several heavy pieces of luggage for a patron, decides that the old man is no longer up to his job. The manager demotes Jannings to men's washroom attendant, and the effect is disastrous on the man's prestige and self-esteem."  http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-last-laugh/1020137/synopsis Freidrich Wilhelm Murnau's 1924 German film Der Letzte Mann or The Last Laugh ushered in a new era of cinematic techniques which would greatly influence the way audiences engaged with cinema by turning the camera into a character within the film itself. In my last couple of posts about silent...

“In a small-town hairdressing salon, a young barber, Joe (Uno Henning) is trying to court Sally, the beautiful manicurist (Nora Baring) and asks her out. She rejects him in favour of the security offered by an older, wealthier farmer. In a jealous rage Joe slashes the farmer with a razor and is sent to Dartmoor prison for attempted murder. He escapes over the moors to find Sally, who does not know if he has come to kill her or ask her forgiveness, and it's at this point that the film begins. The rest of the story is told in flashback.” (BFI Filmstore 2008) “...though many filmmakers, Asquith apparently included, believed that silent storytelling had reached such a high level of refinement that mere chatter would never be enough to extinguish it. This, of course, was not to be, but “A Cottage on Dartmoor” provides ample illustration of how elegantly and assuredly expressive silent film had become, and how hard it must have been to believe that this magnificent medi...

This post is the beginning of a series of regular showcases of the best silent films you probably won’t be watching on any of the current CGAA film series and lectures. Later on in the year I’d like to establish a non-CG Arts specific film programme (which will include all types of films) and gauge interest for that a bit later on. For the time being, I’m not making too much of an attempt to set an overarching theme to this series of posts, it will be more of a ‘Tom Recommends’ list of personal favourites without any distinct criteria. Other than the fact they’re bloody brilliant and you should go and watch them right away. After all, that’s what students at an art university should be doing! These posts are written uniquely for the course blog, and I'm open to any suggestions about future films and any feedback you may have! Ideally, I'd like to upload the post and the following day have the film running in the background in the CG Baseroom....