Monday, December 19, 2016

The Sound behind Silent Film


A musician plays the Mighty Wurlitzer for
a silent filmrer
[Revised] Silent films have well, always had sound, but until talkies were adopted by the five major studios in the late Twenties, it was simply never synchronized on screen. Sound was conveyed outside the production itself. The earliest theaters hired a local pianist or guitarist looking to make a quick buck to add as a sort of audio narration- making up tunes to match the tones of scenes, creating sound effects, and so on and so forth.

By the early teens, theaters, esp. those in wealthy suburban and highly trafficked urban areas, began to purchase massive organs called "Mighty Wurlitzers" (created by Rudolph Wurlitzer) which featured many different sound effects and musical melodies to compensate for the lack of an orchestra. Eventually, "epic" films such as Ben Hur and the Birth of a Nation featured actual scores, composed and shipped to the specific theater upon release.  Local musicians thrived during the teens and roaring 20s, but, when the Depression hit in the late 20s, it destroyed live music in cinema. Most theaters, those that were still open, anyways, couldn't afford to pay any longer, not to mention, by 1931, nearly 80% of all films released by Hollywood studios had synchronized sound.

Music has always played a part in film history, but one of the most common misconceptions about silent films is that they never had sound to go along with it, and that silent films were barely watchable as a result. Hopefully, I've provided some insight, and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. 

The Dunkirk Dilemma

(My favorite shot of the entire trailer)
Earlier this week, Warner Brothers released the full length theatrical trailer for Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, based on the events of the successful Allied evacuation in May-June 1940. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the clips showcased were both visually stimulating and terrifying.
When I first saw the trailer in theaters on Thursday, I was blown away, only to be interrupted by a man behind me, who leaned over to his friend, asking "What is that?"

Leaflet dropped by German personnel as featured in
the trailer 
While Operation Dynamo is an extremely riveting and harrowing tale (that arguably dictated the fate of the entire Western World), it involved no American personnel whatsoever, and as such,

it receives little attention in U.S. history books. This is a purely Franco-British endeavor, and a fairly unknown one, at best. Blockbuster World War II films generally seem to be centered around American forces, and well-known engagements. For every for every Dunkirk-esque film, there are at least five productions detailing aspects of the Invasion of Normandy or Pearl Harbor. Even British made epic films such as A Bridge too Far focus extensively on U.S. troops.  The big budget nature of the picture and it's relative obscurity give it potential for financial failure as American audiences may fail to turn out as they have with other, Ameri-centric productions such as Saving Private Ryan. 


Veteran actor and Nolan-favorite Tom Hardy as a (presumably)
Royal Air Force pilot
The ensemble cast and crew- featuring fantastic actors such as Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, and Tom Hardy and debuting Harry Styles (with the added bonus of Nolan himself) if promoted well enough could compensate for any potential financial downside. The trailer; however, failed to capitalize on their name recognition.  To be fair, it is only the first clips to be released, and I'm sure more will be released in due time. Overall; however, I am absolutely looking forward to seeing Dunkirk next summer, and advise you to, as well.