Frank Borzage - Volume One - 7th Heaven / Street Angel details
| Format: | PG DVD |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Paul Fix, Charles Farrell, Gloria Grey, Janet Gaynor, Hector Sarno, Hedwiga Reicher, Guinn Williams |
| Director: | Frank Borzage |
| Genres: | Drama - Comedy, Romance - General |
| Studio: | BFI VIDEO |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Frank Borzage - Volume One - 7th Heaven / Street Angel |
PG Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 3 hours 30 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 02 Nov 2009 |
| Main languages: | English |
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Most helpful review
7th Heaven
By RJNeb2 (922 reviews) from London , 08 Feb 2010[Highly rated reviewer]
Times and tastes have changed dramatically since this was catnip to post-WW1 audiences but '7th Heaven' - hugely corny as it is - does maintain some interest as a museum piece. Director Frank Borzage was a huge romanticist and the film is infused with a starry-eyed approach to the subject with Janet Gaynor simping away tearily all over her statuesque leading man. Any semblance of the harshness of real life - absinthe-fuelled abuse, prostitution, hell, even the Great War - are blithely thrown aside in favour of its soft-focus approach to love. The expressionist sets are interesting, there's obvious chemistry between Gaynor and Charles Farrell (they made another 10 films together) and if you're prepared to sit through the tweeness of it all, it could win you over through its sheer naivite.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(4)Brilliant Borzage
By Cato (705 reviews) from Lydbury North , 19 Jan 2012Brilliant film making of the twenties. Having recently discovered Frank Borzage I shall be looking for a lot more of his catalogue. These films make you realise just how clever the silent movie actors had to be to communicate their emotions on screen, and the two main actors in these two films gave all they'd got to win you over. Of the two films '7th Heaven' is the better but 'Strreet Angel' has also got to be watched for the production and directing, both brilliant for their time.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Gaynor's Finest Hours?
By a customer , 26 Sep 2011I enjoyed Sunrise more than Seventh Heaven but both are interesting to anyone with an appreciation of what Hollywood was capable of on the cusp of the transition to sound
Obviously the storlines reflect the mores of the time but both have moments of genuine emotion and feeling.
Recommended.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Golden Silents
By FrankIV (506 reviews) from Cirencester, England , 26 Oct 2010It's good that later generations have been given the chance to see the box office sensation that was Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, and it's easy to see the appeal. She is very slight, with fragile beauty and waif-like appearance, doing silent movie-type stuff such as laughing bravely through tears and melting in her lover's arms very well, while he is tall, husky and amiable - a sort of prototype Gary Cooper. It works. Naively, and perhaps patronisingly, I'm always surprised at the technical sophistication and inventiveness of silent cinema, expecting it to be slightly static. Here, from the early tracking shot in 'Seventh Heaven' as Gaynor is dragged through the streets by her sister, to the circular pan which comes near the start of 'Street Angel' to reveal the extensive set, the films are full of life and movement. The action sequences showing the mobilisation of Paris at the end of 'Seventh Heaven' is, given the technical limitations of the time, as well composed and executed as you would see anywhere. Well worth the effort.- Was this review helpful to you?
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7th Heaven
By RJNeb2 (922 reviews) from London , 08 Feb 2010Times and tastes have changed dramatically since this was catnip to post-WW1 audiences but '7th Heaven' - hugely corny as it is - does maintain some interest as a museum piece. Director Frank Borzage was a huge romanticist and the film is infused with a starry-eyed approach to the subject with Janet Gaynor simping away tearily all over her statuesque leading man. Any semblance of the harshness of real life - absinthe-fuelled abuse, prostitution, hell, even the Great War - are blithely thrown aside in favour of its soft-focus approach to love. The expressionist sets are interesting, there's obvious chemistry between Gaynor and Charles Farrell (they made another 10 films together) and if you're prepared to sit through the tweeness of it all, it could win you over through its sheer naivite.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (1) Yes |
- No (0)
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