Read original: https://www.patreon.com/gigipotemkin/posts/1913-1940-movies-163032900
I got back to watching movies, but only to cool down and relax, with no intent of professionally reviewing them or anything like that.
It helps me get through a particularly boring session of work or wind down after a really intense one. ☺️
I decided to go through all mainstream/famous films released since 1913, which is when there is a reliable catalog of box-office successes on Wikipedia (example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_in_film)
I’m posting my (very quick) opinions on the movies I watch here to hopefully give you an idea of my tastes and influences, as well as maybe help you decide what to watch next (read more below).
How the rating works
My (totally subjective) rating system is as follows:
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Loved it. Couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Very likely to re-watch often.
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Really enjoyed it despite some jank. A few snippets or scenes were skipped. Maybe will re-watch.
3 ⭐⭐⭐ = Alright enough. Skipped a bunch of scenes, but for the most part, it's fine. Unlikely to re-watch often, if at all.
2 ⭐⭐ = Skipped many scenes. Very boring or just really kinda bad.
1 ⭐ = Dropped it. Either not my cup of tea or a truly, truly bad movie.
There are no “in-betweens” or intermediary ratings, like 4.5, 3.5, etc.
My ratings are simple, straightforward, and reflect personal tastes and re-watchability, not (necessarily) professional quality or artistic merit.
My ratings are entirely personal and reflect only what pleases me as a “consumer”, so to speak.
If you like me and my works, you’re probably going to like the same stuff I do and, conversely, dislike what I also dislike, so these lists (or “reviews”) might be a good guide for what media to watch… or avoid.
Ratings 4 and 5 mean you’re very likely to enjoy a work.
Rating 3 is a coin flip. It might be a hit, it might be a dud. It’s up to you to take the risk.
Ratings 1 and 2 mean “generally avoid” unless you’re really curious about a work or something.
1913-1940 in Film
Without much further ado, here are all the movies I watched from 1913 until 1940.
All ratings and comments below can be found on my Letterboxd profile.
⭐ 1913. Traffic in Souls (1) Yeah, naw dawg.
⭐ 1914. Spoilers, The (1) I can see why no one "respectable" took film seriously until the 60s or so.
⭐ 1915. Birth of a Nation, The (1) Technically impressive for its time. And that's that.
⭐ 1915. Carmen (1) God, I'm so bored
⭐ 1915, Intolerance (1) The Joker 2 to Griffith's Joker 1. The 1910s rage-quit movie.
⭐ 1921. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The (1) Good god, movies were such a drag back then.
⭐ 1921. Kid, The (1) Sorry, but these silent movies are ALL one-trick ponies.
⭐ 1922, Robin Hood (1) HOW IN THE F--- ARE THESE MOVIES ALL OVER 2 HOURS LOOOONG???!!!!
⭐ 1923. Ten Commandments, The (1) The most visually engaging movie until 1923. Still an awfully-paced borefest.
At this point, I gave up on the silent era and skipped right up to the sound and technicolor era, beginning with Disney’s smash hit Snow White (didn’t like it).
⭐⭐ 1938, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (2) More of a proof of concept than a movie. Still, Disney pulled all the stops on the animation dept for this one.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1939. Wizard of Oz, The (4) Slow start, and non-Oz parts are a little annoying, but everything else is so f---- charming!
⭐ 1939. Gone with the Wind (1) Joins Blade Runner on the list of "most beautiful sleep pills ever made."
⭐⭐⭐ 1940. Grapes of Wrath, The (3) Some pacing issues. Too damn sad and depressing (unlikely to ever re-watch)
⭐ 1940. Great Dictator, The (1) Not funny (dropped it at 24min)
⭐ 1940. Rebecca (1) What a worthless story (dropped it at 12min)
⭐ 1940. Pinocchio (1) Such pointless silliness (Disney thinks SO LOWLY of his audience!) (dropped it at 16min)
⭐ 1940. Fantasia (1) Jiggling Keys: The Movie (dropped it at 11min)
As previously stated, all ratings and comments above were also logged into my Letterboxd profile, which you can find here: https://letterboxd.com/ggpotemkin/
Follow me there if you’re into movies and like this sort of thing. I figured it would be a nice way to connect with readers and, sure enough, spread my brand through the algorithm and similar SEO techniques.
Next up are movies from 1941. Here’s all the movies from that year that I have on my watchlist:
How Green Was My Valley
Maltese Falcon, The
Citizen Kane
If you have more movies from 1941 to suggest that you’d like to see “reviewed”, drop them in the comments, Discord, or my DMs.
Stay tuned! 👋