I mentionedmy passion for silent film history the other day. Whilst surfing YouTube, I discovered that a gent namedBentoJoaoAntonio has been uploading episodes ofKevin Brownlow’s magisterial 13 part documentaryHollywood. The series was made for British teevee and I watched it on PBS. Since it was aired in 1980, many of the movie industry’s pioneers such as Lillian Gish, Hal Roach, Colleen Moore and King Vidor were still alive to be interviewed.
Here’s episode one, The Pioneers:
Thanks for posting this. I’m going to be watching a number of episodes today…
You won’t be disappointed; one of the best long form documentaries ever. And it’s fun to boot.
If you like movie history, you might like Flickers, a miniseries set in the early days of the British film industry. It starred Bob Hoskins and Frances de la Tour. It really captured the sense of the times and the changes in the business.
Adrastos – Roberta sent me a book of where the movie notables are buried here in L.A. I got it on Saturday and now realize that on the way to Dan’s chiro, we drive past the cemetery where Buster Keaton is buried (and found out Jelly Roll Morton is out here, too). The next time you and Dr. A get out this way – if we can’t take you, we’ll direct you to the Niles Silent Film Museum just outside of Union City (just outside of S.F.). On Saturday nights they show old silents. I love it.
This series was produced by Thames TV, but for some reason it played in NYC on broadcast TV 2 years before PBS. It was either WOR or WPIX, either way, I video taped (remember that?) all TEN episodes. For some reason the other three were not included in the series until the PBS airing in the 80s. The 3 not shown (or taped originally are: Single Beds, Double Standards – Swanson & Valentino – and the Autocrats. Of course I taped the series again from PBS. I’m glad to know they’re on YouTube, my tapes are showing lots of wear.
Thanks for posting this.