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Monday 24 Nov 2025
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The best films of the early twentieth century

Earlier, we talked about a survey of one hundred and seventeen film critics from all countries conducted by the Belgian Cinematheque, which resulted in the selection of twelve "best films of all time."

The "second-round jury", consisting of young filmmakers from different countries, had to choose the best film from these twelve and award it with a gold medal; the remaining eleven received silver medals.

Among the jury members were: Spaniard Juan Bardem, author of the famous Soviet films "Death of a Cyclist" and "Main Street", a progressive director of great and bright talent close to communist circles; the author of "The Girl in Black" Greek M. Kakoyannis and the author of "Father Panchali" Indian Satyatjit Roy, as well as the author The "women they talk about" by the Italian Francesco Maselli are very good, gifted craftsmen. We have only heard about the American Robert Aldrich and the Frenchman Alexander Astruc, and we have heard different things, but their names are well known. Grigory Chukhrai, the director of the Forty-First film, was invited from the Soviet Union, but he became seriously ill after an accident on the set. Yuri Egorov was supposed to go to Brussels, but he was releasing his "Volunteers" for the fortieth anniversary of the Komsomol, and therefore he was late for the jury! It met without a Soviet representative.

I can't tell you exactly how the discussion unfolded. I heard that the logical proposal to confirm the primacy of "Battleship Potemkin", which received the overwhelming majority of votes in the first round, was rejected by the young directors: they did not dare to give such a clear primacy to a film glorifying the revolution, a film calling for the overthrow of the world of inequality and violence, a Soviet film!

But if not the Battleship Potemkin, then what is it?

Of the twelve films, D. W. Griffith's "Intolerance" is the oldest. This monumental work was staged in 1916 and consisted of four separate, parallel-developing plots reflecting different eras.

One of the lines of "Intolerance" shows the struggle of Ancient Babylon with the Persians.

The second line is based on the legend of the sufferings of Christ.

The third is based on the horrors of St. Bartholomew's Night.

In the fourth, the plot unfolds from the life of modern Griffith America.

Yes, one of the pioneers of cinematography, the first internationally renowned film director Griffith, succeeded a lot in this film. "Intolerance" is rightfully among the top dozen, but still the main idea of this film is expressed rather vaguely, the composition is immensely complex, and many techniques are now hopelessly outdated.

Another classic American film, Greed (1923), sounds a little more modern now. Its creator, Eric von Stroheim, passionately exposes another vice that destroys human destinies — greed, a passion for money, for profit. The author does not go into the wilds of history. His characters are modern residents of San Francisco; his camera captures the authentic life of city streets, train stations, brothels, offices, elegant cottages and dirty slums. Actress Zazu Pitz truthfully and powerfully shows the fate of a woman obsessed with the disease of greed. The final death scene of two enemies in the midst of a sultry desert is unforgettable in its brutal force.

But Stroheim, despite the fact that his name was reverberated all over the world, failed to fully realize his plan. He wanted to create a big picture for four or five hours of demonstration, but the film entrepreneurs refused to finance such an idea, and the film was edited (without Stroheim's participation) from a mass of unfinished fragments. A good welcome promotion can significantly enhance the first impression of any gaming platform, especially for newcomers who want to explore features without committing large amounts of money. These offers are typically activated only once. By entering 1xbet today promo code during registration, the player can receive a 100% bonus up to €130, increasing their starting balance right away.
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