Movie: The Man Who Laughs (spoilers)

This week's Netflix offering is The Man Who Laughs, an American silent movie from 1928.

So how did I find this one? Well, let me put it this way. Batman fans, does this face look at all familiar to you?


Yup. Waaay back in 1940, the Joker's visual design was completely ripped off of inspired by Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine. Which is rather ironic, because Gwynplaine's story could easily drive a person to go on a massive killing spree, and yet he largely abstains.

Now, I'm going to do this review a bit differently than I usually do, because silent films are a different animal than modern films, or even classic talkies. It's a completely different art form, with different criteria. You either like it, or you don't.

Would I recommend this to a complete silent movie virgin? Um... It's not on my short list, but I wouldn't talk someone out of it, either. (The short list: Kino's version of Metropolis -- if you haven't seen Kino's, you haven't seen it; any decent cut of Nosferatu; or the Chaplin Collection's Modern Times. Really, any decent edition, but the Chaplin Collection's is probably the easiest to get right now.) It's a good silent film, fairly typical of the genre if you throw both American and German films into the pot together. The last 20 minutes is more Hollywood-y than the rest, and the chase scene is practically right out of Phantom of the Opera, but for the most part, it's good.

Would I recommend this to someone who already likes silent movies? Yes. Absolutely. If you like silent movies, you must see this. It is a fascinating transitional piece.
Originally it was concepted as a Lon Chaney movie. Small problem: Chaney kind of worked for a rival studio. So, the producer thought, why don't I try that Conrad Veidt guy? And while he was at it he got a couple of other big name German movie makers, and ended up with this really cool hybrid between German expressionism and American realism. It's more realistic than a typical German movie of the period, but much deeper and more thoughtful than most of the American movies. (Well, except for that last 20 minutes. But you can't have everything.)

On top of that it was made when theaters were transitioning to talkies. They decided not to do it as a talkie because, well, in the make-up Conrad kinda... couldn't talk. But it is one of those interesting transitional pieces that has a coordinated soundtrack despite being a "silent". (Although it is inadvertently amusing, because they seem to have had a cast of 5 guys trying to voice crowd scenes of several hundred.)

Also, Conrad Veidt is an amazing actor to pull off this role, especially in a silent. In a silent, there are no lines and voice intonations to express your meanings. It's all gesture and facial expression. Well, this movie removes half his face from that equation, and he's never been one for the hugely exaggerated gestures of many silent actors. And yet he pulls it off amazingly well.

So, in summary: if you like silents, or you like Conrad Veidt, you should see this one.