Classic Videos of the early 1900s

Description: These are classic films from the first part of the 20th Century. They are all in excellent condition, just taking up space on a retired professor's bookshelf. The videos are: Battleship Potemkin (1905), The Birth of a Nation (1915) Reefer Madness (1938). Overviews below. Battleship Potemkin Stylistically, The Battleship Potemkin serves as a revolutionary film, not only in its subject matter, but also in its unique use of montage. As a pioneer who championed a new purpose for cinema, Eisenstein proposed a "kino fist" approach to filmmaking, one in which the film attacks the viewer s senses with symbolic metaphors, rhythmic editing, and highly-charged melodrama. Includes a rare documentary on Eisentein. Collectible poster included. Reefer Madness The evils of marijuana addiction are "chillingly detailed" in this cult classic, which is narrated by a high school principle who declares, "Something must be done to wipe out this ghastly menace!" A case study of all-American high school kids Bill and Mary highlights the danger of marijuana use when the teens change from tennis-playing, iced tea-drinkers to fiendish, promiscuous, dope addicts after sampling one joint. Naturally, the marijuana users in the film play the piano, dance, and laugh uncontrollably - all surefire signs of "devil weed" use. Bill hallucinates and faints one fateful evening as Mary is accidentally shot; then, more deaths occur before the inevitable mental institution scenes which serve to underscore the horrors of smoking reefer. Birth of a Nation The Birth of a Nation is a landmark of film history. It was the first 12-reel film ever made and, at three hours, also the longest up to that point. Its plot, part fiction and part history, chronicling the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth and the relationship of two families in the Civil War and Reconstruction eras over the course of several years—the pro-Union (Northern) Stonemans and the pro-Confederacy (Southern) Camerons—was by far the most complex of any movie made up to that date. It was originally shown in two parts separated by another movie innovation, an intermission, and it was the first to have a musical score for an orchestra. It pioneered close-ups, fade-outs, and a carefully staged battle sequence with hundreds of extras (another first) made to look like thousands. It came with a 13-page "Souvenir Program". It was the first American motion picture to be screened in the White House, viewed there by President Woodrow Wilson. The film was controversial even before its release and has remained so ever since; it has been called "the most controversial film ever made in the United States." Lincoln, whom Dixon saw as a Southerner, was portrayed positively, unusual in a "Lost Cause" environment. However, the film portrayed African-Americans (many played by white actors in blackface) as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards white women and presented the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) as a heroic force. There were widespread black protests against The Birth of a Nation, such as in Boston, while thousands of white Bostonians flocked to see the film. The NAACP spearheaded an unsuccessful campaign to ban the film. Griffith's indignation at efforts to censor or ban the film motivated him to produce Intolerance the following year. Look at some of my other items for sale. I will combine shipping and give discounts. They range from videos to books to Doughboy items. Contact me with questions.

Price: 5.99 USD

Location: Lima, Ohio

End Time: 2024-09-12T07:00:01.000Z

Shipping Cost: 4.13 USD