Timeless. I doubt that I've ever met a single other human being who couldn't relate to this movie in some way. Everything about this film beautifully done. Easily my favorite silent era film. I only wish that a decent print was available on DVD so that I could watch this masterpiece more often.

Mixed feelings. Since I'm too lazy and uncreative to write my own review, I will just point to Icarus' review for the pros and to FitFortDanga's for the cons. Good movie, but not the masterpiece it's hailed as.

The biggest disadvantage of The Crowd is that we've been over-saturated with 'relationships falling apart' stories by now, and this one is both predictable and has an unsympathetic lead who's impulsive and feels entitled. The movie isn't bad though, just dated story-wise. That said, I liked the somewhat cynical tone, and there are some amazing crowd (ha!) scenes, almost dystopian-feeling sets (especially the hospital and workplace) and great tracking shots.

A disappointment that I will nevertheless mildly recommend, for some nice visual ideas and, particularly, for its premise. I see the potential for a masterpiece, had it managed more successfully to tell its moving tale of the compromises of an individual, his ambitions trampled by adversity and calamity in an uncaring society, but Vidor never scratches deeper than the surface level. The acting holds up reasonably well. One of the very rare cases of a movie where I'd actually welcome a remake.

It's a very simple story, but I think that for the most part it works very well. John Sims isn't particularly likeable, but I could still sympathize with his struggles. The cinematography is excellent, and it helps make The Crowd a very memorable film.

I wasn't into this one that much, which is a shame because I loved The Big Parade.

#217

Ridiculously dated. The dialogue is really awful and they should've waited a few years for the development of sound because there are so many damn intertitles that it really takes you out of the movie. The ending is pretty forced and so Hollywood that it made me cringe.

An excellent silent film about a man who desperately wants to stand out from the crowd but just can't get ahead in life. Murray is great both in the film's lighter moments and its heavier ones and the script holds little back in its harsh view of life in the 20's. The ending feels a little forced but it works and the closing shot is great.

The fucking precipice.

178

Don't know why it has that title though.

Wow. This amazing film could have been made last year, it hasn't aged a bit. The story has been told many times since this 1928 release, but I doubt it has been done better. Perhaps, with all due respect to Sunrise, the best silent movie ever made.

# 150

202

The trials of legacy... sad and profound with a strangely satisfying ending; believable.

Vidor definitely pulls off some great shots, making excellent use of space and perspective, and utilizing a few techniques that were ahead of their time. Other than that, however, it's just a simplistic, unsurprising tale of a schlub trying to make it in the big city. The schlub is not a particularly likeable guy, either. He's whiny and impulsive and kind of a jerk. The film is moving, but only on the most basic level. There are a couple of poetic moments, but that's it.

the pacing is kind of awkward, but every once in a while king vidor provides us with a really great shot. the story here is good enough to keep your attention. i'm appreciative of silent films, but this one would have fit in much better a couple years later as a talkie, provided vidor stepped up the camera work, then it would have been utterly fantastic.

Brilliant example of silent filmmaking at its best. Vidor ropes us in early with 12 year-old John reacting to his father's death in a beautiful, expressive shot down a stairwell. Vidor makes great use of the visual medium throughout, allowing his actors to emote and regularly attaining to poetic levels. The chief among those moments comes during a tragic scene near the end, with John facing against a large crowd of people. Not quite to the level of Murnau's Sunrise, but a wonderful film.