"Greed" is a naturalistic, gritty silent from 1924, directed by Erich von Stroheim. Its storyline centers around three very unremarkable people who slowly lose their minds over money, and culminates with one of the most powerful, desolate, haunting closures in film history.
The fact that it provides a street level view of life 90 years ago makes it a fascinating film by default, and one of the main attractions of the movie is seeing life through the eyes of - perhaps - your great-grandparents. The overarching story is fairly strong, but is told at a leisurely pace that resembles actual life more than tightly scripted drama. Which is fine, if you have an evening to spare, and like that sort of thing.
Of course, "Greed" is famous for being 9 hours long before the studios butchered it. While I can imagine a 9-hour version of this story to be very immersive and rewarding, I can also imagine it to be extremely tedious and over-the-top. I watched the pretty good 239-minute restoration, but there was no way I could devour it in one session... Von Stroheim is consistently faithful to his realistic ethos, but the dynamics are often lacking. (Which is particular to this movie, not to 1920s movie-making in general.)
The verdict: Landmark movie with a unique feel and a few moments of genius. Recommended for fans of realism.
The fact that it provides a street level view of life 90 years ago makes it a fascinating film by default, and one of the main attractions of the movie is seeing life through the eyes of - perhaps - your great-grandparents. The overarching story is fairly strong, but is told at a leisurely pace that resembles actual life more than tightly scripted drama. Which is fine, if you have an evening to spare, and like that sort of thing.
Of course, "Greed" is famous for being 9 hours long before the studios butchered it. While I can imagine a 9-hour version of this story to be very immersive and rewarding, I can also imagine it to be extremely tedious and over-the-top. I watched the pretty good 239-minute restoration, but there was no way I could devour it in one session... Von Stroheim is consistently faithful to his realistic ethos, but the dynamics are often lacking. (Which is particular to this movie, not to 1920s movie-making in general.)
The verdict: Landmark movie with a unique feel and a few moments of genius. Recommended for fans of realism.