User Reviews

Here is the definitive video history of the art of the American silent film. This 13-episode documentary was literally produced in the nick of time, as many of those interviewed would be deceased in a few short years - their wonderful memories lost forever.

Produced in 1980 for Thames Television, this is certainly one of the crowning achievements of the British team of Kevin Brownlow & David Gill, who together have done so much to preserve not only the history of silent cinema, but also the actual films themselves.

The one great lesson of the series is that non-talking films were a distinct art form, complete & satisfying, which had developed a universal language, understood everywhere, through the perfected medium of mime. This was all swept away with the arrival of Talk. So complete was the dismissal of silent films (which were never really silent) that within a short period of time they would be disparaged as intrinsically valueless & technically inferior.

As HOLLYWOOD triumphantly shows, nothing could have been further from the truth. Films of enormous expertise & intense emotional impact were almost routinely created by the pioneers who were perfecting their new invention. The achievements of Silent Cinema's 35 years constitute a new cultural renaissance.

Episodes focus on such topics as Westerns, comedies, war films, stunts, camera techniques & scandals. Not only do we hear from such luminaries as Lillian Gish, Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. & even John Wayne, but we are also enchanted by the recollections of Viola Dana, Leatrice Joy, Bessie Love, Colleen Moore & Blanche Sweet, performers in danger of obscurement due to the fact that their careers were so very long ago and their films are largely unavailable or lost. Hearing Miss Dana discuss the death of the stunt pilot she loved, or Miss Joy recollecting a tender note from husband John Gilbert, or Miss Moore hilariously describing her voice lessons when talkies arrived, is to inculcate real human personalities into what would otherwise be only historical footnotes.

A parade of directors, cameramen, stunt men & theater musicians also reminisce, as do writer Adela Rogers St. Johns & choreographer Agnes de Mille, who between them seem to have been everywhere & known everyone. Even Lord Louis Mountbatten recalls his memories of halcyon days at Pickfair.

While some fans may not want to have all the mysteries revealed as to how Douglas Fairbanks & Harold Lloyd achieved some of their most famous stunts, it is still fascinating information and detracts not a whit from the stars' prestige. It is rather sad, however, to see such stars as John Gilbert, Roscoe Arbuckle, James Murray & Ramon Novarro in their prime, with the knowledge of what Fate had in store for them...

Fans of HOLLYWOOD will be pleased to know that in the decades that have passed since its production many of the silent films it highlights have been fully restored and show now to much greater advantage that the rather faded appearance they make in the documentary.

Much appreciation must go to two men whose contributions go very far in contributing to the success of the series. Carl Davis provides a wonderfully evocative score for HOLLYWOOD, his use of traditional tunes & his own lilting melodies a splendid match for what is taking place on screen. James Mason's narration is absolutely perfect - his rich voice, so warm & intimate, ironically proving that there is a place for talking pictures after all.

The "Hollywood" series is the best documentary on Hollywood that I have ever seen. It presents silent movies in their correct speed and this makes a huge difference. It reveals that silent movies were not silent and in fact had orchestras of up to 100 musicians. It shows how different these films were,visual poems of music and picture. Silent films often had surprisingly good special effects as good as today's special effects. This series also tells us about the pitfalls and dangers of silents film production with extras sometimes getting killed. It reveals forgotten movie stars of the past and tells us about their lives and what befell them. This wonderful series deserves a DVD release as it is quite unique. My only regret is that they should have done a second series on the sound movies of the 1930's,which was Hollywood's greatest era.

Indescribably essential. Kevin Brownlow, the late David Gill, and their superlative production and support staff at Thames Television created the absolute apotheosis of film documentary in this series. AND, to boot, they provided undoubtedly the greatest single service ever rendered to film history in seeking out these amazing pioneers and capturing their recollections and memories, shortly before they all passed forever from the scene. I have seen this innumerable times, yet I still fall back in awe at sequences such as director Allan Dwan describing his entry into the film industry in 1911, or cameraman Karl Brown speaking of the 1915 opening night of "Birth of a Nation". I also highly recommend Brownlow's predecessor book "The Parade's Gone By" (1969), and the companion book to the series "Hollywood, the Pioneers" (out of print). Also, the subsequent Brownlow documentaries on Chaplin, Keaton, Harold Lloyd, DW Griffith, and Lon Chaney are all of equal quality, and beautifully augment original the series. I can only hope that when the DVD version of Hollywood is released, it will include unedited interviews with the participants.

This series is a definite must-have for silent film buffs and film lovers in general. Several years in the making (late 1970s), "Hollywood" covers the directors, stars, and films that made Hollywood world famous in the 1920s. Rare clips from silent classics are presented with James Mason's wonderful narration.

The big draws are the interviews with surviving silent stars who lived into the late 1970s. Interviews with Colleen Moore, Ben Lyon, and many others permeate the series with their unique perspectives. Of particular note is a rare interview with Louise Brooks -- a "must see" for Brooks fans.

"Hollywood" also discusses the scandals that made the film industry shiver, such as the deaths of William Desmond Taylor and Wallace Reid.

The series concludes with a review of the coming of sound and how many silent stars were forgotten with the coming of talkies; the faded careers of Clara Bow, John Gilbert and many others are discussed and analyzed.

I first saw this series on television as a teenager in 1981 and became hooked on silent films thereafter. There has never been a period when movies were more thrilling and popular than the silent era; I heartily recommend "Hollywood" to prove this assertion. The best documentary series about the silent era ever produced. 10 out of 10.

If you are a fan of the silent period, this series is a must see.

Interviews with the silent stars, producers, directors, writers, and craft people, as well as more footage of the era than you can possibly imagine. Brownlow and Gill, two of Hollywood's premier historians, have put together this highly entertaining documentary series and are able to capture the feel and the look of early Hollywood.

Particularly interesting is that each episode is a theme. From comedies, to westerns, to a particular star or director, to the frequent scandals, each episode has insight into what made Hollywood tick.

Those of us who see the silent film as a beautiful art form marvel at the beauty of the technique when sound doesn't get in the way. Brownlow and Gill have found footage frequently thought to be destroyed but found in someone's garage or basement.

I am raising my son to appreciate the silent film, and with the help of this series he has become a fan of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, and many others.

Thanks to David and Kevin.

I heard of this documentary years ago and bought it on Laser Disc (that's right, Laser Disc, eat your hearts out!) in the 90's. This is THE BEST documentary on silent film I have every seen. 10 of 10!

If my house was on fire, and I only had time to grab one laser disc, this would be it. From the fantastic, sweet music of the opening titles to the end of part 13, this will HOLD your interest for 12 hours (each part is about 52 min. long). The 4 page essay by Kevin Brownlow with the laser disc set is fantastic.

Watching silent film on television at home is different than watching a sound film. With a sound film, you might glance at the newspaper, let the dog out, etc. and still use your ears to keep up with the story, but a silent film HOLDS you to the screen.

To quote the last lines of the Brownlow essay: "It is impossible to listen to these people without marvelling; they are so extraordinary in their old age... what must Hollywood have been like when they were all young? This series tries to find out."

I agree: WHERE IS THE DVD!!!!

This series was the finest documentary on the early days of Hollywood ever made. Put together in late 1970's, many from the silent era were still alive and they gave their very last interviews for this documentary. I can't say enough about this brilliant series. A must see for any movie fan.

This is a wonderful history of the early days of Hollywood. It was made in the 1970s using filmed interviews with a rapidly shrinking group of the great stars and directors. These interviews are matched with the scenes that the actors or actresses are discussing. It is one of the great editing achievements of all time. I first saw it on public television in the late 1980s and was very happy when it was released on video. I hope it is released on DVD. I have purchased many copies of the 13 set series and given them as gifts. Everyone who I gave this set to told me that it was really great. If you want to take a wonderful trip back in time to a long forgotten land this is for you. I think this is the best documentary ever. Period. Nothing comes close. Hope you enjoy it.

I happened to catch this on local TV back in the early 80's (it was broadcast irregularly, so it was a painful experience not being able to see all of it) and loved it, so you can imagine my joy when it was released on VHS in the dark days before that godsend known as DVD. Unfortunately, it was on the shelves for about a month before disappearing, but I got to see the entire run and have never forgotten it. This doc was such an education to me (the only exposure to silent film I had prior to this wonderful, brilliant documentary was a series of shorts called "Who's The Funny Man?" on Captain Penny back in the sixties, which was narrated by an actor named as Cliff Norton, I believe) - until I saw this, I thought of silent movies exactly the way James Mason described them as being thought of in the opening of the first episode, not knowing the artistry that went into their creation or the talent behind and in front of the cameras.

To sum up, this is, and I'll say it a thousand times, the most entertaining, informative, amazing documentary about the unfortunately ignored silent era you will ever see. Absolutely stunning.

I have nothing to add to all the appreciative comments here except to second them all: This is, hands down, the greatest documentary on Hollywood AND the second-greatest documentary series ever created for television -- second only to Ken Burns's THE CIVIL WAR, and that only because of the comparative triviality of the subject. What Kevin Brownlow and David Gill have done is nothing less than a noble service to posterity. (How I would love to see the uncut versions of ALL the interviews used in this series; I understand they're on deposit at the British Film Institute.)

A note to all those who plead for the series to be released on DVD: I join you in those sentiments, and so does Kevin Brownlow. Unfortunately, as he said in an interview a few years ago, any DVD release is being stymied by the monumental task of getting clearance for the hundreds of film clips used in the series; evidently some of the rights-holders are being quite obstinate about it. A shame.

As mentioned by everyone else, this is a truly superlative series, all the more remarkable when you consider the list of stars, directors and producers who refused to appear in it when it was first created.

The lack of a DVD release is, unfortunately, entirely the result of human greed. In the almost 25 years between the time that the series was created, and the time that it was set for DVD release (with lots of extra interview footage not shown in the original series), the ownership of significant parts of the original film footage had changed hands. The home video market, and the DVD market did not exist at the time the series was made, and so there was no provision in the contracts for usage of the original footage for it to be used in such a manner. This was common at the time of course, and is usually not a problem as copyright has often lapsed, or no-one really cares either way, but the new owners of significant parts of the silent footage used in the series made sure that the copyrights were renewed and then tried to squeeze the producers for huge amounts of money, which made the DVD release uneconomic.

Therefore, only weeks before the DVD was due to be released it was scrapped, and all the DVDs were destroyed. I've managed to track down and rip a full set of episodes from the LaserDisc release, which is the best source material available, but otherwise it's only the old VHS tapes that are available. A very sad situation, and I hope the scumbags who caused this are happy with themselves.

Until I found this page, I had thought the very first episode was all there was--I watched very little television in 1980 and had never even heard of the series. I just checked this VHS out of the NYPL and watched it just now--but I will search out all the other episodes.

This one is the one I would want to make a few comments on. As a real aficionado of Los Angeles and its history--which is not entirely composed of its bond with Hollywood, but most aspects of it are somewhat suffused with it even now, even when Los Angeles has long had a reputation as a volatile place--there were things I saw and, perhaps even more, heard, that I had never seen and heard before; and I have done a LOT of research and made a lot of journeys to and within Hollywood and Los Angeles.

In this first hour of the series (I assume it must be, because it is called "In the Beginning") I was able to see the incredible photographs and footage of geographical Hollywood when it was still rural. I had seen only a few in a D.W. Griffith volume (which I recommend: It has excellent commentary by the great film historian Aileen Bowser), and one--a battle scene from 'Birth of a Nation' filmed right down in the Hollywood Flats--I xeroxed in 1998 and framed and placed it on my living room wall. These pictures of earliest Hollywood are breathtaking to me; they show the fragility of a bucolic and special land just before it is rendered unrecognizable--and there may never have been a more violently rapid transformation of an environment. Of course, there are houses from the silent era that can still be seen in the Hollywood Hills and in Beverly Hills (but Pickfair can't be; a few years after this production, Pia Zadora had it razed--an astonishing act, it would seem), but the photos from about 1903 till about 1920 are almost all of landscape that has disappeared: I was even vaguely surprised that when the transformation from 1903 to the present is dramatically shown, that the Hollywood Hills in the background still had their general shape--at least the far-off taller one did; I think one closer to the foreground had been leveled.

And, especially in Agnes de Mille's inspired description of the "virility" of the grass in Los Angeles at that time "that was so exciting," of the "lupine, marigolds, the poppies.." that were "just growing wild" and that "we just gathered by the armload.." this is just so moving. In fact, Miss de Mille's love for the place itself is perhaps the strongest of those who speak of their memories; she also describes wonderfully a moment when she and her mother were stuck at a location shooting and all the actors changed their clothes without a thought, her mother telling her not to look, but instead to "think of God." What a glorious lady she was, as was Lillian Gish, one of the greatest actresses of the period , primarily for her work in the great works of Griffith, and who also offers fine commentary here.

There is wonderful footage of 'Intolerance', of Douglas Fairbanks's sets for 'Robin Hood' and 'The Thief of Baghdad' (which ends with the remarkable words "Happiness Must Be Earned" streaked across the movie sky). There is a wonderful history of Pickfair and the fantastic reception given Fairbanks and Pickford in Europe and even in Moscow.

I can't wait to see the rest of this glory of a documentary, but this one alone captures the spirit of camaraderie and fun and experimentation that preceded many of the harsher elements we now associate with the business of Hollywood.

James Mason narrates and his voice is appreciated, as always.

Carl Davis, who has written so much glamour-sounding music for movies and TV, as for THE RAINBOW by Ken Russell, does the same for this superlative production, and the "Englishness" of the music is not at all obtrusive.

My hometown video store had Hollywood available for rent, and I must've rented the whole thing at least three times. I was blown away at the quality of the information, the interviews, the footage... I even did a paper on the general history of silent film for a high school history class and used the tapes as a reference, revisiting them when I did my senior composition paper on the public backlash from D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation and how that led him to film Intolerance the following year. I was recently reminded of the title once again in a conversation. Naturally, I wanted to see it again - and, although IMDb has a cover picture of a DVD release of the miniseries, it's nowhere to be found! This needs to be released on DVD so that future generations can enjoy this wonderfully thorough series.

This is the best documentary on Hollywood ever made. It deals with the silent era, and it is full of interviews made many years before by the director, Kevin Brownlow. He had the foresight to capture these legends on film before they passed away, and, using the interviews with historic footage from the films, he tells a story of the birth of this great art. It is an adventure as great as any fictional one brought to the screen. You don't have to be a fan of silent film to be entertained and intrigued by this fascinating look at the birth of the industry. I can not understand why this series by one of the most noted documentary filmmakers in the business has not found its way to DVD.

This is a remarkable document of the silent film era. Many of the participants make their last appearances to describe their film history. Agnes De Mille, Colleen Moore, King Vidor, Harold Lloyd, and Viola Dana are just a handful of names that participated in this documentary. They are but a few historical film names that participated before they passed away soon after (or before) this production was completed. Multiple Oscar winner Frank Capra, Oscar Honoree Hal Roach, and Hollywood legend Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. also participated in this series. This is essential viewing for anyone who calls themselves a film historian and anyone who values the history of film. It's great viewing for even casual fans of movie history and is not to be ignored by those who enjoy a good miniseries.

This 1980 series was made by Thames Television and then shown in the U.S. Narrated (very urbanely) by James Mason it told the story of the birth of motion pictures from 1895 to 1927 (the entire silent film period). Episodes dealt with D.W.Griffith, the Westerns, Valentino, the Silent Comics, Fairbanks, the scandals of 1922-23 that led to the Hays Office, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, Von Stroheim, Gloria Swanson, Garbo and Gilbert, and the last dealt with the coming of sound and it's violent side effects. Like BETWEEN THE WARS this series also had interviews with various survivors of the period (Leatrice Joy, Bessie Love, Col. Tim McCoy, Byron Haskins among them). Again like BETWEEN THE WARS the early use of "talking heads" was intelligently done - the people knew what they were talking about because they were there when the films were made. The series was superb, and has been shown a few times since. I highly recommend it.

To add further to the praise that this series has received I would just say that this is my favourite documentary/historical series of all time. I first saw it on British TV in 1981 and it was subsequently aired a few years later on Satellite TV (to my knowledge the last broadcasting).

Although in this age silent films are perhaps easier to get hold of, in the eighties the genre was somewhat mysterious and rarely sighted. This all changed when Brownlow and Gill produced this sympathetic and fascinating appraisal including rare and insightful interviews sadly just in time with a host of stars who had been largely forgotten - i.e Louise Brooks, Janet Gaynor, Jackie Coogan, Anita Loos had sadly passed on within 4 years of the series release to name a few. Truly made in the nick of time.

Regarding DVD availability it was due to be released by Fremantle Studio in the early summer of 2006 and is available to order from store4dvd.co.uk and play.com although 10 months later it's release is still to be confirmed..........I fear the worst.

You don't have to be a fan of silent films to enjoy this fascinating documentary by one of the best in the industry-Kevin Brownlow. This 13 hour mini-series gives us a glimpse of these pioneers and adventurers as they invented the craft and influenced how Hollywood has made films for over 100 years. It is as much about history and the wild west as it entered the 20th century-with film directors replacing cowboys. Alan Dwan gives a marvelous recollection of running people off his set at gunpoint. Brownlow has spent years collecting invaluable interviews and The Carl Davis score adds luster to the storytelling. This is a must see for anyone who is fascinated with the moving image-sound or silent.

This excellent series on silent films from America is without peer and can most likely never be surpassed. This is because when the series was made, many of the silent film stars and filmmakers were still alive. Additionally, the were able to dig up many older interviewed with deceased filmmakers as well. This, combined with a VERY extensive use of film clips (all of which were in top condition--and this is NOT easy with silents) make it as beautiful as you can get. Add to this the nice narration by Jame Mason (what a voice) and enjoyable it is, you have the basis for a nice series. BUT, then, you do the unthinkable...instead of two or three hours worth of material, you are able to make 13 episodes!! All of this makes this THE series to see on American silents and every bit as wonderful and enjoyable as the Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's other series "Cinema Europe: The Other Europe"- -but even longer! Brilliant and I was bowled over by this exceptional series!!

Hollywood (1980)

**** (out of 4)

---See episode list for reviews of each of the 13 on their own---

The film tells thirteen different stories of the silent era with things kicking off with THE PIONEERS, which features discussion of the earliest film to THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY and then D.W. Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION. Episode two, IN THE BEGINNING, takes things to California where the industry begins to pick up steam before crashing down with the arrest of Fatty Arbuckle, which is documented in SINGLE BEDS AND DOUBLE STANDARDS. This third episode is perhaps the greatest of the set because it really shows what type of hypocrisy was going on in this country and how the studios were clearly only interested in money and they weren't going to stop even if it meant hurting someone. Hollywood GOES TO WAR covers, as the title says, talks about Hollywood and how it showed us in the war. This includes Griffith going to the front lines to get footage for HEARTS OF THE WORLD and how after the war people didn't want to see these types of films until John Gilbert showed up in THE BIG PARADE. One of the greatest things about silents are the amazing stunts and these are covered in HAZARD OF THE GAME, which talks about how these were done and we also get to hear about how many lives were lost.

SWANSON AND VALENTINO, perhaps the weakest in the set, looks at the two stars and how they rose to be the giants they were. THE AUTOCRATS looks at Cecil B. DeMille whose wild demands made him a legend while the craziness of Erich von Stroheim ended his career. COMEDY - A SERIOUS BUSINESS gives small bios of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd and Langdon with some nice interviews and plenty of great footage. OUT WEST explains why Westerns were one of the most popular genres in the silent era and why the Old West dying sent a flood of real cowboys to Hollywood looking for a way to make a living. THE MAN WITH THE MICROPHONE focuses in on directors and their crazy attitudes and demands. TRICK OF THE LIGHT takes a look at cinematography and how the men behind the camera were often more important than some of the stuff in front of it. STAR TREATMENT goes back the hypocrisy of Hollywood and how Clara Bow's sexuality made her a star only to have the sex in her real life kill her career. We also hear about John Gilbert's rise to fame and the legends around his eventual fall. Finally, END OF AN ERA talks about the many early attempts at sound and the eventual release of THE JAZZ SINGER.

These thirteen episodes pretty much tell you all you'd need to know but I'm going to guess that a majority of those familiar with silent cinema will know many of the scenes here. There is so much wonderful footage here that if you don't know a film then you're going to be doing research trying to figure out what it is and find out how to buy it. If you know the film then seeing the clips are just going to make you want to see it again from start to finish. I think what makes this documentary so important is how wonderfully well-made it is because I really do believe you could show episodes of this to people who don't like silent movies and I think they'd open up a little bit. I'm not sure if the majority of them would become silent film buffs but I think they'd view the films in a different light. I think the third episode about Fatty would show them that Hollywood has always had its scandals and it didn't start with recent celebrities. I think the stunt episode would show people how much more exciting these films were than the CGI, safe films of today. I'm sure even the most jaded person would be outraged at how the career of Clara Bow fell apart simply because of some weird folks with morals that were nothing more than double standards.

Another major plus of watching this are the amazing interviews with the likes of Lillian Gish, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Frank Capra, Harold Lloyd, Gloria Swanson, Harvey Parry, Bob Rose, King Vidor, Janet Gaynor, Colleen Moore, Allan Dwan, Karl Brown and countless others. It's a shame that so many other well-known stars turned down the opportunity of being in the picture but we can at least be thankful for who is actually here. A lot of the interviews here are the only ones these folks did so these are quite important for that alone. The amazing thing is that the memories are so crystal clear and you can tell these people are having a great time reliving these early days of Hollywood. You can't help but wonder how many more stories they had and I'm sure several were just bursting to tell them and finally had the chance with this documentary. Again, there's plenty of footage shown from dozens of silent films but sadly many of them are still unreleased to VHS or DVD, which is a real shame. I personally can't understand how studios like Kino and Image can release lesser known silents yet the major guys can't get bigger films released.

This is the best documentary on filmmaking I have ever seen. It is an encyclopedic work on the film industry from its birth in the 1890's until the dawn of sound and a little beyond in 1930, and is actually named "Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film". The narration by James Mason is perfect, the interviews with now long passed actors, directors, and writers are priceless, and the music works beautifully with the silent film clips. The thirteen roughly 50 minute episodes are: 1. The Pioneers 2. In The Beginning 3. Single Beds and Double Standards 4. Hollywood Goes To War 5. Hazards of the Game 6. Swanson and Valentino 7. Autocrats 8. Comedy - A serious Business 9. Out West 10. The Man With the Megaphone 11. Trick of the Light 12. Star Treatment 13. End of An Era

If Kevin Brownlow and David Gill had never done anything else but this documentary, their contribution to film history would have been tremendous. As it was, it was just the capstone of their mutual love of the art. Today, even many classic film lovers believe silent film is just not worth their time. This documentary really shows the beauty of the art form and the world of the industry at the time, plus you get to see so many interviews with silent film stars - many who were the not so big names. You don't feel that you are just getting a history lesson, instead you really feel you are being immersed in the world of silent film because the recollections of the interviewees are so personal. I was particularly glad to see so much of actress Viola Dana in the documentary. She was Buster Keaton's first true love, and her sense of humor and mischief comes through even when she is in her 80's. The last episode, "End of an Era", does a more detailed and artistic job of explaining the transition to sound than any one documentary that I've ever seen dedicated to the subject. The final scene of that final episode will bring tears to your eyes.

This documentary is a very valuable exploration of what is a forgotten era. I wish everyone embroiled in the rights problems that prevent this from being on DVD would just put their pettiness aside, realize that no film is being shown in its entirety here, and allow this to be exhibited. It just might bring about a rebirth in interest in an era and art form long past and worth remembering.

Fascinating for movie buffs, historians of vernacular culture, and techies. The first half hour presents half a dozen talking heads who were present during the period of silent movies. This was probably shot in 1979 so quite a number of witnesses were still available. Their memories seem accurate and their anecdotes informative and colorful. One of them, the actress Viola Dana, began her film career in 1910. There are numerous excerpts, sufficiently lengthy for our understanding. The business side of movie making isn't neglected. The entire Los Angeles Philharmonic was hired for the opening of "Birth of a Nation." It's all quite well done.

The presentation is chronological. The first movies were thirty-second loops that could be seen in a coin-operated kinetoscope. The frames were assembled by hand, one at a time, and glued together, sometimes after color had been applied. We get to see a movie made in 1898. In 1903, Porter's "The Train Robbery" upended the whole experience of movie-going. It was a fictional Western tale, a full twenty minutes long, full of action, cross-cutting, a moving panorama, and a mustachioed cowboy who shoots his revolver -- directly at the camera! Films moved from kinetoscopes at penny arcades to dedicated theaters and after the second Great Migration from Europe, the newly arrived immigrants flocked to them. (They didn't need to know any English to understand silent movies.) The most technologically advanced films came from Britain and France in the early 1900s so most of the movies shown were imported. The special effects were pretty advanced for the period.

Frankly, I don't know where the hell the producers came up with some of this filmed material. The photographer Billy Bitzer testing his camera during preparations for the location shooting of "Birth of a Nation"? Lillian Gish's SCREEN TEST for the film?

Kevin Brownlow's superlative written history of the silent film, The Parade's Gone By, led to "Hollywood," Brownlow's 1980 documentary collaboration with David Gill for Thames Television. The 13-part series, while incomplete and subjective as to the stars, directors, and films included, is nevertheless, a priceless, irreplaceable contribution to the preservation of film history.

Part I of the series, "The Pioneers," is a two-part prolog that begins by dispelling common misconceptions about silent film, such as sped-up movement, blurry images, and complete silence. With a narration by James Mason, the episode then illustrates, with well-chosen clips, the fallacy of those assumptions. When projected at the proper speed, the crisp photographic images were accompanied by music, at times played by an orchestra in film palaces of incomparable splendor. The episode then moves back in time to the dawn of film and the earliest film-makers and exhibition venues, such as Edison and his Vitascope. When the novelty of film began to fade, "The Great Train Robbery" revitalized audience interest and "The Birth of a Nation" excited and inflamed the country.

Film clips are not only appropriate, but long enough to provide a feel for the movie excerpted. The interviews with Lillian Gish, Viola Dana, Blanche Sweet, Hal Roach, King Vidor, and others are a unique legacy; while some are better than others and a few are preachy and dated, all have great historic value. The ongoing controversy over D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" is discussed and the racism not excused; however, the furor caused definitely illustrates the power of film to incite emotions.

The one flaw in both the initial episode and the series stems from the era in which the documentary was made. The interviews were completed in the 1970's, and the series first broadcast in 1980; thus, the image quality of the interviews is barely passable by VHS standards; the color is faded and washed out, and the image fuzzy. The film clips also suffer as they were excerpted before many of the movies featured had undergone extensive restoration. Aficionados of silent film will be familiar with much improved copies of these classics. However, nothing should deter anyone remotely interested in film history in general or silent film in particular from viewing this essential series. Whether or not the money and effort required to restore "Hollywood" to blu-ray standards is ever found, the first and subsequent episodes of the series are addictive and enthralling to film enthusiasts, who should seek out The Parade's Gone By if they have not already read that exceptional book as well.