<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: "Santa Claus" and other Mildly Amusing Sleigh Rides in Time
Review: A Christmas Past is a compilation of rare films from the trove of the late silent film collector Paul Killiam who released many videos of rare silent films that would probably never have seen the light of day otherwise. I have a few of his other films that has his voice as commentary during the shorts. A Christmas Past does not include his commentary but does offer some rare and some very old clips to put one in the holiday spirits. The oldest films I found to be the most interesting. The first one is a glimpse at a family's celebration of Christmas filmed in 1901! Some future stars are also seen on here like Henry B. Walthall of Birth of a Nation fame in the 1909 A Trap for Santa directed by D.W. Griffith. The plot lines are very slow going by today's standards, of course, and the novelty of seeing something so old wears off after the first few minutes. Back in 1906, when motion pictures were still young, just watching people fall out of a horse-drawn cart and women in long dresses chasing after the guys down a hill on the silver screen in A Winter Straw Ride was enough to be great fun. It may produce a few chuckles today.1925's "Santa Claus" is the best of the collection. Some of the footage was shot in the North Pole. In this 29-minute film, one gets a look at the life of Santa from his reindeer herd to his ice castle with his elf labor force working on tons of toys. You even get guest appearances from the Easter Bunny and Jack Frost! This film is great for little kids as it shows Santa looking through his giant telescope to see who is deserving of toys. It is shown very clearly that Santa is not opposed to crossing out names if he sees these children displaying acts of cruelty or selfishness. WARNING: this film reveals the shocking revelation that Santa will simply bypass a residence if the chimney is not to his liking. Of course, he has probably changed his policy since 1925 as so few families have chimneys these days. The silent movie buff will appreciate the rare films but, for most, A Christmas Past is a nice novelty or conversation piece to bring out every other Christmas or so but is probably not an awe-inspiring experience, especially for the younger generations of the age when they start saying "So what." Still, anytime a previously unavailable silent is released is a plus in my book and I hope more films from the Killiam and other collections are made available as a historical document on what life was once like (or at least the "idealized" life).
Rating: 
Summary: saw this on TMC and was amazed!
Review: crazy. the soundtrack is amazing though. very odd but really pretty at the same time. really good soundtrack. very poor shooting. still interesting enough.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Classic Movies
Review: I bought this DVD right before Christmas, it's fantastic! It brings back a time before The Malls and credit cards took over the meaning of Christmas...
Rating:
Summary: Patience, patience, patience...
Review: I caught this on TCM before Christmas and taped it to first review before I considered getting the DVD. Be warned, this takes a lot of concentration and patience to view: rather boring in many parts, the sound track is useless (better, like a previous reviewer states, to play your own Christmas music, instrumental of course, while viewing), gets pretty interesting towards the end, though. Keep in mind that this was the days of filming when it was extremely raw and young, or young and raw, whatever, so "Christmas Past" is almost 100 years old, in part, and is quite different from the early color Christmas cartoons and silent video. I'd buy this only if you keep an open mind (and eyes for that matter since it can lull you into a winter's slumber) and view it as a period piece. Silents can be great with the right music since the music adds or subtracts from the "feel" of the video as it does today. I sure wish they'd put out "Cleopatra" (the 1912 version) silent which has a sound track (new) that is totally phenomenal (new music by Chantal Krevinzuk and Raine Maida). If you get TCM on your cable/satellite, checkout some of the silents on Sunday nights. You'll be surprised at how wonderful many of them actually are...especially the first "Cleopatra" with Helen Gardner. Exquisite! I was mesmerized.
Rating: 
Summary: not good
Review: I thought this would be full of old, magical looking Melies-like films, but it's a bunch of home movies, some very lame Alskan footage passing for the north pole, and an endless story about a sad family.
Consider how few good christmas movies come out nowadays, then imagine the same films 100 years from now. Will those movies be better? No, they will stink. Like these do.
Rating:
Summary: Naughty and Nice
Review: Interesting movies from almost a century ago. But be warned. The muscial score leaves much to be desired. I prefer to turn off the sound and watch this DVD without sound, or I choose to play my own Christmas music selections in the background. Nice movies. Naughty score!
Rating: 
Summary: Music Score an Atrocity
Review: These films are wonderful documents, but the music score is incredibly self-absorbed, self-important noodling and violin screeching annoyance that pay absolutely no attention to the era, to the action, and in many cases to Christmas itself. What could Kino be thinking? In fact, the grating scraping even runs out of its own steam, and is repeated ad nauseum without forethought to its placement in the edit. Laziness in just flying in some quickie available material in the Avid edit suite, it would appear. Do yourself a favor; put on your own Christmas instrumental CD and turn off the atrocious audio on this CD and enjoy the terrific images. If Kino had used the same crew that did the fabulous and thoughtgful new music for the silent "Peter Pan," this piece would be priceless.
Rating:
Summary: Great Piece of Americana
Review: This is one of those rare oppurtunities to see some obscure images from a time long, long ago. With the exception of perhaps one episode, most of the players are unknown people who gave their interpretation of a Christmas story. I felt like I was looking through a time machine, and the feeling of great nostalgia came over me. These are Christmas stories from the past presented by people who are long gone, but how much we have in common! I read some reviews that blast the soundtrack. I thought it was great and very appropriate. I especially enjoyed the use of Christmas bells, and think that the score helps add the feeling of nostalgia to this beautiful presentation. I ignored this title until catching it on TMC. If you enjoy silent films, this title is a must.
Rating:
Summary: Great Piece of Americana
Review: This is one of those rare oppurtunities to see some obscure images from a time long, long ago. With the exception of perhaps one episode, most of the players are unknown people who gave their interpretation of a Christmas story. I felt like I was looking through a time machine, and the feeling of great nostalgia came over me. These are Christmas stories from the past presented by people who are long gone, but how much we have in common! I read some reviews that blast the soundtrack. I thought it was great and very appropriate. I especially enjoyed the use of Christmas bells, and think that the score helps add the feeling of nostalgia to this beautiful presentation. I ignored this title until catching it on TMC. If you enjoy silent films, this title is a must.
Rating:
Summary: Visions Of Long Ago And Far Away.
Review: While I have yet to see the DVD version of these classic holiday films, I am quite familiar with them from a previous VHS incarnation from Critic's Choice entitled A SILENT CHRISTMAS. Most of the selections are short films that were originally made by the Edison Company. These include a 1905 version of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS and a 1910 version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL both of which are quite good considering their age and length. There is even a D.W. Griffith Biograph short, A TRAP FOR SANTA which is surprisingly moving. The prize of the collection is SANTA CLAUS, a 30 minute short, parts of which were actually filmed at the North Pole. Just wait till you catch a glimpse of those vintage toys and watch out for Santa's telescope! My children love these films and adults can go back to their childhood with them as well. They are quaint visions of long ago and far away that cannot help but touch the child in all of us. Think of them as moving picture cards from the Victorian Era. These films come from that vast storehouse of films known as the Killiam Collection. Paul Killiam was an entrepeneur who began collecting silent films in the 1950's. He once had a program on ABC called SILENTS PLEASE. Thanks to him many silent films that would have been lost were saved including the Biograph and Edison shorts. He died in 1998. It would be great to get more of these on DVD in a restored condition. Thanks to Kino International for doing their usual fine job in making these films available once again and just in time for Christmas too. "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night".
<< 1 >>
| 
