Unit 2. Cinema: its past, present and future

& — READING &SPEAKING

SILENT FILMS

It would have been more logical if silent pictures had grown out of the talkies instead of the other way around.

Mary Pickford

Task 1. Discuss the following questions with your group:

· When did the history of film-making begin?

· Can you name any silent film actors?

· What genre of silent movies is considered to be the most famous one?

· Have you ever watched any silent films?

 

Task 2. Read the following text about the first silent films and translate it into Russian.

Silent Movies

Talk to people who saw films for the first time when they were silent, and they will tell you the experience was magic. The silent film, with music, had extraordinary powers to draw an audience into the story, and an equally potent capacity to make their imagination work. They had to supply the voices and the sound effects, and because their minds were engaged, they appreciated the experience all the more. The audience was the final creative contributor to the process of making a film.

The films have gained a charm and other worldliness with age but, inevitably, they have also lost something. The impression they made when there was no rival to the moving picture was more profound, more intense; compared to the easily accessible pictures of today, it was the blow of a two-handed axe, against the blunt scraping of a tableknife.

The silent period may be known as "The Age of Innocence" but it included years unrivalled for their dedicated viciousness. In Europe, between 1914 and 1918 more men were killed to less purpose than at any other time in history.

In publications of the time, one reads horrified reactions against films showing "life as it is". You did not leave the problems at home mere1у to encounter them again at the movies. You paid your money initially, for forgetfulness.

Gradually movie-going altered from relaxation to ritual. In the big cities, you went to massive picture palaces, floating through incense-laden air to the strains of organ music, to worship at the Cathedral of Light. You paid homage to your favourite star; you dutifully communed with the fan magazines. You wore the clothes they wore in the movies; you bought the furniture you saw on the screen. You joined a congregation composed of every strata of society. And you shared your adulation with Shanghai, Sydney and Santiago. For your favourite pastime had become the most powerful cultural influence in the world — exceeding even that of the Press. The silent film was not only a vigorous popular art; it was a universal language — Esperanto for the eyes.

From "Hollywood, The Pioneers" by Kevin Brownlow. Abridged.

Task 3. Answer the following questions:

1. Why did the audiences of silent movies appreciate them so much?

2. What makes the author think that the first movies provided the audiences with a sort of escape from reality? Do you agree with this point of view?

3. Why does the author call the first cinema-houses "Cathedrals of Light"? Do you think that this comparison can be applied to modern cinema-houses?

4. Are there many people nowadays for whom cinema is a favourite pastime? Can we claim that cinema is still the most powerful cultural influence exceeding even the press?

5. Do you think that the advent of sound killed the silent movies?

Task 4. Explain what the author means by the following:

1. The films have gained a charm and other worldliness with age but, inevitably, they have also lost something.

What have the films gained? Are their achievements mainly associated with the progress of science and technology? What have they lost?

2. The impression they made when there was no rival to the moving picture was more profound, more intense compared to the easily accessible pictures of today.

Task 5. There are three main functions of the first silent movies singled out by the author in this extract. Pick them out and enlarge on them. Do you think that these functions are performed by modern films as well?

 

Task 6. Find English equivalents of the following in the text:

· обладать удивительной способностью вовлечь зрителей в происходящее;

· заставить работать чье-л. воображение;

· самим догадываться, что говорят персонажи, и придумывать звуковые эффекты;

· ценить увиденное еще больше;

· вносить завершающую лепту во что-л.;

· фильмы, показывающие жизнь такой, какая она есть;

· Мы посещаем кинотеатр не для того, чтобы увидеть на экране те же самые проблемы, которые остались дома;

· посещение кинотеатра стало целым ритуалом, а не просто способом провести свободное время;

· отдавать дань уважения кому-л.

Task 7. Read the following text telling about great silent screen comedians of the past and turn to the tasks below.

SILENT SCREEN COMEDIANS

None of the Great silent screen comedians is alive today. Chaplin died in 1977, Harold Lloyd died in 1971. Buster Keaton in 1966, Harry Langdon in 1944. Although their movies faded in the 30's, they left us invaluable short and feature-length comedies of the 1920's. All of them were superior actors of rare gift. They were contemporaries and colleagues, but their fates were different.

The most beloved of the four, the most appreciated by critics, Charles Chaplin, was the first to win general acclaim. Chaplin was a master of pantomime — skilled in acrobatics and dancing, which he had learned in the London music hall. It is interesting to note that his type of comedy was born in the 16th century in the improvisational theatre created by Travelling players. But Chaplin managed to breathe a new life into the old theatre form.

His virtuoso improvisations quickly attracted the attention of American film-makers. At first he turned down all offers but in 1913 he finally joined Mack Sennet's film company. In one year, 1914, Chaplin appeared in a great number of short films. His success with the public was truly unique. This fact opened great opportunities for him to start his own business. He showed rare versatility in acting as the producer-director-scriptwriter-musician-leading actor of his own comedies. Cinema with its world-wide distribution led to the development of the greatest comedian of the 20th century. Three Great features — "The Kid", "The Gold Rush" and "The Circus" were created by Chaplin in the golden age of silent screen comedy. However Chaplin didn't give up making silent films even after sound came to the cinema. So great was Chaplin's popularity in the 30s, that he was able to keep "City Lights" (1931) and "Modern Times" (1936) silent.

Neither Harold Lloyd nor Buster Keaton had the influence on critics and the public that Chaplin had. But today we realise that these two comedians' contribution to the genre has been profound as well. Both comedians used story material of a young American trying to be successful as a man, in his love and in his business — familiar and popular American themes of the 1920's. Though they were both gifted and original actors it took them longer to receive recognition that could compete with Chaplin's fame.

But Lloyd and Keaton could match Chaplin in his skill, they carried over this technique to their full-length movies of the 20's. By the early 1920's both Lloyd and Keaton were already well-known to the public and could start producing feature films, which meant that they were very successful at the box-office.

Few people remember Harry Langdon as one of the great comedians of the late 20's, but he did rival Chaplin, Lloyd and Keaton in popularity in the three years of 1925—1927 which marked the highlight of his career. The man-child portrait made him different from the other major comedians of his time.

The four great comedians — Chaplin, Lloyd, Keaton and Langdon, created a great comic tradition that was carried on with the sound age. Most of our contemporary comedians keep on perfecting the art that had been developed in the 20's. The works by Chaplin, Lloyd, Keaton and Langdon will live on. These great comedians have given us masterpieces that will never fade, and they will influence the film comedies yet to be born.

 

Task 8. Answer the questions:

1) Who are the most famous silent screen comedians?

2) What did Charles Chaplin’s success rest on?

3) What did his immediate success with the public result in?

4) Name popular films made by Chaplin in the 1920s and 1930s.

5) What characters did Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton usually play in films?

6) What did the start of Lloyd’s and Keaton’s film-producing career mean?

7) What can Harry Langdon’s characters be easily recognized by?

 

Task 9. Find English equivalents of the following in the text:

· такие фильмы потеряли популярность;

· превосходные актеры редкого дарования;

· самый полюбившийся;

· наиболее высоко оцененный критиками;

· получить всеобщее признание;

· вдохнуть новую жизнь во что-л.;

· отвергать предложения;

· Он пользовался поистине огромным успехом у публики;

· открыть большие возможности перед кем-л.;

· проявлять редкое мастерство;

· в период расцвета чего-л.;

· завоевать признание, которое могло бы сравниться со славой Чаплина;

· применить тот же метод;

· быть очень популярным / получить большие кассовые сборы;

· означать расцвет чьей-л. карьеры;

· создать великую традицию;

· продолжить совершенствовать вид искусства;

· оказать влияние на комедии, которым еще только суждено появиться на свет.

Task 10. Translate the following sentences into English using the vocabulary of the two texts.

1) Экранизации детективов о Шерлоке Холмсе обладают удивительной способностью вовлекать зрителей в происходящее. Даже те, кто не очень любит читать детективные романы, внимательно следят за развитием сюжета, пытаясь понять, кто же является главным злодеем. Василий Ливанов – наиболее полюбившийся зрителям и высоко оцененный критиками актер, сыгравший Шерлока Холмса. Он проявил редкое мастерство в воссоздании образа чопорного англичанина, разгадывающего сложнейшие детективные загадки, не выходя из дома. Василий Ливанов всегда пользовался поистине огромным успехом у публики и уже с первых серий фильма сумел завоевать всеобщее признание, причем не только у российских зрителей, но и у зарубежной аудитории. В 2006 году Британия, родина Шерлока Холмса, отдала дань уважения таланту Ливанова, наградив его орденом Британской империи. В 2010 году на экраны вышел британский телесериал «Шерлок Холмс», сумевший вдохнуть новую жизнь в эту детективную историю. Посмотрим, сможет ли этот сериал завоевать признание, которое могло бы сравниться со славой Василия Ливанова.

2) «Шрек» - первый полнометражный анимационный фильм в истории, получивший премию Оскар. Все серии этого мультипликационного фильма собрали большие кассовые сборы.

Task 11. Write a summary about the golden age of silent films based on the texts in Task 2 and Task 7. Learn the summary by heart.

 

Task 12. Comment on the quotation that prefaces the section.

 

? WRITING