Friday, July 23, 2010

Review: Forgotten Silver (1995)

One of the great forgotton pioneers of early film was New Zealander Colin McKenzie. He was also one of the most unfortunate.

  • In 1908, he created not only the first feature-length film, but the first movie with sound. Unfortunately, this startling innovation was quickly forgotten because he made the film in Chinese and didn't think to invent subtitles. Audiences were only impressed with the gimmick momentarily, then became bored when they couldn't understand anything the actors said.
  • In 1911, he travelled to a remote Tahitian island to experiment with certain chemicals found in berries unique to that area. He used this to create the first color film footage. Unfortunately, a topless native wandered into his nature shot, and when he showed his astonishing invention, he was arrested on smut charges.
  • In the 1920s, he mounted a massive Biblical epic called Salome about the woman who demanded the head of John the Baptist. He built a collasal set of Jerusalem deep in the jungles of New Zealand and hired thousands of extras. His ambition was too great, and he spent a decade in a desperate cycle of raising funds, filming until funds ran out, and searching for someone else to invest in the endless project. When it was finally finished, it held not only a tragic personal cost for him, but due to various problems with his investers, it was never released, and all the footage was buried and presumed lost.

For all that, he was still an extraordinary artist and technician who, thanks to the work of this documentary, can finally take his place in the pantheon of the great film pioneers like Milies, Sumner, and Griffith.

Oh, yeah, there one final twist the story I haven't mentioned:

None of it is true. McKenzie never existed.

If you didn't know that before watching, you might well be fooled by the film. Many of its initial viewers certainly were. It's actually a satiric bit of whimsy from Peter Jackson in his pre-Lord of the Rings days, but Jackson and co-director Costa Botes weave genuine history and convincing interviews into the yarn so well and so perfectly capture the feel of TV documentaries that you might miss the sheer goofiness of the whole thing. There are a couple of outrageously silly moments, but most of the silliness is done with subtlety and a straight face, and actually works. If you buy into it, it's probably pretty interesting. If you know what's going on -- or figure it out -- it's a blast.

The fictitious McKenzie is a fascinating character. He's a genius who creates astonishing things, but due to external circumstances and internal flaws, is somehow never as successful as the hacks who understand the system -- sort of a cinematic Nikola Tesla. Jackson and Botes are full of clever ideas about this guy. The twists of fate that accompany the filming of Salome are terrific.

There are interviews with real figures in the film inudstry to lend credibility. Leonard Maltin is every bit as good at his faux-interview as he is in real documentaries -- articulate, energetic, and beaming with his passion for film. Harvey Weinstein and Sam Neill also pop up for engaging comments; Weinstein probably has the funniest joke in the film.

One thing that impressed me was how immersive the yarn is. More than once, I reacted with astonishment at what McKenzie accomplished before I reminded myself that it was fiction. While it's a very funny film, it also has moments that are genuinely moving. McKenzie's ultimate fate is deeply tragic and yet oddly inspiring, like his entire (non-existent) life. A lot of the film follows Jackson adventuring into the New Zealand wilderness to find the lost sets from Salome, yet another of the film's engagingly goofy yet convincing ideas; it's a fascinating uncovering of a great mystery.

Jackson and Botes recreate lots of silent-movie footage for the film, and they absolutely nail the look and feel of silents. The framing, the stagy acting, the dirt and scratches all make McKenzie's films look like the real thing. Salome looks especially cool with its massive central set-piece, where tensions between the Jews and Romans erupt into a nicely done battle sequence.

Forgotten Silver is the sort of odd, clever little yarn that probably appeals more to film lovers than anyone else, but I think almost anyone would enjoy it. It's has the sort of good-natured fun and inventiveness you don't see much anymore. Definitely worth checking out.

* * *

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RATING: Not rated -- it was originally produced for New Zealand TV. It does contain brief, incidental National Geographic-style nudity of Tahitian natives.

BUDGET: $650,000. They accomplished a lot on that. Of course, it looks like a low-budget TV documentary, but that silent film footage looks like it ate up ten times that amount, easily. Very impressive.

IMDB.COM RATING: 7.6/10.

CRITICAL CONSENSUS: 100% positive on rottentomatoes.

AWARDS: It won the New Zealand TV & Film award for Best Director in the Televesion Drama/Comedy category.

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