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THE BIG PARADE (1925). Another silent movie with Live score at The Flying Monkey in Plymouth. Had never heard of this until recently, but very good, albeit long (2.5 hours). Was the first movie made about World War 1, some years after it ended. Idle Rich boy (John Gilbert) joins with his friends when the USA joins in the fight against the Central Powers, meets two working class stiffs who become like brothers and meets/falls in love with a pretty French girl (Renee Adoree). There are some scenes that could have been edited or deleted, but the farewell between Gilbert and Adoree is extremely moving and the battle sequences are very realistic and frightening. Our keyboardist described it as ..."the SAVING PRIVATE RYAN of its day" and He wasn't far off the mark. ****
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