Todd Browning's FREAKS!

[tcardenas]

Originally Posted by The Flayed One

About the cigarette scene, they said the studio cut it short, but the actor (Prince Randian) apparently also rolled the cigarette himself before he lit it. That would have been something to see.

after watching commentary and reading about princen randian, i still cant believe he did all that. its amazing. freaks is the movie that also got me into black and white movies. before watching freaks, i hated anything not in color.

[alkytrio666]

Originally Posted by tcardenas

freaks is the movie that also got me into black and white movies. before watching freaks, i hated anything not in color.

Why?

This is my biggest pet peeve.

[tcardenas]

i just did. now i love black and white movies. i just didnt like black and white for some reason, it wasnt.. normal for me. but, most of the movies in my collection now arent in color, if that makes a difference.

[mrsbelalugosi13]

Originally Posted by tcardenas

after watching commentary and reading about princen randian, i still cant believe he did all that. its amazing. freaks is the movie that also got me into black and white movies. before watching freaks, i hated anything not in color.

Sometimes filming in black and white seem to set the tone better for the movie. Even though they used some special effects....they had to rely on a lot of acting talent to carry through a story. And, the fact that Todd Browning cast real people in the roles that the film is named; made it even more astonishing the caliber of talent that the whole entire cast of the movie posessed...... TRULY AMAZING. :cool:

[tcardenas]

yeah, when he used actual "freaks" in the roles, it made it that much better. if he would have cast hollywood actors to play those parts it wouldnt have been that good.

[ManchestrMorgue]

Originally Posted by tcardenas

i just did. now i love black and white movies. i just didnt like black and white for some reason, it wasnt.. normal for me. but, most of the movies in my collection now arent in color, if that makes a difference.

I don't mind if a film is in black & white or colour, as long as it is presented as it was intended. There is very little that ruins a film's presentation more than colourisation - I have NEVER seen a colourised film that looks natural or realistic.

[tcardenas]

i agree, however, it was when i was younger.. the only movie i had really seen in black and white was the wizard of oz and thats only partly in color. then, i watched freaks at my now husbands house and fell in love with black and white. now i could care less but most movies i watch arent color.. i like old movies now.

[Doc Faustus]

Freaks is about thirty years ahead of its time in every way. A movie made in 1932 that so eloquently speaks out for equality and civil rights definitely deserves the place in film history it has. The only movie I've seen that's an equal defense of the dignity of all people is Lynch's the Elephant Man. I don't think people should be squeamish about the use of the word "freaks", however. The movie proves that perversion is on the inside instead of the outside and that it's not such a derogatory term. PC vocab dodging kind of dilutes the message in that way, so if some lunatic does remake it and changes the title, he loses a lot of the power and the ironic dignity behind the word. Epiphets and racial slurring lose power in the face of the integrity of a people, and I think that's a point that can be seen in Browning's choice of titles. The term is for one who deviates from natural or societal standards. But, Browning and many others (often in the genre, like James Whale) prove that the standards themselves are deviant and the way people enforce those standards is deviant, therefore, there should be no squirming behind the word.

[mrsbelalugosi13]

Originally Posted by Doc Faustus

Freaks is about thirty years ahead of its time in every way. A movie made in 1932 that so eloquently speaks out for equality and civil rights definitely deserves the place in film history it has. The only movie I've seen that's an equal defense of the dignity of all people is Lynch's the Elephant Man. I don't think people should be squeamish about the use of the word "freaks", however. The movie proves that perversion is on the inside instead of the outside and that it's not such a derogatory term. PC vocab dodging kind of dilutes the message in that way, so if some lunatic does remake it and changes the title, he loses a lot of the power and the ironic dignity behind the word. Epiphets and racial slurring lose power in the face of the integrity of a people, and I think that's a point that can be seen in Browning's choice of titles. The term is for one who deviates from natural or societal standards. But, Browning and many others (often in the genre, like James Whale) prove that the standards themselves are deviant and the way people enforce those standards is deviant, therefore, there should be no squirming behind the word.

You are absolutely right. It was so ahead of it's time .... a landmark film in my opinion. Perversion is in the mind before eats away at a person's heart and soul. The people who set what is "normal" often make it corrupt and hurtful. It is a shame that the world is often that way. Your right people have civil rights and people should respect them. It would make the world a better place for everyone to live in. No remakes for this film will be required .... it is a masterpiece and let's keep it as such. :)

[DEATHH DREAMS author]

I watched this in a film class many years ago. The opeing scene (set in the future) is significant because the bad muscle man is signing suprano (he gets castrated at the end). This movie is superb!