ENTRY #5

Fourth lecture, Part 4 of 5

Docks of New York

In this lecture the teacher presented another silent featured film, contemporary of Street Angel, Docks of New York of the director George Brancroft. They were both made in 1928. Brancroft was one of the Hollywood’s most exciting directors, because he spoke to the audience through strong and powerful images. He valued the beauty of the image over its plausibility or coherence. With this movie he proved he could have beauty and story. Although these two films were romances about two people who fell in love, experienced obstacles and then overcame them; they presented very contrasting differences. Their narratives were developed in very distinct worlds. Brancroft constructed smaller and colder worlds while Borzage’s were transcendental and artificial.  Moreover, George’s movies tended to be cruel, cynical, crowded, noisy and energetic.   Finally, another relevant disparity between these two movies was the inner time of each one; Street Angel is a story of years while Docks of New York takes place mostly in one night and in the following day.