The Star Prince (1918)
** (out of 4)
A star fall from the skies and lands onto Earth when a man rushes out to it. He discovers a young boy laying next to the star so he brings him home. Over time the boy starts to call himself The Star Prince and he's a rude jerk at that. Before long he belittles a beggar that turns out to be his mother so a fairy turns him into an ugly boy. Now he must set out to find his mother and ask for her to forgive him.
Madeline Brandeis was a female director who worked as an independent. She wrote and directed her films and this includes this one, which was recently released in a boxset celebrating female filmmakers. You know, I'm not going to sit here and say that this was an entertaining movie because it really wasn't. At the same time there was still something very unique and strange about this movie that helped keep it mildly watchable if you're a fan of silent cinema.
Whenever I watch an independent movie from this era I'm always struck by the simple look and often cheap look of the production. I'm certainly not bashing this film for looking cheap because it used the cheapness to be more creative in ways. Just check out the burning star that is on the ground after the crash. Check out the fairy land towards the end of the movie. These aren't Hollywood sets but they have their own unique feel.
The film has some major problems including the Star Prince himself. You just dislike this kid so much that you don't want to see anything good happen to him. The performances were also mostly weak ones and there's no question that at times the story drags even though the film only runs 54-minutes.
With all of that being said, there are enough interesting moments to make THE STAR PRINCE worth watching once.
** (out of 4)
A star fall from the skies and lands onto Earth when a man rushes out to it. He discovers a young boy laying next to the star so he brings him home. Over time the boy starts to call himself The Star Prince and he's a rude jerk at that. Before long he belittles a beggar that turns out to be his mother so a fairy turns him into an ugly boy. Now he must set out to find his mother and ask for her to forgive him.
Madeline Brandeis was a female director who worked as an independent. She wrote and directed her films and this includes this one, which was recently released in a boxset celebrating female filmmakers. You know, I'm not going to sit here and say that this was an entertaining movie because it really wasn't. At the same time there was still something very unique and strange about this movie that helped keep it mildly watchable if you're a fan of silent cinema.
Whenever I watch an independent movie from this era I'm always struck by the simple look and often cheap look of the production. I'm certainly not bashing this film for looking cheap because it used the cheapness to be more creative in ways. Just check out the burning star that is on the ground after the crash. Check out the fairy land towards the end of the movie. These aren't Hollywood sets but they have their own unique feel.
The film has some major problems including the Star Prince himself. You just dislike this kid so much that you don't want to see anything good happen to him. The performances were also mostly weak ones and there's no question that at times the story drags even though the film only runs 54-minutes.
With all of that being said, there are enough interesting moments to make THE STAR PRINCE worth watching once.