I watched William Wyler's Counsellor at Law recently and was very impressed. I haven't greatly enjoyed many of the older (1930's-1960's) Hollywood films I've seen, having found them somewhat hokey and/or sanitised (...and you might suggest this describes many current Hollywood films as well...). Marius, a 1931 French film written by the great Marcel Pagnol, revealed to me that old cinema could deal with human relations in a way that feels honest and immediate, and Wyler's film was another piece of the puzzle. Why? It was made in 1933, soon after Talkies (sound film) took over and just before Hollywood became subject to the Motion Picture Production Code. The Code resulted in the censorship of Hollywood films made between 1934 and 1968, imposing particular requirements for the careful portrayal of sex and gender relations, crime, and authority figures, etc. So-called "Pre-Code" Hollywood, however, is a different animal, as revealed by the edgy treatment of various themes contained in Counsellor at Law. I'm certainly looking forward to watching more Pre-Code films.
No comments:
Post a Comment