I only chose to watch Henry King’s The Winning of Barbara Worth today because I noticed how long it’d been since my last silent, the average rating here didn’t come close to preparing me for what is genuinely one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Immediately it hooks with what could truly be argued as the most beautiful cinematography ever filmed, quite literally every single shot in this movie had my jaw on the ground and since there isn’t as much that much to go on with these movies outside of the way they look it played an enormous role in my enjoyment here. Also for how it looks I admittedly haven’t seen much of it but the tinting here is absolutely stunning, the way it goes from the yellow of the desert to the blue of night and the action scene with the pink, I really love the way those colors mesh with the ethereal look and feel these silents have. To continue the visual praise it’s also got some all-time western set design which is no easy feat, and oh my goodness, the way they had the water flow through and destroy those sets in the climax was seriously one of the most amazing moments I’ve ever seen in a movie. Earlier I mentioned there wasn’t all that much to go off of outside of the way it looks but that leaves out this story which I also loved, my one gripe is thinking Barbara deserved better than the money hungry Mr. Holmes but I’m also more willing to believe and buy into the story they gave us and the result of me buying in paid off beautifully. I’m still having trouble praising or criticizing acting performances in these movies because it’s just so different to the acting I know but I enjoyed everyone here, Vilma Binky and Ronald Colman were quite good and it was of course fun to see a young Gary Cooper in his first ever film role. And with a fantastic score playing over all of this (i know that was probably written years after in the restoration but it still played a big role in my enjoyment so i have to mention it) The Winning of Barbara Worth is the greatest ratio of low expectations to incredible results that I’ve ever had with cinema, if there was ever a watch to fully ignite the fire in me to deeper explore this gorgeous art-form it’s 100% this silent western saga from Henry King which I’d genuinely call the greatest American western I’ve ever seen.

I only chose to watch Henry King’s The Winning of Barbara Worth today because I noticed how long it’d been since my last silent, the average rating here didn’t come close to preparing me for what is genuinely one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Immediately it hooks with what could truly be argued as the most beautiful cinematography ever filmed, quite literally every single shot in this movie had my jaw on the ground and since there isn’t as much that much to go on with these movies outside of the way they look it played an enormous role in my enjoyment here. Also for how it looks I admittedly haven’t seen much of it but the tinting here is absolutely stunning, the way it goes from the yellow of the desert to the blue of night and the action scene with the pink, I really love the way those colors mesh with the ethereal look and feel these silents have. To continue the visual praise it’s also got some all-time western set design which is no easy feat, and oh my goodness, the way they had the water flow through and destroy those sets in the climax was seriously one of the most amazing moments I’ve ever seen in a movie. Earlier I mentioned there wasn’t all that much to go off of outside of the way it looks but that leaves out this story which I also loved, my one gripe is thinking Barbara deserved better than the money hungry Mr. Holmes but I’m also more willing to believe and buy into the story they gave us and the result of me buying in paid off beautifully. I’m still having trouble praising or criticizing acting performances in these movies because it’s just so different to the acting I know but I enjoyed everyone here, Vilma Binky and Ronald Colman were quite good and it was of course fun to see a young Gary Cooper in his first ever film role. And with a fantastic score playing over all of this (i know that was probably written years after in the restoration but it still played a big role in my enjoyment so i have to mention it) The Winning of Barbara Worth is the greatest ratio of low expectations to incredible results that I’ve ever had with cinema, if there was ever a watch to fully ignite the fire in me to deeper explore this gorgeous art-form it’s 100% this silent western saga from Henry King which I’d genuinely call the greatest American western I’ve ever seen.

with live orchestra🫠

with live orchestra🫠