Posts Tagged ‘stunts’

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0014429/

Dir. Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor

An iconic Harold Lloyd silent comedy, famous primarily for the sequence where he dangles precariously from the hands of a clock 15-storeys off the ground.

I went into this screening curious, I had read about Harold Lloyd years earlier when researching Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, yet I had never seen his work. Sometimes when watching a silent movie they can feel like a lot of work, you have to keep in mind the era in which they were produced, but this was far from the case for Safety Last! It was a fantastic comedy, its age apparent in its production, but not in it’s humour or character; I think that laughed and cringed just as much as the audiences did on it’s original release.

It’s a classic farcical tale, Lloyd has gone to the big city to earn his fortune, only he is failing miserably and resorts to lying to his fiancé back home about his successes, when she comes to visit he tries to cover his real status up. It’s packed with old gags but they are perfectly performed, even if you can predict many of them you still laugh thanks to the impeccable timing of Harold Lloyd. I was honestly amazed at how much I laughed throughout the film, genuine belly-laughs, not just a polite “I’m a film student so I must appreciate this” weak laugh. It is one of the funniest films I’ve watched all year and it’s 86 years old, that’s a hell of an achievement.

I was astonished by how convincing the production was. The pivotal sequence of the movie involves Lloyd climbing up the side of massive building. When watching this you are absolutely convinced he is making the perilous ascent, you can see the buildings and the movement of the traffic down on the ground behind him, and every wobble and slip makes you feel that gripping internal gasp. It was achieved by building a fake building side on top of several other buildings and while safer, it was still a risky stunt. It’s telling that the reality of the sequence and the knowledge that it predates the trick photography to create it makes it that much more tense.

It’s a real gem of a film, a treat that everyone who enjoys a good comedy should watch, regardless of its age.