MovieChat Forums > The Regeneration (1915) Discussion > Still-powerful film

Still-powerful film

posted 10 years ago by bmoore-13
1 reply | jump to latest

An imdb 6.5 rating? Wow. The age of the film, it's choppiness, sentimentality, and melodramatic storyline, are givens. Someday someone will look back on Avatar or Inception and note how dated the fx in them are! This film has as strong a feel for the old Bowery (where some of it was filmed) as any film, and its theme of environment shaping people packs a wallop. I've been watching quite a few silents lately, and for that decade, the teens, this is almost as good as it gets. Raul Walsh was hitting on just about all cylinders from the get-go.

[–] FilmBuff (6652) a year ago

Not much discussion of silent films here, and I doubt after 9 years you'll see this, but I agree. This film is a lot better than a 6.5. It was filmed almost entirely on location in the Bowery, and gives an insight into life there that we'd otherwise not have if it weren't for this, and a few other films.

The story isn't predictable, and it is satisfying, even with the unhappy ending. The final title card packs an extra punch for all that comes before it, and reminds me in a way of the last card of another great silent film, The Bargain.