MovieChat Forums > Underworld (1927) Discussion > OH COME ON NOW!!!!!!!!

OH COME ON NOW!!!!!!!!

posted 13 years ago by BG43214
8 replies | jump to latest

I love movies; even the silents, most of the time........after hearing and reading SO MUCH about this one, I eagerly awaited it's showing on TCM the other day.....I DVRd it.......

I cannot IMAGINE how this thing ever became a hit.......as von Sternberg said, it was the first movie to cause theaters to be open all night, due to its popularity.............

WELLLLL...........all I can say is:

audience tastes SURE AS HELL have changed...

But then, I always thought von Sternberg (not his real name, by the way, but no big deal!!) was always full of...... himself!!!!!

The only thing he contributed to the history of the cinema is Marlene Dietrich; now what he did with her, and for her, is nothing short of brilliant.....

But "Underworld"???????????

I kept looking at my watch, wondering WHEN this thing was going to end......the story line is so bare and dull........oh I better stop before the top of my head blows off!!!

It was a most disappointing movie to me.......if anyone out there really liked this, I'd sure like to know the reasons why.....

And the fact that this movie started the gangster movie trend is BEYOND me......if anything, it should have killed any further interest in gangster movies!!

I know I'm a bit harsh, but that's the way I feel.......so I'm sorry if I've offended anyone who really enjoyed this one; but again, please please plesae lete me know what you find so great about it!!!

and with that, I"ll shut my big mouth!!!!!! lol

[–] ww_sketcher 13 years ago

wow, what a story mark.

[–] JonasEB 13 years ago

Are you sure you were watching Underworld? It wasn't on TCM any time in the last six months. I don't believe it has ever aired on TCM.

[–] MyNeighborFanboy 13 years ago

Of course the plot is bare bones. Nobody cares about the plot.

What makes it a great film is how Von Sternberg frames that barebones plot. Through editing and composition and lighting and stuff. it takes a pretty simple story (pretty much a stock, predictable sort of melodrama script if you ask me) and gives it really beauty and gravitas through its imagery. I suggest watching it again and just giving yourself over to the visuals. Sternberg did works with a lot more thematic weight and better writing, but this really established a lot of what made him a master.

Climb out from your pit, slut. Your presence is requested in a deeper hell hole.

[–] Danny_Campbell 13 years ago

Or in other words, it is the film equivilent of the modern computer game. All graphics and no substance.

A film like Underworld you watch for artistic appreciation, not because it is a precursor to Scarface, although it IS in fact a precursor to Scarface.

I'm sure if we go back and look at Pong, it's a stretch of the imagination to get to some of the games we have today. I guess the same applies here.

Try Fritz Lang's Metropolis (also 1927), you'll find it equally heavy going for the most part, however you can't help but wonder how they achieved the rings effect around the robot... I know people who couldn't achieve that in After Effects today, let alone on the 'tech' they had 84 years ago!

Simplistically, that's why they're so good, or at least so celebrated... and rightly so.

[–] furlough1 12 years ago

Metropolis was 1922..

[–] Zipz01-244-290815 11 years ago

Metropolis was 1927... you're on IMDB... look it up!

[–] overseer-3 12 years ago

I'm not one to pick apart why I like a film. I enjoyed this one. It's not the best silent I've ever seen, and it was a bit predictable, but overall it appealed to me. Esp. with Robert Israel's score.

[–] Guj 12 years ago

I really dont see how this movie was predictable at all.

how could you predict that Feathers would change her mind about saving Bull the way that she did, when she was so adamant about running away with RollsRoyce?
how could you predict that Bull would (miraculously) break out of jail all by himself and not trust RollsRoyce?
How could you predict that Bull would let Feathers and RollsRoyce escape through the hideout, but surrender himself to the cops? granted that he is a good 'robin-hood' type criminal; but the latter half of bull's screen presence is full of distrust and vengeance, you cant predict what a man.. what a criminal would do in that state! This was a gangster movie centered around love, emotions, loyalty, friendship and trust, not very predictable to say the least. POS movies like Mrs. Doubtfire are predictable lol.

if you cant tell i really, really enjoyed this movie. i dont watch many silent movies, but for a movie shot at the end of the silent era, i think this did a wonderful job.

OP, this movie is 1hr 20mins long; how on earth could you 'keep looking at your watch, wondering when it was going to end'? you must have no patience in your life AT ALL. God forbid you watch the Director's Cut with 7 minutes of extra footage!!!

P.S. Danny_Campbell is right, Metropolis was from 1927. I think furlough1's thinking about Nosferatu, a totally different, yet equally famous silent movie from 1922.

You die in the end!