
Somewhere between the nickelodeon’s hiccup and the feature’s roar, eleven minutes of nitrate survived to scratch our retinas: You Tell 'Em, Lions, I Roar, a 1921 one-reel rocket that feels like Eisenstein swapped shots with a gin-soaked ringmaster. The first thing you notice is the color of the dark—an inky plum tha...


Comparing the cinematic DNA and archive impact of two defining moments in cult history.

William Watson

William Watson
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" Somewhere between the nickelodeon’s hiccup and the feature’s roar, eleven minutes of nitrate survived to scratch our retinas: You Tell 'Em, Lions, I Roar, a 1921 one-reel rocket that feels like Eisenstein swapped shots with a gin-soaked ringmaster. The first thing you notice is the color of the dark—an inky plum that swallows the footlights—until Harry Sweet strikes a match and the screen detonates into sulfurous yellow. He plays the unnamed ringmaster, part P.T. Barnum, part jilted lover, wi..."


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