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6.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Hollywood You Never See remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a thing for film history, you’ll dig this. It’s like finding an old, dusty photograph in an attic. If you’re looking for a plot, or people acting out a scene, or anything that feels like a modern movie, you’re gonna be bored stiff. This is for the nerds who want to see how the sausage was made back when the meat grinder was hand-cranked.
It’s not trying to be The Big Stunt or any of those high-octane things. It just kind of exists.
DeMille is everywhere here. He’s got that specific, loud energy that people in charge had in the 30s. He’s shouting, he’s pointing, he’s fixing a collar that no one else cares about. Watching him direct is actually kind of exhausting, to be honest. You can almost smell the hairspray and the old film stock.
There’s this one bit where they are adding the music in—the recording process is so primitive it makes your phone look like a supercomputer. The way the sound just… floats into the scene is bizarre. It’s not like today where everything is scrubbed clean in a computer. You hear the room. You hear the floorboards creak a little.
It reminds me a bit of the vibe in Stolen Wednesday, where things just sort of happen in a line. There is no urgency. Just work.
I found myself staring at the background more than the actual actors. There’s a guy in the back holding a ladder who clearly has no idea what he’s doing. He just holds it for twenty minutes. It’s strangely hypnotic.
It’s not a masterpiece, and it doesn't try to be. It’s just a recording of people working. Sometimes that’s enough. Other times, I wish they’d just cut to the chase. But hey, it’s 1934. Nobody was in a rush back then anyway. 🎥