The Outlaw and His Wife (1918) part1 - Victor Sjöström

"Another movie, another planet" but first let me wish you a happy new year.
Will this blog still be there in a year ? i really don't know. What's the use of doing all this ? if someone can tell me... But i feel that i have to do this to pay my tribute to movies which moved me and that are sadly forgotten (well, most of them!) in the DVD merciless world.
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I wanted to begin this new year 2006 going back to Silent Movies and particularly to one of the best movie by swedish director : Victor Sjöström.
Yes, i know one of the first movie i captured on this blog was : The Wind his famous movie in Hollywood with Lilian Gish in 1928. But i believe you should be aware that he also did marvellous movies in the beginning in his native sweden as you will see this January.
In 1918, There wasn't any Murnau or Lang. Cinematograph was beginning to turn into a Art. In 1916, D.W. Griffith did Intolerance. But Cinema Masterpieces were not common by this time. Yet, Victor Sjöström already had directed several movies since 1912. But Berg-Ejvind och hans hustru aka The Outlaw and His Wife was to be one of the first great masterpiece of the Silent Cinema.
Therefore i will divide my tribute in 3 parts this January every monday.
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"A tale in pictures of 2 people's fate".

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Victor Sjöström plays himself the role of Berg-Ejvind, a rugged rambler and his wife Edith Erastoff is Halla, a wealthy widow who runs a ranch. She was pregnant with a daughter at the time of the shooting.

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"You can't escape your fate not even by running away".

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"You're alive. That's enough to have enemies".

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Charles Magnusson was the producer of Svenska, the famous Swedish production company which gave to the world the great Swedish Film Art (Mauritz Stiller's Sir Arne's Treasure for instance).

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"Close your eyes, sleep a little longer, kiss me".

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"I will sleep with my eyes wide open / He loved you and now your beauty is / like a blue mountain surrounded by mist".

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The Outlaw and His Wife "is perhaps the most important event in the history of film since 1895, because here for the first time a film consciously entered the realm of art".
Bardeche & Brasillach. Histoire Du Cinema. Edit. Denoel et Steele. 1935

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"Tonight we shall leave".


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This was the first 45 frames i have captured.
Next monday you will see PART 2 out of 3.
In the meantime, any comments will be appreciated.