A rare moment: a movie from my list of beloved, great films that has to be removed for its failure to sustain additional viewings with pleasure and edification. I was watching Fritz Lang's MABUSE, THE GAMBLER, the 1922 film that introduced the iconic master villain, and I found it difficult to sustain interest. It's an episodic crime film lasting 5 hours in its original version, and it failed to sustain my interest in the way the equally long, more rewarding LES VAMPIRES did recently. Much to admire in Lang's film but not one of my favorites based on my last viewing.

Having said that, I have a new addition to the canon, a late silent from the UK: SHOOTING STARS (1828). It's a visually inventive love triangle set in a film studio hence its ability to critique its own medium and production process. Anthony Asquith is primarily responsible. He was in his 20s still when he made this masterpiece.

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