The husband and wife acting team of Mae Feather and Julian Gordon is torn apart when he discovers she is having an affair with the screen comedian Andy Wilks. Mae hatches a plot to kill her husband by putting a real bullet in the prop gun which will be fired at him during the making of their new film, 'Prairie Love'.
Shooting Stars is a must for any silent cinema fan. Offering a rare insight into the workings of a 1920s film studio, there are location scenes, comic … mehrstunts and an on-set jazz band which demonstrate just what life was like in the early days of cinema.
Despite the directing credit going to veteran filmmaker A.V. Bramble, Shooting Stars is universally acknowledged to be the directorial debut of rising talent Anthony Asquith. Asquith wrote the original story, deliberately choosing the subject of movie-making itself as his theme, and the dynamic cinematographic style and professional approach to the design and lighting was introduced by Asquith himself, based on his experiences at Chaplin's studio. The script is sophisticated, incorporating iconic counterpoint and containing very few inter-titles, a trope of Asquith's work.
Presented on Blu-ray in a new restoration by the BFI National Archive, this key film of the silent era marked a step change in the quality of British features on a par with Hitchcock's work at Gainsborough, and anyone enamoured with the glamour of film will relish the knowing humour and style of this long-unseen classic.
The DVD Copy also includes a downloadable PDF of the original screenplay.
Includes a 36 page booklet with essays by Byrony Dixon, John Altman, Henry K. Miller, and Chris O'Rourke, plus film, music, bonus features credits.
Extras:
- "Pathe's Screen Beauty Competition" (1920) (2:00)
- "Around the Town: British Film Stars and Studios" (1921) (2:29)
- Topical Budget: The Lovely Hundred" (1922) (0:25)
- "Secrets of a World Industry - The Making of Cinematograph Film" (1922) (7:59)
- "Meet Jackie Coogan" (1924) (10:41)
- "Starlings of the Screen" (1925) (15:29)
- "Opening of British Instructional Film Studio" (1928) (3:44)
- "Stills and Specials Collections Gallery" (6:22) weniger