The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) should actually be called, Everybody's Got a Boner for Esmeralda. At the beginning there were a lot of characters introduced all at once and many different story lines. I'm glad that as the film went on that these got weeded out or condensed. Way too many happenings for a silent film. Lots of lustful attraction turning into "I love you, we're getting married." All of this going on and then a big poor versus aristocrat war. There were a couple nice edit points. When Phoebus takes out Esmeralda for the first time they cut to a moth caught in a spider's web with the spider inching towards it. Did he end up honestly falling in love with her after that point? Who knows. There was also probably a not intentional match on action that I enjoyed. I believe it was when Quasimodo jumps up and is cheering and then it cuts to Esmeralda being attacked in the other room. There's a similar action of Jehan jumping her. It ended sad with Quasimodo dying alone ringing his beloved bells. And then it abruptly ended.
<3justine
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I don't think the word "boner" was legally useable in film until the 1970s.
ReplyDeleteNo sir, this film was pre-Hays Code.
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