The Wind
The Wind
| 23 November 1928 (USA)
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When Letty Mason relocates to West Texas, she finds herself unsettled by the ever-present wind and sand. Arriving at her new home at the ranch of her cousin, Beverly, she receives a surprisingly cold welcome from his wife, Cora. Soon tensions in the family and unwanted attention from a trio of suitors leave Letty increasingly disturbed.

Reviews
Hellen

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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NekoHomey

Purely Joyful Movie!

BroadcastChic

Excellent, a Must See

ChicDragon

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

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dougdoepke

A really scary movie. Count poor Letty's (Gish) frustrations after leaving the train. It's just one menacing disappointment after another, whether the two uncouth louts (Hanson & Orlamond), the muscular Cora, that dinner from heck, or the hellish wind that never lets up. Whatever else, this is a first-rate horror movie, much more effective than the splatter movies of today. Get a load of butcher Cora just standing next to the splayed steer carcass, knife in hand. If I were Letty, I wouldn't walk, I'd run back to Virginia. There are so many arresting images, thanks to director Seastrom (I believe)-- the empty horizon swept bare by the blow, the spectral stallion running wild with Letty's fears, and the clawing at the window. The wind and dust forever clawing. Never has a force of nature been transformed so effectively into an infernal presence. Poor Letty. Watch her features twist as the anguish grows. Forget the happy, unbelievable ending. That was a studio surrender no one in production agreed with—at least, according to a Gish. A truer ending was apparently filmed, but MGM brass buckled under the grimness. Too bad. This is the stuff of bad dreams, especially since it's wordless. I think I understand now what my friends from Kansas used to say—"It's just that old Devil Wind showing who's boss". Great movie.

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calvinnme

Lillian Gish plays her usual virginal character thrown into adverse and unjust circumstances, but here she does so much with the part as we watch her slowly unravel and lose her mind. She plays Letty, a girl from Virginia who comes to live with relatives in a dust bowl town. The atmosphere into which she travels doesn't make sense in many ways. The people there supposedly make their living from cattle ranching, but with the constant sandstorms I don't see how anything is supposed to survive in such an environment. However, that is not really the point. The constant wind and storms are just metaphors for Letty's own mental state and feeling of entrapment. Her cousin's wife is hostile to her from the start, convinced that Letty wants to take her husband away from her, and eventually forces her out of the home. As a result she marries a man she doesn't love, and once this is clear to him he accepts the situation and makes it a goal to raise enough money to send Letty back to Virginia where she will be happy. On top of this there is the constant specter of a wealthy married man who wants to take Letty's virtue for the recreation of it all.The visual work on this film is spectacular, much like Murnau's "Sunrise" except in reverse - this film starts out on an upbeat note with Letty looking forward to the new direction her life has turned, and it being all downhill from there. Thus we come to the familiar topic of the abrupt upbeat ending and how it didn't make any sense in the context of the rest of the film. It was an early example of studio suits interfering with the artistic vision of the filmmakers, and so upset director Victor Sjostrom that he never directed another film in America.Like Murnau's "Sunrise" and "The Crowd", 1928's "The Wind" is an example of silent film-making at its peak. This level of art in movies would be lost at the dawn of sound until the problems with the static camera could be overcome and the novelty of sound wore off to the extent that plot and meaningful dialog became important. The first problem - technical - was remedied much more quickly than the second problem, which was largely a matter of psychology and experience.Highly recommended for silent film fans.

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morrigan1982

A young girl moves out from Virginia to live with her cousin at Sweet Waters. She finds out that where she is heading, it is the Land of the Winds and that the wind there always blows and the sand is carried away with it. This wind is so vicious that people tend to loose their minds by it. Its ferocity "blows" away peoples' logic and they sleigh day by day into insanity, and this applies specially to women. Lillian Gish, who plays the young girl Letty, is a great actress who can really feel her part. She has such a great performance in this film that you can't help but bond with the young girl and you can really understand how she feels in every situation in the film. Her performance is just brilliant. Lars Hanson is the lead male actor and he too has a great performance that can stand beside hers. All the other cast was good as well. The director Victor Sjöström has done an excellent work with this film. I really wish I could somehow see the original ending of this film as well. In my opinion, this film is really brilliant. Never forget what the people went trough in those times to create such magnificent films.

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Polaris_DiB

Too often Lillian Gish is associated solely with DW Griffith, despite a career spanning 75 years and her own unique talents. The Wind is an example of what Gish is all about, being that she championed (basically produced) the whole thing, script, director, and all.Victor Sjostrom is mentionable as well, providing a unique and poetic visual background for the story. The funny thing about sand is that it's very film-friendly in subject (though perhaps not so friendly to the equipment)--think film grain, think Woman in the Dunes, think Lawrence of Arabia. Here he creates a claustrophobic snow-globe out of it, literally blocking the action around where the sand blows. Superb use of double-exposure, especially while over Gish's writhing, demented face, is about as close as cinema has gotten to true nightmare feeling until Deren made Meshes of the Afternoon.The ending is rather unfortunate. The story goes that it was forced to be a happy ending by the studios, and whether that's true or not, it clearly doesn't fit the tone or the theme. It's an awkward reversal of everything that's been built up previously, and it leaves a bad taste in ones mouth.But the rest of the film is pure cinematic glory. A must see, honestly.--PolarisDiB

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