Journal article 1477 views
Cinema as Refuge: Frank Borzage and the Mystical Tradition
Alan Bilton 
Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Volume: 46, Issue: 1, Pages: 33 - 42
Swansea University Author:
Alan Bilton
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Abstract
The article explores the late silent films of American film-maker Frank Borzage via the prism of religious ritual and visionary experience, interpreting the strangeness, beauty and narrative waywardness of 7th Heaven (1927) and Street Angel (1928) in terms of a cinematic haven or sanctuary, what S....
| Published in: | Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal |
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| ISSN: | 1548-9922 |
| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa29291 |
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| Abstract: |
The article explores the late silent films of American film-maker Frank Borzage via the prism of religious ritual and visionary experience, interpreting the strangeness, beauty and narrative waywardness of 7th Heaven (1927) and Street Angel (1928) in terms of a cinematic haven or sanctuary, what S. Brent Plate terms a "sacred canopy". Drawing upon the film writings of Siegfried Kracauer (1889-1966), the article explores the notion that the way to the metaphysical 'real' is via discarded matter and profane refuse. This draws upon a rich vein of religious experience - from freemasonry to Russian icons to medieval ecstatic visions -in order to conceive of the link between religion and film in a new manner. |
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| Keywords: |
Borzage, Religion, Film, Freemasonry, Kracauer, Matter, Visions, Silent Film, Ritual, Sanctuary |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Issue: |
1 |
| Start Page: |
33 |
| End Page: |
42 |