A brave film.

“You don’t want to live forever, do you?”

Good news first or bad news first? I never know which one to pick. For this quick review, let’s go with bad news since it is gnawing at me.

Some comedy ages well, the comedy in this movie does not. The Big Parade insists of prominently featuring a dumb and dumber comedy duo, which for a modern audience (i.e., me) they come off more annoying than hilarious. The slapstick comedy was so annoying that I was constantly being taken out of the film. All the tension and romance the movie builds keeps being derailed by the heavy handed comedy. In short, I hate these guys. Especially Slim!

Let’s move on to the good news, because the good within The Big Parade soars. The movie has lengthy and convincing character development, punctuated with truly memorable scenes. The romance, while somewhat melodramatic, is touching and allows us to get involved on a personal level. What makes the movie truly memorable are the the brutally honest war scenes of the second half, which were ahead of their time for not glorifying war. Most modern war films fail to capture the fierceness of war like this film.

The Big Parade is not essential silent cinema, other films such City Lights have aged better, but you will not regret enlisting.

Run Time: 141 minutes

General Release: 1925

Director: King Vidor

Cast: John Gilbert / Renee Adoree / Hobart Bosworth

Language: English (silent)