Ebert Club Newsletter

Roger Ebert likes Louise Brooks. He's told me so, and he's also written about the actress and her films on more than a few occasions. Apparently, he also just wrote about the actress in the most recent issue of the "Ebert Club Newsletter."

Ebert wrote, "The Sounds of Silents: Science finds that silent movies trigger mental soundtracks in our minds. Oddly enough, this may explain why they create a reverie state in me. I usually listen to them with a musical sound track, but after reading this I tried a little of "The Show Off" on Netflix streaming, and I see what they mean. . . . So try a little of "The Show Off" yourself. Turn off the sound. Here's the complete movie via Google; though Netflix quality is better. Notice that whenever Louise Brooks is on screen, you simply can't focus on anyone else..."

The newsletter includes a link to a Google video of the 1926 Brooks film (as above), and then a paragraph on Louise Brooks "Looking for Lulu" (1998), the outstanding documentary on the actress by Hugh Munro Neely. Ebert goes on the mention The Cat and the Canary (1927) and highlight some of the other kinds of silent and other early films available over the internet. It's an interesting post. And well worth reading. I always enjoy Ebert's writing - he is one of our best critics.