THE BIG PARADE
Not available on Home Video
King Vidor tackles the story of a common man discovering first hand the ferocity of war. John Gilbert delivers one of the best performances of the silent era. Shot on a grand scale, it features thousands of extras and real fighter planes for the exterior shots. Defined by Vidor “a bloody ballet, a ballet of death”, the director used a metronome on set to pace the action of the war scenes, creating a visual symphony of the atrocities depicted. Soldiers who saw the film at the time were shocked by its realism.