CriticSociety- film reviews

Review

Greed

Director

Erich von Stroheim

Year

1925

Rating

Reviewed by

Gon Curiel a.k.a. Groucho

Review date

Monday, August 05, 2002

The dramatically opposite combination of an ambitious woman (Zasu Pitts) and a very simple man (Gibson Gowland) gets only worse when she wins a fortune from the lottery, and gets obsessed with money, right after their marriage. To make matters even worse, the former best friend of the couple (Jean Hersholt) becomes their worst enemy, out of envy.

Erich von Stroheim’s masterpiece of silent drama is especially notorious for its original length of 8 hours, and the tremendous trimming the studio did to it. The director never agreed with the change of course, but still the movie is outstanding, becoming an epic out of a very simple tale. Comedy relief and chilling symbolism is used throughout.

The depiction of humans as creatures of instinct and hatred is awfully scary, and frighteningly real. The characters descend to hell, little by little, until the unforgettable finale. All the actors do a top-notch work.

The beauty surrounding the depiction of such terrible happenings is admirable. This could very well be the greatest of all silent films.

Based on the novel McTeague by Frank Norris.

Try to catch the modern version, scored by Carl Davis.

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