The Big Parade

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Zachary V This is certainly an important movie with some really well-done and memorable scenes. The main reason I only give it 3.5 stars is because, even though it is a trailblazing film that captured the pathos and terror of war in a way that had never been done before, it simply has been done better many times since. There are certain movies, particularly Charlie Chaplin's, that could not have been done as a "talkie" - the ability to use overcranking to create humor, for example, is a technique specific to silent film. Despite several scenes that are intentionally humorous and slapstick, in The Big Parade you are always waiting for the intertitles to move the story along because it is at its heart a serious drama, and the conversations between characters are at the center of the plot. Therefore, a "talkie" version of the "baptism of fire in the trenches" plot is always going to better serve the intent of the film, and that has now been done several times over with more recent films. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/21/25 Full Review Alec B One of the gold standards for war epics. The more light hearted, comedic, and romantic first half is key to the horror and tragedy of the second. It makes you care deeply for these characters. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/23/25 Full Review Valquria G Incrível cade detalhe Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/25/23 Full Review Alexander B The film is a little lop sided as the first half is boring and the second half is very entertaining. Aside from that it's a great film with production values that hold up very well. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/08/23 Full Review William L The Big Parade might initially scare off some viewers through its complete adherence to convention at first, delivering a relatively lighthearted, patriotic depiction of WWI with plenty of cliches - the lonely sweetheart, the camp camraderie, the foreign lover. However, it's ultimately revealed that the establishing scenes were entirely for a particular purpose, to contrast with Vidor's sweeping, at the time horrifying depiction of the trench warfare of the War to End All Wars that takes the audience by surprise. There's no heroic scene of the protagonist seizing a Kraut flag to take home to his jubilant family with only a distinguished scar to remind him of the day. However, there are soldiers marching to a slow death, decimated towns, and the horrors of industrialized warfare. Don't get me wrong, it's riddled with stereotypes and melodrama, but only because it helped to establish them a century ago, and everyone has copied from the inspiration. (4/5) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/21 Full Review william d I like silent comedies, but I tend to doze off during silent dramas. That didn't happen this time. I realize "I stayed awake for the whole thing" is not much of an endorsement, but The Big Parade has other things going for it as well, such as a decent story, the performances of John Gilbert and Renee Adoree, and some good battle scenes (although the latter would be surpassed five years later by "All Quiet on the Western Front.") Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Big Parade

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