the descent part 2 is a 2009 british adventure horror film and sequel to the 2005 horror film the descent .

it was directed by jon harris from a screenplay by james mccarthy , j blakeson , and james watkins .

the film was produced by christian colson and ivana mackinnon ; neil marshall , the writer and director of the original , was an executive producer .

shot in london and surrey , it was released in cinemas in the uk on 2 december 2009 and on dvd on 27 april 2010 in the u.s.

the descent part 2

in the descent story arc , descent part 2 is preceded by descent part 1 .
there were 18 caves built for the first descent and 30 for part 2 .
the descent 2 returns to the claustrophobic emotional traumas which made part 1 so thrilling .
jon harris the editor of the first film now returns in part 2 as director and editor . the descent part 2 marks his directorial debut .
collins’ crypt : in defense of the descent : part 2 | birth . movies . death .
the descent part 2 : good to know eye makeup stays on after some serious cave dwelling .
film : disc : the descent part 2 is out now and available from the den of geek store .
the horror digest : the descent part 2 : good to know eye makeup stays on after some serious cave dwelling .
an unnecessary , but nonetheless quite effective sequel , we check out the dvd release of the descent part 2 . . .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the descent : part 2 near you .
josh dallas in the descent 2 ( 2009 ) . scene : gregggg ! ! ! !
the area semi - width of 2 . 4 nm is adhered to because rnp 2 and rnav 2 area primary area semi - width is 2 nm and is fully contained by the procedure area .
for navigation specification rnp 0 . 3 , rnp 1 , rnp 2 and rnav 1 and 2 , the area semi - width is 2 . 4 nm .
the original cast from the first film returns to film the video camera shots featured in part 2 . executive producer neil marshal who was director of the first descent wanted to flesh out the recording that holly had made on her camera in the first descent .
unfortunately for the descent : part 2 , the loud jumps that did come weren ' t strong enough to shake me in any way , as , for the most part ( like so much of the film ) , they were fairly well sign posted .
descent part 2 i liaisons i interface i gambit part 1 i gambit part 2 i phantasams i dark page i attached i force of nature i inheritance i parallels i the pegasus i homeward i sub rosa i lower decks i thine own self i masks i eye of the beholder i genesis i journey ' s end i firstborn i bloodlines i emergence i preemptive strike i all good things . . .
you won ' t be missing anything spectacular if you don ' t catch the descent : part 2 , for horror fans and those who enjoyed the original , however , it ' s definitely worth a go .
fear runs deeper - you can find my review of the descent 2 at the following link - http : / / anamnesis - remembranceofthingsp . . .
sequels actually all take place in the same week - but i ' m not sure anyone from part 4 actually realized that about part 2 . in other words , there ' s always something throwing it off , but
the certified designer shall provide a qualified designer to be part of the validation crew .
no one expected ' part 2 ' to rival the original , but it delivers a fair number of scares while replicating the eerie tension from the first film .
the descent : part 2 ( 2009 ) trailer genre : horror release date : october 14 , 2009 director : jon harris cast : shauna macdonald , natalie jackson mendoza , gavan o ` herlihy , saskia mulder , michael j . reynolds
manual of standards part 173 amendment instrument 2017 ( no . 1 ) - f2017l00199
refer to manual of standards part 173 amendment instrument 2017 ( no . 1 )
figure 7‑2 shows a method for linking the checks of the final and missed approach segments .
the specifications for a runway suitable for supporting sa category ii instrument approach operations can be found in chapter 2 of the manual of standards ( mos ) – part 139 aerodromes .
the manual of standards part 173 ( in force under the civil aviation safety regulations 1998 ) as shown in this compilation comprises manual of standards part 173 amended as indicated in the tables below .
you can practically see the film trying to
color between the lines
laid down in the first film , but there ' s just enough freshness to keep part 2 chugging along .
short version : for absolute die hard horror fans out there , the descent : part 2 may be worth a watch at some point on dvd . for everyone else , i ' d say skip this lackluster sequel and settle for renting the brilliant first film instead .
simon bowles the production designer of the film took the script of part 2 and physically drew out a blueprint mapping how all 30 caves would connect together and how the actors would proceed through them .
surface wind information must be provided in accordance with c a o 92 . 2 .
the specifications for a runway suitable for supporting sa category i and sa category ii instrument approach operations can be found in chapter 2 of the manual of standards ( mos ) – part 139 aerodromes .
the descent part two is essentially an unneeded epilogue to the first film , which at times feels like a less imaginative retread of the original , including revisiting locations of previous deaths and continuing on key conflicts from the initial effort .
2 . where provided , a terminal area radar control service may be considered as an independent radio navigation aid for an approach to a point not later than 2 nm prior to the faf .
verify ( check ) a procedure for which a certificate of approval is required under casr part 173 .
before seeing descent 2 i thought it was a brave move to make a direct sequel , but after watching it i wish it had fully embraced its schlocky influence and been a completely separate movie .
the civil aviation safety regulations part 173 – instrument flight procedure design establishes the standards pertaining to the design of instrument flight procedures .
sequelitis : for various reasons , part 2 received a much weaker reception than its predecessor . among these include the lack of the original ' s trademark darkness ( and thus atmosphere ) and the tacked - on shocking swerve .
substituted with paragraphs 8 . 1 . 7 . 2 and 8 . 1 . 7 . 3
is also very common in people of west african , arab , jewish , greek , and italian descent .
troi stating that data seems to only feel negative emotions , despite stressing in descent part 1 that emotions are neither positive or negative . she is refering to data ' s behaviour in relation to the emotions he is experiencing .
the design of the steps should be such as to ensure that an aircraft will be able to conduct a normal type of descent without detriment to the efficiency of the procedure . for instance , the steps should be so arranged that a steady descent will result , rather than a series of steps , which if followed by an aircraft , would require large variations in the rate of descent .
substituted , including the accompanying paragraphs 8 . 8 . 1 . 1 and 8 . 8 . 1 . 2
. runways accommodating aeroplanes above code 3c require a minimum graded runway strip width in accordance with mos part 139 .
casa head office is responsible for issuing design authorisations in accordance with part 173 of casr 1998 and this mos .
the main problem that descent 2 suffers from is in its comparison to the first film . the night before the screening , i re - watched the first descent for only the second time since its cinematic release , coming to the late realisation that it was utterly superb , and far more affecting than i had remembered , being masterfully shot and acted , while remaining intensely scary and claustrophobic throughout .
i ' ll start with the good points about the descent part 2 . for a moderately low - budgeted horror film , it looks good . the sets look convincing and it ' s handsomely filmed , to which credit must go to director jon harris ( whose usual day job is as editor extraordinaire . check out his work on the recent kick - ass ) .
firstly , i need to disclose something . on the day i saw the descent : part 2 i was in a foul mood . it had been one of those days that started badly and ended the same way . i was tired , frustrated and angry with work , which was then compounded by a packed train into central london and cold , rainy weather .
picking up two days after the original ( at least the american ending , anyway - more on that later ) , the descent part 2 finds sarah ( shauna macdonald ) as the sole survivor of the ill - fated caving adventure . picked up by the cops , she immediately falls under suspicion from the grizzly old sheriff due to the fact she is covered in a large amount of her friend juno ' s blood .
the descent was released in its native u . k . back in 2005 and earned amazing reviews . it became a solid hit , both in its native market and when it was imported here . the descent : part 2 struggled to find the same level of success in most foreign markets , while it is being dumped direct - to - dvd here . is this decline in box office fortunes the result of a decline in quality , or is there something else in effect here ? more . . .
this section details the standards that must be applied to the issue of a procedure design authorisation in accordance with casr part 173 subpart c .
overall though , and if you just pretend like those last 2 minutes never happened . the descent 2 isn ' t half bad . there are more than a few scares and still pays respect to its original ideas of creating terror from unconventional ways . sure the cave dwellers steal most of the spotlight , but we get to find out what happened with our favorite cave ladies and that ' s all i really wanted . well that and a clean pair of pants - - but all those jump scares really ruined that dream . the descent 2 just became available to watch instantly on netflix , so give it a look see if you ' re in the mood to jump a mile or two . just stop the movie 2 minutes early .
choose 1 of 2 free * posters with ticket purchase ( * shipping & handling not included ) . buy tickets
2 . where appropriate , supplementary gradients , based on airspace , are annotated in ( ) behind the obstacle limited gradient .
above 15 , 000 ft , the lsalt must be 2 , 000 ft higher than the highest terrain or obstacle in the navigation tolerance area .
the general alternate minima must be calculated by adding the tolerance for the forecast ceiling and visibility to the circling minima ( 500 ft and 2 km ) .
an authorised designer must include in an operations manual the procedures and practices which are followed in the application of its authorisation under casr part 173 .
the descent of the holy spirit on jesus at his baptism by john was the sign that this was he who was to come , the messiah , the son of god .
. distance , bearing and coordinate data must comply with the quality control requirements specified in chapter 2 of annex 11 , and in chapter 2 of annex 14 — aerodromes , volume ii , of the convention on international civil aviation , published by icao .
figure 2 : a network topology using a load balancer ( a ) and associated packet flow diagram ( b ) .
with its back - and - forth plot pointing , illogical leaps in pragmatic believability , and a finale that flips a big fat middle finger at anyone who invested 90 minutes in this junk , the descent 2 cannot hold a miner ' s candle to the original .
except in cases of control area boundaries , dme / gps steps will provide descent to altitudes lower than the lowest safe altitude for the route segment .
from the descent point the procedure must be conducted in accordance with paragraphs 8 . 6 . 5 . 3 ( d ) and ( e ) .
it ' s a real shame that the descent : part 2 happened to be a follow up to such a superb film , as , in its own right , it managed to be thoroughly enjoyable when it hit its gory high points ( any horror film with a drill gets points from me ) and the blood does gush throughout the movie . but the two films are intrinsically linked and that can ' t be ignored .
in adulthood is most prevalent in people of east asian descent , affecting more than 90 percent of adults in some of these communities .
a flight validation report form , prepared for the applicable aerodrome , must be attached as part of the validation flight request package . the standard report format is shown in
standards / other as amended , taking into account amendments up to manual of standards part 173 amendment instrument 2017 ( no . 1 )
it’s back down into those appalachian caves for the descent : part 2 , though it stretches credulity , to say the least , that the search - and - rescue party should include sarah ( shauna macdonald ) , the conveniently amnesiac survivor of bloodthirsty troglodytes in neil marshall’s terrific original film . the logic of dragging her in again is ridiculous , but jon harris’s sequel handily improves as it goes along , clambering backwards along the same route the six girls took first time around .
until the icao position is reviewed , the following standards are to be applied to gps npa missed approach design within the australian fir . the provisions of pans - ops vol ii part iii paragraph 7 . 2 . 2 may be used for straight missed approach segments . secondary areas will not apply to turning missed approach procedures after the earliest turn point on the inner edge of the turn and the intersection of the extended secondary splay and the wind spiral on the outer edge of the turn . refer to pans - ops vol ii part iii paragraph 7 . 3 . 5 . 5 and figure iii - 7 - 23 and iii - 7 - 27 .
in short , pass on this one , especially if you are a fan of the descent . it doesn’t even come close to doing it justice .
2 . when determining the height of terrain from contours , the next highest contour to that included in this splay will be used for clearance purposes .
6 . 1 . 4 . 1a maintenance of a type of tifp requires that , if written notification about an aerodrome is received from casa under paragraph 2 . 1 . 9a of the manual of standards ( mos ) — part 139 aerodromes , the following safety procedures must be followed :
i will say however that most of the new characters introduced lack any real connection to the audience - - another wonderful thing that the first film was able to do . the descent 2 felt more like a typical horror movie ensemble with characters that were dispensable and only one or two that we really cared about .
2 . the specified altitudes of the gps arrival sector a have been checked and the procedure is acceptable subject to the above - mentioned changes ( if any ) being incorporated .
not utilise the 15 % horizontal gradient provisions of pans - ops vol ii paragraph 2 . 8 . 4 for sector procedures except in the final segment .
then , the method for calculating the overlap is as set out in appendix 2 , calculation of a holding area / land overlap in direct approach procedures .
step 2 . on receipt of your smart band , register and activate the band online through the link that will be emailed to your registered email id .
this compilation was prepared on 13 march 2017 taking into account amendments up to manual of standards part 173 amendment instrument 2017 ( no . 1 ) . it is a compilation of the manual of standards part 173 — standards applicable to instrument flight procedure design as amended and in force on 9 march 2017 .
all in all , the descent part 2 is a competent horror film which unfortunately falls someway short of its genuinely fresh and chilling original . it may be unfair to judge this film on another ' s merits , but the two are so interlinked by story and location , it sets itself up to be judged as such , which is pity because there are genuine flashes of something far more creepy lurking beneath the surface , and one which i believe the mythology of the series could probably support .
8 . 1 . 12 . 4 . 2 where the final approach is not aligned with the runway centre line , the optimum location is the intersection of the final approach course and the extended runway centre line .
the aerodrome operator has given the designer information that the runway meets the requirements of the manual of standards ( mos ) – part 139 aerodromes for sa category ii , category ii or category iii instrument approach operations .
the distance mentioned in paragraph 8 . 6 . 2 . 1 may only be used for design work on a tifp if the requirements of this section are met .
the casa area office forwards to the manager , cns / atm , copies of the relevant parts of each prospective operator’s operations manual . the manager provides operators with an approval for each tifp , in accordance with part 173 of casr 1998 and this mos . cns / atm also maintains a register of operators authorised to use the procedures , and holds the relevant part of the operators’ operations manuals .
the sequel to one of the most intense , unpredictable and thrilling horror films of the decade , the descent : part 2 picks up immediately after the events depicted in the descent . sarah , emerges alone from a cave system following an expedition with her five friends in the appalachian mountains . distraught , injured and covered in the blood of her missing companions , sarah is incoherent and half - wild with fear . sceptical about her account of events and convinced sarah ' s psychosis hides far darker secrets , sheriff vaines forces her back into the caves to help locate the rest of the group . trapped by falling rocks , the rescue party are driven deep into the caverns , and as one by one the fate of the missing girls is revealed , sarah is forced to confront her deepest fears .
the missed approach areas and the obstacle clearance criteria are the same as those for instrument approach and landing procedures and are outlined in icao pans - ops , vol ii part 3 chap 7 .
fans of the original - - even those who roll their eyes at the north american version of the film - - should be more than happy with
the descent : part 2
. the acting is solid , the twists are jolting , and the action never lets up . and while it may not be as polished and accomplished as its counterpart , the movie retains the atmospheric nature of marshall ' s masterpiece . am i happy the door ' s been left wide open for another entry in the series ? absolutely not . transforming
the descent
into a franchise is a very bad idea , and i would hate to see it branch off in ridiculous directions . sarah ' s story has been told , and it should rest its weary head right here .
2 calculation of the minimum visual segment visibility is based on paragraph 157 ( 3 ) ( b ) of car 1988 to avoid obstacles by 300 m horizontally .
a tifp must account for a tidal rise and fall of up to 50 ft by restricting helicopter descent in the visual segment of the approach to not less than 50 ft above the height of the landing deck .
the terms of paragraphs 6 . 1 . 3 . 3 and 6 . 1 . 4 . 1a of this mos must be followed as if they were part of the operations manual ;
except for an off - shore specialised helicopter design — a certificate of design signed by the chief designer stating that the design has been completed in accordance with part 173 of casr 1998 .
jon harris '
the descent : part 2
, while nowhere near as intense or emotionally - draining as the original , is a genuinely engrossing experience from open to close . granted , it ' s essentially a rehash with a few different characters and a handful of new camera angles , but harris injects just enough creativity into this familiar formula for it to work . the action is fierce , the kills are uncomfortably bloody , and the ending is as shocking and unexpected as they come . all things considered , i was impressed .
horror . sequel to the descent ( 2005 ) . sarah emerges alone from the caves , but returns with the police to find her friends . in the process they encounter the
crawlers
again and find out more about them .
the aerodrome operator has given the designer information that the runway meets the requirements of the manual of standards ( mos ) – part 139 aerodromes for sa category i , sa category ii , category ii or category iii instrument approach operations .
consume lactose - containing dairy products , they may experience abdominal pain , bloating , flatulence , nausea , and diarrhea beginning 30 minutes to 2 hours later .
8 . 1 . 12 . 4 . 3 the mapt may be moved closer to the faf to provide obstacle clearance in the missed approach area provided that the mda / h is not lower than the altitude / height on the design descent gradient at the mapt .
overall the descent : part 2 is a major step down from the first film in almost every area , from the amount of scares ( a whole truck load in the first to just a handful here ) to the effectiveness of the gore and even down to such things as the dialogue ( which is sometimes eye - rollingly cheesy ) and the predictable characters ( suspicious sheriff , naive young officer , eager adventurers and so on ) . if you liked the first one you ' ll maybe get a kick out of seeing the crawlers doing more of their vicious attacking but generally i ' d say skip this one and just go rent the original .
publication of straight - in minima is limited to aerodromes where the runway conforms to the non - precision approach runway standards contained in mos part 139 , with the following exceptions for gps non - precision approach procedures .
you may have noticed that i do not have a review for the descent . i have seen it i should add , but never really wanted to write about it . this is for two contradicting reasons , 1 . ) the film gave me such horrible anxiety that i never wanted to re - watch it and 2 . ) almost everyone already knows it is the shit , what else is there to discuss ? the descent was rightfully heralded as being one of the scariest horror films in a long time . its intense claustrophobic atmosphere fills the viewer with such a powerful sense of fear long before the cave dwellers appear . it depicts strong , independent women who do not take off their clothes and are capable of rescuing themselves without the aid of big strong men . yes , the descent is clearly one of the best .
the instrument approach and landing procedures in part iv of pans - ops for helicopter pins rnp apch approach procedures may be used as an alternative to the instrument approach and landing procedures mentioned in this section .
your review was accurate and on point with the exception of the “og” part of it . he did more than just operate the elevator and hit rios in the head with a shovel . he was also the guy driving the truck that discovered and brought sarah to the hospital .
the descent part 2 is the reason people hate sequels . it took a crafty , clever , interesting film and instead of building on that foundation and continuing its trajectory , it ' s instead a giant leap backwards . it disregards all of the best parts of the original . it stocks up on rote caricatures , abandons any semblance of atmosphere , and writes itself into oblivion via miserable dialogue mixed with boorish and imbecilic melodrama . neil marshall was right to wash his hands of this sequel , and i hope he never had to sit through it . hopefully , you never will either .
icao pans - ops vol ii part iii paragraph 33 . 7 . 2 and appendix paragraph 6 . 5 support the use of secondary areas for gps npa missed approach design . however , the text following the asterisks in figures iii - 33 - 6 and iii - 33 - 7 state that , until further operational experience is obtained with basic gnss receivers , the full width of the missed approach area should be treated as the primary area .
several costumes and props from this episode were sold off on the it ' s a wrap ! sale and auction on ebay , including costume parts for michael reilly burke . [ 2 ]
although the film suffers from some weak characterization and a few lapses in logic ,
the descent : part 2
still manages generate a steady amount of quick , claustrophobic terror . harris is a master of the unexpected jump scare , and utilizes this gimmick with shocking precision . he also smartly keeps the pacing fast furious , stopping only briefly to allow his characters to catch their breath before violently shoving them into the next gore - encrusted set piece . the bloodletting is a bit gratuitous , and harris frequently lets the camera linger on the carnage a tad longer than he should . great if you like your horror outrageously bloody , distracting if you don ' t .
i feel like a part three needs to be made to explain all these unanswered questions . the next one at least one person should live to the the tale of all of the women . sarah should have made it back alive , the ending is horrible . sarah and juno should have lived . elen no one really cared for her because she was a useless . juno and sarah are my favorite characters in the film and and they should have been the only 2 savior’s being that juno lived down there with them fir what 2 or 3 days . and sarah being the only person to come out alive and them to go back and make it to the end and die . that is bullshit juno in sarah were fighters from the beginning to the bitter end and sarah had no choice . sarah and juno could have beat all of them if they work together look at how many juno killed at the end of part one . the ending should change in the second one . in the third one it could be a dream on of them is having and how 2 ended and then show a different scence as the real ending .
for runway aligned approaches where a windsock is not located adjacent to the runway threshold , it must be confirmed that a windsock is visible when the aircraft is at the mda , in accordance with cao 92 . 2 .
in an early draft , barclay was to be on the bridge as part of the skeleton crew . due to availability and cost issues , ensign taitt was written to take his place . ( star trek : the next generation companion )
well aside from that sudden depressing realization , i still liked those last few moments - - up until the very end . not too long ago i wrote an article on the bloodsprayer about when final moments ruin entire films and i ' d have to now group the descent 2 in that category . it was a total last house on the left move , where the last 2 minutes were completely and utterly useless . i hated it with such a deep and burning passion that i even considered throwing my laptop at the wall . how dare you take our strong and moving female characters and dispatch them so easily with some shitty old man ' s shovel . real nice . real fucking nice ! bah . everything about it was so completely opposite of what the descent was all about . it really ruined what could have been a somewhat decent sequel .
if state forecast tolerances cannot be determined , or there is a doubt on the availability / reliability of the approach aid , a ceiling tolerance of 500 ft and visibility tolerance of 2 km must be used .
this procedure is to complement the obligation on casa under paragraph 2 . 1 . 9a of the manual of standards ( mos ) — part 139 aerodromes that where an aerodrome with a tifp ceases ( for whatever reason ) to be certified and does not become registered , or ceases to be registered and does not become certified , casa will take every reasonable step necessary to give written notification to the certified or authorised designer of the tifp .
is lowest in populations with a long history of dependence on unfermented milk products as an important food source . for example , only about 5 percent of people of northern european descent are lactose intolerant .
some of the action set pieces were exhilarating in their brutality , with the tongue in cheek style of the film being , surely , the only way to go , as trying to match the original descent in tone would prove impossible when the premise , revelations and creatures have already been revealed .
( ii ) taking into account any associated operating limitation , a precision approach facility that has performance characteristics at least equivalent to an ils classified at least ii / d / 2 .
it was also a film that i felt wrapped itself up very well , and in no way needed a sequel . but of course whenever a low - budget horror such as it is successful , either critically or financially , you just know they ' re going to go the sequel route . needless to say , i was more than a little annoyed at the news of the descent : part 2 being made , particularly because marshall , the first film ' s writer and director , wasn ' t coming back to perform the same duties for the second one , only attaching himself to the project on the executive producer level ( which we all know is just to get the film noticed more / give it more credibility ) .
it is , in the director ' s own words ,
built on the bones
of the descent , and while such faithfulness to the source material is to be commended , it comes at the cost of this films own identity . it is , sadly , too slavish to the original .
where the circling area has been segmented to facilitate a lower minima and the missed approach point is located within the no circling area , the area should be extended by an arc of no less than 2 nm to include the missed approach point within the applicable circling area . ( see
following the critical and commercial success of the descent , it was inevitable that the makers would want to go back to the well for more crawler action . following a not so successful cinema release in the uk , it now comes to dvd in both the uk and the usa . but is it a worthy sequel ?
giving a character a child does not automatically equal characterisation , nor does adding a quick reference to a previous event , and the uniqueness of the bonding experience from the first film is gone , as is the very real british feeling which made the descent a more intimate experience for me .
even the fool behind me took great part in shouting out what was going to happen next and if he could predict most of the events , then most of us won ' t fail to do the same and that ' s not a good sign .
icao annex 11 chap 2 outlines the requirement for the publication of lowest safe altitudes ( lsalt ) and the criteria to be used for their determination . in particular , it states that the lsalt determined shall be at least 1 , 000 ft above the highest obstacle located within the area concerned .
one thing i will say however is that even though the descent 2 delivers jump scare after jump scare - - - they are pretty damn effective . they got me every single fucking time and i hated them for it . it was like walking through a haunted house and silently cursing about how you know something is around the corner but you have to keep walking or you ' ll never get out . bastards . bastards . bastards .
robayo - torres cc , nichols bl . molecular differentiation of congenital lactase deficiency from adult - type hypolactasia . nutr rev . 2007 feb ; 65 ( 2 ) : 95 - 8 . review .
if the route or sector is in controlled airspace , it will be necessary to arrange the descent steps so that an aircraft is kept 1 , 000 ft or 500 ft ( as applicable ) above the lower limit of the controlled airspace at all times , as well as maintaining the minimum terrain clearance .
in this short documentary on the netsilik inuit , 2 men join the 4 people at camp . the men build a row of inukshuit , manlike figures which they use to deflect the oncoming caribou into the water , where they are subsequently speared and floated ashore . a great feast follows .
is an important action that precedes the celebration of confirmation , but is in a certain way a part of it . it is the bishop who , in the course of the chrism mass of holy thursday , consecrates the sacred chrism for his whole diocese . in some eastern churches this consecration is even reserved to the patriarch :
prior to the effective publication date of a procedure , the certified designer must forward to the aerodrome operator for which a procedure has been designed , diagrams and obstacle data sufficient to enable the aerodrome operator to fulfil obligations to report and monitor obstacles in the vicinity of an aerodrome as required under casr part 139 .
the dvd of the descent also features a dts soundtrack , which , if you ' ve never experienced before , makes all the difference and by rights should be compulsory on all horror and action discs , relevant because the key to some of the scares in the first film were down to some fantastic sound design and loud shocks .
list the elevation and dme / gps distances of terrain and obstructions in descending order within the tolerance areas , commencing at the point where descent below the lsalt first becomes possible . in the calculation of obstacle heights , additional clearance should be made for chart error , mountainous terrain , vegetation and built - up areas .
while the descent 2 is of course nowhere near as powerful as the first film , i still found plenty to be excited about . the most upsetting thing to me ( other than the ending which i ' ll get to eventually ) was the lack of the claustrophobic atmosphere we got to know so well from the first film . it ' s actually almost like a jaws / jaws 2 situation where instead of holding off on the big scares with the creatures we are introduced to them almost immediately . this isn ' t necessarily a deal breaker but it does take away from the subtle , more realistic fears that were achieved in the first film . nothing is ever really built up in this second installment , and the nice layering of fear on top of fear on top of - - holy shit what was that ? ! - - is kind of gone .
journalists have a tendency to use clichéd hyperbole on a regular basis to sell films , but the descent really is one of the best horror films i ' ve seen in the last decade , i think it was just slightly overshadowed on release by my existing love of dog soldiers .
now , before we go any further , i want you to participate in a small exercise . walk around your house or apartment , and think carefully about the item in there that you treasure the most . for some , it may be a family heirloom , or a photograph . for some , something of more material worth - - your big screen tv , your comic book collection , your sweet fancy car . take that item , and lovingly gaze upon it . then , i want you to set it on fire . and then , sit there , without moving , and watch it fucking burn . after doing that , you ' ll have some idea as to what viewing the descent part 2 is like .
, an oat of isa + 15 , an altitude of aerodrome elevation plus 1000 ft and the average visual manoeuvring speed for category . values must be determined using the following formula , however , an absolute minimum value of 2 km must be used .
the development of the 2 . 4 nm area semi - width is based on an area length of 8 . 4 nm . this distance allows a helicopter transit time of 9 . 4 minutes to the oip at a g / s of 44 kt for the crew to assess the obstacle situation and determine the mda / h .
when i started writing this review , my initial mindset was that the movie was so - so , but the ending ruined what could have otherwise been a ( barely ) passable horror flick . but after actually sitting down and typing this , and thinking back to everything i had just seen in those 90 minutes , my opinion of the movie continued to go south . now that i’ve hit the conclusion , i really can’t call it passable anymore . it just does far too many things wrong , even if you ignore the ending . maybe i’d have a different opinion if i hadn’t seen the first movie and couldn’t point out all of the continuity errors and all of the things the first film did better , but therein lies the problem : it’s the descent , part 2 . it was designed to be a continuation of the first movie , and therefore i have to take it into account . i can’t not . with that in mind , there’s only one conclusion i can come to : this movie should not have been made . i said in the beginning that the descent didn’t need a sequel , and after viewing part 2 i stand by what i said . it had too little character development , it made too many mistakes , the chilling atmosphere that made the first film great is all but gone , and the ending does nothing but leave a foul taste in your mouth . i don’t know if i should go so far as to say that jon harris needs to stick to what he knows how to do and go back to editing . it is , after all , his first time at the helm , and he could potentially get better over time . but this was not a good start for his directorial career .
i always try to be loyal to horror sequels and i found myself really wanting descent 2 to be better than it was , as , for every step it took towards being great , it was hindered by such lazy contrivances as having shauna macdonald ' s character , sarah , suffer from a convenient bout of amnesia before being thrown back down into the caves before she can even get dressed , to the awful end which could ' ve been taken from just about every bad horror flick i ' ve seen in the last few years .
d2 is a sequel in the truest sense , being more americanised , less subtle , cruder and a lot gorier . luckily for me , that ' s not always a bad thing in a horror sequel and , for the most part , the film was more fun than it had any right to be .
minimum runway width of 30 m and a minimum strip width of 90 m for procedures limited to code 1 , 2 and 3c aeroplanes . for aerodromes with a runway strip width less than 300 m , the mda must be adjusted in accordance with paragraph
the all - female dynamic of the previous film , which was part of its innovativeness , is sadly absent here , and the mixed team does not quite have the same spark , and instead the various members ( with wildly varying accents ) come across as generic monster fodder , even more so as they are not given the same character material to build upon as the girls last time round .
the first of the two elements that helped make the descent so great was the claustrophobic feeling of the cave setting . for more than half of the first movie we don ' t even encounter any of the monsters that the film ends up plagued with , but rather are forced to sit through almost unbearable fear of the darkness and the close proximity of the caves around the women . the tight spaces and endless darkness creeped the hell out of me the first time around , but the new director here just isn ' t able to capture the same kind of dread without resorting to blood and gore .
to determine obstacle avoidance , calculations in accordance with the formula in appendix 3 must be undertaken by the tifp designer , as part of the process of determining the visibility required for the tifp . results from the formula are compared with the visibility requirements in paragraphs 8 . 6 . 12 . 1 ( a ) and ( b ) to arrive at the correct applicable visibility . ( figure 8 - 27 is illustrative only . )
[ the seal of the gift of the holy spirit ] in the byzantine rite .
it is desirable to provide a steady rate of descent through the steps , ( that is , one that can be comfortably achieved by unpressurised aircraft and easily achieved by pressurised aircraft ) . for this purpose 160 ft per nm is a satisfactory figure . this rate of decent , represented by the full line in
in the roman rite the bishop extends his hands over the whole group of the confirmands . since the time of the apostles this gesture has signified the gift of the spirit . the bishop invokes the outpouring of the spirit in these words :
lomer mc , parkes gc , sanderson jd . review article : lactose intolerance in clinical practice - - myths and realities . aliment pharmacol ther . 2008 jan 15 ; 27 ( 2 ) : 93 - 103 . epub 2007 oct 23 . review .
sophie hawksworth on saturday , march 31 , 2001 - 2 : 11 pm : when the metaphasic shield is activated , gauges show the hull temperature and radiation reducing . oddly enough , the temperature drops sharply , while the radiation drops slowly . isn ' t this the wrong way round ? isn ' t the hull temperature being caused by the radiation ? not on it ' s own – the hull temperature is due to the proximity to the heat generated by the star , while the radiation is all around the ship , with some of it contained within the metaphasic shield .
finally , and this may be nitpicking on my part , this film ' s existence doesn ' t really make sense . in the original uk ending , there were no survivors . so , either the events of this film never happened , or it is merely an extended nightmare of sarah , still trapped in the cave . i choose to believe the latter . . .
there is also not one , but two , clever plays on the iconic and ultra - jumpy reveal of the crawlers from the descent . i shall not ruin them for you here , though . however , particular credit must go for scenes which build upon the claustrophobic tension of the original , such as a disorientating swim in the underground streams , and an early cave - in , providing as much fear for the viewer as any crawlers leaping out from the shadows .
who , for paragraph 6 . 1 . 3 . 1 or 6 . 1 . 3 . 2 , forwards to the ais or casa ( as the case requires ) a certificate of design , or a copy of a design , for a type of terminal instrument flight procedure ( tifp design ) ; and
the navigation tolerances applicable to the facility which may be used to assist azimuth guidance are contained in icao pans - ops chap 2 , as are those applicable to dme . the gps fix tolerance is 2nm for segments at or beyond 25nm from the nominated reference aid ( based on gps receiver operating in the en - route mode ) and 1 nm for segments within 25nm of the nominated reference aid ( based on the receiver operating in the terminal mode ) .
notes to manual of standards part 173 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . notes - 1
8 . 1 . 6 . 2a minimum values for precision approach category ii and iii procedures . for an approach type mentioned in column 1 of table 8 - 1a , the minimum visibility values approved for precision approach category ii or iii procedures are those in column 2 of the table which , subject to the runway capability conditions mentioned in column 3 of the table , correspond to the approach type .
it’s not long before boulders come crashing down , the blind critters swarm in , and everyone deduces that keeping very , very still is their only true survival tool . the last half - hour is a tense team scramble to get out , and stay out , but the best move in this above - par shocker is digging right back into the claustrophobic emotional traumas which made part 1 so thrilling .
omg we laughed so hard at this . are you sure it isn’t camp ? when the woman left behind in descent 1 totally saves the sheriff’s ass in this film , he says “i’ve come to save you” . that’s just one of many deliriously funny moments , we laughed the whole way through and assumed it was camp , but i can’t find anyone who agrees with this .
so the crawler runs off and now everyone is trapped in the caves . in fact , it’s the same room where the original cavers first encountered the crawler . they know this because they find one of their bodies which still has the video camera that captured the event , and greg watches the scene that made me jump in the first film . as if on cue , the crawler shows up again just after they see it on film and everyone runs for the hills . from here on , the crew are split up into a few groups , and the rest of the film is people fighting with , hiding from , or fleeing the crawlers . i guess that’s what you’d expect from a sequel to the descent .
for a radar with a pulse length of 2 . 35 µs [ long - range mode ] the error will be 700 m [ 0 . 38 nm ] , and for a radar with a pulse length of 0 . 5 µs [ short - range mode ] the error will be 150 m [ 0 . 08 nm ] ) .
the descent editor jon harris makes the leap to the director ' s chair in this sequel to neil marshall ' s claustrophobic 2005 creature flick . sarah carter ( shauna macdonald ) has managed to escape from the appalachian cave system where all of her friends were killed by
crawlers
- - primordial humanoids who have adapted to living in the subterranean darkness . in hopes that some of the spelunkers may have survived , sheriff redmond vaines rounds up his deputies for a rescue mission , and decides to take sarah along as a guide . at first sarah has no memory of the horrors that wait below , but the further the team pushes into the cave , the more vivid her flashbacks become until the reality of the situation sinks in . now , the rescue crew is being hunted from the shadows by a whole new clan of crawlers that are even more vicious and terrifying than their predecessors . sarah was lucky to make it out of the caves alive the first time - - will that luck carry over into her second descent , or is she doomed to die while dreaming of escaping into the sunlight ?


the unknown is a 1927 american silent horror film directed by tod browning and featuring lon chaney as carnival knife thrower alonzo the armless and joan crawford as the scantily clad carnival girl he hopes to marry .

film historian ken hanke considers the film to be in many respects the best of browning 's films with lon chaney .

burt lancaster said that chaney 's portrayal in the unknown featured “ one of the most compelling and emotionally exhausting scenes i have ever seen an actor do . ” chaney did remarkable and convincing collaborative scenes with real-life armless double paul desmuke ( sometimes credited as peter dismuki ) , whose legs and feet were used to manipulate objects such as knives and cigarettes in frame with chaney 's upper body and face .

as with browning 's later sound film freaks ( 1932 ) , contemporary reviewers were sometimes less appreciative .

" a visit to the dissecting room in a hospital would be quite as pleasant , " opined the new york evening post , " and at the same time more instructive . "

modern viewers can discern the same macabre style of this film ( and other browning-chaney collaborations ) in later productions ranging from the 1930s universal studios horror films to the 1960s twilight zone and alfred hitchcock presents programs .

the unknown ( 1927 film )

the unknown ( 1927 ) : lon chaney , tod browning , and . . .
the unknown ( 1927 ) , black & white , 63 minutes , not rated .
the lodger ( 1927 ) : hitchcock ' s take on belloc lown . . .
edit pf pollock ' s original us version . released at end of 1927 .
browning and chaney’s collaborations are : the wicked darling 1919 , outside the law 1921 , the unholy three 1925 , the blackbird 1926 , the road to mandalay 1926 , the unknown 1927 , london after midnight 1927 , the big city 1928 , west of zanzibar 1928 , where east is east 1929 .
the film was first presented , partially restored , at the bfi london film festival in 1980 .
“don’t step on it , it might be lon chaney . ” a 1927 quip .
channing pollock edition prepared for american release through paramount . premiered march 1927 . running time given by variety at 107 minutes . varying lengths given in contemporary reviews throughout 1927 .
no matter how you describe this silent film from 1927 ( directed by tod browning ) you end up with something strange and demented .
daniel eagan is a film writer and author of america ' s film legacy : the authoritative guide to the landmark movies in the national film registry .
a trailer i created to promote the screening of the film at niles film museum on feb 4 , 2017 .
a lost film that was never really lost , the last surviving print of the unknown was found in the early 1970s at la cinemathéque française in a few film cans marked “unknown . ” some minor lengths of footage did not survive in the print , but the film is largely intact , with no discernable gaps in the storyline . the film has probably survived only in a european release print that was originally shot from a b - camera position , but we are lucky to have the film — any print of the film — to enjoy today .
lon chaney collection ( 1921 - 2000 ) , black & white and color , 329 minutes total , not rated , including the unknown ( 1927 ) , black & white , 49 minutes , not rated .
in their very own archives , where it had become lost among all of the hundreds of reels of unidentified film similarly marked “unknown . ” ( well , technically marked
modern restoration using all known extant film . prepared by a team at the munich film museum , under the guidance of enno patalas .
many reviewers of 1927 didn’t like the film , thinking it too morbid for the general public . but chaney / browning fans of today think that it stands as one of the best of the duo’s collaborations . — carl bennett
while west of zanzibar is undeniably sleazier and the lost london after midnight contained more traditional horror elements , the unknown is the craziest film from an actor - director team that excelled at climbing on the crazy train .
modern restoration using all known extant film . prepared by a team of german film archivists , lead by martin koerber .
a superb mystery thriller , unusual and startling even for a chaney film . lon as
the unknown
eats , drinks , shoots a rifle and dresses with his feet . don ' t miss this startling spectacle . ( print ad - the cobbleskill index , ( ( cobbleskill , ny ) ) 13 october 1927 )
is quite possibly the most unusual , and the most deserving of “cult film” status .
we highly recommended this edition of the unknown for its visual quality , its unusual music score , and its new audio commentary .
chaney and browning were kindred spirits with a taste for the macabre and the unknown is probably their most popular collaboration . while audiences of 1927 were not entirely sure what to make of the picture , modern audiences can’t seem to get enough of alonzo and his twisted idea of romance .
a superb mystery thriller , unusual and startling even for a chaney film . lon as
the unknown
eats , drinks , shoots a rifle and dresses with his feet . don ' t miss this startling spectacle . ( print ad - the cobbleskill index , ( ( cobbleskill , ny ) ) 13 october 1927 ) see more »
the unknown is available on dvd via amazon , and streams in various spots around the internet ( it’s in the public domain , though soundtrack quality varies ) .
in 1927 , star lon chaney and director tod browning were among the biggest names in hollywood . joan crawford was a starlet on the rise , striving for recognition .
film historian anthony balducci has traced pie throwing on film back to at least 1905 , but the keystone studios , remembered today for its eponymous cops , ran the bit into the ground in the 1910s . when buster keaton started making his own features in 1923 , he explained in his autobiography , he forbade pie jokes entirely . but four years later , in september 1927 , a virtual unknown named stan laurel proposed to revive the gag—by making it bigger than it had ever been before .
and if that’s not enough for you ? well , this film is going to get a lot weirder . and then it’s going to get weird some more . and i’m not talking about weird for 1927—this is weird
many sources list joan crawford ' s character as
estrellita ,
but the cutting continuity and extant prints of the film use nanon as her character name . prints of the unknown existed for many years only in a murky 9 . 5mm blowup . henri langois at the cinematheque francais in paris had a nitrate print in his collection , but when mgm asked to borrow the print , it took him months to find it among all the cans of unidentified film marked
unknown .
eventually uncovered , mgm restored the original english titles and the film is now available in a lovely 35mm print .
the unknown is a truly horrifying film that takes us into the darkest recesses of the human psyche . all of the characters are simple beings who are driven by their emotions : the circus owner bullies , the hunky strongman loves , the attractive nanon lives in fear , and alonso oscillates between obsession and hatred .
it should be noted that there are numerous variants of metropolis available on video release , though it is often difficult to relate these to the versions of the film listed in the table above . this is due to variations in copy transfer speeds from film to video , and the unknown or uncited origin of the film from which the video was produced . the jef films video of 1986 , and its subsequent variants , is a good example of this .
if you have never seen the unknown but all of this sounds like a kick to you , go ahead and check it out . the chaney and browning collaborations are definitely not for the easily offended but if you put aside squeamishness , you will find a truly unique picture . there has never been another film like the unknown . whether or not that is a good thing depends on your point of view .
founded in 1999 , senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional , high quality film - related content on the internet .
over the weekend , it was quietly announced at the library of congress’ festival of “unidentified , underidentified , or misidentified films ” that one of the most deeply mourned lost treasures in film history has reappeared . as reported by pamela hutchinson at silent london , silent film historian jon mirsalis unexpectedly rediscovered the second reel of laurel and hardy’s 1927 film the battle of the century , lost for 60 years . the battle of the century is not only a crucial film in the careers of laurel and hardy , but it contains the biggest , best , funniest execution of the pie - in - the - face gag in cinematic history . for fans of early film comedy , this discovery is roughly the equivalent of moby dick swimming ashore carrying the holy grail .
the film will also be available on bfi dvd / blu - ray and bfi player .
survival status : prints exist in the metro - goldwyn - mayer film library [ 35mm restoration negative and positive ] ; and in the george eastman museum film archive [ 35mm positive ] .
running at some five and a half hours on screen , the 1927 film demands a huge investment of resources - from projectionists , musicians , conductor and audiences , and in a live performance with intervals the experience adds up to more than eight hours from start to finish .
sounds like a lot of weird stuff going on in this film . and it’s about the circus ! count me in for a ticket to the big show . i’m down for this film !
waxworks ( 1924 ) : paul leni ' s anthology film brings . . .
joan crawford always considered the unknown ( 1927 ) a big turning point for her . she said it wasn ' t until working with lon chaney in this film that she learned the difference between standing in front of a camera and acting in front of a camera . she said that was all due to chaney and his intense concentration , and after that experience she said she worked much harder to become a better actress . see more »
also included below ( table 2 ) is an attempt to correlate film projection speeds against film lengths and film screening times for the various known versions of metropolis listed in table 1 . this is followed by a listing of cast and crew . finally , a tabulation ( table 3 ) of information relating to the gross takings of metropolis during its initial american release during 1927 is given for interest , based on figures compiled and published by variety magazine at the time .
this is the most complete version of napoleon since it opened at the paris opéra in 1927 , and the first u . s . screenings of the film with an orchestra in over 30 years . due to the technical and financial demands , there are no further screenings scheduled in this country , and no plans for a digital release of any kind .
rpm orchestra plays a live film score during the screening of silent movie classic
the unknown
( 1927 ) @ filmbar theater . audience participation is written into the score , with theatergoers divided into three orchestra ' toy instrument ' sections : flutes & horns ( heard @ 2m38s ) , whirlygig whistles ( @ 15m53s ) , and rattles ( 28m24s ) . the live performance ( as recorded during the oct 14 screening ) is heard here . [ the live
movie soundtrack
( audio - only ) recording is avail @ urltoken
mr brownlow said :
this is a tremendous step forward for film history .
the following information was extracted from the film daily yearbook for 1927 ( new york , 1928 ) . it lists a selection of box - office figures for metropolis , and is based on information gleaned from variety magazine . metropolis took in close to $ 140 , 000 during its initial six week run at new york ' s rialto theatre . the rialto was a medium - sized theatre , able to accommodate 1 , 960 patrons . during the screening of metropolis between 10 march and 16 april , tickets were available at 30c , 50c , 75c and 90c , and it is known that some 6 , 400 people attended the theatre on easter monday , 1927 . it was also noted in variety that the first week taking for metropolis were affected by the opening that week of the 6 , 200 seat roxy theatre . despite its rather average takings for the time , and often critical reviews , a panel of 286 critics and the film daily yearbook for 1927 voted metropolis number 12 amongst the best pictures of that year . that journal also identified the length of the film upon original release in the united states as 10 , 400 feet , though the motion picture news booking guide and theatre directory for 1927 gives a figure of 8 , 039 feet .
for fans of early film comedy , this discovery is roughly the equivalent of moby dick swimming ashore carrying the holy grail .
the most amazing thing i was struck by was the direction by tod browning . it was very well crafted , and so now i ' m beginning to wonder about those stories by david manners saying that browning actually did not direct most of 1931 ' s
dracula
after all . because with the unknown here is earlier proof that the director could do very interesting work . considering that the unknown , freaks and even mark of the vampire…
a growing source of silent era film information . this listing is from the progressive silent film list by carl bennett . copyright © 1999 - 2018 by carl bennett and the silent era company . all rights reserved .
from autumn 2016 , audiences will be able to experience this cinematic masterpiece with carl davis ' s score - the longest ever composed for a silent film - when the film goes on theatrical release in uk cinemas .
175 + intertitles . original director ' s cut as presented to the berlin film censor ' s office .
the unknown is an early tod browning film , featuring lon chaney in the role of alonzo the armless , a criminal who hides his distinctive double - thumb deformity by working in a traveling circus as an armless knife thrower . throughout the film , the illusion that chaney is using his legs to open doors , smoke cigarettes , and throw knifes is accomplished by having paul desmuke , armless in real - life , play the role of chaney ' s legs .
the musical accompaniment is another nonstandard take by the alloy orchestra , with its emphasis on digital keyboards and percussion , more melodic than the band’s comedy scores and far more expressive . it was recorded in 1997 for tcm showings and was the soundtrack used on the laserdisc release . we were privileged to see the band peform the score live during a theater screening of the unknown , and because of the laserdisc edition and the live show , we inextricably associate the score with the chaney film .
( because this film is so popular , the review will be relatively spoilery , though i will not reveal the ending . )
2018 © san francisco silent film festival . true art transcends time . all rights reserved .
notes : the unknown is arguably chaney ' s best film with browning , and one of the best performances of his career . though contemporary critics found the film
gruesome
and
shocking ,
it holds up extremely well today . a body double was obviously used for some of the more elaborate scenes with chaney performing maneuvers with his feet , but for several of the scenes chaney did have to perfect picking up wine glasses and other impressive acts of dexterity with his feet . the unknown was a modest production , costing only $ 217 , 000 for its 35 - day shooting schedule . it earned respectable profits of $ 362 , 000 .
. ) this is the only instance i know of in which a film’s title caused it to be lost .
. fearing that “lesueur” would be difficult for the public to pronounce , mgm staged a contest in a fan magazine to rename her . “joan crawford” was the winning entry . between 1926 and 1927 she appeared in 14 films , among them
the film is full of characteristic tod browning macabre touches and twists of storyline that surprise audiences who see it for the first time .
menilmontant may be more often billed as a thriller , but the double axe murder that opens the film is as intense as the shower stabbing . . .
it wasn’t until 1961 that john mccabe published stan laurel’s account of the film , finally restoring at least a brief account of the film’s first reel . mccabe believed at the time that the film was “leading a lonely life in the vaults of the hal roach studios . ” but he was wrong—four years earlier , the negative had been exhumed for the last time by filmmaker robert youngson , probably the first and last person to see it complete since its theatrical run .
i don ' t like hands . they ' re coarse and rough and irritating and they go everywhere . not like here . here everything is soft and armless .
nanokin , attack of the armless , 1927
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
being a nice , normal to the point of boring sort of person , i always thought that one viewing of “the unknown” would be all i could handle . you have made me want to brave those waters again and shout “bravo” at the screen .
the film features full - scale historical recreations of episodes from the personal and political life of napoleon , from the french revolution to the arrival of french troops in italy marking the beginning of the first italian campaign of 1796 .
metro - goldwyn - mayer pictures corporation production ; distributed by metro - goldwyn - mayer distributing corporation . / scenario by waldemar young , from a screen story by tod browning . production design by cedric gibbons and richard day . costume design by lucia coulter . cinematography by merritt b . gerstad . intertitles by joseph w . farnham . edited by harry reynolds and errol taggart . presented by louis b . mayer . / © 27 june 1927 ( at seven reels ) by metro - goldwyn - mayer pictures corporation [ lp24123 ] . released 4 june 1927 . / standard 35mm spherical 1 . 33 : 1 format . / working title : alonzo , the armless . principal photography was taken from 7 february through 19 march 1927 . polly moran’s appearance as a lady’s lady and bobbie mack’s appearance as a gypsy were cut from the film before release . / silent film .
if you love freaks , in theory you should love this one . i happen to love freaks , but have be in the mood to watch the unknown . it’s a truly disturbing film - perhaps why it has survived , to preserve its uniquely disturbing aspects . what must contemporary u . s . audiences have made of it , i wonder .
central park - 1932 - joan blondell has trouble on her hands when she gets suckered into helping a gangster to rob a charity event . though this film stars joan and wallace ford , it also features the american great depression which is the background for the hunger and desperation that flavors the film .
wolf blood is arguably the second werewolf film ever made , yet it’s often inaccurately listed as the first . countless books and articles c . . .
for additional information , readers are referred to the feb / march , 1992 issue of filmfax for an excellent article on the film by author bret wood .
the following section deals with the various physical and technical aspects of metropolis . it begins ( table 1 ) by listing known releases and variants of the film which have occurred since november 1926 , when fritz lang presented his initial director ' s cut to the berlin film censor ' s office . table 1 is a summary of the numerous editions known to the author . additional detailed information is available martin koerber ' s article published in jaconsen and sudendorf ( 2000 ) . data on release dates , film length ( in feet and metres ) , and screening duration ( in minutes according to varying film speeds ) is given , though this is somewhat tentative and subject to variation , dependent upon the specific reference used . furthermore , it should be noted that the print as originally released to distributors and theatre managers by ufa during 1927 - 8 may have been subject to servere cutting by local authorities and operators ; or the film run at inordinately fast speeds - up to 26 frames per second - to fit the time constraints of local programs ( a 90 minute feature was often the ' ideal ' ) . as a result , it is difficult to ascertain exactly what version of metropolis individual audiences saw during the initial run in 1927 - 8 , and what was the precise screening time . for example , a reviewer might indicate that the length of the film was ' 12 reels ' or that it ran for ' 107 minutes ' . unfortunately this information is not detailed enough to indicate the exact length of the film ( in feet / metres ) , whether it had been cut or censored , or the speed at which it was screened on the night .
( 1925 ) . the film was a hit , reviving a creative partnership that would last through seven more films . of these ,
lon chaney as an armless knife thrower in tod browning ' s the unknown . some of the stunts were performed by real - life armless foot double paul desmuke , who went on to perform for years billing himself as
lon chaney ' s feet .
literally everyone that walked into the living room and gave the unknown a few seconds of their attention , ended up sitting through to the end . and literally everyone that did , giggled , and gasped , and
yooooo ' d
, and laughed ( my wife even came in for a high five during a pivotal scene ) . i ' m probably the worst person you could ask regarding the consitution of a quality silent film - - this being only my second one - - but i know quality entertainment when i see it , and the unknown was one hell of a circus act . as a fan of the kind of horror and macabre making up the majority of 1950s ec horror comic books , this landed so well for me .
as in any art form , the history of cinema contains many works that are , for whatever reason , overlooked and underrated . tod browning’s the unknown ( 1927 ) is definitely one of these works , and it is , without hesitation , a modern masterpiece for the current century . browning is best remembered for the milestone dracula ( 1931 ) , the first of the universal horror films ( for which lon chaney was originally offered the lead role but he deferred and then died ) and freaks ( 1932 ) , the director’s confronting rebuke for the representation of malformation by hollywood , filmmaking , and the other arts . yet prior to both he made a remarkable series of films with the extraordinary , ‘man of a thousand faces’ , lon chaney ( 1 ) , of which the unknown is the pinnacle . this delirious , outrageous l’amour fou – a chilling , genuinely disturbing and haunting melodrama – is what cinema should be all about : a suspension of belief in the face of a story that defies all logic yet rings true to the deeper human emotions .
, he created not one , but five voices . shortly after completing the film chaney died of throat cancer , on august 26 , 1930 .
( 1970 ) . crawford died on may 10 , 1977 , as legendary a film icon as her early influence , the remarkable lon chaney .
reviews of silent film releases on home video . copyright © 1999 - 2018 by carl bennett and the silent era company . all rights reserved .
film # 10 for 31 days of silent horror films is maciste in hell , featuring one of the longest - running characters in cinema . the beefy mac . . .
an 89 - year - old film , which could take cinema - goers a marathon seven hours to watch , is returning to the big screen .
although it has strength and undoubtedly sustains the interest ,
the unknown ,
the latest screen contribution from tod browning and lon chaney , is anything but a pleasant story . it is gruesome and at times shocking , and the principal character deteriorates from a more or less sympathetic individual to an arch - fiend . view full article in timesmachine »
lon chaney is a circus performer known as alonzo the armless , and the film’s first scene shows us alonzo in action , throwing knives , with his feet , at joan crawford . now , silent film fans know better , but there are a lot of people in the world who only know crawford from her later work—in other words , as the scary hag of
in our digital age , it’s easy to lose sight of how revolutionary napoleon was . and the many different versions of the film—as late as the 1970 , gance was reshooting material for a new cut he called bonaparte and the revolution —have made it difficult to pin down napoleon ‘s place in film history . in my lifetime , brownlow and other historians have managed to tease out much of the majesty and scope of the movie .
in less than two weeks , the magnificent film festival il cinema ritrovato ( ‘cinema rediscovered’ ) kicks off in bologna , italy . and yes , i’m going to be the . . .
it is the most complete version of the film available , compiled by academy award - winning film - maker , archivist and historian kevin brownlow , who spent more than 50 years tracking down surviving prints from archives around the world since he first saw a 9 . 5mm version as a schoolboy in 1954 . he worked with the bfi national archive on a series of restorations .
the audio commentary by chaney biographer michael f . blake is packed with little tidbits of production information about the unknown , chaney and tod browning . the information is related by a chaney fan for the benefit of cinema fans , and does not have the sterile feeling of an academic reading . it is a commentary that is worth listening to more than once , unlike the over - intellectulized commentary of other silent era discs .
browning came to hollywood after working in the circus for fifteen years . his knowledge of this milieu enriched many of his films , including freaks , the unholy three ( 1925 ) , the show ( 1928 ) , and the unknown . while the circus background is relatively cursory in the unknown , many small details , such as the play of shadows on the carnival canvas when the strongman first attempts to embrace nanon , bring an additional texture to the image . further details , such as the gypsy funeral ritual , add depth to the portrayal of circus life . browning’s non - judgemental view of the gypsy lifestyle runs counter to the stereotypical depiction of ethnic minorities by hollywood , especially a group as misunderstood as the gypsies . browning’s interest in outsiders and the rejected was no doubt nurtured by his time in the circus , and he well understands the audience’s attraction to this image of the dark underbelly of carnival life , hidden by the masquerade of gaiety . his heroes were not the attractive and glamorous found in most movies , but those misbegotten beings normally hidden from our sight and treated in a condescending manner .
just six of the 3 , 000 pies thrown in the battle of the century .
shortly after the golden age of comedy was released , the battle negatives decomposed so completely that they were junked . only youngson’s version remained—and he hadn’t printed the first reel at all . it wasn’t until the 1970s , when financier earl glick purchased the rights to the hal roach library before discovering roach didn’t actually have copies of most of the films he’d just bought , that anyone even realized how much had been lost . to make good on his reckless investment , glick funded a global search for prints of the lost film library , but there was no sign of the film’s second reel . in 1979 , the first reel did show up : now modern audiences could finally see the part of the film that contemporary audiences didn’t care about , but not the great pie fight of legend .
super spooky and atmospheric silent film from tod browning and the man of 1 , 000 faces himself , lon chaney ! i really like the atypical horror plot of the unknown focusing on circus performers and their infighting and strange habits and unrequited love . lon gets a lot of mileage out of his craggy world weary face . he ' s a knife thrower that ' s seen some hardship ! the black and white silent treatment really adds to the otherworldy quality of the movie as well . those caravan interiors look positively gloomy , and the stark paleness of a very young gypsy joan crawford pops off the screen like a beautiful phantom ! and for a movie almost a century old , the unknown creeps into some surprisingly dark places : deadly foot knife throwing , body horror surgery , a drawn and quartering set piece , those sharp hats . all in a tight 50 minutes ? why did i sleep on this macabre gem for so long !
although it has strength and undoubtedly sustains the interest , the unknown . . . is anything but a pleasant story . it is gruesome and at times shocking , and the principal character deteriorates from a more or less sympathetic individual to an arch - fiend . . . mr . chaney really gives a marvelous idea of the armless wonder , for to act in this film he has learned to use his feet as hands when eating , drinking and smoking . he even scratches his head with his toe when meditating .
- - - the new york times
while very short at just 50 minutes , this film packs an emotional punch and is macabre in a way that is unique to the genre of horror movies . i won ' t spoil the big moments , but the tone is set from the beginning as we find ourselves at the circus performance with an armless man ( lon chaney ) hurling knives and firing a rifle at his partner ( a young joan crawford ) . as we later see chaney ( and a real - life armless double ) manipulate objects and do things like smoke with this feet , we ' re reminded of the film director tod browning would make five years later , ' freaks ' . chaney ' s performance throughout the film is brilliant , and he dramatically captures angst , jealousy , and pain . john george turns in a strong performance as the little person in the circus who is chaney ' s friend , and the two of them create a striking pair . while the overall tone of the movie is deliciously creepy , the romance joan crawford warms up to with a circus strong - man ( norman kerry ) is sweet , and browning uses a piece of gauze over the camera lens to create an idyllic , dreamy feel to some of their scenes . the uncredited score that was used on the tcm showing was also fantastic . great film , especially for 1927 .
today , we are going to be looking at one of the most famous and popular of the chaney - browning collaborations . the duo spread their creepy pall over sunny spain and indulged themselves shamelessly in the bizarre , grotesque and macabre . let’s see if the film lives up to its reputation .
founded by fritzi kramer , movies silently’s mission is to make silent film fun and accessible with reviews , articles , animated gifs and daily updates .
a re - watch of one of my favorite films with one of my favorite silent film actors : the hands of orlac with conrad veidt . a concert piani . . .
another typically morbid chaney film has him working as a circus freak and trying to win the heart of his assistant . alas , she does not want him so he must kill the object of her intentions .
it may not be browning ' s best silent film , but it is certainly his most fascinatingly perverse - - and that ' s saying something in the world of tod browning .
it was the last of the great silent films , as just 4 months later the first talkie opened : the jazz singer .
the historian was backed by the fiaf ( the international federation of film archives ) , which appealed to archives around the world to send materials to london . “these prints came pouring in , ” brownlow said , “every one of them with different elements . it was unbelievably exciting . ”
browning’s great strengths as a director lay in his ability to draw memorable performances from his cast and to create a believable world despite the mounting absurdities of the plot and the world in which his characters lived . he has the audience believe in the fantastic possibilities of the cinema . bela lugosi gave his definitive and arguably only real performance in browning’s dracula . when the simultaneously filmed spanish language version of dracula was rediscovered ten years ago , a number of viewers , in their excitement , considered this latino version , directed by george melford the better film , for its libidinous content . however , a comparison between the two is instructive since it reveals browning’s skills as a director . his film has lugosi’s memorable performance while the spanish version features uniformly inept performances by its cast , lead by the excruciating carlos villarias as count dracula . browning has a sympathy for his material , and the film , although encumbered by a static expressionism , is replete with remarkable cinematic vignettes that make it unforgettable . consider lugosi’s “creatures of the night” speech , missing from the spanish version , or the striking imagery of the ‘one hundred and twenty five step’ staircase where the climax of the film occurs . this was further refined in the minimalist decor of universal’s frankenstein films .
it is these skills that also make the unknown great . the film relies on a finely balanced performance from chaney to succeed . chaney had been mesmerised by clowns from an early age , fascinated by the potential duality of their personae . it is this that he brought to the fore in his acting , especially in the unknown . alonso is a hate - filled , fear - inspiring creature who has an all - consuming , obsessive passion for his assistant . chaney is required to display a credible balance of psychosis towards the world and believable emotion for nanon . frequently he is required to do this within the same scene without detracting from either aspect of his performance . for the amputation scene to work , one needs to feel compassion for alonso , to understand his motivation , and once the scene is over , the horror of what alonso has done only has its full impact if one sympathises with the character , even if paradoxically , he is a loathsome thug , unworthy of our compassion . the scene when nanon asks alonzo if he is thinner , before her disclosure of her love for the strongman , is tinged with perversity , dread , misunderstanding and ultimately extreme pain .
edison didn ' t have anything to do personally with frankenstein ' s first film adaptation , which was thought lost for years , but hi . . .
chaney’s collaboration with director tod browning was a successful one for both artists . working together at universal studios in 1919 , the duo hit their stride while both were under contract to mgm studios . browning , a former sideshow performer and vaudevillian , crafted stories that were a combination of the macabre and tragic romance . with chaney , browning often came up with an idea of a character and then used that character to fashion a story , as he did for what is considered to be one of the best films the two artists ever made , “the unknown” ( 1927 ) . chaney plays alonzo , an armless knife thrower , who hides out from the police in a local circus . actor burt lancaster once commented on chaney’s performance that in one particular scene , chaney gave “one of the most compelling and emotionally exhausting scenes i have ever seen an actor do . ”
the oakland dates will be the most complete and lavish screenings of napoleon ever shown in this country , with an orchestra of 46 playing “the finest score i’ve ever heard for a picture , ” brownlow enthused . “carl davis made the decision to use composers who were alive at the time of napoleon , and that gives the film an incredible sense of authenticity . ”
until this weekend . all these years , a copy of the second reel was apparently sitting unnoticed in the personal collection of gordon berkow , a film collector and an amateur preservationist . at the time of his death in 2004 his collection included more than 1 , 400 prints , which eventually made their way into the hands of jon mirsalis in the summer of 2014 . mirsalis began slowly working through the canisters , cataloging and logging the state of each print and deciding which to keep and which to sell . almost certainly destined for the sell pile : a canister labeled “battle of the century r2 . ” prints of youngson’s edit were common—in fact , mirsalis already owned one—and the complete second reel , as everyone knew , had crumbled to dust in the ’60s . mirsalis only recently got around to inspecting the film , an experience he described over email . when he opened the canister , he found twice as much film as he’d expected wound around the reel :
youngson , who won several academy awards for his short films , specialized in compilations made with old stock and newsreel footage— daredevils , firemen , failed airplane designs , and the like . for his first feature , the golden age of comedy , he was stitching together scenes from the silent film comedies and wanted the battle of the century’s legendary pie fight . he had footage transferred from volatile nitrate to safety stock—but , according to every report , only printed the specific footage he wanted , not the entire second reel . once he was done re - editing it for his film , he threw out what he didn’t use . so when audiences were finally reintroduced to the film , it was with new cuts and wipes , and a hokey 1950s documentary voiceover .
yes , i have to agree that it’s a very refreshing change . west of zanzibar is still my favorite but i definitely see the appeal of this film . i hadn’t seen it in ages .
the most famous of napoleon ‘s special effects is polyvision , a three - camera widescreen process gance used to close the film . like cinerama , polyvision required three projectors running in synchronization . they expanded the screen image dramatically . gance used the process sometimes to show broad landscapes , but also to break the screen into complementary or discordant images .
the battle of the century opened in december of 1927 and for a few happy months could be seen in theaters , randomly paired with anything from lillian gish’s “throbbing drama of love and sacrifice” the enemy at the hippodrome in murphysboro , illinois , to henri fescourt’s 1925 adaptation of les misérables —original running time 359 minutes—at the bentley theatre in monongahela , pennsylvania . in those days , when films left theaters , they were done : no revival screenings , no television , just a pile of prints melted down to recover the base metals . the last theatrical screenings happened in the summer of 1928 , at the kinds of second - rate theaters that pointedly didn’t advertise air conditioning . audiences who braved the heat were , with a vanishing few exceptions , the last to see the battle of the century in its entirety .
chaney and browning would ultimately collaborate on ten films , and while it’s often remarked upon that each of their greatest works were outside of that collaboration , this is undoubtedly the best film they made together .
it took some political infighting , but laurel eventually sold hal roach on the idea . the studio bought an entire day’s output of the los angeles pie co . and , that october director bruckman staged the greatest pie fight in history : 3 , 000 pies soaring gloriously through the air . and yet the secret of the film’s success , as laurel told scheuer , turned out to be not volume , but pacing :
the love triangle is handled so well in this one . one issue with many of the chaney films is that the other two ends of the romantic triangles he finds himself in aren’t as interesting as he . but here , everything is so perfect . such a twisted little film , definitely my favorite chaney picture .
a version of napoleon sponsored by francis ford coppola , and with a score by his father , composer carmine coppola , toured the united states in 1981 . i was lucky enough to see the film at new york city’s radio city music hall . the polyvision finale drew gasps and applause from the sold - out audience .
despite the south american discovery of 2008 , fritz lang ' s metropolis no longer exists in the form as originally created by the german director , due not only to the contemporary cutting , re - editing , and censoring of the film , but also as a result of the vagaries of time and history which have , until recently , placed little value on preserving copies of films such as metropolis . since the late 1960s efforts have been made both within germany and without , to restore and revive the film , and produce a copy which is as close as possible to lang ' s original conception . these efforts continue to this day .
nanon and malabar’s relationship is handled with more care than many romances of the silent and classic film era . often , older films would reward the male suitor who least respected the heroine’s boundaries , described as the “caveman” approach in the silent era . ( however , this was nothing compared to the oh - so charming 1950s . that decade wins the icky - patooey “romance” prize but that’s okay , apparently , because poodle skirts ! )
heather stewart , creative director at the bfi , said :
several generations of staff at the bfi have worked on this project . napoleon is a landmark in the history of cinema and we are grateful to all of the great talents who have helped us along the way but especially , of course , kevin brownlow for his indefatigable championing of the film and carl davis for his amazing score .
the critical consensus seems to be that the film was acted extremely well but its sordid subject matter was a bit much for some . of course , critics and audiences do not always align so take that with a grain of salt . i really love the penalty , another absolutely crazy story .
mirsalis is handing the film over to restorationist serge bromberg at paris - based lobster films for preservation and an eventual theatrical or home video release . after nearly a century , the battle of the century may finally be seen again . but these occasional victories against entropy don’t just happen ; without preservationists and collectors , the battle of the century would have disappeared forever . and for every film saved , more are well and truly gone . mirsalis has his own list of lost films he’s still searching for : lon chaney in a blind bargain and the chimney’s secret , ernst lubitsch’s the patriot , josef von sternberg’s the case of lena smith , f . w . murnau’s 4 devils . when a film like the battle of the century miraculously re - emerges , it gives a sense that the teacup , despite what hawking and hannibal say , will occasionally reassemble itself . that’s sometimes true , but as every version of the battle of the century , no matter how mangled or incomplete , makes hilariously clear , the process is usually one - way : you can’t unthrow a pie .
this table has been arranged from shortest down to longest , with details relating to the longest known version of the film - i . e . fritz lang ' s director ' s cut at 4189 metres - given on the bottom row . the times under the frames per seconds headings ( 16 , 18 . . . 26 ) are in minutes . it is telling that the many extant versions of the film - including the 9608 feet long 1995 german restoration - are still less than the channing pollack edition of 10 , 400 feet , and substantially below the original german and australian editions . this suggests that not only are whole reels missing , but that editing within extant reels has also occurred on a widespread basis . such practises are mentioned in the literature , indicating that individual theatre managers and projectionists had no qualms in cutting such films in order to accomodate time and other constraints of local programs . they would even go so far as to locally censor the film according to personal taste and beliefs .
the movie also works well when the three points of the triangle share the stage . one of the best scenes in the film is nanon’s engagement announcement when she announces that her phobia is cured and she loves hands now . malabar paws at nanon’s body and she giggles as alonzo laughs , his mind quite gone . the happy couple assumes that their friend is laughing with delight and so they laugh along with him . it’s glorious , sick dramatic irony .
a criminal on the run hides in a circus and seeks to possess the daughter of the ringmaster at any cost .
i cannot emphasize how much i respect kevin brownlow and his work . he received a governors award from the motion picture academy of arts and sciences in 2010 for making , writing about and restoring movies . he is the author of landmark books like the parade’s gone by… and the war , the west , and the wilderness , works that helped draw attention to the artistry of a generation of silent filmmakers . alone or with partners , brownlow also directed groundbreaking documentaries on charlie chaplin ( the unknown chaplin ) , harold lloyd ( the third genius ) , and buster keaton ( a hard act to follow ) . his photoplay restorations of films like raymond bernard’s the chess player are among the most complete and beautiful works of their kind . he is also a generous friend to anyone seeking to learn more about the history of movies .
both stan laurel and oliver hardy had been appearing in films throughout the 1920s , occasionally together , but had only been officially paired together since that june . although they’d shot the first three laurel and hardy films , none had yet been released . nobody at the hal roach studios knew it at the time , but they were at the center of a unique confluence of cinematic talent : not just laurel and hardy , but directorial legends leo mccarey , george stevens , and clyde bruckman . mccarey and stevens had their greatest successes ahead of them ; bruckman , the most successful of the group in 1927 , hadn’t yet begun his spectacular implosion . the first reel of the new feature seemed like a surefire hit : a parody of the jack dempsey and gene tunney “ long count fight , ” which had just happened in september of 1927 . no one had any particular reason to believe laurel could pull off the tired pie throws he planned for the second reel . but he had an improvement in mind , as philip k . scheuer explained in a los angeles times profile two years later : “his method would consist , simply and directly , of throwing more pies . not one , not two , not ten or twenty , but hundreds , even thousands . ”