This movie,Greed, directed in 1924 by Erich von Stroheim, illustrated the cause and effect of greed. The intentions were to show how money or greediness can bring out the worse in people. In that particular time, money was not the easiest to come by. I can understand how money could have torn marriages a part. This is still prevalent in current times. In the beginning the director set a sad tone to the black and white film, but with a comical twist. For example, when Mac, played by Gibson Gowland, was angry he would laugh hysterically.
In this film there was no verbal dialogue, only written. In several instances, the written dialogue was hard to read because there was too much. For instance, in the beginning the director introduced the storyline with text on a black screen. However, the text was very lengthy and difficult to read because of the small size. As for editing, the director used written dialogue and explanations as transitions into new scenes. There were also a few dialogue screens when the conversation did not make sense to me because the written words were random or coo-coo.
Also, the actors were also on the absurd side. There performances were overly dramatic, which in this case I feel made the black and white film more stimulating. Trina (Zazu Pitts) really out-acted the other actors with her intense facial expressions. The costumes aided the actors, performances. They were very appropriate for the style of the time period.
Another enhancement to the film was the music score. The music played a huge part in aiding the performance. The music choice fit for the occasion. It enhanced and conveyed the emotional messages of the film. One example that was heard was when Trina and Mac were arguing and the camera focused on the birdcage. The music was weary and dark, which intensified the scene. Overall, the film was extremely lengthy, but the movie had a nice storyline that led up to an outstanding finale. The ending in the desert was really unexpected, but a neat twist.