Greed

(Erich von Stroheim, US 1924, 149 min., 35mm)

Silent Tuesdays | Erich von Stroheim. A slow-witted dentist (Gibson Gowland) and the neurotic woman he marries (the great ZaSu Pitts) are ultimately destroyed by having won a lottery. Perhaps more famous for director von Stroheim’s original eight-hour cut, MGM’s official release version of his adaptation of Frank Norris’s naturalist novel McTeague is nonetheless one of the most modern silent films. It established many storytelling techniques that would not be fully developed or explored until decades later.

Live piano by Philip C. Carli.

Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.