Safety Last! (Criterion Collection) (1923)

Although he is generally considered the equal of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd's films are much less widely available--with the exception of SAFETY LAST, which turns up with great regularity at film festivals and on cable television. Like most of his films, SAFETY LAST finds Lloyd struggling to make good in order to win the girl of his dreams (in this case his actual wife, actress Mildred Davis)--and when the big boss offers a thousand dollars for a promotional idea that will draw hundreds to the store, Lloyd suggests a human fly act... but at the last minute circumstances go awry, leaving Lloyd to make the climb himself.

While the first half of the film abounds in brilliant, hilarious sight gags, it is Lloyd's climb up the skyscraper that is best remembered: attacked by pigeons, entangled in a net, running afoul of a mouse, and ultimately hanging from the hands of a clock face hundreds of feet above a cheering crowd. Filmed without stunt-doubles or such devices as rear-screen projection, the squirm effect of the sequence is still tremendous--and the film is all the funnier for it. Always wearing his signature straw hat and round-frame glasses, Lloyd's eager optimism personified the go-getter mentality of the 1920s, when the sky seemed the limit and progress hadn't yet gone on too long. If you are a fan of silent film but have not yet encountered Harold Lloyd, SAFETY LAST is the perfect introduction--and an essential for your collection.

Harold Lloyd is without question the funniest and most daring filmmaker of his day, if not the entire 20th century. SAFETY LAST is a classic example of Lloyd's films: an average, All-American boy, full of optimism and hope, finds himself in a simple mixup that quickly multiplies with hilarious complexity. When SAFETY LAST first debuted in theaters in 1923, audiences literally fainted while watching the stunts Harold performed, and they are no less powerful today, for they were all filmed without the aid of special effects. He made more films than Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton combined, but has been all but forgotten by late 20th century film lovers. SAFETY LAST is only one of the multitudes of fantastic movies this genius made, and if you're not impressed when you see it, remember this: due to a stunt accident early in his career, Harold Lloyd lost his thumb and index finger on his right hand. All the stunts you see in SAFETY LAST including the infamous skyscraper climb were done with the use of only ONE complete hand! If you like SAFETY LAST (and I'm sure you will), I also highly recommend GIRL SHY, SPEEDY and HOT WATER, just to name a few.

Buy Safety Last! (Criterion Collection) (1923) Now

Okay, when we think of Harold Lloyd we think of the famous image of him hanging onto the hands of a clock outside a building, right? Well, this is where the shot was taken from. "Safety Last" was one of the few Lloyd comedies I actually saw when I was younger. I mostly saw his short 2 and 3 reelers growing up. But, I happened to see "Safety Last" on tv yesterday. It's been about 15 years since I last saw, and I was still amazed.

"Safety Last" tells the story of a couple in love (Lloyd and Mildred Davis). Lloyd is going to become a big businessman so he can marry the girl of his dreams. As soon as he gets enough money he will send out for her to come. At best Lloyd gets a job as a salesman making $15 a week. In 1923 I'm guessing that was pretty good, but, even by those standards not enough to get married on. So, naturally like any man would do, he lies to his girlfriend pretending that he's doing much better than he actually is. He goes without eating so he can buy her a chain. He writes to her everyday of the week dreaming of the day they can be together.

Feeling she has waited long enough for Lloyd, Davis decides it's time for her to go to him. Thus making things worst for him due to the fact she visits him at work! But, as fate would have it the department store where he is working is looking for a scheme to draw costumers. And Lloyd gets a great idea that will earn him $1,000!

Okay, I feel I have to commet on the building climbing piece. It is one of the most daring scenes I have scene in comedy history. Now, I know that no harm came to Lloyd making shooting that scene. I know he survived the making of that scene and went on to make other movies, but, I became so caught in the moment that my heart was in my throat. I was sitting on the edge of my seat. Everytime it seemed as if Lloyd would fall off the buliding I jumped lol. I kept thinking to myself, "Why did he do this?!" "How did he do this?!" "How did they shoot this scene?!!" You forget that it's only a movie. because most of us know that Lloyd did his own stunts. It really is something everyone has to see.

Would I say this is his "best" movie? No, to be honest I don't think so. Do I think it's one of his funniest? Sure. It's right up there. I also think it's one of the best comedies not only made in it's day, but of all-time. So go out and buy it.

Bottom-line: Probably Lloyd's most famous movie due to the "thrill" scene at the end. One of the best comedies of all time.

Read Best Reviews of Safety Last! (Criterion Collection) (1923) Here

Many silent comedy fans consider Harold Lloyd as one of the three silent film comedy kings of the silent era alongside notable names such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Lloyd's comedies were enjoyable and similar to Keaton, Lloyd had the flair of doing his own stuntwork and when one is to watch his films today, there were a few that literally makes people gasp.

But the difference between these three men is that Harold Lloyd is not as well-known because unlike the other two, he wanted complete ownership of his films and if they were to be re-released or shown on television, he set the price high because he did not want TV commercials interrupting his film. While, some appreciate Lloyd's business-sense at the time to have complete ownership but also to be one of the first who looked into preserving his films, the unfortunate aspect is that unlike Chaplin or Keaton, his name would not be as well-known to the general public.

Of course, times have changed as more and more people are becoming fans of silent cinema, especially comedies, because they quickly learn that there are three men who earned a lot of money through the box office and were successful. And for Harold Lloyd, one can only be thrilled that this wonderful filmmaker has been acknowledged by the Criterion Collection and his most popular film, "Safety Last!", would be released by the Criterion Collection, in HD on Blu-ray!

One such film was "Safety Last!", a silent film from 1923 and one of the many films included in the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection box set. An impressive box set featuring over 25 classic comedies including well-known Lloyd films such as "Safety Last!", "The Freshman", "Speedy!" and many more.

If one was to see the film today, one would be impressed and stunned as their was no CGI, there was no green/blue screen. This was Harold Lloyd showing us the most extreme when it comes to filmmaking by climbing a skyscraper to the onlookers below Los Angeles. Needless to say, audiences were shocked about how far Lloyd had went with this film and although there were mini-stages built, this was one risky film that was adored back then and now being discovered by many today.

"Safety Last!" is about The Boy (played by Harold Lloyd) who moves to the big city in 1922 in order to make more income. He leaves his beloved girlfriend (played by Mildred Davis) back at home and promises that he will marry her once he does well in the city.

Since moving to the city, he has sent his girlfriend letters everyday but the boy makes his life seem like life is going extremely well and that he is a manager at a major department store.

This is far from the truth as he lives with his pal (played by Bill Strother) who are late on their rent and have to hide from the landlord. The boy barely makes any money as he works at the De Vore department store in the fabric department and is an employee who often gets into trouble.

One day after finishing his shift, he runs into a police officer who happens to be an old friend of Harold. The two joke around and when the boy meets up with his roommate, he jokes that he has influence with the police and persuades his friend to knock the policeman over.

What the boy doesn't know is that when they are talking, his friend the police officer has left and another police officer has come in his place. Needless to say, the boy's friend pushes the cop and the boy learns that the police officer is not his friend.

The police officer then chases his friend around but the friend manages to escape by climbing a building.

Meanwhile, the boy decides what he should do with his pay. He can get something to eat or buy his girlfriend a broach without a chain. He forgoes the food and buys the broach but hopes to buy the chain when he makes more money. He sends the gift to his girlfriend.

Upon receiving it, his girlfriend is so happy about the gift and the boy's mother convinces his girlfriend to go to the city and see how he is doing.

So, one day during a wild day at work, the boy's girlfriend appears and immediately, the boy must pretend that he is the manager of the department store.

Through a good stretch of gags and hijinks featuring the boy trying to fake his girlfriend, he overhears his boss talking about how they can bring people to the store and whoever can come up with an idea will get $1,000. The boy thinks about his friend climbing the building and suggests the idea and his boss decides to give the boy's idea a chance.

During the big day at De Vore Department store which has been promoted on the front page of a major local newspaper, many have come to see a man climb the building.

The boy's friend is ready to scale the building but things don't go as planned since the policeman who was chasing the boy's friend is now trying to pursue him again. With everyone all around the department store building expecting a man to climb, with his friend trying to avoid the police, the boy has no choice but to scale the building on his own.

VIDEO:

"Safety Last is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:36:1 aspect ratio) and because Harold Lloyd believed in protecting his films, he was among the first to have his films preserved. Not only were these films under lock and key in safes, he did whatever he can to make sure they were protected from fires or any damage. It's important to note that nitrate film does catch fire and he did experience a fire despite trying to protect his films, but fortunately because of that, it led Harold Lloyd to preserve his films.

And so, a lot of his films look fantastic compared to other silent films of that year or era. At 90-years-old, picture quality for "Safety Last!", looks incredible on Blu-ray. White and grays are well-contrast, to see this film in HD versus the original 2005 DVD release, you notice how clear the film looks. There are no signs of major damage, dark flickering or white specks. Because the film is in HD, closeups and background look so much clearer and well-detailed. I was impressed!

According to the Criterion Collection, "The film is presented at a variable frame rate of approximately 22 frames per second to conform to film historian and restorer Kevin Brownlow's presentation and the Carl Davis score that accompanies it. The new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a DTF Scanity film scanner from a 35 mm nitrate print from Harold Lloyd's personal collection, made from the original negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DTRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean., while Image Systems' Phoenix was used for small dirt, jitter, flicker, and grain movement.

AUDIO/INTERTITLES:

"Safety Last!" comes with two musical soundtracks. The Musical score by composer Carl Davis from 1989, synchronized and restored under his supervision and presented in uncompressed stereo (LPCM 2.0). While also included is an alternate score by organist Gaylord Carter from the late 1960s, presented in uncompressed monaural (LPCM 1.0).

There are no subtitles because it is a silent film, but there are intertitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Safety Last! The Criterion Collection #662" comes with the following special features:

Audio commentary Featuring the original 2005 audio commentary which features film critic Leonard Maltin and director and Harold Lloyd archivist Richard Correll.

Introduction by Suzanne Lloyd (17:21) Featuring an introduction by Harold Lloyd's granddaughter and president of Harold Lloyd Entertainment

Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius (1:48:00) A classic 104-minute documentary from 1989 written by David Gill and Kevin Brownlow.

Three newly restored Lloyd shorts: Take a Chance (1918), Young Mr. Jazz (1919), and His Royal Slyness (1920), with commentary by Richard Correll and writer John Bengtson

Locations and Effects (20:37) A new documentary featuring John Bengtson and special effects expert Craig Barron about the location of where "Safety Last!" was shot.

Carl Davis: Scoring for Harold (24:08) A 2013 interview with Carl Davis who discusses working with Harold Lloyd.

EXTRAS:

"Safety Last! The Criterion Collection #662″ comes with a 24-page booklet featuring the essays "High-Flying Harold" by Ed Park.

JUDGMENT CALL:

Harold Lloyd is such a wonderful performer. "Safety Last!" is a film that anyone can watch and just be surprised about his risky performance and just seeing a man dangling from a clock tower or a piece of wood with the city of Los Angeles right behind him.

Granted, Lloyd and crew prepared the actor with a small stage built to give the illusion that the building was being climbed, but still...he was climbing many feet up and also climbing with a missing thumb and forefinger (a few years earlier, Lloyd lost his thumb and forefinger during a photoshoot when he had to hold a bomb which was suppose to be a prop ended up being a live bomb and putting the actor in the hospital).

"Safety Last!" is everything you come to expect from a comedy! A great story, great acting and a plenty of gags to keep the viewer entertained from beginning to end. This is a true classic in every way and I can only hope that many people would give this wonderful film a chance and watch it with a smile and also with awe with what Harold Lloyd has accomplished.

I know many people today may ask, who is Harold Lloyd? We heard of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton but who is Harry Lloyd? Part of the reason why people have not heard much of Lloyd is because he had major control over his films. Where as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton had an awesome career during the silent era, for those who study about the careers of the two men will learn that Hollywood was not to kind to them after the silent film era. Also, Harold Lloyd's asking price for a film for licensing was more than most companies wanted to pay for at the time.

So, there are over 300 films of Harold Lloyd that many of us have not seen and not sure if we will ever have the chance.

While Warner Bros. did release the "Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection" on DVD back in 2005, by the time a second set was rumored to be released, Warner Bros. began focusing on their direct-to-DVD library for their classics. While those of us who were aware of the picture quality of Lloyd's films would someday be picked up by another company like the Criterion Collection, but at the time, those were just dreams.

But the fact that the Criterion Collection has released "Safety Last!" on Blu-ray, as a fan of Harold Lloyd's work, I am absolutely thrilled that the Criterion Collection has decided to release the film on Blu-ray. Not only is the picture quality magnificent, you get two scores and many more special features that were not included on the original Warner Bros. DVD.

As Criterion has done for their Chaplin releases, they have done a spectacular job with "Safety Last!". The new "Introduction with Suzanne Lloyd" was wonderful to watch, as with the "Location and Effects" featuring Bengston and special effects expert Craig Barron was a wonderful addition but how awesome to have Carl Davis discussing his working relationship with Lloyd in 2013.

But the most notable special features that made me excited was to see "Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius", the American Masterworks documentary by David Gill and Kevin Brownlow. With Chaplin's "Unknown Chaplin" and Keaton's "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow" available to the masses, "Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius" has not been released since 1991. It's only available on VHS and as a Harold Lloyd fan and collector of Lloyd memorabilia and videos, I have not been able to get my hands on a copy of this documentary and here it is, included with the Criterion Collection's "Safety Last!" release.

And while Chaplin and Keaton's shorts have been made available on DVD for quite some time, Harold Lloyd's shorts have not. And with the "Safety Last!" release, you get three newly restored Lloyd shorts with "Take a Chance", "Young Mr. Jazz" and "His Royal Shyness", plus each of these shorts has optional commentary by Rich Correll and writer John Bengston.

One can only hope that more titles will be released by the Criterion Collection as Lloyd has created a number of wonderful films in his oeuvre, but the fact that Criterion Collection really goes out and gives you so much more. As a Harold Lloyd fan, I'm really impressed by this release and very grateful for the Criterion Collection for making this release perfect!

Overall, "Safety Last!" is a magnificent film and is a Harold Lloyd masterpiece that will continue to entertain silent comedy fans for many generations to come. Not only are you getting one classic film but also three newly restored Harold Lloyd shorts plus the long, sought after Harold Lloyd documentary "Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius".

This release is deserving of five stars! Highly recommended!

Want Safety Last! (Criterion Collection) (1923) Discount?

The LA Conservancy has a great pdf document on how SAFETY LAST was filmed. It was very clever how perspective tricks were used to make it look like Lloyd was actually dangling over a downtown LA street (you knew he wasn't really...). Google "laconservancy.org/tours/HaroldLloyd" and you'll be rewarded with photos of the locations as they look today, plus fascinating information on the filming of this comedy classic. Pages 7 and 8 show specifically how the clock scene was shot. Makes a terrific addition to this film.

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