In monocle and leather boots, waving a whip, and fetishizing his character into a camp masterpiece, Erich von Stroheim never winks in Foolish Wives, but you see the glint in his eye.
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival features iron-masked swashbuckling, flabbergasting twists, sexy farce, visual beauty, and strong women who stare into the camera, unnerving viewers.
Considered among the great directors for his two maimed films, Foolish Wives and Greed is, for Erich von Stroheim, an accolade with a bitter core.
