Review of Safety Last! (1923) by Nick O — 03 Jan 2014

I've seen Keaton and Chaplin (granted, not as much as I should have of either) but I've never seen any work of Harold Lloyd, so I'm not sure how indicative "Safety Last!" is of his other films. Starts as a workplace sitcom (a very rich and funny one at that) but the real star of this thing is the final set piece, in which Lloyd climbs a twelve-story building like a slippery stress reliever; I kept imagining at every turn Chloe Grace Moretz's awe-stricken face (can't find a good "Hugo" pic of this instance to link to but you know what scene I mean) whenever his shoe would drop, look down at the ant-sized bystanders, or open a window to reveal a stir-crazy pit bull at the leashed and frothy ready.

"Safety" is gimmick done right, full of splendid imagery and physical comedy at its most well-orchestrated and precise. The still everyone relates to this movie is of Lloyd dangling from the giant clock hand, but there's also a few shots of two separate people tangled up in fishing net wire, grasping and struggling to find their way out, that's equally as representative of what a tough, knotty task it to this day is to marry real-life action anxiety with huge laughs of slapstick relief. "Safety Last!" utilizes nearly all aspects of cinema -- from every moment's careful framework to the bouncy, humble organ music -- and it's just about perfect.

All on YouTube right now! The Internet, you guys. Continues to amaze. (96/100).