Lucky Star

With a prizewinning new score from Stuart Hancock, Borzage's long-lost wisp of a romance was made, like Blackmail, in both sound and silent versions (a silent print was rediscovered in the Netherlands Film Museum). It offers two fairytales for the price of one: while Gaynor's poor overburdened farm girl is given a Cinderella-like make-over by her seemingly platonic admirer Farrell, he in turn is abjuring his feelings for her, as the Beast did for Beauty, having come home a cripple from the Great War. His ultimate transformation, if taken literally, is hard to swallow these days; it's also far from clear what the villain of the piece thinks he's up to. Still, Borzage's romantic conception of love - as hard-won, shared innocence buffeting the world's ignorance and exploitation - is assuredly expressed, and the glancing realism of the war and family scenes gives it a firm grounding.