Serials

I just finished Dick Tracy vs. the Spider, a 15 chapter movie serial from the mid-late 30's (I would guess). It is in the public domain via archive.org or via the vintage video podcast.

They are available in ipod-ready mpeg-4, and the format (short form content) fits the ipod (and podcasting in general) perfectly.

I love this stuff. It is bent on action, danger. The technology plays a definite role. I like it for the the very same reasons that folks like George Lucas liked it; it is not the lack of cutting edge special effects, or occasionally wooden dialog -- it is the imagination and general aesthetic. It is for the economical storytelling -- not a lot of time for plot logic -- gotta move! There is a mysterious criminal, and his evil mad-scientist sidekick and they have a huge, cool flying wing.

Flash Gordon's last serial (Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe) is available in the public domain as well along with others. Some of the serials outright terrible (okay, a lot of them are -- like the Gene Autry cowboy/scifi mashup), but a few are minor masterpieces -- engaging, entertaining, imaginative -- nailing the classic "Quest of the Hero" motif in fiction. I think the Flash Gordon ones are great, Captain Marvel is good as well(flight sequences are cleverly done). It is obvious to see where Lucas got a big part of his inspiration.