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Greed
Sunrise
The General
Sherlock Jr.
Intolerance
Follow Ups:
Pandora's Box
The Crowd
Sunrise
Flesh and The Devil
City Lights
I've seen each of those and would recommend them to anyone who enjoys silent films.AuPh
I'm a big fan of silent movies- that the visual elements had to carry so much more communication is very powerful.It may be age ("If it's too loud you're too old") but I often feel rung out by the modern, layered, textured sounds that batter the audience- along with editing that cuts every 1/8 second. Turn the sound off of some Batman movie and the silliness and complete waste becomes apparent- the whole thing looks like a squirrel dropped into a blender.
Some silent ones I like especially:
*"Battleship Potemkin"- nearly a perfect film! And full of indelible images. Who can forget the Odessa steps and the pram? The nanny with the shattered glasses? The appatizing maggot scene?
*"Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"- those amazing German Expressionist sets which contrast strangley with the regular clothing of the characters. The suprise ending gives me the same shock every time- which wouldn't happen with "Titanic". But the whole atmosphere is so full of psychological violence conveyed through the shadows and the distorted perspective. It's interesting that the greatness of this movie was partly out of ad hoc necessity- there was very little lighting and materials for sets available.
*"Nosferatu" - the famous scene where "Dracula" (though the name 'Dracula' could not be used for this one) is raised from his coffin to the vertical, the wonderful shadowy quality is so much more mysterious and frightening than the modern style- witness Herzog's remake with Kinski which seemed a cute suburban romp by comparison.
Golly, I've listed two films featuring guys kept in boxes!
*Keaton, Lloyd, and Chaplin comedies- but Chaplin is sometimes too sentimental. Keaton almost never fails: "Steamboat Bill", The General" are fun as can be. I've gotten to appreciate Lloyd more recently- an interesting character.
* Street scenes. This is something that is rarely talked about as ther is no particular art in it, but I am always very interested in old, silent footage of normal street scenes in cities or country. The dress, cars, signage just seems a window to another world. I get a strange feeling when I see a film of a young child from that age, relaizing that this 3 year old is long passed away. One of the Lumiere Bros 1890's 50 second films was of a woman walking with a toddler who slightly trips on a little step. There is something very touching about it that I can't forget. If this were done in 70mm 5.1 surround it would be meaningless.
There are some movies that are so quietly powerful that I think of them sometimes as silent movies- "La Belle et la bęte ("Beauty and the Beast") for example. "Quest for Fire" might fall into this category too. With these, I could happily see them without sound and have a satifying experience. Though there was the Anthony Burgess retro dialogue and sounds in "Quest", there is something still and graphic that reminds me of silent film.
Cheers,Bambi B
1. The Odessa steps scene in Potemkin is referenced in many films.
Two that come to mind are "The Untouchable" and also a Woody Allen comedy but I can't remember which one.2. I think of "2001" as a silent film.
rico,Thanks for the kind words- it's a good topic isn't it?
1. Yes, isn't that amazing about "Potemkin"- that the steps scene can be referenced 80 years later and be recognized? The train station shoot out in "The Untouchables" was very effective. I remember a parody even in "The Simpsons"- if a cartoon can use it, it must be pervasive.
Now you've got me thinking of the Woody Allen reference and I'll have to remember it or go bonkers! I can picture the pram bumping along too.
Because of the violence to children involved, I am reminded of the powerful- and silent- scene in "M" where Lorre takes the child behind some bushes and the ball rolls out by itself- all the violence sublimated into silence- chilling to remember. This was much more powerful without sound and without actually seeing the murder. Today, the blood would be spraying all over to shrieks and smarmy James Horner scoring.
2. Excellent point about "2001"- quite true. Thinking about that one, I realize how much of the movie is actualy with little or no sound- the spacecraft external shots, Kier in the Moon shuttle, walking around the monolith, the scenes outside Discovery when HAL lauches an astronaut off into space. "2001" would probably be as comrephensible to most people with no dialogue!
Cheers,
Bambi B
There is no dialog at all for the first 19 minutes. What dialog then ensues is very perfunctory and banal. And after Hal is terminated there is no dialog at all!Was the Woody film "Love and Death"? (One of his funniest).
Best regards, Rico
Rico,Yes, the apes' discovery of technology was very srong without dialog or voice over. I have often thought about "2001" that the people were made purposely grey and lifeless- kind of appendages to the technology. Remember the cold, perfunctory birthday phone call between Discovery and his parents? In some ways I though that aspect was brilliant- the sublimation of the people to the machines- all the focus on brand names and how the shuttle galley works, the 'gravity' shoes, and etc are more focussed on than the characters who have no real personality.
And many, many thanks for mentioning "Love and Death". You are the prize winner here today- I'm sure you're correct.
Cheers,
Bambi B
I totally agree with your observation about the dehumanized people in 2001. This has been my impressio0n since first seeing it in Cinerama in 1968, the first of hundreds of screenings. I love when, on the Moon bus, the host congratulates Floyd on "...a hellava spech. I'm sure it beefed up morale".2001 is my favorite film and I've owned it on every video incarnation and now have the splendid anamorphic 5.1 DVD where they finally got it right.
Of late, I've come to enjoy how the "feud" between Frank and Hal gets off to a subtle start from the gitgo when Poole refers to Hal as "just another person" (how insulting to a computer!).
A local civic club used to show silent films here in an old church that has been converted into a cultural center. They had musicians come in and play the organ as background music, totally improvised.I believe I saw "Phantom Of The Opera" and "Gold Rush"---there may have been others, it has been a while. A very cool idea, and much better than anything to be seen in the multiplex...
The Battleship Potempkin
City Lights
Metropolis
Nosferatu
Pandora's Box
Almost....silent.
There was a film that was very good German...too long ago based on Wagner figures that was very good..too long ago....Can´t remember..any ideas?
Are you thinking of Seigfried? It and part of its companion film, Kremhild's Revenge (collectively known as Die Neibelungen), are based on characters in Wagner's Ring cycle of music dramaa. They were diected by Fritz Lang and are from 1914. The battle scene with the dragon in Sigfreid is still considered a masterpiece and in the early days of laserdisc I showed it many times to family and friends, to everyone's delight.
The restoration isn't too bad (i.e., IMHO, no where near the quality of the Metropolis restoration, but good, nonetheless) and with the additional footage the combined films are 100 minutes longer than any version released in the U.S. before; very close to the original release's length!AuPh
nt
It was Sigfried!
I completly forgot that F. Lang was the director..Shame on me!
And yes after all this years it is is still printed in my memory.
Thanks!
.
You should !
(nt)
nt
you obviously have good taste :)
I have a large silent DVD collection (over 50 titles) and picking the 5 best from that is almost impossible, much less including those I've seen which aren't available on DVD yet. I think that your choices are excellent and Greed, Sunrise and Sherlock Jr., would be close contenders on my favorites list.So, where do I start? Note: Those marked with an asterisk are in my DVD collection.
1) Metropolis (Lang; just because it's such an inspired film)*
2) Sunrise (Murnau; awesome visually and conceptually)*
3) Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse (intelligently written and acted)
4) Faust (Murnau's most impressive German film, IMO)*
5) The Kid Brother (Harold Lloyd in one of his finest comedic roles)
Honorable mention (titles in my DVD collection or not yet available that I might place in the Top 5 on any given day):
Flesh and the Devil (Gilbert & Garbo)
Greed (Von Stroheim)
Foolish Wives (Von Stroheim)*
My Best Girl (Pickford)*
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari*
The Iron Mask (Fairbanks)*
Thief of Baghdad (Fairbanks)*
The Lost World (restored version)*
Quality Street (Marion Davies)*
Steamboat Bill Jr (Keaton)*
Haxan*
The Cameraman (Keaton)
Intolerance (Griffith)*
The Crowd (Vidor)
Winsor McKay (animated; short films)*
The Matinee Idol (Capra)*
Safety Last (Lloyd)Ah, there are so many more that I'm tempted to include! Oh, well.
Cheers,
AuPh
What??? No Charles Chaplin???????
... I personally favor Lloyd over or at least as well as Keaton and Chaplain (i.e., his films varied greatly in subject matter, style and gags). BTW, let's not forget Roscoe Arbuckle, an excellent comedian who provided Keaton with his start before succumbing to an infamous Hollywood scandal, the tragic outcome to which he may have had no involvement, and Max Linder, the famed French film comedian who probably inspired all of these great silent comedians to a greater or lesser degree! :o)BTW, as far as silent comediennes go, the best may have been Marion Davies, but Mary Pickford also had great style and timing.
Cheers,
AuPh
Like Clint Eastwood, a triple threat (actor, director, producer) and if you separate ou the stunt work a quadruple threat.
Linder..yes! and I classify the Mr. Hulot is the silent movie category too!
I tried to stay quiet through this thread... names of Chaplin and several other great ones bouncing in my head... and now - you...
I DO favor Keaton's work over Chaplin's. He played didfferent parts whereas Charlie's Tramp was essentially the same character. (I shidder in fear over what opening this 75 year old subject will do to this thread...)
Good choices. I have Greed on laserdisc but am dying for the Turner
four hour restoration version to be issued on DVD.
I'd also like to have a Special Edition DVD of Brownlow's final Napolean restoration, not the botched Zoetrope Studios version, but the near complete restoration which the Coppola's have so far managed to stop cold.AuPh
I guess it depends on how you define "silent film". I have heard that this movie has been shown "silent", with live musical accompaniment.
Metropolis
The Gold Rush
The Golem
Wings
Napoleon
City Lights
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Maria Falconetti)
Thief of Bagdad (Douglas Fairbanks)
Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde (John Barrymore)
Phantom of the Opera (Lon Chaney)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Lon Chaney)
The Battleship Potemkin
It (Clara Bow)Your choices are all good ones and I love them all. There are so many great silents. It's a terrible shame that so few are seen these days.
"Pandora's Box;" "Nosferatu" "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."
God ones, though I've never seen "Pandora's Box". Is it on DVD?
Pandora's Box is out on dvd in region 2 but not yet in region 1. It is a great film!John N
my dvd collection -- http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mc.asp?alias=J0hnN
:o)
Don't forget "Diary of a Lost Girl", "The Last Laugh", "Day of Wrath", and "Regeneration".Regards,
John N
my dvd collection -- http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mc.asp?alias=J0hnN
If you liked "Intolerance", you should see the film that Griffith saw that inspired him to rework Intolerance into its final form. That film is "Cabiria". Fellini was also inspired by Cabiria enough to name his film "Nights of Cabiria"If you liked 1 Eric von Stroheim film -- "Greed", you should see some others, like "Foolish Wives", and "Blind Husbands"
Regards,
John N
my dvd collection -- http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mc.asp?alias=J0hnN
Thanks, I will check out Cabria. I have seen the two Von Stroheim films you mention and I have Foolish Wives on laserdisc. Did you know that among other talents he was a ventriloquist?
Yes, I knew he was a ventriloquist. "The Great Gabbo" is also on the Kino dvd with "Blind Husbands". Since you have "Foolish Wives" on laser you might be interested to know that "Foolish Wives" is also out on dvd.By the way, I just bought the Kino's dvd release of "Queen Kelly" and am looking foreward to watching it in the next day or 2. It was "restored" in 1985". Once again von Stroheim gets carried away with his creative vision, and again he is fired before the film is completed. I am curious how well the alternate endings are presented on dvd. Particularly interesting since the original filming was being done with Swanson's money and this release is "Presented in Association with the Gloria Swanson Estate".
Regards,
John N
my dvd collection -- http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mc.asp?alias=J0hnN
He had "the dummy you love to hate".
I saw a "restoration" of QK on laserdisc about ten years ago (don't kmow if it's the same one as on the new DVD. They used stills in many cases). I thought I had it in my collection but it's not there unless misfiled (possible: I moved about six months ago and the movers decided to totally mix up my 900 LD's). Let us know what you thought of the resotoration, please.How clever of the fim makers to use parts of QK in 1950's Sunset Boulevard. They had faces then...
All of the films listed in this thread are great.Here is a link to more information about silent films:
http://www.silentera.com/index.html
Regards,
John N
my dvd collection -- http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mc.asp?alias=J0hnN
(nt)
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