Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Harmonia (A) on May 17, 2005 at 21:51:52

In Reply to: Just curious posted by rico on May 17, 2005 at 07:51:47:

A masterpiece is a masterpiece.

A great film is a great film, no matter when it was made - in fact one can make the argument that silent films are more purely "cinematic art" than talkies since they make their points purely visually.

A perfect example is Ozu's wonderful silent I Was Born, But...(which actually is from '31 or '32) which is one of the most expressive, nuanced, emotional, and exquisite movies you'll ever see.

Another extraordinary (and not well-known) silent is the first internationally released animated feature, The Adventures of Prince Achmed, based on The Arabian Nights. This was directed by the remarkable German artist Lotte Reiniger, who animated highly detailed, innovatively lit silhouettes.

I have loads of Chaplin, one of my heroes, but I guess my favorites would be:

The Gold Rush
Modern Times
City Lights
The Kid
The Pilgrim

No one has yet mentioned Dreyer's incredible masterpiece The Passion of Joan Of Arc.

Another personal hero is Murnau:

Sunrise (IMO one of the greatest films ever made)
Faust
The Last Laugh
Nosferatu
Tabu

Fritz Lang:

Spies
Destiny
Metropolis
Siegfried's Death

Eisenstein:

October
Battleship Potemkin

Pabst:

Pandora's Box
Diary of A Lost Girl
(Louise Brooks is amazing in these two features. Anyone know anything about a longer European DVD verion of the latter film?)

Abel Gance: Napoleon (see this on a big screen in a theater if ever you can)

King Vidor:

The Big Parade
Show People (Marion Davies is divine - Hearst should've been shot for not letting her do more comedy)

Everyone must have some Keaton in their collection:

Sherlock Jr. (my absolute favorite)
Seven Chances
The General
The Navigator

And, of course, Harold Lloyd:

Safety First
The Freshman
The Kid Brother (WHEN will this be on DVD? My favorite Lloyd but the VHS sucks.)

Von Stroheim:

The Wedding March
Greed

Last, but hardly least, is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. This film shook my world when I saw it as a teen but nowdays I watch it less often than any other in my silents collection.

I'm sure there are many foreign silent gems I've not seen, but I reckon I have well over 30 silent films that I enjoy watching. Looking at my shelf, I note that I own not one film by D.W. Griffith, although of course, I've seen Intolerance and Birth Of Nation several times.

Two silents I'm looking for are Von Sternberg's The Last Command and a Lillian Gish film, The Wind, which I've only seen once but would love to see again.

I'd consider the following films for inclusion on my all-time top twenty-five greatest films list (a la the Sight & Sound):

At least one Chaplin...probably The Gold Rush, maybe City Lights or Modern Times another day, depending on mood
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Sunrise
I Was Born, But...
Sherlock Jr.
Napolean
Pandora's Box
Battleship Potemkin
Probably one Lang...erm...this is hard...