Silent Films (1 Viewer)

[English Invader]

I recently saw my first silent film (The Birth of a Nation) and I would like to see more but I'm not really sure where to begin.

The Blu-Ray the film came on came with some Civil War related shorts which I actually enjoyed more than the main feature.

Is there anyone here who is into silents and has any recommendations to offer? I'm open to all genres.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

My favorites are anything from Buster Keaton & Harold LLoyd. Movies like The Thief of Bagdad, The Crowd, Napoleon, and Greed for starters.

 

[richardburton84]

If you liked Birth of a Nation, Intolerance would be a logical step (from the same director). It’s also a marvelous film beautifully restored by Cohen.

The German Expressionist silents are also highly recommended, particularly films like Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Die Nibelungen, and Metropolis.

 

[EricSchulz]

The German Expressionist silents are also highly recommended, particularly films like Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Die Nibelungen, and Metropolis.

Definitely agree!

Also most Lon Chaney Sr. films if only to admire his amazing makeup work.

 

[Mysto]

If you like comedy - The General with Buster Keaton is a great choice with a lovely Blu Ray release available.
I also enjoy Wings - Academy Award Winner

 

[rcmeserve]

Single greatest silent film of all time: ‘Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans,’ starring George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor, and directed by F.W. Murneau. What he does with the camera has to be seen to be believed.

 

[MielR]

I can't recommend METROPOLIS highly enough. There are two versions available on blu-ray. One is the Giorgio Moroder edit that has a pop-music soundtrack added (this is the first version I ever saw, in a theater in 1984), the other is a longer version reconstructed using long-lost footage recently found in Argentina.

I've been enamored (obsessed?) with it since I'm 14 years old. It's the only silent film that I've seen more than 20 times, in its various versions.

 

[EricSchulz]

I was lucky enough to see the restored Metropolis on the big screen. Excellent.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Charlie Chaplin or the silent Laurel and Hardy movies.

Another “first of its kind” to check out is The Lost World for its amazing stop motion animation.

 

[MielR]

Also most Lon Chaney Sr. films if only to admire his amazing makeup work.

I was lucky enough to see the restored Metropolis on the big screen. Excellent.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Charlie Chaplin

The Kid is probably my favorite Charlie Chaplin film. I also love Lon Chaney Sr.'s Phantom Of The Opera with that great Technicolor Bal Masque scene!

 

[TJPC]

To a nubie, I would suggest the newest silent called “The Artist”. This is very approachable for anyone who is just investigating the form.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I would also add Mel Brook's Silent Movie for some good laughs.

 

[Vic Pardo]

To a nubie, I would suggest the newest silent called “The Artist”. This is very approachable for anyone who is just investigating the form.

THE ARTIST is not a real silent movie. It's a fake silent movie and should be avoided at all costs.

 

[TJPC]

Even if it is one of the most enjoyable movies of the last 5 years?

 

[richardburton84]

Another good silent film to see that I’ve just thought of is The Passion of Joan of Arc (which Criterion reissued earlier this year). Falconetti’s portrayal of Joan is just stunning and the cinematography is amazing for its time (and for the record, I like watching the film with the Voices of Light accompaniment).

 

[TJPC]

It just shows you how people differ. I saw this only once, but it is #1 on my only watch with a gun to my head list!

 

[MielR]

To a nubie, I would suggest the newest silent called “The Artist”. This is very approachable for anyone who is just investigating the form.

It won Best Picture at the Oscars several years ago, didn't it? I liked it very much. I had forgotten about that, only thinking of silents from the 1920s.