Silent Films

[Quokka]

I was rapted watching Nosferatu, brilliant. After meaning to watch it for years it was watching Shadow of the Vampire (a fictional telling of the making of Nosferatu) that made me finally chase it down.

One movie that unfortunately we can no longer watch that I would really love to see, is The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), This movie was originaly over 70 minutes long, leading it to often being referred to as the first feature film, unfortunately only about 9 minutes of it remain.

[iansales]

Spione by Fritz Lang is an excellent silent film. And last night I watched Pandora's Box. Louise Brooks was... amazing. The documentary about her on the DVD was also fascinating.

[j. d. worthington]

Tried posting before on this, but somehow it got et! (Either that, or someone saw the size of the thing, let out a squawk, and sent it off into the void. Even I'm not going to try to retype all that a second time around.)

Anyway, here goes:

Keaton: in addition to The General, I'd highly recomment The Cameraman, Spite Marriage, and Steamboat Will, Jr.

Harold Lloyd: Quite a few to choose from; his most well-known probably being Safety Last, and well worth seeing.

Charlie Chaplin: just about anything post-1916 (when he began to have near total control of his own work).

Since this is a science-fiction and fantasy forum, the 1916 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (containing some of the earliest underwater cinematography ever done) and 1926(?) Mysterious Island, with Lionel Barrymore. Both drag in spots, but both have some wonderful stuff as well. There's also Willis O'Brien's The Lost World (1926), showing some great early stop-motion animation. And in addition to Metropolis, try Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse films, or Die Niebelungen (Siegfried and Kriemhild's Revenge). There's also, as mentioned, The Golem (1920); and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari for a truly surrealistic (or, more precisely, impressionistic) experience. Conrad Veidt is wonderful in both this and The Man Who Laughs (which also comes highly recommended by Ray Bradbury). (Incidentally, for trivia buffs, Veidt's appearance in this film is what inspired Keane to create The Joker for the Batman comics.) In addition to The Cat and the Canary, a wonderful blend of horror and comedy, is The Monster (1925) with Lon Chaney -- very dated in spots, but parts of this are still quite effective in creating an eerie atmosphere. And along with Nosferatu, try F. W. Murnau's Faust (1926).

If you can find a copy, see Abel Gance's Napoleon -- though it's not as effective on the small screen, and we are missing some of the reels of film. (I had the very good fortune to see this one in public exhibition, with Carmine Coppola directing the orchestra; three screens set side-by-side, as part of the film is panoramic and part also uses different images on all three screens, each visually contrasting and commenting on the others. For the panoramic views, Gance had to mount three cameras one above the other, as no panoramic motion-picture cameras existed at the time. If you ever have a chence to see this film this way -- jump at it!)

I had a whole list of other films to suggest along these lines, but I'll have to reconstruct it now; I'll try to be brief. (One note: with films like The Thief of Bagdad, The Phantom of the Opera, or Ben-Hur, look for copies that have restored the two-tone technicolor sequences. The ballroom scene in Phantom, with Chaney as the Red Death, is absolutely gorgeous!)

For those who don't know: much of early silent film was hand-cranked, the speed being adjusted to fit the mood of a particular scene. It wasn't until the 1980s, when Kevin Brownlow helped invent a projector for silent films, that this was done again; projectors normally having a single speed. This is where some of the jerky motion comes from. Most silents on DVD have now used this process, but not all; if you can, find out if the one you're looking at does; it makes a huge difference in a film's impact.

(Oh, and yes, Louise Brooks was amazing. Pandora's Box is a film that should only be shown on asbestos screens; she produces enough heat in that film to set anything else on fire!)

[DJ_Frost]

Cool =)

[Foxbat]

There's also Willis O'Brien's The Lost World (1926), showing some great early stop-motion animation.

I recently picked up a copy of this and, considering how old this movie is, O'Brien's special effects are very impressive indeed

[Nesacat]

Am trying not to double up here but suspect I will anyway. Here goes.

Call of Cthulhu - My all time favourite silent movie and the one that got me hooked on them in the first place.

Le Voyage Dans La Lune ( Georges Melies) - one of the first fantasy films and a really peculiar one at that. Is about the first trip to the Moon and also has a grotto of giant fungi and moon-dwellers who vanish in a puff of smoke when struck. It's all very bizarre and surreal.

Der Golem ( Paul Wegner) - shut away in the attic are the remains of the Golem. He's brought back to life, runs amok after being forced to kidnap a girl, is betrayed by a little girl and 'dies' again. Oh yes ... there is an also an invocation of the demon Astaroth.

The Fall of the House of Usher (Jean Epstein) - very dark, gothic and surreal. Had wonderful medieval sort of music and was a feast for the eyes. Only here she was his wife and not his sister.

Thief of Baghdad (Raoul Walsh) - was wonderful this with great sets and backdrops. And there was Douglas Fairbanks

The Iron Mask (Alan Dwan) - about a zillion times better than watching DiCaprio in action. Douglas Fairbanks here again.

Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer) - does not have much in the way of a plot but is very much a visual treat. There's a creepy, dream-like atmosphere over the wole film and everything is sort of fog-like. Made the move very unsettling and creepy as a result. Almost felt as if I were half asleep or semi conscious and was not a part of any understandable reality.

And also:
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea ( Stuart Paton); The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari (Robert Wiene); Nosferatu ( FW Murnau); The Phantom Of The Opera ( Rupert Julian); Metropolis (Fritz Lang).

[littlemissattitude]

It must be too late at night for me to be doing this. The post was not formatting like I wanted it to.

[Nesacat]

Originally Posted by littlemissattitude

[b]
Vampyr has to rank as one of, if not the, most atmospheric film I've ever seen. I happened on it quite by accident in the foreign films section of the video store one time, having never heard of it. I'm so glad I made its acquaintance.

Am glad to meet someone else who likes it. Yes it's a wonderful movie. Happened on it quite by accident too at a pirated DVD store and bought it because it was about vampires. It's a delicious visual experience.

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by Nesacat

Am glad to meet someone else who likes it. Yes it's a wonderful movie. Happened on it quite by accident too at a pirated DVD store and bought it because it was about vampires. It's a delicious visual experience.

Sorry for that glitch with my previous post. As I said, it's late, and in trying to reformat it, it somehow disappeared. At this time of night, I probably hit the secret delete button or something. It's been a long and trying day.

The other thing that I was wanting to say was, has anyone here seen The Last Laugh, from 1924. It starred Emil Jannings and was directed by F. W. Murnau, who, of course, also directed Nosferatu. The Last Laugh is a wonderful character study of a doorman who loses his job, and how he copes with that change in his life. I recommend it highly.

[j. d. worthington]

There's also the wonderful, somewhat surrealistic feeling The Wind, starring Lilian Gish.

There really are so many wonderful silent films, anyone who hasn't at least dipped into them using a fairly good guide will be missing a real treat.

[ravenus]

Yes Vampyr was a hypnotic experience. I got that same feel from one other film, Lisa and the Devil by Mario Bava.

[Foxbat]

Call of Cthulhu - My all time favourite silent movie and the one that got me hooked on them in the first place.

I was kind of curious when I read this so I did a bit of searching. It seems that this film was written in 1926 but filmed in 2005 by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society. It intrigued me so much that someone might make a silent movie in such modern times- where black and white itself is frowned upon by many - that I have ordered a copy for myself.

[j. d. worthington]

What surprises me is how faithful they remained to both the story and to the feel of silent films. Despite -- or perhaps because -- of the fact that this was a small group of people who got together to make a movie, this is a truly staggering achievement. It truly is a labor of love, and it shows.

[Nesacat]

Definitely agree with j.d. It is very much a labour of love and it comes across clearly. The movie even 'feels' as if it belongs to the silent era. I hope you enjoy it as much as I always do foxbat.

[Foxbat]

Looking forward to seeing this even more after those glowing reports