Recommend a SILENT feature film

Cafe Society
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Do you have a favorite feature film from the early days - the days before “talkies” were a thing?

I am mainly interested in feature-length films, but if there is a “short” that you really like, feel free to add it. I’ll start off with:

Robin Hood (1922) with Douglas Fairbanks
Our Hospitality (1923) with Buster Keaton
The Big Parade (1925) by King Vidor.
The Gold Rush (1925) by and with Charlie Chaplin.
The Wind (1928) with Lillian Gish.

And - stretching the definition of “silent”:
Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953) with Jacques Tati.

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Mel Brooks’ “Silent Movie” wasn’t bad. Of course, it did have one spoken word in it.

As for genuine silent movies from the earlier era, I enjoyed “Wings” from 1927

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The Mark of Zoro
The General
Intolerance

and another vote for Wings

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Besides the standards: The Golem, Nosferatu, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, there’s other weird German stuff:

Homunculus, 1916

From Japan:

A Page of Madness, 1926.

ETA for the artsy mavens:

Meshes of the Afternoon, 1943

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Metropolis.

If you don’t know it, it’s the one used in that Queen video.

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I’m here to second The General. It’s a comedy version of the Great Locomotive Chase and the name refers to Buster Keaton’s beloved engine, not some guy in epaulets.

To add to the list, Nosferatu, the Vampire (In case that’s not what Slithy meant) and Metropolis, the ultimate German Expressionist film. Watch the 2001 restoration if you can. The 2010 restoration is over twice as long and may be a bit much even for the deepest cinephile.

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Thirding The General (1926), one of my favorites among all movies, silent or not. The ending entailed what was the most expensive stunt in movie history up to that time.

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My favorite silent film, and one of my favorite overall films, is Broken Blossoms, starring the fabulous Lillian Gish.

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Woman in the Moon, 1929

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 1921

Battleship Potemkin, 1925 (It’s commie propaganda, but it’s still a good film.)

The 1926 version of Faust is worth a look

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To add to this, Orphans of the Storm, with both Gish sisters, and Intolerance. All three of these were by DW Griffith.

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Pandora’s Box. “Degenerate art” at its finest!

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Among others not previously mentioned:

A Trip to the Moon (1902 - short)

Any film by Émile Cohl (1907-21 - shorts)

Easy Street (1917 – short)

Victory (1919)

Cops (1922 - short)

Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (1922)

Häxan/Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922/reedited in 1968 with added narration by William Burroughs)

The Toll of the Sea (1922)

Siegfried (1924) - NOTE: the sequel, Kriemhild’s Revenge, is not recommended

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925)

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)

The Beloved Rogue (1927)

The Cat and the Canary (1927)

Old San Francisco (1927)

The Unknown (1927)

The Last Command (1928)

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

West of Zanzibar (1928)

Un Chien Andalou (1929 - short)

The White Devil (1930)

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Nanook of the North, a 1922 film about a Canadian Inuit family and how they survive in their environment. It was the first documentary film to have box office success and was among the first 25 films to go to the National Film Registry. I found it to be intriguing and informative.

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Another vote for The Gold Rush. When that bear comes out of the one cave right behind Chaplin then goes into another cave further on (Charlie is unawares), I thought I’d die! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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That’s the one with the eyeball-cutting scene. Pass.

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City Lights. Chaplin’s masterpiece for the final scene alone.

Blancanieves A silent take on Snow White, except she is a toreador, the evil queen is a dominatrix, and the dwarves are the equivalent of rodeo clowns.

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My favorites are Haxan, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Golem, Nosferatu, The Phantom Carriage, the Nibelung films, Battleship Potemkin, and Napoleon. For shorter works, many featuring Chaplin and his contemporaries.

Finally, due to lack of time, I’ve not seen Sunrise, but I’ll be watching it soon.

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Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman. Or Grandma’s Boy. Or Why Worry?

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It was actually a cow eyeball.

And of course, there’s “The Artist”, which came out about 10 years ago.

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  • Abel Gance’s Napoleon
  • Intolerance
  • Speedy (Harold Lloyd)
  • Judex (12-part 1916 serial)