While not a silent film, the movie Le Dernier Combat has absolutely no dialogue, and is worth seeing. French black and white post-apocalyptic science fiction:
mhendo, I haven’t visited that site, but I’ll bet any money the versions there aren’t the restored versions. Spend the extra money if necessary and watch the restored versions – it’s well worth it. The full Lost World blows the normal incomplete version out of the water. The better picture quality of the restored Metropolis, Nosferatu, and Phantom of the Opera make the easily-available “standard” versions look like utter garbage. I used to find excuses not to show friends my old copies of Metropolis, until I got a copy of Giorgio Moroder’s restored version. The restored title sequence alone was worth watching the whole thing for. The newest restored version of Metropolis is even clearer and longer than Moroder’s.
(A really great scene where the priest is trying to explain to Quasimodo, and we can’t hear him, either.)
Nibelungen Rumored to be Hitler’s favorite movie sadly enough. Wagner took his operas from the same source. Dragon with 1920’s special effects. Really strange Germanic honor code thing. Atilla the Hun has a walk on.
At the University of Michigan 20 years ago, anyway, it was still a holy relic. So much so that when we were shown a completely silent version (no SFX, music track, nuttin’) and 6 or 7 of us began improvising our own explosion noises etc., a goody-goody TA told us to pipe it.
You should probably see Un Chien Andalou, too. It’s really effed up, as befits an absurdist piece. It’s yet another one you can see for free at the Internet Archives.
Yeah, it’s a great great film. You should try to find The Crowd. Hard to find–Facets might have it–but well worth tracking down. If possible, higher on my list than *Sunrise *even. And my #1 of all time–of any movie–is The Passion of Joan of Arc. Easier to find a copy of too; it’s available on DVD.
Wow, most everything I would have said has been said already.
Let me add (in no order other than off the top of my head): Orphans of the Storm, The Wind, Der Müde Tod, The Last Laugh, A Woman of Affairs, Michael, The Temptress, Intolerance (kind of slow in places), Leaves from Satan’s Book (kind of a rip-off of Intolerance, but quicker paced). I’d also check out a serial–I think the first Judex series is available on DVD. Ooh, and The Unknown with Lon Cheney and Joan Crawford, and Laugh, Clown, Laugh and The Unholy Three. And Souls for Sale, I can’t believe I forgot that, it’s absolutely essential.
Silent film is a very broad field, is the any particular genre you’re interested in?
You might be interested in some landmark-y type films, on topics most think of as being only recently considered: A Florida Enchantment, about transgenderism… kinda… but with a horrible cop-out ending. Michael, which I mentioned already, but I’d watch it mainly for its being beautifully filmed. The story of twice-gay-once-bisexual love quadrilateral is not at all as interesting as it sounds. Master of the House, early feminism. It’s a comedy with social commentary only mixed in, so it doesn’t get all that preachy. Different From the Others, now here’s a film that knows preachy. Very early, if not the first, gay rights film. Love One Another, I confess to having never seen it but I have read about it and would if given the chance. It’s about antisemitism.
Too bad you can’t be in Topeka, Kansas, tonight and tomorrow. The 10th annual Silent Film Festival is being held, with a number of the films mentioned here.
There’s shorts with Keaton, Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy.
Gertie the Dinosaur
Sunrise
The Eagle, with Valentino
Seven Chances, with Keaton
And my all time favorite depressing film, Broken Blossoms, with Lillian Gish.
And much, much more! Attendance is free, but they are MORE than happy to accept a free will donation.
All films are accompanied by live music. Two or three different musicians will play the organ in the concert hall where the films are shown, and there’s also an orchestral quartet that will play.
I was too tired to go tonight, but will be there for a long time tomorrow.
Late to the table, but am loving the silents at the moment. These are the very best I’ve seen, & I post here as a recommendation to anyone who stumbles upon this at a later date:
Wings
The Last Command
Sunrise
The Wind
The Gold Rush (1940’s redux version with voiceover)
Seventh Heaven
Lucky Star
The Passion Of Joan Of Arc
It
The Wind
The Kid
City Lights
The General
Sherlock Jr
The Cameraman
Safety Last
The Thief Of Bagdad
The Last Laugh
Broken Blossoms
I’ll add another vote for Gold Rush with Chaplin. It still makes me laugh out loud. Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last will make you gasp. It was a great use of camera angle and blocking to create the illusion of height.
Since this thread first appeared, they’ve located even more of Metropolis. I heartily recommend the newest restored version. Not only does it have a lot of missing scenes (we’ve been wondering for decades what The Tall Man was up to), it also places scenes in the proper order and with the correct title cards, something the previous “complete” version lacked. The complete work now has the form of a musical piece, and that hadn’t been clear before.
Really strange Germanic honor code thing. Atilla the Hun has a walk on.