Do you like silent movies?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Baba Oh Really, Jan 4, 2015.

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  1. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    yes, I love them along with all the stars of that era...
     
  2. Baba Oh Really

    Baba Oh Really Certified "Forum Favorite" Thread Starter

    Location:
    mid west, USA
    Watching City Girl do love stories like that really happen?
     
  3. DesertChaos

    DesertChaos Forum Resident

    Not a big fan of the silents but Keaton in The General was really good. My english teacher in grade 7 or 8 was big film buff with a special affection for the silent era so quite often we'd be writing our school essays about the films he showed during class rather than the standard books of the time - go figure, that was the one year of school English class I really enjoyed!
     
  4. Scott in DC

    Scott in DC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
  5. TeacFan

    TeacFan Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    Arcadia, Ca.
    My mother was a theater organist in the Oakland/San Francisco Bay area mid twenty's till sound & even than, silents were still run as second features. She had a whole pile of lead sheets from the different studios/producers suggesting what form of music for different scenes should be played. Looked like code to me, but she understood the sheets. And the films changed more than once a week. It was only after she died that I discovered what she was really doing. Wish I had asked her, but she was reluctant to talk about that portion of her life. A real lost art. A guy named Gaylord Carter, now deceased, was one of the last original players. He scored some Paramount laser discs. TCM occasionally will run them on Sunday nights as part of their Silent Sundays.
     
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  6. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Yes, yes, yes! There is NOTHING like going to see one of these in a theatre with a live -- and knowledgeable -- organist enhancing the performance. I'm amazed at how 100% sterile the video soundtracks are. In the hands of the right player, the organ makes these films come alive, IMO.

    By the way, if you are in the Seattle area, the Paramount's Wurlitzer will be displayed in full regalia again starting in March:
    http://www.stgpresents.org/paramoun.../trader-joe-s-silent-movie-mondays-faust-1926
     
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  7. Dave Garrett

    Dave Garrett Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    My wife and I were married in an old movie theater that's now a special event venue. Before the ceremony, we screened One Week. It was a big hit with everyone in attendance.
     
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  8. R. Cat Conrad

    R. Cat Conrad Almost Famous

    Location:
    D/FW Metroplex
    There's a thread on accessible silent films that can always be dusted off and bumped up to page one for those interested.

    Recent releases of silent classics include BD from the UK (Masters of Cinema) such as the remastered & extended Spione (Spys), directed by Fritz Lang.

    :cheers:
    Cat
     
  9. Splungeworthy

    Splungeworthy Forum Rezidentura

    I may have mentioned this in another thread but if you can somehow see Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's documentary "Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film", you should, because it's extraordinary. I think you can catch individual episodes on YouTube.
     
  10. footlooseman

    footlooseman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Joyzee
    i watched one a few weeks back. they might not be all great films but since most of them are around the century mark i enjoy them for their historical value
     
  11. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I have a great many silent films and love Kino's Blu-ray restorations.
     
  12. fuzzface

    fuzzface Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lebanon, MO
    Big fan of primarily Lon Chaney films.
     
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  13. Mal

    Mal Phorum Physicist

    Of course, the Marx Brothers were also masters of silent comedy:

     
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  14. JohnBeas

    JohnBeas Forum Resident

    I was first exposed to silent films in the 70's when a local TV station would play silent comedies on Sunday mornings. I'm still a big fan of Harold Lloyd!
     
  15. Dee Zee

    Dee Zee Once Upon a Dream

    The General by Keaton is perhaps the best silent picture in my estimation. Still holds up today.
     
  16. Baba Oh Really

    Baba Oh Really Certified "Forum Favorite" Thread Starter

    Location:
    mid west, USA
    I recently decided to check out some F.W. Murnau films of a different genre, so I watched the 1930 film "City Girl". I would like to please discus this film with someone who's familiar with it please, in this thread if we can do so.

    Thanks.
     
  17. redmetalmoose

    redmetalmoose Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    TCM recently aired a restored version of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis".One of the best Sci-Fi movies I have ever seen,with or with out sound. Absolutely amazing
     
  18. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I like Nosferatu and Metropolis.
     
  19. R. Cat Conrad

    R. Cat Conrad Almost Famous

    Location:
    D/FW Metroplex

    City Girl is a great film, far from Murnau's greatest, but a remarkable film nonetheless. He was hampered by the studio into a cast he didn't entirely want and reduced budget after the critically acclaimed but modest box office of Sunrise.

    City Girl is very much a film of it's time, a fish out of water story reflecting the struggles to build a romantic relationship between two widely contrasting lifestyles. Given the dystopian fears of the early Depression when City Girl was released, this story may have seemed too close to home for some folks. Then again, it's rural setting and stoic optimism in the face of the farm's failure and possible collapse of the couples relationship make for solid drama. I don't know about your take on it, but it worked for me! :righton:

    :cheers:
    Cat
     
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  20. Rne

    Rne weltschmerz

    Location:
    Malaver
    Buster Keaton, Charles Chaplin, The Phantom of the Opera, Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Un chien andalou, Nosferatu and so many others... you've got to love silent movies!
     
  21. Jason W

    Jason W Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mill Valley, CA
    I LOVE silent films! Chaplin of course- his films can show so much pathos and tragedy. The Kid may be favorite. And Douglas Fairbanks in Zorro and Robin Hood is incredible because of his amazing stunts. Murnau's Sunrise is gorgeous! Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels has some chilling sequences.

    But the real MAGIC in silent films was happening overseas, where a more natural acting style and expressionistic approach to cinematography prevailed.
    Suggested viewing:

    Fritz Lang- Spies
    Pabst- Pandora's Box
    Carl Dreyer- Passion of Joan of Arc
    Ozu- Passing Fancy
    Ozu- Dragnet Girl
    Carl Dreyer- Vampyr
    Sjostrom- Phantom Carriage
    Reiniger- Prince Achmed
    Hitchcock- The Lodger
    -and the early crime serials:
    Feuillade- Fantomas
    Feuillade- les Vampires
    Feuillade- Judex

    contemporary silent films worth checking out:
    Maddin: Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
    Morrison- Dacasia
    Lumiere and Company
     
  22. Rodney Toady

    Rodney Toady Waste of cyberspace

    Location:
    Finland
    I like silent films very much and appreciate the filmmakers' creative efforts in conveying the narrative visually, without resorting to constant dialogue. I particularly love the German expressionist films of the silent era. Come to think of it, some of my all-time movie favourites come from that period.
     
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  23. michaelscrutchin

    michaelscrutchin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX (USA)
    There's something magical and mysterious about the silent films that speak to me the most. I'm especially drawn to German Expressionism, influencing as it has two of my favorite types of movies -- horror films and film noir. I also love Chaplin and Keaton.

    Just for fun, I drew up a list of my top 10 favorite silents, limiting myself to one per director (so Murnau, Keaton, and Chaplin don't take up 70% of the list!).

    - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Wiene, 1920)
    - The Phantom Carriage (Sjöström, 1921)
    - Sherlock, Jr. (Keaton, 1924)
    - The Phantom of the Opera (Julian, 1925)
    - Sunrise (Murnau, 1927)
    - The Fall of the House of Usher (Epstein, 1928)
    - The Man Who Laughs (Leni, 1928)
    - The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer, 1928)
    - Pandora's Box (Pabst, 1929)
    - City Lights (Chaplin, 1931)

    I can do without D.W. Griffith -- and not only due to the racism. Broken Blossoms has some amazing moments from Lillian Gish, though, including the famous closet scene with her drunk, abusive father pounding on the door as she falls to pieces inside. Astounding, really. But, yeah, otherwise screw Griffith.
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2015
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  24. Baba Oh Really

    Baba Oh Really Certified "Forum Favorite" Thread Starter

    Location:
    mid west, USA
    Let's talk about DVD's then shall we? For silent films, I'm imagining that KINO is the "gold standard", and the definitive versions one should seek out if affordable? Yes?

    None better than Kino, right?
     
  25. Baba Oh Really

    Baba Oh Really Certified "Forum Favorite" Thread Starter

    Location:
    mid west, USA
    Will you guys agree that F.W. Murnau is best known as the director of Nosferatu?

    Or is this a "lopsided" view held by fans of that particular film??
     
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