Silent Films

[Jeffbert]

There they are!

I am familiar with all those except The Black Bird, The Dragon Painter & The Phantom Carriage.

About the little guy with the cigar, there is a BUGS BUNNY cartoon with a similar character,who attempts to pass himself as an abandoned baby, while hiding from the police after robbing a bank.


The silent version of The Mark of Zorro, as I recall, had Z sitting with his feet on the table, all the while sword fighting against several soldiers. Nobody else ever came close!

 

[BAYLOR]

Metropolis is my favorite silent film .

 

[Roboripper]

I'm a massive fan of Murnau's Nosferatu. I first saw a clip of it - the shadow moving up the stairs, cut together with Orlok swinging upwards out of his coffin from earlier in the film - when I was around 5 years old and those images stayed with me until I finally saw the film on Channel 4 one Christmastime.

I also love The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, The Lodger, Vampyr and Pandora's Box.

 

[Jesse412]

Vampyr

Carl Dreyer's Vampyr is technically not a silent film but it is an excellent movie.

 

[Jesse412]

Just caught the 2002 restoration of Tod Browning's London After Midnight 2002. Despite this version being made of still photographs from the lost film it's actually quite good. I would recommend checking it out solely for the special effects makeup that Lon Chaney wears and created. It's one of his best and most gruesome.

 

[Foxbat]

Just caught the 2002 restoration of Tod Browning's London After Midnight 2002. Despite this version being made of still photographs from the lost film it's actually quite good. I would recommend checking it out solely for the special effects makeup that Lon Chaney wears and created. It's one of his best and most gruesome.

I love Lon Chaney so I'll definitely look out for this one.

 

[TrekkieKimber]

The first time I was exposed to a silent film I fell in love with the genre. It's such a rare treat to be shown the depths of someone's emotions. Especially when words aren't spoken.

 

[BAYLOR]

Just caught the 2002 restoration of Tod Browning's London After Midnight 2002. Despite this version being made of still photographs from the lost film it's actually quite good. I would recommend checking it out solely for the special effects makeup that Lon Chaney wears and created. It's one of his best and most gruesome.

They've never been able to locate any copy of this film?

 

[j d worthington]

They've never been able to locate any copy of this film?

From what I understand, the only known remaining copy was destroyed sometime in the 1960s in a fire....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_After_Midnight_(film)

 

[BAYLOR]

From what I understand, the only known remaining copy was destroyed sometime in the 1960s in a fire....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_After_Midnight_(film)

A pity , that's one silent film id like to have seen.

 

[Foxbat]

I read an article a while back that claimed around ninety percent of the early films have been lost. A real shame.

On a brighter note - I've just got myself a copy of Fritz Lang's Spione (Spies). I've never seen it so I'm looking forward to making some 'Fritz' time

 

[Jesse412]

The Scarecrow (1920)

Just finished watching this classic Buster Keaton short film on TCM and nearly died of laughter. The thought and choreography that went into the dinner scene alone are pure creative genius. The segment of him being chased by a pitbull was hysterical.

 

[Jesse412]

Modern Times (1936)

Ccaught this classic on TCM On Demand and could not stop laughing. The lovely Paulette Goddard gives a wonderful performance. The scene where Chaplin gets pushed through the machine gears is beautifully done and the factory sets were incredibly well made. The department store scenes are also quite good especially the roller skating bit. It's amazing how much Chaplin can make us laugh while showing us the struggles that people endured during the Great Depression as he comments on the effects of modern industry and the poor.

 

[Jeffbert]

I loved the lunch 'break' scene! But this one had sound; The Scarecrow was indeed hilarious! Still, it seems that for me, the funniest ones involve danger; as in Harold Lloyd hanging from the hands of the clock.

I liked the part in the Gold Rush in which the two partners are starving, & the big one looks at CC, who then morphs into a chicken. This was 'borrowed' by too many cartoons to count! For that matter, the scene (sorry, cannot recall the film) with the 'mirror' was also borrowed, at least by WB. There is no mirror, just a frame on a stand in the middle of the room, & the comedian, CC, as I recall, is on the other side matching the motions of the guy looking at his 'reflection'!

 

[J-Sun]

For that matter, the scene (sorry, cannot recall the film) with the 'mirror' was also borrowed, at least by WB. There is no mirror, just a frame on a stand in the middle of the room, & the comedian, CC, as I recall, is on the other side matching the motions of the guy looking at his 'reflection'!

I was thinking that was the Marx Bros' Duck Soup (not silent, but the scene is) - is that not original with them? (I mean, as "original" as anything ever is.)

 

[Jeffbert]

I found a page that has links to several youtube clips, including the one in DS: http://www.deceptology.com/2010/09/classic-comedians-use-mirror-gag.html, but the wiki on the Floorwalker has the dirt on the origin: http://www.ask.com/wiki/The_Floorwalker, & very likely names the film I was thinking of: Seven Years Bad Luck (1921), which describes the scene as I recalled it.

 

[J-Sun]

Learn something new every day. Thanks for that. I found a clip of it. That's even better than the Marx Bros.

 

[Jeffbert]

 

[JunkMonkey]

Here's a longer one:

 

[Jeffbert]

Thanks, JunkMonkey!