Hallow's mention of the BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925) in the b+w thread made me think of which silent films I enjoy most.
Silent films are not many folks cup of tea, (I know some folks who won't watch black and white films! Barbarians!) but I enjoy them very much.Not only are the just as good as sound films,the good ones are in some respects better-simply for the fact that they had to rely mostly on the visual aspects,and thus the well made ones can be simply beautiful-almost like paintings come to life.
Anyway-here are 10 that come to mind that I love-
1.PANDORA'S BOX(1929) with Louise Brooks.
2.BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925)
3.NOSFERATU (1922) I'm guessing this may be the most popular one among folks who don't really watch silent films.
4.SAFETY LAST (1923) This is the famous Harold Llyod comedy where he climbs up the side of a building-and of course a large clock gets in his way.
5.DR.MABUSE THE GAMBLER (1922) Though I liked Lang's the TESTAMENT OF DR.MABUSE (1933) more-this is a great movie.
6. WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES (1922)
7.METROPOLIS (1927)
8.LES VAMPIRES (1915) No monsters with fangs,but a gang of theives with the fantastic Musidora.
9.DIARY OF A LOST GIRL (1929) Again-Louise Brooks.
10.TWO TARS (1928) I had to look up the title-though I had seen it many times-I couldn't recall the name! This is the Laurel and Hardy short where the boys get held up in traffic,and all hell breaks loose.
http://youtu.be/NTF1OFykQAg (http://youtu.be/NTF1OFykQAg)
If you can't think of 10 silent movies you love, you haven't earned your "movie lovers" badge yet. (I like silent comedy in small doses, but none made my list because horror is so perfect when it's silent).
A TRIP TO THE MOON
METROPOLIS
NOSFERATU
THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
HAXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES
UN CHIEN ANDALOU
MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON
and they still make silent movies today:
COWARDS BEND THE KNEE (2003)
BLANCANIEVES (2012)
I love METROPOLIS (1927) especially with the cheesy 1980's sound track :)
THE GENERAL (1926)
BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925)
BROKEN BLOSSOMS (1919)
THE KID (1921)
THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
CITY LIGHTS (1931)
THE WIND (1928)
WAY DOWN EAST (1920)
THE UNKNOWN (1927)
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925)
In no particular order:
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA(1925)
NOSFERATU(1922)
CABINET OF DR.CALIGARI(1920)
METROPOLIS(1927)
THE MONSTER(1925)
DR.JEKYLL & MR.HYDE(1920) John Barrymore version
THE LOST WORLD(1925)
SEVEN FOOTPRINTS TO SATAN(1929)
HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME(1923)
THE CAT & THE CANARY(1927)
in no real order
Nosferatu
The Gold Rush
City Lights
Modern Times
The General
The Kid
The Cabinent of Dr. Caligari
Sherlock Jr.
Sunrise
Pandora's Box
RC - I saw Safety Last that was awesome
I liked the Buster Keaton shorts. I watched them with my niece and nephew. They were funny and clearly an influence on cartoons like Bugs Bunny. There was one where his house he just bought was built on railroad tracks it was hilarious
The Crowd - it's been a long time but I remember liking this one
and let's not forget the Mystery of the Leaping Fish possibly the first bad movie
Quote from: lester1/2jr on November 18, 2016, 09:47:45 PM
RC - I saw Safety Last that was awesome
I liked the Buster Keaton shorts. I watched them with my niece and nephew. They were funny and clearly an influence on cartoons like Bugs Bunny. There was one where his house he just bought was built on railroad tracks it was hilarious
The Crowd - it's been a long time but I remember liking this one
and let's not forget the Mystery of the Leaping Fish possibly the first bad movie
Lester-If I could-and I just might-list my next top 10 silent films-Keaton will be there.
Your Right-Keaton films were cartoon surrelistic.And great.
And Barrymore's Leaping Fish Sherlock film was insane.
There are soooo many BAD silent films-good gravy! Try watching anything pre 1915-good gravy. Bunch of morons. Thats why I like LES VAMPIRES (1915)so much. The majority is garbage.
Quote from: Skull on November 18, 2016, 11:04:08 AM
I love METROPOLIS (1927) especially with the cheesy 1980's sound track :)
I don't like to be the turd in the swimming pool-but that ruined it. That was-I dunno. Like drawing eyebrows on the Mona Lisa.
Skull-my freind-have you ever watched a silent film on it's own terms as art?
Quote from: RCMerchant on November 18, 2016, 10:43:45 PM
Quote from: Skull on November 18, 2016, 11:04:08 AM
I love METROPOLIS (1927) especially with the cheesy 1980's sound track :)
I don't like to be the turd in the swimming pool-but that ruined it. That was-I dunno. Like drawing eyebrows on the Mona Lisa.
Awesome point - an argument I made years ago when they added CGI material in the 1977 Star Wars.
But on the other hand, 99% of all the silent films are remastered. I never cared about the 1980's sudden urge of adding color in black and white films... but it seemed to work for Metropolis (especially that silly soundtrack)... I'd used to have Metropolis on VHS and I think I saw the movie almost 50 times.
QuoteSkull-my freind-have you ever watched a silent film on it's own terms as art?
It's own terms like watching a silent film and listening to a live band playing the music or a record. No - but I have doubts that any of us had.
Quote from: Skull on November 19, 2016, 12:14:09 AM
Quote from: RCMerchant on November 18, 2016, 10:43:45 PM
Quote from: Skull on November 18, 2016, 11:04:08 AM
I love METROPOLIS (1927) especially with the cheesy 1980's sound track :)
I don't like to be the turd in the swimming pool-but that ruined it. That was-I dunno. Like drawing eyebrows on the Mona Lisa.
Awesome point - an argument I made years ago when they added CGI material in the 1977 Star Wars.
But on the other hand, 99% of all the silent films are remastered. I never cared about the 1980's sudden urge of adding color in black and white films... but it seemed to work for Metropolis (especially that silly soundtrack)... I'd used to have Metropolis on VHS and I think I saw the movie almost 50 times.
QuoteSkull-my freind-have you ever watched a silent film on it's own terms as art?
It's own terms like watching a silent film and listening to a live band playing the music or a record. No - but I have doubts that any of us had.
What I was trying to say is-I just like to see the work as close to the way the artist made it. METROPOLIS has been,since then-almost totally restored.
I dunno.
I am also not a fan of MSTK3000-because those stupid f**kin robots are in the way of me trying to check out the movie!
Good,bad,or ugly-I wanna see it!
But it was a popular show-so whatta I know? :wink:
from my understand (and I could be wrong) but Metropolis was 4 hour long and the movie was cut to 90 minutes or shorter. I believe the movie was 90% restored to it's full length in the late 2000 and no I had not seen the full movie at this time.
I'm not a fan of MSTK3000 because the jokes are never funny and the images on the screen are annoying.
Quote from: Skull on November 19, 2016, 10:23:39 AM
from my understand (and I could be wrong) but Metropolis was 4 hour long and the movie was cut to 90 minutes or shorter. I believe the movie was 90% restored to it's full length in the late 2000 and no I had not seen the full movie at this time.
The original was only 2.5 hours long, but basically yes. The extra footage was found in 2008.
The Moroder version (which not only added the cheesy 80s movie but also tinted some scenes) was the best print of the film available for a long time. I don't hate it, but its almost a whole different movie.
Quote from: Skull on November 19, 2016, 12:14:09 AM
...
It's own terms like watching a silent film and listening to a live band playing the music or a record. No - but I have doubts that any of us had.
What
does this mean? :question: :question: :question:
Quote from: Allhallowsday on November 19, 2016, 11:34:37 AM
Quote from: Skull on November 19, 2016, 12:14:09 AM
...
It's own terms like watching a silent film and listening to a live band playing the music or a record. No - but I have doubts that any of us had.
What does this mean? :question: :question: :question:
I couldn't quite figure that one out either. I've seen live bands and they're recorded work-and I like both. A movie is a whole differnt story. Remember that old 60's TV show Fractured Flickers?
http://youtu.be/FwOprzuTe2c (http://youtu.be/FwOprzuTe2c)
Lon Chaney Jr. sued them for f**king with his father's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923). I don't know the result of the lawsuit. But my point is,I like to watch the film without it being tampered with. I HATED the addition of music to DRACULA (1931). I love the eerie silence of the original.
I like silent films. Alot,I was thrilled the first time I got to see these old films on PBS channel 34 in the 70's after reading about NOSFERATU (1922) the CABINET OF DR.CALIGARI (1919) and the PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) in Famous Monsters. Those films didn't pop up on Creature Feature.
Silent Night, Deadly Night
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror
Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages
The Lost World
The Phantom of the Opera
The General
Metropolis
The Kid
All Quiet on the Western Front
So many are lost though and there's still so many I've yet to see....clearly I have a Sci-Fi/Fantasy bias. Some films have some sound but still feel more like silent era films in style especially many films from the 1930s...
Quote from: JaseSF on November 20, 2016, 05:31:43 PM
So many are lost though and there's still so many I've yet to see....clearly I have a Sci-Fi/Fantasy bias. Some films have some sound but still feel more like silent era films in style especially many films from the 1930s...
VAMPYR (1932) comes to mind.
http://youtu.be/mxJ-Y2Ac7tM (http://youtu.be/mxJ-Y2Ac7tM)
Quote from: RCMerchant on November 19, 2016, 03:05:49 PM
Quote from: Allhallowsday on November 19, 2016, 11:34:37 AM
Quote from: Skull on November 19, 2016, 12:14:09 AM
...
It's own terms like watching a silent film and listening to a live band playing the music or a record. No - but I have doubts that any of us had.
What does this mean? :question: :question: :question:
I couldn't quite figure that one out either. I've seen live bands and they're recorded work-and I like both. A movie is a whole differnt story. Remember that old 60's TV show Fractured Flickers?
What I mean is that the film makers knew the disadvantages of a soundless movie therefore they had to compensate with live bands and/or recordings on a record. I also know that music played on a record sounds different than what is played on the radio and digital (one of the reasons why people are pushing vinyls back).