The Silent Film Era

Many of the most important advances in cinema have occurred in the last two decades, with the dawn of sophisticated animation, computer-generated imaging, digital cameras, and the progress of 3D. Before that, there was the Steadicam, developed in the mid-1970's and innovated in 1980 by Stanley Kubrick, ultra-wide screen formatting, and I guess video. But beyond that, there was... not much else. That is, after the era of the silent film.


From the 1890's until about 1925, almost the entirety of film grammar that is still used today was invented. Everything from stop-motion photography to double-exposure, to continuity editing, to cross-cutting, to matte paintings, to the conception of rear projection, montage, cut to close-ups, to reverse-angle and POV shots, and on and on and on.... The era also featured stylistic innovations still used today as well. There was the iris shot, flashback narrative, dramatic lighting, expressionistic set design, and visual symbolism.


Many people say that these were necessary advances in the refinement of cinema over time, and they are so popular today because they have become the cinematic language by which we all understand movies. But it's easy to make this argument after these have all been invented. The reality is, these ideas materialized solely from the creative minds of some of the most important artists of the 20th century. The medium was brand new, and they had no reference point to work with.



I'm not sure if there is focused discussion on silent film anywhere else on the forums, so I'm just curious to see if any members here have an interest in silent films and their lasting influence. I also wanted to see if some people have a favorite silent film or director, and if anyone has any recommendations.

I've seen probably less than thirty silent films, so I'm no expert. Some of my favorites are:

The General
F.W. Murnau's Faust
Sunrise
The Passion of Joan of Arc
The Gold Rush
City Lights
Vampyr
Greed
Un chien andalou
The Battleship Potemkin
Metropolis

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We do have an albeit too-short discussion here.

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Very neglected today is the comedy shorts of Mack Sennett. The problem is his best period was the 1920s and most of those films are lost. What survives are the 1910 period and they don't hold up well, even those featuring Chaplin. Those had very loose plots with the actors doing a lot of improvising. Later Sennett went in the other direction with tightly written scripts from a table of gag writers that make little sense but are full of rapid fire joles.

At the two minute clip, we see a typical Benny Hill routine without Benny Hill.

Hi, Cries & Whispers! Welcome to Mofo.

Nice opening you wrote here, and I quoted my favorite part of what you said. I think this is what is so amazing about the early pioneers of film. They were working solely from their own creative imaginations.

I've seen a fair share of silent films back in my college days (a while ago), but the only silent films I watch today are those of Chaplin. My name is taken from him. I think it's wonderful how I've turned my own kids onto his genius, along with 8th grade students I have taught. To hear them laugh at Chaplin's antics all these years later is so great.

Just want to mention that other than Chaplin, the silent film that made a great impact on me was Battleship Potemkin. I was pretty mesmerized by that stairway sequence. I also love the homage in The Untouchables.

Boy, you guys must be salivating over the re-release of ...

http://www.kino.com/metropolis/

Silent Movie with Mel Brooks - and "Modern Times" Charlie Chaplin or The Dictator

Oh. My. God. I didn't know about this. I already have Kino's "Restored Authorized Edition," from 2003 with the original orchestral score. I was like, cool, the ultimate edition.

Now I'm probably going to have to buy this version on general principle. Man, I've done that for so many movies. I should just wait like 5 solid years before buying any DVD to make sure I get the latest edition.

I liked Sunrise, but didn't care for City Lights or Modern Times. Something about me doesn't get into Chaplin for some reason.

Really?! Not a fan of the Tramp? I forgot exactly how the saying goes, but a while back his image used to be more recognized around the world than, like, the president's, or someone important like that.

I guess I can get how his brand of comedy may not be for everyone. I hate Dane Cook and everyone seems to love that guy. But can you still give the man credit for his exceptional abilities behind the camera? He directed, edited, shot, and scored his own films. He produced his own work, he was a founding member of United Artists.

Yes, he is still a big part of film history regardless. But I'm just not a huge fan. I still plan on giving either The Gold Rush or The Dictator a go for it yet.

I think the reason a lot of people don't warm up to Chaplin, and it's not a criticism, the Tramp's style comes directly from mime and is very stylized unlike other popular silent comics who use some mime technique but incorporated it with more naturalism like Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy.

No, I totally agree. Chaplin's physical comedy early on was basically mime artistry. I personally prefer Buster Keaton films because he used his physicality in action scenes that fit into the movie so well, as with The General, and all the gymnastic work he does on the train.

If you want to get into Chaplin after failing thus far, watch The Kid (1921).

I would say The Gold Rush was a better bet with him eating that shoe.

There's a musical called Mack and Mabel about Mack Sennet

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Am I the only person here who didn't like Sunrise?

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I'm not sure, but you'll have to give us some reasons why you didn't like it.

I saw it on a double bill with Greed. Sunrise seemed inferior despite the remarkable art direction.

I dont watch Silent movies lot. I enjoy watching any Chaplin movies. Silent films I have watched:

The Birth of Nation (1915)
The Kid (1921)
The Gold Rush (1925)
City Lights (1931)

For my curiosity, I checked top 100 silent films. See the link.

http://www.silentera.com/info/top100.html

Wow. There are so many top silent films I have not watched. In other discussion, I was recommended to watch Metropolis (1927). It's on my list for now. What silent films should I watch?

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Looking at the list, I'd say you can't go wrong with the top twenty. After that it gets a bit more iffy. Also most of the top twenty are easy to find, not so some of the others deeper on the list.

Movies at the end of the silent era, and a lot of the ones on the list are from 1927 up, are the least dated looking because they are technically more advanced with more sophisticated acting.

If you like comedy shorts, by Chaplin and others, there are some of those lower on the list. On a list of just comedy shorts they would all be on a top ten. Chaplin's The Immigrant, Buster Keaton's Cops, and Laurel and Hardy's Big Business are all on the list and probably represents each comic or team at their best in shorts.