Good british silent films

[sky10]

I love watching silent films and I want to see some british silent films but I can't find any.



Does anyone know any good british silent films?



Thanks,

Sky10

[penfold]

Well, you could start by looking at the BFI catalogue; they have the wonderful Piccadilly on DVD, and A Cottage On Dartmoor is due in a matter of days....a superb film. They have some good sets concentrating on the pioneer filmmaker RW Paul, and an excellent set on Dickens silents, some US, some UK....The silent Blackmail is available as an extra on the German sound DVD put out by arthaus. For the definitive silent news, try looking at the fantastic blogsite 'Bioscope' which rounds up new releases....

[Third Man]

Hitchcock's The Lodger is a good one, a lot of his familiar themes are running in this silent.



Simon

[penfold]

name='Third Man']Hitchcock's The Lodger is a good one, a lot of his familiar themes are running in this silent.



Simon

Careful though...try and get the BFI release, not the Network Hitchcock boxset, which is terribly disappointing for its silent content. You might find the BFI VHS of The Ring on ebay too....

[Third Man]

name='penfold']Careful though...try and get the BFI release, not the Network Hitchcock boxset, which is terribly disappointing for its silent content. You might find the BFI VHS of The Ring on ebay too....

I went for the German Boxset on Concorde 'Hitchcock The Early Years' very good print. There's a BFI DVD for this?



Simon

[CaptainWaggett]

Shooting Stars is excellent - it's a murder mystery set in the British silen t film industry. No idea if it's available on dvd though. The silent version of Blackmail is much better than the sound version (the silent was released after the sound)

[penfold]

name='Third Man']I went for the German Boxset on Concorde 'Hitchcock The Early Years' very good print. There's a BFI DVD for this?



Simon

Sorry, memory playing tricks...it was a VHS too, but far superior to the Network offering. This is the place to explore... A Cottage on Dartmoor « The Bioscope

[penfold]

name='CaptainWaggett']Shooting Stars is excellent - it's a murder mystery set in the British silen t film industry. No idea if it's available on dvd though.

Not yet....

[sky10]

Thank you so much for the replies.



I will have a look a the BFI catalogue and see if I can find the films on DVD.



Thank you all.

[orpheum]

Just to mention that there are some part silent part talkies around particularly from BIP>The first half is silent and the second half sound.

[jimmycl12]

There ae a number of silent films available for viewing at the Mediatheque - which of course is housed in the BFI (or the NFT) and is recommended as a place to visit anyway.

[narabdela]

If you're interested in British Silent Cinema, could I recommend "Silent Britain"(bfi DVD)



It's a BBC documentary tracing the neglected history of the British silent era.

[Third Man]

It might be worth noting that the KINO release of the film Cottage on Dartmoor includes the documentary Silent Britain as well, I've included a link to their site here because it has some good info on the disc itself but you can pick this up on many UK sites.



A Cottage on Dartmoor (plus Silent Britain) - Kino on Video



Simon

[TimR]

I noticed that The Battle of the Somme is available on DVD. I have always been curious about that, since I saw a brief clip in the excellent televion documentary series The Great War.



The first world war is a subject of endless interest for me, and I am always looking for books and films on the topic. I am also always on the lookout for silent films of good quality.



Has anyone seen it? I assume it must be very powerful, if that clip is any indication. I cannot imagine what the impact would have been for those at home watching it.

[penfold]

name='TimR']I noticed that The Battle of the Somme is available on DVD. I have always been curious about that, since I saw a brief clip in the excellent televion documentary series The Great War.





Has anyone seen it? I assume it must be very powerful, if that clip is any indication. I cannot imagine what the impact would have been for those at home watching it.

It's stunning, utterly astonishing; I've seen it three times now on the big screen with the music performed live....but where have you seen it for sale?? Can you provide a link?? There is a modern documentary film of the same name, you have to be wary; I've not seen the restored version touted for sale anywhere....

[TimR]

name='penfold']It's stunning, utterly astonishing; I've seen it three times now on the big screen with the music performed live....but where have you seen it for sale?? Can you provide a link?? There is a modern documentary film of the same name, you have to be wary; I've not seen the restored version touted for sale anywhere....

Here is the link: http://http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-B.../dp/B00009PBIH



Maybe this is not the same? It is not available in the US, but I am looking into purchasing a player that plays DVDs from both other regions, and this would be a good reason - if it is the real thing.

[Keechelus]

Hindle Wakes (Maurice Elvey 1927) is the only UK silent movie I have seen, so far.



It is marvellous! Maybe because it was late in the film era before sound, Hindle's acting is very natural - though the 1912 source play was a shocker in its time, for showing Midlands industrial life without flinching.



My appreciation of Hindle Wakes has been helped by the 1976 TV remake, but I much prefer the 1927 film.

[penfold]

name='TimR']Here is the link: http://http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-B.../dp/B00009PBIH



Maybe this is not the same? It is not available in the US, but I am looking into purchasing a player that plays DVDs from both other regions, and this would be a good reason - if it is the real thing.

Nope, that's the modern documentary of the same name...the original film should be longer, too. It was released - unrestored IIRC - on a WHSmith own-label VHS; so I'm afraid you'll have to wait for a while....like the rest of us !! It's actually a scandal that it's not available...it should be compulsory viewing in the nations schools, with annual refresher screenings for our politicians....

In terms of attendances, it remains the most successful British film of all time. During the period of its original release, ticket sales were the equivalent of one third of the country's population. Bearing in mind that a large proportion of the males were abroad..

..there is an extraordinary comedy, from the summer of 1916, called Tubby Takes a Rest Cure. Tubby is a thirty-something suburban clerk, suffering from ennui. He decides to have a long weekend in the country.....he is rather put out by being stared at by the bewhiskered porters at the country railway station; on the way to the Hotel, he's practically mobbed by young ladies in white smocks from the farm; meanwhile his wife, fearing that Tubby would be lonely on his own,comes down on the next train, discovers Tubby with the girls; she storms off to the hotel, where Tubby catches up with her being chatted up by three officers.....scenes of mild finger wagging, and making up, ensue. The End. So there we have it; a romantic comedy from the summer of 1916, the basis of which is..... there are no young men left in the countryside......

[penfold]

name='Keechelus']Hindle Wakes (Maurice Elvey 1927) is the only UK silent movie I have seen, so far.



It is marvellous! Maybe because it was late in the film era before sound, Hindle's acting is very natural - though the 1912 source play was a shocker in its time, for showing Midlands industrial life without flinching.



My appreciation of Hindle Wakes has been helped by the 1976 TV remake, but I much prefer the 1927 film.

Ah, the joy of silent films, where a Lancashire millworker can be played by a New York actress with utter conviction and realism. Maurice Elvey is one of the most underrated directors; capable of great work, even when forced to churn them out in the thirties and later. I don't think it was the industrial life was that shocking in 1912...unusual, but not shocking...Spoiler Alert!!...it was the extra-marital sex and her refusal to marry the boy.....

[TimR]

name='penfold']Nope, that's the modern documentary of the same name...the original film should be longer, too. It was released - unrestored IIRC - on a WHSmith own-label VHS; so I'm afraid you'll have to wait for a while....like the rest of us !! It's actually a scandal that it's not available...it should be compulsory viewing in the nations schools, with annual refresher screenings for our politicians....

In terms of attendances, it remains the most successful British film of all time. During the period of its original release, ticket sales were the equivalent of one third of the country's population. Bearing in mind that a large proportion of the males were abroad..

What a disappointment. Oh, well - thank you for the correction: I would have been taken in by the title. I have been looking for that film for years.



You watched it with an audience and with live music? It seems that Britain is the place to be for viewing vintage films that are hard to find. This does happen here at times - as with the Abel Gance Napoleon - but not often enough.

..there is an extraordinary comedy, from the summer of 1916, called Tubby Takes a Rest Cure. Tubby is a thirty-something suburban clerk, suffering from ennui. He decides to have a long weekend in the country.....he is rather put out by being stared at by the bewhiskered porters at the country railway station; on the way to the Hotel, he's practically mobbed by young ladies in white smocks from the farm; meanwhile his wife, fearing that Tubby would be lonely on his own,comes down on the next train, discovers Tubby with the girls; she storms off to the hotel, where Tubby catches up with her being chatted up by three officers.....scenes of mild finger wagging, and making up, ensue. The End. So there we have it; a romantic comedy from the summer of 1916, the basis of which is..... there are no young men left in the countryside......

I don't suppose Tubby Takes a Rest Cure is available? Seems unlikely - no luck so far. Oh, it is frustrating to hear about these films and not be able to see them!