The 10 best silent films ?

[julian_craster]

The 10 best silent films
Classics that should be seen and not heard
Francesca Steele

Friday 20 January 2012
The 10 best silent films - Features - Films - The Independent


The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius's glorious ode to silent films and the winner of three Golden Globes, is, ironically, clear about one thing: silent cinema is dead. Following the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927, "the talkies" quickly took over Hollywood. By the 1930s, real-life versions of Jean Dujardin's discarded star George Valentin were trying desperately to salvage their careers. Many silent film reels were simply thrown away.

But the success of The Artist has prompted something of a revival. In Bristol, the Slapstick Festival at the end of this month will feature films from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. April will see the 15th Silent Film Festival take place in Cambridge, where the hot ticket will be The Dodge Brothers, a "skiffle" band featuring Mark Kermode on double bass, accompanying the Soviet silent film The Ghost that Never Returns. This summer, the British Film Institute (BFI) will also show newly restored prints of Hitchcock's silent films, with new scores performed live.

Actually, it turns out that silent film fans have been carrying on, quietly of course, for years. Venues such as the BFI and the Barbican in London show silent films through the year. "There definitely is a recent revival of interest in silent film," says Pamela Hutchinson, who runs the blog SilentLondon.co.uk, "but it's been a long time coming."

But where should the silent film ingénue start? Bryony Dixon, curator of silent films at the BFI National Archive, says that although you can now buy many silent films on DVD, and even watch plenty of them on YouTube, silent films must be accompanied by live music to be fully appreciated."You have to see them as a totally different genre, like the difference between theatre and opera. They aren't just films without sound. These stories are meant to be told with live music – that's what makes them so emotional."


Here we list some of the best to get you started.

The Kid (1921)
You can either be a Charlie Chaplin fan or a Buster Keaton fan, but not both, the saying goes. Both were comic geniuses of the silent era, but Chaplin's humour is rooted in a vaudeville sentimentality (Keaton employs a more modern cynicism) that makes him the perfect introduction to silent movies. Though The Gold Rush was his greatest success, The Kid, where we see him in his iconic "little tramp" get-up, complete with tattered jacket, moustache and cane, has an affectionate silliness that makes it the most lovable.

The General (1926)
Loathed by critics on its release, this Buster Keaton comedy about an engineer who chases a stolen locomotive across enemy lines is now considered a classic. Directed by and starring a typically deadpan Keaton, it was described as "the greatest comedy ever made, the greatest Civil War film ever made, and perhaps the greatest film ever made" by Orson Welles. In any case, it's physical comedy without the slapstick – a trait that many modern audiences prefer.

The Birth of a Nation (1915)
A Gone with the Wind for the silent era, D W Griffith's controversial film about the American Civil War caught the public's attention as much for its subject matter as its revolutionary techniques. Starring the nation's sweetheart Lillian Gish, it dazzled with its impressive sets but is also abhorrently racist, casting white actors in "blackface" as ignorant buffoons. It sparked race riots across the country and was blamed for the 20th-century revival of the Ku Klux Klan. It is also notable for its heavy-handed use of "forward-facing" inter-titles, which, like chapter titles in a book, preface what is to come rather than forming part of the drama. But although Griffith's later works, such as Way Down East, are more accessible, this is still by far his best-known.

Metropolis (1927)
Just as "the talkies" were preparing to make silent films look technically insignificant, along came Fritz Lang's mind-blowing dystopian allegory about the injustices of capitalism and the problems of an industrialised working class (helped at some screenings by a Wagner-esque score). Famous for its use of the Schufftan process, in which mirrors made actors appear to be in the miniature sets, it is one of the finest examples of German expressionist film.

It (1927)
Giving rise to the expression "it girl", It was one of the first Cinderella stories brought to the big screen. It stars Clara Bow, an icon of her time, as the feisty shop-girl who wins her wealthy employer's heart through that indefinable quality known as "it".

Flesh and the Devil (1926)
Flesh and the Devil brought together its co-stars, Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, in a real-life romance. Like Peppy Miller, Garbo's success continued into the age of sound (she received all of her four Oscar nominations in speaking films). But, like George Valentin, Gilbert's did not. Peppy even repeats Garbo's immortal line from Grand Hotel: "I want to be alone."

7th Heaven (1927)
Another film to which The Artist pays homage, there are several scenes from 7th Heaven that reappear in Hazanavicius's film. Both the highly symbolic staircase scene, where Valentin and Miller meet again (she is on her way up, he on his way down), and the unforgettable moment where she drapes herself in Valentin's coat sleeve, are borrowed from this Oscar-winning crowd-pleaser about two lovers divided by war.

Nosferatu (1922)
Horror really lends itself to the histrionics commonly associated with silent film, which is perhaps why this spine-chiller has become such a cult classic. Nosferatu is so-called because the film-makers couldn't get the rights to Bram Stoker's novel and so were forced to change all the names, including Dracula itself. As the bald and pointy-eared Count Orlok, Max Schreck is far more frightening than Robert Pattinson could ever be.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
One of the first films to take $1m at the box office, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an anti-war parable, catapulted the swarthy Italian Rudolph Valentino to fame. The film sparked a nationwide tango craze and firmly established Valentino as the "Latin lover" of his day. His premature death five years later caused mass hysteria among his massive female fan base. Silent Life, a half-colour, half-black-and-white biopic about Valentino by Vlad Kozlov, is currently seeking US distribution.

The Mark of Zorro (1920)
Forget Catherine Zeta-Jones. This is the definitive swash-buckler. Starring Douglas Fairbanks, it's the first film adaptation of Zorro, who at this time was just a character in a little-known magazine story called The Curse of Capistrano. It introduced the black mask and hat so synonymous with the caped hero today, and appears in The Artist with Dujardin digitally spliced in.

[moonfleet]

I've seen very few silents, but this is my favs list:


/ Benjamin Christensen

[moonfleet]

...and all the shorts with Laurel & Hardy

[CaptainWaggett]

They're all great (I'm feeling generous about Chaplin and Keaton ) but Shooting Stars and/or Show People deserve a mention. They'll both be doing the rouns in double bills with The Artist in five years' time. Intolerance is a better film than Birth of a Nation though - it's longer but you won't have to cross a picket line to see it (only time in my life I have ever done so ) and it won't make you want to crawl under the seat with shame at ay point

[torinfan]

No "Phantom of the Opera" or "Hunchback of Notre Dame"?

[wadsy]

No "Ben Hur" or "The Crowd"?

[Heinrich]

[moonfleet]

How could I forget:

[Sgt Sunshine]

I must admit the only silents I have seen have all been comedies....Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton Laurel & Hardy........and of course this chap...Harry Langdon..



A very funny film & highly recommended...
I'm off to see "The Artist" this afternoon.
Cheers
Sgt S

[midnight sheep]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Harold Lloyd yet
I recently bought Harold Lloyd - The Definate Collection.It's a 9 disc boxset from Studio Canal.
There are 29 films and many extras.
To me he was the best of the silent comedians.
I especially enjoyed Girl Shy, Safety Last, Grandmas Boy and The Kid Brother.
Still have a good few to watch but another great one is Feet First a sound film.

[lostamerican]

I'm sorry if this isn't the correct title, but I seem to remember watching a silent film as a child called the Battleship Potemkin (or something like that). I remember something like a baby dying in a carriage on stairs, and my sister and I sitting there dead silent just making gulping noises in our throats. It must have been pretty good, because I still remember it. I also remember our local tv station showing a silent film of the story of Jesus, and it sticks with me that a horrible storm and earthquake occur when Jesus dies on the cross, and people fall into the earth. No sound, but absolutely terrifying.

[Heinrich]

I'm sorry if this isn't the correct title, but I seem to remember watching a silent film as a child called the Battleship Potemkin (or something like that). I remember something like a baby dying in a carriage on stairs, and my sister and I sitting there dead silent just making gulping noises in our throats. It must have been pretty good, because I still remember it. I also remember our local tv station showing a silent film of the story of Jesus, and it sticks with me that a horrible storm and earthquake occur when Jesus dies on the cross, and people fall into the earth. No sound, but absolutely terrifying.

Thanks for reminding us of this masterpiece, lostamerican. Indeed, Battleship Potemkin (Броненосец «Потёмкин - Bronenosets Potyomkin), sometimes rendered as Battleship Potyomkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm. It presents a dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers of the Tsarist regime.

Battleship Potemkin has been called one of the most influential propaganda films of all time, and was named the greatest film of all time at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958.



In both the Soviet Union and overseas, the film shocked audiences for its use of violence which was considered graphic by the standards of the time. The film's potential to influence political thought through emotional response was noted by Nazi propaganda minister Dr. Joseph Goebbels, who called Potemkin "a marvelous film without equal in the cinema ... anyone who had no firm political conviction could become a Bolshevik after seeing the film," The film was not banned in The Third Reich, although Himmler issued a directive prohibiting SS members from attending screenings, as he deemed the movie inappropriate for the troops.

The scene to which you refer is the most celebrated one in the film and depicts the massacre of civilians on the Odessa Steps (also known as the Primorsky or Potemkin Stairs). In this scene, the Tsar's soldiers in their white summer tunics march down a seemingly endless flight of steps in a rhythmic, machine-like fashion, firing volleys into a crowd. A separate detachment of mounted Cossacks charges the crowd at the bottom of the stairs. The victims include an older woman wearing Pince-nez, a young boy with his mother, a student in uniform and a teenage schoolgirl. A mother pushing an infant in a baby carriage falls to the ground dying and the carriage rolls down the steps amidst the fleeing crowd.



The massacre on the steps, which never took place, was presumably inserted by Eisenstein for dramatic effect and to demonize the Imperial regime. It is, however, based on the fact that there were widespread demonstrations in the area, sparked off by the arrival of the Potemkin in Odessa Harbour, and both The Times and the resident British Consul reported that troops fired on the crowds with accompanying loss of life (the actual number of casualties is unrecorded).

[didi-5]

Shooting Stars and Show People probably weren't mentioned as they are unavailable on DVD, unlike all the titles in the original post.

As well as most already mentioned, I'd add Joan The Woman, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Queen Kelly, The Chess Player, The Wedding March, The Big Parade, Napoleon, The Affairs of Anatol, Safety Last, Sunrise, and Faust.

[lostamerican]

Thanks so much Heinrich! Didn't know any of that! I remember thinking that what was happening in Potemkin was real, and I think that's the effect of the silent film. It looked a little like the newsreels I'd seen on tv. Now I know some of that actually occurred anyway. I'll have to find this and watch again.

[midnight sheep]

The Unknown, 1927, starring Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford is excellent.

[batman]

My favourite silent film is Anthony Asquith's Shooting Stars with Brian Aherne and Donald Calthrop. It is a tale of lust and murder in the film business. Apart from the film being pretty damn good, it gives us an intriguing look at how a British film studio operated at that time .... it was also partly filmed here in my beloved Norfolk and was the first film that Mrs Bat and I saw together at the cinema.

link: Shooting Stars (1928) - IMDb

[narabdela]

"Sunrise" ?

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) - IMDb

[CaptainWaggett]

My favourite silent film is Anthony Asquith's Shooting Stars with Brian Aherne and Donald Calthrop. It is a tale of lust and murder in the film business. Apart from the film being pretty damn good, it gives us an intriguing look at how a British film studio operated at that time .... it was also partly filmed here in my beloved Norfolk and was the first film that Mrs Bat and I saw together at the cinema.

link: Shooting Stars (1928) - IMDb

It's a very good film but, credit where credit is due - it's directed by AV Bramble and Asquith actually denied reponsibility for it in writing when questioned by fans. But as with Michael Powell's involvement in Thief of Bagdad, Asquith's subsequent fame has mislead even film historians. Does anyone know how the story got about that Asquith directed it?

[Rowdon]

Got to agree with didi-5 and narabdela. Sunrise is a real shock when you first see it because it's just so powerful - especially if you go in thinking that you're going to have to cut it bit of slack because it's silent. An experience.

sunrise-one-sheet.jpg

[narabdela]

Sunrise is a real shock when you first see it because it's just so powerful - especially if you go in thinking that you're going to have to cut it bit of slack because it's silent. An experience.

Exactly! Which is why it features at, or near the top of any sensible list of silent classics.