Essential and underrated silent films?
#1
Essential and underrated silent films?
I'm a moderate fan of silent films. I'm looking for some essentials and also some rare under-appreciated gems.
The ones I've seen:
All of Chaplin's silents
The Birth of a Nation
Buster Keaton's short silents
Diary of a Lost Girl
Faust
Haxan
The Holy Mountain
The Last Laugh
Metropolis
Nanook of the North
Nosferatu
Pandora's Box
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Sunrise
Tabu
Vampyr
W.C. Field's short silents
The Woman in the Moon
Any recommendations?
The ones I've seen:
All of Chaplin's silents
The Birth of a Nation
Buster Keaton's short silents
Diary of a Lost Girl
Faust
Haxan
The Holy Mountain
The Last Laugh
Metropolis
Nanook of the North
Nosferatu
Pandora's Box
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Sunrise
Tabu
Vampyr
W.C. Field's short silents
The Woman in the Moon
Any recommendations?
#2
DVD Talk Legend
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
The Unknown
Asphalt
Man with a Movie Camera
Berlin: Symphony of a City
Battleship Potemkin
Strike
The Unholy Three
A Cottage on Dartmoor
The Dragon Painter
Fantomas
Warning Shadows
Spies
Hindle Wakes
It
Michael
Phantom
People on Sunday
The Phantom Carriage
La Terre
Broken Blossoms
Blind Husbands
Foolish Wives
J'Accuse!
Piccadilly
La Roue
A Throw of Dice
Borderline
Also, definitely check out the films of Evgeni Bauer and Wladyslaw Starewicz, as well as the Unseen Cinema box set.
The Unknown
Asphalt
Man with a Movie Camera
Berlin: Symphony of a City
Battleship Potemkin
Strike
The Unholy Three
A Cottage on Dartmoor
The Dragon Painter
Fantomas
Warning Shadows
Spies
Hindle Wakes
It
Michael
Phantom
People on Sunday
The Phantom Carriage
La Terre
Broken Blossoms
Blind Husbands
Foolish Wives
J'Accuse!
Piccadilly
La Roue
A Throw of Dice
Borderline
Also, definitely check out the films of Evgeni Bauer and Wladyslaw Starewicz, as well as the Unseen Cinema box set.
#8
DVD Talk Legend
#9
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: On the penis chair
Posts: 5,169
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#10
#12
DVD Talk Gold Edition
A measure of Douglas Fairbanks is good for the soul:
The Mark of Zorro (1920)
The Three Musketeers (1921)
Robin Hood (1922)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925)
The Black Pirate (1926)
The Gaucho (1927)
The Iron Mask (1929)
The Mark of Zorro (1920)
The Three Musketeers (1921)
Robin Hood (1922)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925)
The Black Pirate (1926)
The Gaucho (1927)
The Iron Mask (1929)
#13
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,487
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'll second The Battleship Potemkin and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. What about the original Lon Chaney version of The Phantom of the Opera? I haven't seen that mentioned. It may not be a masterpiece, but it's certainly essential viewing for any horror fan.
I like the suggestions here, I'll check out some of the ones I haven't yet seen.
I like the suggestions here, I'll check out some of the ones I haven't yet seen.
#14
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I just got the first disc from Greecine and watched the first act. This looks like something I will have to watch more then once.
#16
#17
DVD Talk Legend
For $13.00 more, you can get the American Silent Horror Collection, which also includes The Penalty, The Cat and the Canary, the 1920 version of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and a 70 min documentary on silent horror films.
#18
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: May 2002
Location: The unknown world of the future
Posts: 5,525
Received 461 Likes
on
275 Posts
Cool. I have it on DVD so I hadn't made note of that. I'd urge anyone who hasn't seen it to check it out. Even if you have seen it, check it out.
Originally Posted by TCM
12:00 AM Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)
In this silent film, a student tries to win a rival captain's daughter after taking over his father's riverboat. Cast: Buster Keaton, Ernest Torrence, Marion Byron. Dir: Charles Reisner. BW-69 mins, TV-G
In this silent film, a student tries to win a rival captain's daughter after taking over his father's riverboat. Cast: Buster Keaton, Ernest Torrence, Marion Byron. Dir: Charles Reisner. BW-69 mins, TV-G
Last edited by Dimension X; 09-01-08 at 08:31 PM.
#19
DVD Talk Legend
If we're including silent films from the sound era, than Daughter of Horror/Dementia and The Thief get my hearty recommendations as well.
#20
#21
Mod Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Outside of the U.S.A.
Posts: 10,674
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Made well after most of the above, but a couple of great short-ish "silent" funny films are:
The Plank (1967)
Futtocks End (1970)
Obtainable fairly cheaply (although not sure about P&P charges for non-Brits) via various e-tailers shown in a "find-dvd.co.uk" search.
The Plank (1967)
Futtocks End (1970)
Obtainable fairly cheaply (although not sure about P&P charges for non-Brits) via various e-tailers shown in a "find-dvd.co.uk" search.
#23
Banned by request
Re: Essential and underrated silent films?
What made silent films superior to the modern era? Not much. Great modern films are as good or better than most silent films. The best silent films are as good as the best sound films. Of course I'm not saying a film is great just because it's modern. I'll take The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari over any Transformers movie any day.
Now, if you want to ask why silent films were superior to early sound films, that is easy. Early sound technology put lots of limitations on filmmakers that made early sound films visually dull, as well as early sound technologies often being unreliable and of poor fidelity.
Once sound technology improved, there was nothing stopping filmmakers from realizing their vision in full.
Now, if you want to ask why silent films were superior to early sound films, that is easy. Early sound technology put lots of limitations on filmmakers that made early sound films visually dull, as well as early sound technologies often being unreliable and of poor fidelity.
Once sound technology improved, there was nothing stopping filmmakers from realizing their vision in full.