OT:Silent features

[Nelson]

I certainly enjoy talking about the silent film comedies(shorts and features) with all of you and now for another spin on silent films.Do you have a personal favorite silent feature film? Or is there any silent movie that you really want to see but have never been able to track down and to own on for your film library?

Here is a great list of silent film features that I highly recomend for your viewing entertainment.

"It" (1927):This film stars my favorite actress of all time... Clara Bow, who was the original "It" girl back in the 1920s.

The Four Horsemen Of The Apocolypse (1920):This film centers around the first world war and stars Rudolph Valentino in his finest performance.Excellent direction and dazzling special
effects.

Safety Last (1923):Harold Lloyd's most famous and best comedy feature.To be shown in April on TCM during the "star of the month tribute to Harold, begining April 6th.

Sunrise (1927): Nominated for the Academy Award for "Best Picture" for the very first Academy Award presentation.The film stars George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor and directed by F.W.Murnau which was his first american made feature.The plot of the film, is about when a city girl has a fling with a married(O'Brien) man,She talks him into killing his wife(Gaynor) and go back with her into the city.This film has excellent cinamatic photography and movietone soundtrack..A must see and just released last month on dvd from Fox home video.

The Phantom Of The Opera (1925):Starring the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney.Cleary Chaney's best work

In Old San Fransico (1927):Shown last night on TCM'S "Silent Sunday Nights".The film stars Dolores Costello, Warner Oland and the first Asian actress, the beautiful and talented Anna May Wong.The film depects a latin family through generations up to the year 1906 whom greedy land owners want the family to move outand buy their land.By today's standards, this film is politcally incorrect towards it's racial use of the portrayal of Chinese stereotypes for which the time it was made in the late 20s.The film features excellent special effects for the climax of the movie where the famous earthquake of 1906 that destroyed the entire city.A newly restored version from the UCLA FILM AND TELELVISON ARCHIVE complete with the Vitaphone sound on discc format and a tinted version.A must see...

Hope this selection helps and what are some must see silents that you want to see and own or favorites.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

I concur about Sunrise and Phantom of the Opera and would like to add:

Sherlock Jr.

Modern Times (Well, it does have some sound in it, so does that count?)

Steamboat Bill, Jr.

The Cameraman

City Lights

The Last Laugh (another Murnau film)

The Crowd

The Battleship Potemkin

Ben Hur (much better and more exciting than the version made in the fifties)

The Kid

The Gold Rush

I hate to admit it, but I've never seen Safety Last (I've been unable to locate it on video). *Hangs head in shame*

[Paul Penna]

Check out the restored "Metropolis" on a DVD from Kino (make sure it's the Kino version). Truly a stunning eye-opener after suffering though decades of substandard and often atrocious prints of this film. This one is taken from all of the original camera negative that still survives, supplemented by the best available inserts from all other sources and restored both photographically and digitally - and this time, the digital part was done right. It looks unbelievably good, and is accompanied by a new recording of the symphonic score written for the original release. It's like seeing it for the first time.

[Patrick McCart]

I'll second that the silent MGM version of Ben-Hur is the best of the three (a 1-reel version was made in 1907...) Francis X. Bushman is hissingly evil in the movie (and plays it up perfectly), Ramon Navarro IS the Prince of Hur, and the sea fight scene and the chariot race are breathtaking. The 1959 remake used 7 cameras(6 after one got demolished by a chariot...OOPS! :D ) while the silent epic used a staggering forty-two cameras.

Other great silents:

The General - I just saw this on Thanksgiving Day at my uncle's. I'm a fan of Buster Keaton, but I had no idea that his merging of excellent narrative with comedy could be done so well. The cinematography is beautiful...I don't think any silent comedy pulled off something like this.

Sherlock Jr. - Not only is this an extremely funny movie, the special effects gags are amazing. The runaway motorcycle segment is one of the funniest gag "streams" ever put on film. Also, the scene with Buster Keaton finding the dollar... "Have you seen a dollar here (para)" Keaton: "Describe it."

The Cameraman - Despite Buster Keaton not having as much creative freedom, this still is one of his best films. There isn't one wasted gag or a gag gone flat, either. The swimming arena segment is hillarious.

While not features, Keaton's The Boat, Cops, The Electric House, and The Playhouse are mini-masterpieces too.

City Lights - In my opinion, Chaplin's best silent film. This has the pathos, comedy, and narrative that many of his films don't balance enough of. The characters are all top-notch (Hank Mann plays the millionaire to the hilt) and Chaplin is at his usual best. This features some of the best gags ever, too. The boxing match is as carefully choreographed as a dance. This also uses Chaplin's bawdy humor such as the alcoholic "pant wetting" scene and the subtle reaction to elephants in a street while street cleaning. I can't describe more...SEE THIS FILM. Also, the film has a wonderfu l musical score that makes the film even better. Try to see the film with the Carl Davis re-recording if you can.

The Circus has a lot of excellent gags, too, but it runs a little bit slow in narrative. It's worth it if just for the tightrope scene and the carnival chase.

Speedy - Harold Lloyd at his best. While not as stunt-filled as Safety Last (which is just as good), this is a great film besides for being a comedy. The scenes with Babe Ruth are priceless!

----

I'll add more later... It'll take all night!

[Paul Penna]

Originally posted by bigshot
That Doug Fairbanks pirate movie (Sea Hawk?)

You probably mean "The Black Pirate" (1926), made in two-strip Technicolor.

[Bugsmer]

I've seen few silent films, but the educational, historical Swedish film Häxen (1929) is terrific. It tells you all about people who were considered to be witches and the terrible ordeals they had to go through before being finally condemned to death. Superb special effects for that day, along with nudity (hence why it was banned in the States), Satan worshipping, and mean clergymen. Very educational. I highly recommend it.

[Larry T]

Two of my favourites, Metropolis , and The Great Train Robbery ( <-- kind of hokey, but historic nevertheless) ...

There's another one I've seen a few times when I was younger but I don't know anything else about it, I was hoping you guys could help me out. It's a silent film about an intrepid explorer braving the Amazon river in search of something. I seem to remember it was called "Jungle Drums" or something to that effect. I'm pretty sure all the footage was shot real-time with no effects whatsoever, which is what makes it very thrilling!!!

Memorable scenes - His Bwana pushes a sloth into the water and it is devoured alive by pirahnas- as they ravage its body, he gets into the water right beside them and retrieves his lost oar

Another scene has them rowing in crocodile-infested waters and bashing them on the head with baseball bats and oars. There were so many crocs in the water you could hardly make out what was mud and what was attacking them!!

If anybody has any info on this movie, please let me know- I've been dying to track it down and see it again!!

[Pietro]

Harold Lyod in The Freshman is a personal favorite among mine.

-Pietro:D

[Bobby B]

Originally posted by Nelson
The Phantom Of The Opera (1925):Starring the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney.Cleary Chaney's best work


Unfortunately the version circulating today is a sound-era rerelease that's about half an hour shorter than the original. I think the original version was destroyed with all the other Universal silents in the forties, but may still exist as 16mm home movie releases.

[Sogturtle]

My list would really consist of silent-feature comedies as being so immensely important to the development of sound-era cartoon humor. But inclusion of the shorts by several comedy geniuses is extremely relevant . Sooooo as such it goes sorta like this...

The Gold Rush (Chaplin)

Chaplin's shorts from Mutual and First National (all of them).

The General (Keaton) Probably the first comedic epic...

Keaton's shorts (no not his underwear :p) "Cops", "Playhouse", "One Week" "Paleface" etc...

City Lights (Chaplin) A beautiful film both as comedy and romance.

Our Hospitality (Keaton) A great costume comedy takes on feuds.

Sherlock Jr. (Keaton)

Modern Times (Chaplin) Yeah it counts and is regarded as the last American silent feature. Paulette Goddard is gorgeous...

Seven Chances (Keaton) A warped tale of a quest for love and for money becomes a fantastic chase film, the climax is a delight...

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (Keaton)

The Three Ages (Keaton's wonderful parody/satire of D.W. Griffith)

The Kid (Chaplin) With the future Uncle Fester...

The early Laurel & Hardy shorts such as "The Battle Of The Century", "The Second Hundred Years" and the fantastic "Two Tars"

The Circus (Chaplin)

[Paul Penna]

Originally posted by Sogturtle
...inclusion of the shorts by several comedy geniuses is extremely relevant...

An excellent list to which I would only add the Arbuckle (co-starring Keaton) "Comique" shorts, many of which are currently available on two different (but mostly overlapping, title-wise) DVD collections. These came as a revelation to me, both as a comedy fan in general and a cartoon fan in particular. The sheer quantity of and enthusiasm for unbridled mayhem and just plain silliness seen in these films is incredible.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Paulette Goddard is gorgeous...
I wholeheartedly agree! (I also like Louise Brooks.)

[Andrew Gilmore]

Originally posted by Sogturtle
Paulette Goddard is gorgeous...

Yes indeed ;) (And Chaplin married 'er, the lucky son-of-a-gun)

But doing a turnaround from the libidinous to the humorous, I've seen few silent features, but my favorites among what I have seen:

Well, "Modern Times" is pretty good, but I liked "The Circus" better as far as Chaplin goes. As for Keaton, "Sherlock Jr." and "Steamboat Bill Jr." were both great. I also saw "Birth Of a Nation" about two years ago, which I didn't care for but it was interesting to see the innovations Griffith made.

I've always wanted to see "Safety Last", but the video store doesn't have it. :(

[Nelson]

Here are some other excellent silent films that are worth checking out.

The Birth Of A Nation

Wings *First Academy Award For BEST PICTURE 1927*

Toll Of The Sea *First Technicolor Film*

White Shadows In The South Seas

The Ten Comandments *Original Version 1924*

The Cat And The Canary

Pandora's Box

Seven Footprints To Satan

A Fool There Was

Uncle Tom's Cabin

The Wizard Of Oz *Original Silent Version with Oliver Hardy*

The Plastic Age

The Unknown

Speedy

Barbed Wire

Little Annie Rooney

Dr. Jeckyl And Mr. Hyde *Original Silent Version*

The Shiek

The Kid Brother

And since we're on the subject of sexy silent scarlets, then look no further than the sexiest women in silent films.....


CLARA BOW and LOUISE BROOKS













;) ;)

[rex racer]

Silent films........

First off, Paul is dead on, the KINO restored version of Metropolis is awesome!!!! This version actually makes sense!

DW Griffith and "Intolerance" I've this one on DVD as well, I just wish it had the hand colored sequences as extras.

Ben Hur with Francis Bushman, DVD please!!

"The Thief of Baghdad" w/ Doug Fairbanks SR.

I've also a great fondness for the fantasy films of Melies. Sure they're as old as dirt, but you have to appreciate the scope of what he was trying to do with the technology of the 19th century. "A Trip to the Moon", and "The Infernal Boiling Pot" are but to name a few.

Finally let's talk about animated silent features. "The Adventures of Prince Achmed", Released in 1926, there is now an excellent restored version available on DVD released by Image. I just reviewed it for DVDToons a month ago, so if you're interested

"The Adventures of Prince Achmed" (http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/160)