In an era when even the first Lumiere films are viewable on YouTube, everyone has the opportunity to become a silent movie cineaste. But how does one separate the wheat from the chaff without a reference point? Are Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari watchable by modern standards? Does Metropolis live up to the sci-fi enthusiasts' hype? And which Hollywood films are worth renewed perusal?
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The silent treatment
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The silent treatment
Metropolis is one of my favourite films and I have never thought of it as sci-fi. I saw it on the big screen with a new, live piano score last year and it was fantastic.
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, I watched again last week. It's not for everyone, I think you know whether you love that stuff or not. I do, and the German Film Museum in Berlin is heaven for me. They have exhibits devoted to those films.
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The silent treatment
Metropolis is one of my favourite films and I have never thought of it as sci-fi. I saw it on the big screen with a new, live piano score last year and it was fantastic.
I think this is important. Silent films were never intended to be silent. They always had musical accompaniment, and usually it was more than a jangly piano. (I'm not implying the revived Metropolis is like that.)
One of the most breathtaking cinematic experiences I've experienced was watching Abel Gance's Napoleon accompanied by a full orchestra (conducted by Francis Coppola's Dad.) I also helped organise a performance of Victor Sjöström's The Wind with an original theatre organ providing the music. Frankly I doubt either of these films would have been particularly memorable if I'd seen them on youtube.
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The silent treatment
Ginger Yellow wrote: By watching them. Very. Yes.
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MsD wrote: The pianist who played for Metropolis is doing Nosferatu at the same venue in July!
https://www.wiltons.org.uk/whatson/161-nosferatu
I would really recommend this to Londoners.
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Everlasting Moments by Jan Troell is a 2008 movie that has the importance of the score to silent cinema as a plot point. I've since both Abel Gance's Napoleon (score by Carl Davis) and Metropolis (the restored version with the footage found in Argentina) with live orchestra accompaniment. They were fantastic but I've also been subjected to poorly composed piano and electronica pieces that have detracted from the film at other times. It's not necessarily a positive. Cheaper DVD companies used freely available royalty free music at times which doesn't reference the film and can be very distracting - this shouldn't be an issue for the big names.
Shall we do a personal top ten?
1. Metropolis
2. Sunrise
3. The General
4. The Last Man
5. Sherlock Jr
6. Safety Last
7. Man with a Movie Camera
8. Un chien andalou
9. Intolerance
10. Le passion de Jeanne d'Arc
11. Faust
12. Nosferatu
4 to 12 is in no particular order. The Great Train Robbery, most films by Melies (especially Trip to the Moon) and some of the Lumiere Brothers stuff such as Workers Leaving the Factory and The Train arriving at La Ciotat are well worth your time on YouTube too.
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Eisenstein is arguably the most influential director of the period but that is as much because of his books, theory and the international lecture circuit he did at the time. He only made 3 silent features. I've yet to see Strike and October and I must rewatch Potemkin as it was about the first silent I saw and I wasn't quite ready for it. It felt a bit like homework at the time. I love both Ivan the Terrible films though they clearly don't count here.
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Excellent choices there, I've seen around half, also the Eisenstein films of which I think October may be my favourite.
Man With a Movie Camera is excellent.
Not much I can add off the top of my head, except Amor Pedestre.
At college, way back, I had to watch Birth of a Nation, The Romanovs and The Battle of the Somme, and was fighting to stay awake in all three, so I'm not automatically enthralled by silent film. The great ones are amazing, though.
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Ek weet nie wrote: Metropolis (the restored version with the footage found in Argentina)
For Londoners, I would like to recommend something my best mate and his girlfriend organise on a regular basis, which is silent film showings with live accompaniment at/for the Lucky Dog Picturehouse. I'm a little hazy on where it is exactly (or, indeed, if they're always at the same venue), as I've not been able to attend myself since they started it, what with living on the other side of the world. But I want to. Here's their Facebook page for those who'd like more information.
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MsD wrote: The pianist who played for Metropolis is doing Nosferatu at the same venue in July!
https://www.wiltons.org.uk/whatson/161-nosferatu
I would really recommend this to Londoners.
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The silent treatment
Ooh. I've said it before, but the Dracula ballet that was on a couple of years back at Wiltons and elsewhere was one of the best things I've ever seen, in any art form, anything. My friend agrees and she's picky.
We've got front row tickets for Nosferatu for the Wednesday night.
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