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The silent treatment

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    The silent treatment

    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?

    #2
    The silent treatment

    I'm of the opinion that Sunrise is one of the best silent films. The cinematography is great.

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      #3
      The silent treatment

      "cineaste"?

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        #4
        The silent treatment

        By watching them. Very. Yes.

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          #5
          The silent treatment

          A list:

          http://www.filmsite.org/silentfilms2.html

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            #6
            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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              #7
              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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                #8
                The silent treatment

                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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                  #9
                  The silent treatment

                  Ginger Yellow wrote: By watching them. Very. Yes.
                  Hold on, is this another one of those instances of borrowing a word from another language and then absurdly changing the meaning of it beyond all recognition? Never mind, carry on.

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                    #10
                    The silent treatment

                    I think Ginger's just answering DR's first 3 questions, in order.

                    And what Amor said, which makes me a bit jealous.

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                      #11
                      The silent treatment

                      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.
                      Ooh, that does sound cool. I had the pleasure four years ago of seeing a screening in the Wales Millennium Centre of the 1931 Bela Lugosi Dracula (made in response to the unsanctioned Nosferatu, of course) with live performance of Philip Glass' score by Glass and the Kronos Quartet. Because the film was made during the early transition phase to talkies, limitations in sound technology of the time meant that even though there's dialogue there were few sound effects and only two snatches of music on the original soundtrack, so the live music added hugely to the drama and mood of the experience.

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                        #12
                        The silent treatment

                        That sounds cool, too.

                        Now I've booked it, I'm a bit nervous that it's going to be terrifying.

                        Wilton's is a fabulous venue, I've seen many performances there and they've all been outstanding.

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                          #13
                          The silent treatment

                          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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                            #14
                            The silent treatment

                            Mine would be pretty similar, but with more Eisenstein (hard to pick really). Maybe switch out Joan of Arc for The Cabinet of Dr Caligari or All Quiet On The Western Front.

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                              #15
                              The silent treatment

                              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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                                #16
                                The silent treatment

                                Wait, why not?

                                Edit: Huh. I remember it/them as a silent movie, but apparently not.

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                                  #17
                                  The silent treatment

                                  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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                                    #18
                                    The silent treatment

                                    Ek weet nie wrote: Metropolis (the restored version with the footage found in Argentina)
                                    Which annoyingly hasn't been screened in Argentina yet since it was uncovered, as far as I'm aware.

                                    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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                                      #19
                                      The silent treatment

                                      Just scrolled down a bit - the venue is Wilton's Music Hall, by the look of it.

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                                        #20
                                        The silent treatment

                                        My favourite Metropolis score is the Moroder version, it brings out the camp farce and joy of it more than any other.

                                        Eisenstein's October is a work of art, the pacing of the imagery in it I still find astonishing.

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                                          #21
                                          The silent treatment

                                          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.
                                          That looks great: it's a win/win proposal to put to my mate who loves both silent films and east end history.

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                                            #22
                                            The silent treatment

                                            Wiltons is a fab venue, if you don't already know that.

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                                              #23
                                              The silent treatment

                                              I seen lots of pictures and filmed bits and thought it looked quite special without ever actually getting along there, so this might be a good opportunity to rectify that omission.

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                                                #24
                                                The silent treatment

                                                In other spooky news, the Royal Ballet are staging a new Frankenstein ballet next month.

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                                                  #25
                                                  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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