No.3660
I've only recently gotten into the silent era. Over time I found myself watching older and older films. Now I'm close to the beginning. Is anyone else interested in silents?
This video piqued my curiosity quite a bit:
http://youtu.be/yS37kyfnGy4?t=2m15sWhat do you like? What don't you like?
What do you want to see? Has anything surprised you?
etc., etc.
No.3743
I tried watching a rip of The Phantom Carriage but the reduced framerate didn't work well with my TV.
Still I really like what I've seen from Victor Sjöstrom: Terje Vigen which he starred in and directed, and the first-ever MGM production He Who Gets Slapped which was surprisingly dark.
Sjöstrom's 1928 film The Wind will be showing on TCM Essentials in April, so hopefully there will be an improved release sometime soon.
No.3744
No.3745
This guy has a cool youtube channel that deconstructs the undercranking tricks used in silent comedies. It's interesting to see the scenes at the speed they were performed.
https://www.youtube.com/user/silentfilmspeed/videos No.3760
I've only seen a handful. Probably would put Street Angel and A Trip to the Moon as my favorites, although that's pretty entry-level stuff.
>>3745That's cool.
No.3768
>>3743Please watch it again when you get the chance. It really is one of the best.
No.3771
>>3768Yeah I was pretty bummed it wouldn't work. The ripper removed all duplicate frames which made for jumpy playback on my set. I may have to go back to the laptop + hdmi method and put up with the cooling fan.
No.3796
I've wanted to see The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse but I wish there was a better version out there.
No.3849
I think the term "silent film" sounds as offputting to the average person as "tasteless food". So many people shy away from watching them. But once you start digging into the medium, you develop a respect for the unique aspects. At least that's been my experience.
No.3924
I watched Show People from 1928, so I wasn't sure if it was silent or a talkie. It bridged the gap having synchronized sound … kind of a weird experience where crowd noise, applause, and sound effects are heard but no dialogue.
All in all it's a fun satire of early Hollywood, but I probably wouldn't call it essential viewing. I give the edge to the other synchronized sound film I've seen – The Man Who Laughs.
No.3930
>>3760>street angelthe borzage or the chinese loose adaptation of the same name? the latter has been on my watchlist for a while
No.3943
>>3660Yes, I'm interested, even though I don't watch them often.
The last one I saw was Murnau's Faust, whose effects hold up surprisingly well.
I'm not sure if Vampyr counts as a silent, since it barely had any dialog at all and ended up using intertitles instead.
No.3945
What's the consensus on contemporary musical scores? I've rarely found any that I like. Most of the time they take me out of the film.
A month ago I tried watching J'accuse with a modern classical/ambient composition and just had to stop. It was a permanent mood of tense brooding regardless of what was happening on screen. Even when people were clearly singing La Marseillaise the music suggested something eerie was afoot.
Later I even tried syncing the old orchestral score, but it wouldn't quite line up ;_;
No.4116
Seven Chances is great
No.4212
I'm wondering why none of Robert Wiene's other films caught on? Has anyone seem them? Caligari was such a massive influence I expected he'd would have been capable of at least minor successes with his other projects.
No.4213
>>4212Caligari has always been one of my favorites, but I've never bothered looking into any of his other works. What would you recommend?
No.4217
>>4213I didn't make it apparent but I haven't seen his other works. I was only wondering why the others aren't as popular, since Caligari had such a strong vision and impact.
My impression is the best ones to try next are The Hand of Orlac, Crime and Punishment, and Genuine.
No.4229
>>4212> Robert WieneI think the writers and production designer had as much (or more) to do with the final product as the director. Look at Carl Mayer who frequently collaborated with Murnau.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0562346/ No.4257
One thing I remember about Caligari is the onscreen text during a scene. Since they had the ability to do that way back in 1920, I wondered why subtitles weren't used in silents in place of intertitles. Too much trouble?
No.4275
Ive seen the cabinet of doctor caligari and nosferatu. Suggestions?
No.4276
>>4275Do you want more horror?
Murnau's Faust is a great one to try next.
No.4357
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These German mountain movies are astounding. Actors seem to be putting their life on the line at times. Avalanches and swirling snowstorms behave as if cued by the director.
No.4360
>>4276is that the original poster?
metal af
No.4387
Trying to find a quality version of Thais (1917) which was the only Italian futurist film. I can barely see what's going on. :(
No.4463
>>3743
>Sjöstrom's 1928 film The Wind will be showing on TCM Essentials in April
This Saturday night in fact – April 25 @ 8 PM ET. I've only seen clips but it looked like an amazing film…
http://essentials.tcm.com/article/april-25th-2015/wind-the
No.4467
What's your favorite silent chaplin movie?
No.4470
>>4467
I still need to watch The Kid, but the two I liked most were City Lights and Modern Times. It's funny to find out that years into the sound era he was able to make successful silent films.
No.4485
>>4467
probably city lights or a woman of paris. never really understood the intense love some people seem to have for modern times.
No.4491
YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.
Turksib is a cool documentary about the construction of a 1500 km railroad through Kazakstan in 1930. It hits on modernization, trade, man vs nature, and anthropology (among other things). With hypnotizing examples of Soviet montage.
No.4640
>>3660
I've been increasingly more interested in silent era films but it's as if I've ran into a brick wall. Their availability and the quality of the versions that float around on the net is atrocious. There is this wealth of great films that I just can't watch properly and it annoys me to no end. It's especially sad when entire films or parts of them have been lost to the ravages of time.
I had the same problem when I got interested in very old books, you can almost feel entropy breathing down your neck when you learn of what was lost.
More specifically I've recently watched the restoration of Fritz Lang's Nibelungen films and they were absolutely wonderful. I'm trying to track down copies of Cabiria and Salammbo to watch but it looks like I will have to import Cabiria and I'm not even sure if Salammbo is even out on dvd. They both take place in historical Carthage and look absolutely stunning judging by the stills I've seen. I just wish someone would restore these films and release them on bluray. I enjoy watching films, not hunting them down to watch VHS quality transfers.
No.4641
The image restrictions are awful on this board.
No.4642
Just look at these gorgeous fucking sets.
No.4645
>>4640
Nice comment. I'm still meandering through the best stuff from the 20s, so I haven't hit that wall quite yet.
Salammbo does look to be in rough shape (and probably fractured).
What are some interesting lost silents you've heard about? I guess Greed sticks out for me, even though its partially available. The Spirit of '76 also sounds interesting >>3894
No.4658
>chaplin
>Keaton
choose one and why
No.4666
>>4658
Chaplin for stories with heart and soul on top of comedy.
No.4667
File: 1431921562407.gif (505.65 KB, 500x432, 125:108, tumblr_m3grquMJ2L1rozp70o1….gif)
>>4658
> tfw you're always the odd man out
No.4789
>>4645
I've only seen the 4 hour TCM restoration of Greed. About half of the story is told using production stills. There's a 140 minute version too. Has anyone seen that?
It's difficult to assess how the film would have been at 9.5 hours. I expect I'd prefer a shorter version of some fashion.
Anyway Zasu Pitts is exceptional in Greed. I really enjoyed her character.
No.4790
>>4642
is that from cabiria?
No.5051
YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.
TCM just aired this documentary. It's cool to see these story of a prolific studio that has been practically forgotten. And since we're talking about primitive filmmaking (1910s), I'm guessing the movie clips are more entertaining when they're all compiled into a documentary.
http://www.thanhouser.org
No.5279
Murnau's head has been stolen from his grave.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/15/nosferatu-director-f-w-murnaus-skull-stolen-satanists-suspected/
> Ihlefeldt said he discovered the tomb had been broken into on Monday. A candle left at the scene led to speculation that Murnau’s corpse was part of a ceremony staged by “Satanists” or those practicing “black magic,” as Ihlefeldt put it.
> “There was a candle,” Ihlefeldt said. “… A photo session or a celebration or whatever in the night. It really isn’t clear.”
No.5369
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This character always seemed a tad fruity to me since the play is often on Broadway. But this silent film was better than I expected. Excellent musical score and a nice colour surprise in the second act.
I guess this story originates the trope of the madman playing an organ? It's also used in Dr. Phibes, Bluebeard, and probably some others.
No.6652
I want to watch Roald Amundsens Sydpolsferd (1910-1912) but it has no music track. its a Norwegian exploration adventure documentary
what can you suggest to listen as I watch?
No.6654
>>6652
Maybe the audio from Great White Silence. I don't know what kind of music they used but it's a similar kind of movie.
Or how about Grieg? He was Norwegian and lived in the late 1800s... you can't beat that. His music makes a good soundtrack in general.
No.6659
thank you for the great ideas. I used edvard grieg piano concerto for the first half (sailing) and Deep Freeze for the second half (Antarctica).
the footage was ok. the team was the first to the south pole but unfortunately we don't see that event