Topic: Silent films

[Rogmeister]

I should check and make sure I don't still have both versions of that Perils of Pauline serial.  I can't really think of anyone else I would've given it to.  I was just assuming I may have given it to someone else.  When I got the second version (which may have had a slightly better print) I could have just tossed out the first copy I got.  (And I just looked and I don't have the other version still.  Ah well...

[Achim]

I am thinking I would like to get Metropolis but worry that it is simply too long to keep me interested throughout.

This isn't really a problem Achim, I can assure that it's really a great film and it doesn't feel long at all.
Another one that I like is Faust directed by F. W. Murnau, but of course the Germany had made the greatest silent films and I'm sure there are plenty of others jewels hidden in your country.

I'll admit that this answer coming from you had me quite surprised, was completely unexpected. Bumped up on the Wish List.

I am thinking I would like to get Metropolis but worry that it is simply too long to keep me interested throughout.

I would hold off on that one until the latest restoration is complete. They found some 'lost' footage in Argentina last year and they're going to be adding it back to the film after it's been cleaned up.

I am aware of that version and it is indeed the one I am waiting for.

[Jimmy]

I'll admit that this answer coming from you had me quite surprised, was completely unexpected. Bumped up on the Wish List.

I can be a classy guy too, I don't watch only adult and exploitation films

[Achim]

 

[Antares]

I meant to ask, but it slipped my mind. Did any of you gentleman from Germany go to the Metropolis screening last week?

[Lubitschian]

Don't forget Pete...

Silent films had a lot of music in them

Actually, they didn't have the music IN them. Movie theaters had people who would play accompanying scores, live. None of the sheet music survived today, so any score you hear in a home video release of a silent film is merely a guess as to what an audience MIGHT have heard. The Criterion release of Pabst's "Pandora's Box" has 4 guesses you can pick from. But as any discerning silent film fan will say, if you want to REALLY experience a silent film correctly, you have to turn the sound off, as hearing NOTHING is more accurate than hearing someone else's interpretation of a score and letting that persuade how you understand the movie.

[Achim]

I guess that's why Giorgio Moroder felt a bunch of pop songs mught do just as well

[filmincarnate]

I'm no silent film cornoiseur by any stretch but it is an era of filmmaking, as well as a still used approach to film that I am fascinated by.

I've really only delved into the more well known of silent cinema (Chaplin, Keaton, Murnau, Pabst) but have really enjoyed the majority of what I have seen. Some can be an endurance test though, as much as I truly love Pandora's Box it is one film that I have a hard time not taking a break during, the same could be said for Sunrise. I like to consider myself a patient viewer but there is a lot that can be said for one's expectation's of a soundscape in film when so accustom to the presence of one. Because of this, silent cinema can be an arduous experience for many. I think that silent comedy is by far the most accessible because when it comes down to it, most (if not all) physical comedy is truly silent (at least in regards to the absence of diegetic dialogue).

Also worth noting is silent cinema being made today. There is certainly not much of it, and what there is tends to not be narrative driven. What first comes to mind are the films of Guy Maddin, who I strongly urge those unfamiliar with his work to seek out. Not all of his films are silent, his most well known film, The Saddest Music In the World, could be argued to be more driven by sound than visual. He has an autobiographical trilogy of silent films that I'd give the highest recommendation to: Cowards Bend the Knee, Brand Upon the Brain! (available from Criterion in the US) and My Winnipeg. Even when compared to other silent cinema, his style is entirely unique (and often very perverse) and his films are short and kinetic enough that they do not wear out their welcome.

[lyonsden5]

I have no silent movies in my collection. When I get some it will mainly be to have them, not because of any burning desire to see one. A movie collection isn't complete without silent movies in it. 

If I were to pick I would say "The Great Train Robbery" and "Nosferatu" would be two movies I would want to own. Or "Metropolis". I've watched some Chaplin in my time and, if the price was right, would probably enjoy having some of his work as well. What worries me with most of the DVDs I've seen listed is you just don't know how good they will be. As I understand it Kino is pretty good at their restorations. Any suggestions?

[Antares]

I have no silent movies in my collection. When I get some it will mainly be to have them, not because of any burning desire to see one. A movie collection isn't complete without silent movies in it. 

If I were to pick I would say "The Great Train Robbery" and "Nosferatu" would be two movies I would want to own. Or "Metropolis". I've watched some Chaplin in my time and, if the price was right, would probably enjoy having some of his work as well. What worries me with most of the DVDs I've seen listed is you just don't know how good they will be. As I understand it Kino is pretty good at their restorations. Any suggestions?

Wait for the future release of the now, almost completely restored, original release version of Metropolis. It looks like it will be released in the fall.

For silent film DVD companies, Kino, Flicker Alley, Grapevine Video and Sunrise Silents are the best. If you stick with those companies, you'll be fine. 

[lyonsden5]

Thanks Antares! That gives me something to work with.

I'll watch for the new version Metropolis as well.  +1 for you!

[Rogmeister]

I'm not sure what company did it but I do recall that "The Great Train Robbery" was put on a DVD a few years ago...it's a short (something like 11 to 14 minutes long) so they combined it with a copy of the William S. Hart classic Tumbleweeds.  I never got that because when I first heard it, I had already bought a prior edition of Tumbleweeds and didn't want to pay that  amount for basically a quarter of an hour of material I didn't have before.  There are, of course, several copies of Nosferatu out there.  I have the Kino edition, I think.

[Achim]

I'm not sure what company did it but I do recall that "The Great Train Robbery" was put on a DVD a few years ago...it's a short (something like 11 to 14 minutes long) so they combined it with a copy of the William S. Hart classic Tumbleweeds.  I never got that because when I first heard it, I had already bought a prior edition of Tumbleweeds and didn't want to pay that  amount for basically a quarter of an hour of material I didn't have before.  There are, of course, several copies of Nosferatu out there.  I have the Kino edition, I think.

I think it's also somewhere in the Box Set "Movies Begin" that I own, also by Kino. Along with other stuff filmed in the late 19th century and the early 20th, incl. the stuff done by Méliès (amazing what he did more than 100 years ago, no CGI at all!). I haven't watched much from the Box Set yet, may have to start.


Also, I finally ordered The General on Blu-ray last week. It's supposed to be a great transfer (as far as the source allowed) and from what I remember it's supposed to be one of the greatest comedies.

[filmincarnate]

Also, I finally ordered The General on Blu-ray last week. It's supposed to be a great transfer (as far as the source allowed) and from what I remember it's supposed to be one of the greatest comedies.

I really want to pick this up. Kino are also releasing Battleship Potemkin on blu-ray in April. I'd really like to get my hands on that 

[lyonsden5]

Also, I finally ordered The General on Blu-ray last week. It's supposed to be a great transfer (as far as the source allowed) and from what I remember it's supposed to be one of the greatest comedies.

Addded to the Amazon Wishlist. Thanks Achim!