unseen silents

this is the 'revival' version with new music and chaplin's narration. i understand cuts were made and i'd like to see the original at some point, but it's still pretty clever and charming. said to be inspired by chaplin's reading about the donner party!

adorable :D tho i didn't really care for the dream sequence

what a great film. leave it to chaplin to make a successful silent film in the sound era, even mocking the talkies at the beginning. the little tramp befriends an alcoholic millionaire who conveniently never remembers him when sober. and that's just for starters. the boxing scene is some of the funniest stuff i've seen in any film ever. and that ending, well...

the little tramp's travails in the industrial age; not strictly silent but utterly charming and paulette goddard is adorable.

a stirring piece of propaganda and a must see for serious film fans for it's innovative technique

the age old story of the evil city woman lol. the film is really quite stunning. it starts off full of dread but continues through humor and pathos very artfully. the city scenes are priceless. definitely one of the best silent films i've watched

gorgeous reconstruction of one of the first known animated films, a german expressionist masterpiece based on tales of the arabian nights. made entirely with paper cutouts! amazing!

a surreal accounting of the medieval witch hysteria, one of the saddest chapters in the long history of the persecution of women. made in 1922 so it is somewhat dated; still well worth watching with many bizarre scenes. a really odd historical document. gotta love the psychotic nuns.

i love the circus! hilarious! it's between this and city lights for my fave chaplin so far. it's amazing how funny they still are after 80 years

and he does his own stunts! did this guy make any bad films?

it's hard to imagine the audience reaction to this when it premiered 80 (!) years ago. with frank sexual themes, lesbianism, prostitution and murder they couldn't have gone much further without lulu appearing stark naked. louise brooks looks amazing and gives a remarkable performance. lulu's not a bad girl really; she just wants to be loved. i liked the piano score too; very evocative

yes, it's a four hour silent epic on the life of napoleon. i guess i don't need to say it's not for everyone :) however if u have the time and the inclination and can find it, it's an amazing achievement. thrilling action scenes, stunning camera work using techniques that wouldn't be seen again for decades, and it helps if u enjoy history lol. i understand coppola is holding up the dvd release and that's a shame. this deserves a criterion!

a great silent crime epic from 1922, the original tale of dr. mabuse, brilliant psychoanalyst and criminal mastermind who uses mind control on his victims. this was highly entertaining despite being over 4 hours long. mabuse is the heir of caligari and fantomas and some say he prefigured hitler with his megalomaniacal aims. a master of disguise, he certainly inspired the bond villains. wonderful underworld atmosphere, cool effects and some nice expressionistic touches tho overall it's more realistic than many early german films. the showdown is straight up american gangster. if ur not into a 4 hour silent film, try the sequel, the testament of dr. mabuse, 1932, also well worth a watch.

this isn't a horror movie; it's a crime thriller. produced by gaumont to compete with the popular perils of pauline serial, it's divided into 10 parts, average 30-45 minutes. these were shown in theaters before the main feature. the story follows reporter philippe guérande's investigation of the mysterious exploits of a gang of master criminals known as les vampires. it's full of nefarious plots, disguises and daring escapes, with stunning stuntwork. musidora, a former acrobat, plays irma vep, cinema's first femme fatale, slinking around in a body stocking like catwoman. comic relief is provided by guérande's friend mazamette, who often appears to address the camera. yes it took awhile to get through, but for the most part it was highly entertaining :)

the story of a chinese man who falls in love with a girl of the london slums played by lillian gish. the chinese character is played by a white man and somewhat emasculated but overall it's a pretty sympathetic portrayal of interracial romance for 1919. some beautiful camerawork here if u can get past the inherent racist attitudes

a wonderful gothic romance like something from grimm's fairy tales. in his autobiography buñuel wrote that this inspired him to make films. there's an homage to it in un chien andalou. it was one of alfred hitchcock's favorites and a big influence on the thief of baghdad (both versions) and murnau's faust among many, many others

a remarkable experimental film. a documentary style day in the life of average citizens of the soviet union, intercut with scenes of the filmmaking process. edited with energy and wit and alot of interesting visual effects. no script, no sets, no actors; just everyday drama and a brave man with a movie camera

harold lloyd is so cute :)

completely charming. i never was a big fan of slapstick but buster won me over :D

tod browning, king of the freaks. better than the remake by jack conway from 1930, which is mostly notable for being lon chaney's only talkie

the original silent film based on victor hugo's novel that inspired sardonicus and of course the joker from batman. conrad veidt in the lead role is much more sympathetic than those characters and it's as much a love story as gothic horror, like hunchback of notre dame and phantom of the opera. german expressionist director paul leni gives it alot of style and veidt is fantastic, wearing a prostethic mouthpiece that didn't even allow him to speak