Silent Movies I've Seen
This is a more-or-less chronologically ordered list of the silent movies I have seen, with brief commentary. This deals only with feature-length films, not shorts. I don't have reviews for all of these because it has been a while since I have seen some of them. Enjoy, and feel free to leave a comment if you like!
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- DirectorWallace WorsleyStarsLeatrice JoyJohn BowersLon ChaneyA romantic rivalry among members of a secret society becomes even tenser when one of the men is assigned to carry out an assassination.My first experience with silent movies. A story of a secret society which plots to assassinate a wealthy industrialist, and a love triangle that has far-reaching consequences for all involved. Lon Chaney is marvelous and the score by Vivek Maddala is wonderful. SCORE: 8/10.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsBrigitte HelmAlfred AbelGustav FröhlichIn a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.Groundbreaking sci-fi spectacle that is still influential today. The acting is way over the top, according to the German Expressionist school, but the scenery, cinematography, and overall spectacle are still pretty amazing. SCORE: 9/10.
NOTE: Brief partial nudity in a nightclub dancing scene. - DirectorEdward SedgwickBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonDorothy SebastianEdward EarleAn unimpressive but well intending man is given the chance to marry a popular actress, of whom he has been a hopeless fan. But what he doesn't realize is that he is being used to make the actress' old flame jealous.A late silent by Buster Keaton, full of fun moments. Been a while since I've seen it...I'll update this when I do. SCORE: 7/10.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeGerda MaurusWilly FritschThe mastermind behind a ubiquitous spy operation learns of a dangerous romance between a Russian lady in his employ and a dashing agent from the government's secret service.This movie's pretty long but it goes by really quick because there's so much happening. Lots of fun, intricately plotted...a nice piece of escapism. After all these years, still really entertaining. SCORE: 8/10.
- DirectorBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonKathryn McGuireJoe KeatonA film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.Been a while since I saw this one, but I enjoyed it. Buster Keaton is funny and inventive, with some nice visual effects and sight gags. He plays a hapless young man who is accused of stealing, then does some detective work to clear is name. SCORE: 8/10.
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.A wonderful homage to classic silent movies, concerning a famous star whose fortunes decline with the coming of sound in the late 1920's, and a young actress whose star rises while his fades. It terrifically recaptures the spirit and glamor of the era, and could easily take its place along the best work of the silent era. Fantastic! SCORE: 10/10.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJune TrippIvor NovelloMarie AultA landlady suspects that her new lodger is the madman killing women in London.An early Alfred Hitchcock feature, considered the first film of his to bear his distinctive characteristics. This tale of a mysterious young man believed to be a serial killer features moody chiaroscuro lighting and a dark atmosphere, as well as a theme Hitchcock stuck with throughout his career - an innocent man unjustly accused of a heinous crime. Very evocative and haunting. SCORE: 8/10
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsTatsuo SaitôTomio AokiMitsuko YoshikawaTwo young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace.A much-heralded Japanese silent. Two mischevous boys contend with bullies at school, admire their father until they learn more about what he does for a living. Natural performances and lots of charm. SCORE: 8/10.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsYoshiko OkadaShin'yô NaraYukiko TsukubaAn actress returns to Tokyo after a successful stint in Hollywood to reclaim - with the help of her gangster brother - the daughter she abandoned years before.The story of a famous Japanese actress who comes back from America to reclaim the daughter the left behind years ago, who has bonded with the father's wife. It has a nice quietude to it, with very naturalistic performances, and is a fascinating glimpse into the Japan of many years ago. SCORE: 8/10.
- DirectorHiroshi ShimizuStarsMichiko OikawaYukiko InoueUreo EgawaTwo schoolgirl friends drift apart when one of them falls for a handsome boy.Two friends fall for the same man, with life-altering consequences when one of them confronts him. Nice cinematography and a story that refuses to be predictable. SCORE: 8/10.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsThomas MeighanTheodore RobertsRaymond HattonLady Mary Lasenby is a spoiled maiden who always gets her way until shipwrecked with her butler, then learns which qualities are really admirable in a person.Interesting feature from 1919 dealing with role reversal between the upper class and a resourceful servant when they are left to fend for themselves on a desert island. Nice turns by Thomas Meighan and Gloria Swanson. Good early feature by Cecil B DeMille - although the Babylon fantasy sequence could have been shorter. SCORE: 7/10.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsRockliffe FellowesAnna Q. NilssonWilliam SheerA boy surrounded by violence grows up to become an infamous gangster.The tale of Owen, a tenement orphan who has only known the brutal side of life and drifts towards crime. He meets a beautiful social worker and love blossoms, but making a new start in life won't be easy. A very early and effective example of cinematic realism, featuring location shooting, expert cinematography and editing, and restrained, credible performances by all involved. The film stock shows its age at times, but the movie itself has held up beautifully. SCORE: 9/10.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeRobert J. FlahertyStarsMonte BlueRaquel TorresRobert AndersonAn alcoholic doctor on a Polynesian island, disgusted by white exploitation of the natives, finds himself marooned on a pristinely beautiful island.A quite progressive movie for its time, which deals with the negative consequences of imperialism on the inhabitants of an idyllic Pacific island and a white doctor's attempt to avert the inevitable ruin of their island paradise. Beautiful scenery and a nice performance by Monte Blue as the doctor. The ending may surprise you. SCORE: 8/10.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGeorge O'BrienJanet GaynorMargaret LivingstonA sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.Another masterpiece from Murnau, the director of THE LAST LAUGH. One of the best movies I've ever seen! Laughter and tears abound in this story of a marriage at the breaking point, who struggle towards reconciliation. This movie is as good as the critics say it is. Wonderful. SCORE: 10/10.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsCarol DempsterW.C. FieldsAlfred LuntJudge Foster throws his daughter out because she married a circus man. She leaves her baby girl with Prof. McGargle before she dies. Years later Sally is a dancer with whom Peyton, a son of Judge Foster's friend, falls in love. When Sally is arrested McGargle proves her real parentage.Carol Dempster and WC Fields shine in this tale of an orphaned circus performer and her relationship with her adoptive father, and what happens when she meets her well-to-do grandparents. Not characteristic of DW Griffith at all, with some awkward editing and overlong chase scenes. Still, the movie has heart and is quite charming overall. SCORE: 7/10.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsCarol DempsterNeil HamiltonErville AldersonA family of Polish refugees tries to survive in post-World War I Germany. For a while it seems that they are making it, but soon the economic and political deterioration in the country begins to take their toll.One of Griffith's best pictures, but not as well known as his earlier work with Lillian Gish. Carol Dempster gives a superbly convincing performance as the heroine, and the story has very few melodramatic moments. The camerawork is rather stagy at times, but the film has a warmth and humanity that makes it worth watching. SCORE: 8/10.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishRichard BarthelmessDonald CrispA frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.A bold move by Griffith, depicting an interracial romance between a Chinese man and a white girl during the height of Yellow Peril. I wasn't so taken with it the first time, although I did find it intriguing, but the tragic beauty of the movie revealed itself to me more fully the second time around. A masterpiece of silent cinema. SCORE: 9/10.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsCarol DempsterRichard BarthelmessGeorge MacQuarrieA man murders his wife's lovers, escapes with his daughter to the South Pacific. A detective pursues him, joined by a young man who eventually falls in love with the daughter.This movie features beautiful island locations and underwater scenery, and the South Seas setting makes it a rarity in Griffith's body of work. Unfortunately the story asks us to root for the daughter's attempts to kill a policeman and there are some over-the-top, melodramatic moments in the performances. Still, it does have some entertaining moments. SCORE: 6/10.
- DirectorClyde BruckmanBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonMarion MackGlen CavenderAfter being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.Often considered Buster Keaton's masterpiece. Not necessary always laugh-out-loud hilarious, but very inventive and visually stunning. Also, one of the sharpest, cleanest transfers that you'll ever see of a silent film. SCORE: 9/10.
- DirectorOscar MicheauxStarsEvelyn PreerFlo ClementsJames D. RuffinAbandoned by her fiancé, an educated black woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished black youths.The earliest surviving work of Oscar Micheaux, pioneering African-American filmmaker. It deals with a young woman's attempts to save her school in a small town in the American South, and her travails along the way. The last reel shows her backstory, which can be read as a condemnation of the dismal racism of BIRTH OF A NATION. The narrative is a bit awkward and some of the acting is broad, but overall the film is quite rewarding as a portrait of the realities of black life in 20th century America. SCORE: 7/10.
- DirectorMarshall NeilanStarsMary PickfordIda WatermanHerbert StandingTwo young women - a paraplegic girl sheltered by her wealthy guardians and a more experienced orphan - fall in love with a man separated from his violent wife.One of the best silents I've seen so far. Mary Pickford does extraordinary work in a dual role as Stella, a disabled yet cheerful girl who believes that the world is a happy place, and Unity, an orphan who has been treated harshly by the world, and what happens when their lives converge. Excellent in every way - stunning cinematography, a moving story and superb, naturalistic performances. A masterpiece. SCORE: 10/10.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsFannie WardSessue HayakawaJack DeanA venal, spoiled stockbroker's wife impulsively embezzles $10,000 from the charity she chairs and desperately turns to a Burmese ivory trader to replace the stolen money.An instance where I disagree with critical consensus. THE CHEAT is acclaimed as an early masterpiece of feature film. While it shows technical competence and features a star-making turn by Sessue Hayakawa, the central heroine is very off-putting and is rather broadly portrayed by Fanny Ward. There is some interesting chiaroscuro lighting in some scenes, but nothing can overcome the film's fatal flaw - a sloppy, overly contrived story. SCORE: 5/10
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsEmil JanningsMaly DelschaftMax HillerAn aging doorman is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbors and society after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel.This, to me, is the ultimate silent movie. There is only 1 title card in the whole movie - the story is told entirely through visual means, with expressive acting and superb cinematography. It's quite moving indeed. The pinnacle of the use of visual means to tell a story. SCORE: 10/10.
- DirectorClarence G. BadgerJosef von SternbergStarsClara BowAntonio MorenoWilliam AustinA salesgirl pursues a handsome playboy.Clara Bow's most famous movie, it's a breezy romantic comedy that plays pretty well today. Clara shows why she was the It Girl and displays abundant charm and charisma that resonates today. A little cheesy and forced in some places, but still pretty engaging. SCORE: 7/10.
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.An intriguing and ambitious movie, one of the earliest features of Cinema Pur, which seeks to dispense with any ties to literary or theatrical tradition in order to create a purely visual narrative that can only be realized through cinematography and editing. The movie is definitely steeped in Soviet aesthetics but its theme is life as a whole in a city, from birth to death, marriage to divorce, work to play, etc. Utterly fascinating. SCORE: 10/10.
NOTE: It does feature a brief, yet graphic childbirth scene and very brief nudity at a beach.