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The Silent Film Thread

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This thread will discuss all things silent films, films like the classics Le Voyage dans La Lune, and Metropolis.

And I don’t mean silent film inspired films, like The Artist, I mean Silent films.

Have fun!

When’s something gonna happen?

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My favourite silent film’s probably Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera.

Ending’s a tad weak, but Chaney’s brilliantly unnerving. And I just love the two-colour Technicolor sequences.

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It’s upsetting that some of the greatest films of the era will probably never be seen by living eyes again. 90% of all films before 1929 are lost.

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 (Edited)

Still scariest Dracula. And incredible the film still exists today, given it was supposed to be destroyed for violating copyright law.

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Handman said:

Still scariest Dracula. And incredible the film still exists today, given it was supposed to be destroyed for violating copyright law.

And now both it and the novel are in the public domain.

"Can you feel that, capitalism‽"

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DuracellEnergizer said:

Handman said:

Still scariest Dracula. And incredible the film still exists today, given it was supposed to be destroyed for violating copyright law.

And now both it and the novel are in the public domain.

"Can you feel that, capitalism‽"

Reported for violating copyright law.

TV’s Frink said:

I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.

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Is there a list somewhere of the best silent films?

Do any of them pair well with Dark Side of the Moon?

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Handman said:

Still scariest Dracula. And incredible the film still exists today, given it was supposed to be destroyed for violating copyright law.

First silent movie I ever saw! In 1976 no less. A PBS station inexplicably ran it in the middle of the day when I was home sick instead of being in school. It’s haunted me ever since. The missing frames when ol’ Max rises out of his coffin made it into a scary jump cut.
Shadow of The Vampire is a creepy and fictional behind the scenes tale about the making of Nosferatu, that’s pretty good if you haven’t seen it.

People thumbing their noses at the powers that be to save a movie from oblivion? Sounds kind of familiar. 😉

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Where were you in '77?

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DuracellEnergizer said:

My favourite silent film’s probably Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera.

Ending’s a tad weak, but Chaney’s brilliantly unnerving. And I just love the two-colour Technicolor sequences.

That the soundstage at Universal Studios where the Opera House set stood all those decades was finally torn down a couple years ago is almost criminal. They dismantled the set and removed it prior to the demolition, but who knows if they will ever reassemble it?

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Where were you in '77?

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 (Edited)

snooker said:

Is there a list somewhere of the best silent films?

Do any of them pair well with Dark Side of the Moon?

regarding the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis, this being a Star Wars site and the Robot Maria from it being a heavy design influence on C-3po …anyway , someone did set it to Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here album once and it was brilliant , but it has since been taken off of youtube …someone later set it to various Pink Floyd tracks , including Wish You Were Here , and that is available …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNPyrVaC2LM&list=PLD0B9DE0CAAB185E3

https://screamsinthevoid.deviantart.com/

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The issue with Metropolis is which of the many versions does one synch Pink Floyd to?

I’m surprised nobody has fanedited the Moroder version, (my introduction to the film in the 80’s, and still a favorite) adding in recovered lost footage and extending the songs.

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 (Edited)

SilverWook said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

My favourite silent film’s probably Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera.

Ending’s a tad weak, but Chaney’s brilliantly unnerving. And I just love the two-colour Technicolor sequences.

That the soundstage at Universal Studios where the Opera House set stood all those decades was finally torn down a couple years ago is almost criminal. They dismantled the set and removed it prior to the demolition, but who knows if they will ever reassemble it?

But where would they put their precious HARRY POTTER??

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Harry’s on the upper level of the theme park already.

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 (Edited)

I’m partial to Sunrise, though I haven’t seen all that many silent films to be honest (probably somewhere between 10-12).

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I am quite partial to the silent version of King of Kings by Cecil B. Demille.

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SilverWook said:

The issue with Metropolis is which of the many versions does one synch Pink Floyd to?

I’m surprised nobody has fanedited the Moroder version, (my introduction to the film in the 80’s, and still a favorite) adding in recovered lost footage and extending the songs.

is this the version you speak of ?..https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/rock-version-silent-film-classic-227317 if so , would love to get my hands on it .I first became aware of this film in art school when one of my teachers brought in a vhs tape for us to watch in an art history class . I love this film in any version .

https://screamsinthevoid.deviantart.com/

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Y’know, It just doesn’t really feel right for rock music to be the scores for silent films, I like symphonic scores better. Just wondering, why are rock music sometimes the scores?

When’s something gonna happen?

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Well, silent films didn’t have the music on the original reels, and music was performed live, and while theaters sometimes got an “official” score sent to them, they weren’t required to play it. So, really, silent movies can have any music anyone wants to give them.

.

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screams in the void said:

SilverWook said:

The issue with Metropolis is which of the many versions does one synch Pink Floyd to?

I’m surprised nobody has fanedited the Moroder version, (my introduction to the film in the 80’s, and still a favorite) adding in recovered lost footage and extending the songs.

is this the version you speak of ?..https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/rock-version-silent-film-classic-227317 if so , would love to get my hands on it .I first became aware of this film in art school when one of my teachers brought in a vhs tape for us to watch in an art history class . I love this film in any version .

Yes! The Laserdisc is still in my collection, and the Blu-Ray is great.

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