Top Silent Films
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- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsMaria FalconettiEugene SilvainAndré BerleyIn 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.This has to be my No. 1 or No. 2. A silent film about people sitting around talking? Just take a look! It will make you want to make your own film!
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGösta EkmanEmil JanningsCamilla HornThe demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul.Sometimes this is my No. 1 pick. In my mind, it was Murnau's best, which is quite a statement.
- DirectorAbel GanceStarsAlbert DieudonnéVladimir RoudenkoEdmond Van DaëleA film about the French general's youth and early military career.Too bad we can't see it in the special tri-vision Gance patented...still a tremendous film.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.Some later silent films (even some by Murnau) may have been more polished...but I love a good horror film & they were hard to do in the silent era. The restored Kino version is awesome...still creepy after all these years!
- 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.In every cinema textbook...brilliant & hugely important film. Jannings is my pick (over even Chaplin) as the top silent actor.
- DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsLillian GishLars HansonMontagu LoveA frail young woman from the East moves in with her cousin in the West, where she causes tension within the family and is slowly driven mad.The best silents were coming out in the final 2-3 years of the era...sadly some, like this one, were lost at the time in the craze over talkies. This is probably Lillian Gish's top performance.
- 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.Many call this Murnau's best; some call it America's top silent; some even put it No. 1 on their list. I don't quite do that, but it DOES rock.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsEleanor BoardmanJames MurrayBert RoachThe life of a man and woman together in a large, impersonal metropolis through their hopes, struggles, and downfalls.The Wind, The Crowd & Sunrise are very similar films, coming out about the same time and all 3 are brilliant.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsAleksandr AntonovVladimir BarskiyGrigoriy AleksandrovIn the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.Another film in every cinema textbook. Hugely important film, featuring riveting Odessa Steps sequence.
- DirectorFred NibloCharles BrabinChristy CabanneStarsRamon NovarroFrancis X. BushmanMay McAvoyA Jewish prince seeks to find his family and revenge himself upon his childhood friend who had him wrongly imprisoned.I'm still not sure whether I like it or the 1959 version better. What a spectacle!