Silent Movies...

[Jared]

So last night I was invited to a premiere of a remake of a silent movie from 1923 that a friend of mine hda decided to do instead of writing a 90+ page thesis paper.

I was kind of skeptical about the whole ordeal especially since I'm not really the movie going type of person but in the end I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

I think the part that made the movie worth it is knowing the time, effort, and dedication that went into the whole production which has been professionally done to every detail.

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[Hagar]

Have you ever seen a silent movie?

Of course. I used to watch them all the time.

I'm not quite that old & the "talkies" had actually been invented long before I was born. Silent movies were shown regularly on TV & also the cinema when I was young, rather like old B movies now. Some of those old silent epics are still regarded as classics.

My favourites were Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton & the old Keystone Cops comedies. I never quite got with Charlie Chaplin. He was hilarious untl I watched one of his films shown at the correct speed. His later efforts like "The Great Dictator" were much better. IMHO
Acting in silent films was an art form in its own right. Laurel & Hardy were about the only silent movie stars to make a successful conversion to talkies. They still make me laugh now.

PS. It's worth remembering there was no sound track at all. The music was played on the piano, sometimes from sheet music distributed with the film but more often 'ad lib' by the resident pianist. This again was an art form in its own right. A good pianist could make all the difference to the film.

[Hai Perso Coyone?]

Charlie Chaplin...I love his slient-movies...simply hilarious

[Romulus111VADT]

Charlie Chaplin was brilliant

Buster Keaton was a comic genius

Harold Lloyd was one of the greats

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was very funny

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy go w/o saying

The Keystone Cops  were hilarious

[Hai Perso Coyone?]

Romulus reminded me of Laurel and Hardy...

[Jared]

well those are different results than I had guessed on... that's cool...

I don't think that I'm going to go out and start researching and watching silent movies exclusively, but I definately won't rule them out as an option when looking for entertainment..

[BFMF]

Laurel & Hardy were about the only silent movie stars to make a successful conversion to talkies. They still make me laugh now.

I'm so glad to find out i'm not the only person who liked their comedies

[Felix/FFDS]

While the comedies are probably the best remembered, I remember having seen the

[denishc]

PS. It's worth remembering there was no sound track at all. The music was played on the piano, sometimes from sheet music distributed with the film but more often 'ad lib' by the resident pianist. This again was an art form in its own right. A good pianist could make all the difference to the film.

 Many movie houses had sound effect machines, that were played by the pianist, to simulate gunshots and such.

[denishc]

I'm not quite that old & the "talkies" had actually been invented long before I was born. Silent movies were shown regularly on TV & also the cinema when I was young, rather like old B movies now. Some of those old silent epics are still regarded as classics.

......and surprisingly black and white movies were made well into the 1960s!!  When my kid asked me why some movies were in black and white I told her becouse there was no such thing as color until 1970!

[Romulus111VADT]

There was also a silent movie made in 1927 called, "Wing's" that was quite incredible when you consider the time it was made. The aerial shots of the WWI biplanes were amazing for the technical abilities available at the time.

[H]

......and surprisingly black and white movies were made well into the 1960s!!  When my kid asked me why some movies were in black and white I told her becouse there was no such thing as color until 1970!

You're evidently not familair with the history of the northeastern U.S. then. The first color broadcasts were in NY in 1951. However, the audience was limited because the signal wasn't compatible (that is, to render the color signals into b/w) with the predominantly b/w TV receivers in those homes that actually had them. This was rectified and compatible color broadcasts began in 1954. The reversion to color transmission nationwide was a slow process, however; as stated, b/w TV shows were made well into the 1960's, as a look at late-night oldies will reveal. Many stations still started out with b/w broadcasting equipment and only later revised. Most had done so quite well prior to 1970 but many homeowners still had the cheaper-to-buy b/w sets.

There was also a silent movie made in 1927 called, "Wing's" that was quite incredible when you consider the time it was made. The aerial shots of the WWI biplanes were amazing for the technical abilities available at the time.

In my research for my "Out of the Skies of April" mini-campaign (CFS1), "Boots" LeBoutillier, the "B" Flight captain of RAF 209, was in a number of such movies after the war. Without looking at my notes (5 miles away), I believe he died in Nevada near the age of 81.

[Bombardier101]

Nosferatu anyone?

[Romulus111VADT]

Nosferatu anyone?

Made in 1922, Nosferatu is the first big screen adaptation of Bram Stoker

[denishc]

You're evidently not familair with the history of the northeastern U.S........

 I conceed the facts that lead to T.V. color broadcast.  But some movies made in the late '50s and early '60s, like "Dr. StrangeLove", "The Longest Day" and "The Pawnbroker", were shot in good old black and white!