A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, mime and title cards. So with that being said I'm going to bring you my top 10 favorite silent films of all-time. So without further ado...
10. The Kid
The film is hilarious and it's a big contribution to the and only Charlie Chaplin. As a mother (played by Edna Purviance) leaves the charity hospital and passes a church wedding, she deposits her new baby with a pleading note in a limousine and goes off to commit suicide. The limo is stolen by thieves who dump the baby by a garbage can. Charlie the Tramp (played by Charlie Chaplin) finds the baby and makes a home for him. The Kid has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. The Battleship Potemkin
This film is very interesting as well as very gruesome. A dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers of the Tsarist regime. Th Battleship Potemkin does not currently have a rating on rottentomatoes.com.
8. A Trip to the Moon
This film is absolute hilarious and it's amazing on how it has such a huge effect on film today. The film follows a group of astronomers who travel to the Moon in a cannon-propelled capsule, explore the Moon's surface, escape from an underground group of Selenites (lunar inhabitants), and return in a splashdown to Earth with a captive Selenite in tow.
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7. The Passion of Joan of Arc
This movie is very emotional and very powerful as well. The film recreates the trial and execution of St. Joan with near-documentary authenticity, as if one were present at the actual 15th century event and both defendant and accusers were the genuine article. The Passion of Joan of Arc has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Nanook of the North
This one of the more interesting documentaries I have seen in a while. The documentary follows the lives of an Inuk, Nanook, and his family as they travel, search for food, and trade in northern Quebec, Canada. Nanook, his wife, Nyla, and their baby, Cunayou, are introduced as fearless heroes who endure rigors "no other race" could survive. Nanook of the North has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Metropolis
If you want to talk about changing the game, then this is the film did just that and it's still hard to top to this day. The film follows Freder (played by Gustav Fröhlich), the wealthy son of the city's ruler, and Maria (played by Brigitte Helm), to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city. Metropolis has a rating of 99% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Modern Times
This film is hilarious and IMO it is Charlie Chaplin's best work. The film tells the story of an assembly-line worker (played by Charlie Chaplin) driven insane by the monotony of his job. After a long spell in an asylum, he searches for work, only to be mistakenly arrested as a Red agitator. Released after foiling a prison break, Chaplin makes the acquaintance of orphaned gamine (played by Paulette Goddard) and becomes her friend and protector. He takes on several new jobs for her benefit, but every job ends with a quick dismissal and yet another jail term. Modern Times has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. The General
I absolutely loved this film and I don't think I have ever laughed so much during a film. Union spies pursue an engineer (played by Buster Keaton) who chased them to recover his stolen train. The General has a rating of 93 % on rottentomatoes.com.
2. The Birth of A Nation
This film is amazing simply because of the message that it portrays and how big of an epic spectral it is. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron (played by Henry B. Walthall) is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman (played by Lillian Gish) petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father (played by Ralph Lewis) and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch (played by George Siegmann). The Birth of a Nation has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Nosferatu
This films seriously creeps me out and that's a credit to Max Schreck's performance. Real estate agent Hutter (played by Gustav von Wagenheim) has arrived to close a sale with the reclusive Herr Orlok (played by Max Schreck). Despite the feverish warnings of the local peasants, Hutter insists upon completing his journey to Orlok's sinister castle. While enjoying his host's hospitality, Hutter accidentally cuts his finger-whereupon Orlok tips his hand by staring intently at the bloody digit, licking his lips. Hutter catches on that Orlok is no ordinary mortal when he witnesses the vampiric nobleman loading himself into a coffin in preparation for his journey to the town Bremen. Nosferatu has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite silent films and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
10. The Kid
The film is hilarious and it's a big contribution to the and only Charlie Chaplin. As a mother (played by Edna Purviance) leaves the charity hospital and passes a church wedding, she deposits her new baby with a pleading note in a limousine and goes off to commit suicide. The limo is stolen by thieves who dump the baby by a garbage can. Charlie the Tramp (played by Charlie Chaplin) finds the baby and makes a home for him. The Kid has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. The Battleship Potemkin
This film is very interesting as well as very gruesome. A dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers of the Tsarist regime. Th Battleship Potemkin does not currently have a rating on rottentomatoes.com.
8. A Trip to the Moon
This film is absolute hilarious and it's amazing on how it has such a huge effect on film today. The film follows a group of astronomers who travel to the Moon in a cannon-propelled capsule, explore the Moon's surface, escape from an underground group of Selenites (lunar inhabitants), and return in a splashdown to Earth with a captive Selenite in tow.
'
7. The Passion of Joan of Arc
This movie is very emotional and very powerful as well. The film recreates the trial and execution of St. Joan with near-documentary authenticity, as if one were present at the actual 15th century event and both defendant and accusers were the genuine article. The Passion of Joan of Arc has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Nanook of the North
This one of the more interesting documentaries I have seen in a while. The documentary follows the lives of an Inuk, Nanook, and his family as they travel, search for food, and trade in northern Quebec, Canada. Nanook, his wife, Nyla, and their baby, Cunayou, are introduced as fearless heroes who endure rigors "no other race" could survive. Nanook of the North has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Metropolis
If you want to talk about changing the game, then this is the film did just that and it's still hard to top to this day. The film follows Freder (played by Gustav Fröhlich), the wealthy son of the city's ruler, and Maria (played by Brigitte Helm), to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city. Metropolis has a rating of 99% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Modern Times
This film is hilarious and IMO it is Charlie Chaplin's best work. The film tells the story of an assembly-line worker (played by Charlie Chaplin) driven insane by the monotony of his job. After a long spell in an asylum, he searches for work, only to be mistakenly arrested as a Red agitator. Released after foiling a prison break, Chaplin makes the acquaintance of orphaned gamine (played by Paulette Goddard) and becomes her friend and protector. He takes on several new jobs for her benefit, but every job ends with a quick dismissal and yet another jail term. Modern Times has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. The General
I absolutely loved this film and I don't think I have ever laughed so much during a film. Union spies pursue an engineer (played by Buster Keaton) who chased them to recover his stolen train. The General has a rating of 93 % on rottentomatoes.com.
2. The Birth of A Nation
This film is amazing simply because of the message that it portrays and how big of an epic spectral it is. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron (played by Henry B. Walthall) is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman (played by Lillian Gish) petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father (played by Ralph Lewis) and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch (played by George Siegmann). The Birth of a Nation has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Nosferatu
This films seriously creeps me out and that's a credit to Max Schreck's performance. Real estate agent Hutter (played by Gustav von Wagenheim) has arrived to close a sale with the reclusive Herr Orlok (played by Max Schreck). Despite the feverish warnings of the local peasants, Hutter insists upon completing his journey to Orlok's sinister castle. While enjoying his host's hospitality, Hutter accidentally cuts his finger-whereupon Orlok tips his hand by staring intently at the bloody digit, licking his lips. Hutter catches on that Orlok is no ordinary mortal when he witnesses the vampiric nobleman loading himself into a coffin in preparation for his journey to the town Bremen. Nosferatu has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite silent films and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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