Fancyarcher Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 (edited) I randomly asked a bunch of people around my college if they could watch Silent Movies, and they basically gave me the same response, no. I can easily watch silent movies, specifically comedies. I own several Buster Keaton’s movies in my collection (I got them from my Uncle who’s a film critic), and I've watched a few of them, and find them to be very enjoyable and hilarious. I’m also a big of Charlie Chaplin, and can watch his movies all the time. How bout you guys, can you enjoy a movie with no talking? Edited September 14, 2013 by Boxofficefanatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 If they are slap stick comedy, sure. But films like the Artist are horrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fancyarcher Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 (edited) If they are slap stick comedy, sure. But films like the Artist are horrible. How come? The artist was a great tribute to the silent era. Silent acting was much more challenging than "speaking acting", because actors have to show more expressions. They simply couldn't communicate to the audience with words. This type of acting seems to be lost among today's actors, as they feel the need to scream to their hearts content in order to win an Oscar. Edited September 14, 2013 by Boxofficefanatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolioD1 Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Yeah, comedies, sure. Quite a few of them can get some good laughs out of me. But idk about drama, the only silent one of those I've seen is Metropolis, which was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood26 Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Most the time no, but I LOVE The Artist. Saw it 3 times. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luna Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 (edited) absolutely. metropolis (2010 near-orginal cut) is a masterpiece, and potemkin, joan of arc, dr mabuse and sunrise are fantastic too. not really a fan of slapstick though Edited September 14, 2013 by lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitik Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I LOVED watching Cabinet of Dr Caligari at a horror marathon I went to a few years ago. They had some great creepy electronic music accompanying it. A truly beautiful movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndustriousAngel Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 A silent movie? No problem, in most cases, but - BUT - in most cases, there's at least music. Now, watching a movie without dialogue, sound and without music - that has to be a very good movie! It's only when it's not there anymore that you realise how ubiquitous music is in the business. The thing is, with music you can easily charge a story with emotions even if it's not that good - it's a cheap and effective way to create tension/drama/fun/sorrow ... there's really few movies that try to do without music. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest comes to mind, brillant use of non-music and music there (and a cast good enough you don't need it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Gittes Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Easily. Especially the comedies, of course, but I also had little problem with films like Pandora's Box, Metropolis or The Woman in the Moon (the latter of which is 160 minutes long, btw) - I don't find silent dramas any less engaging or well-paced than their modern counterparts. Oh and The Artist was excellent. More enjoyable than most movies I saw in the theater in 2011-12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I've only seen some silent comedies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandias Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Lol nope, total waste of time IMO. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 How come? The artist was a great tribute to the silent era. Silent acting was much more challenging than "speaking acting", because actors have to show more expressions. They simply couldn't communicate to the audience with words. This type of acting seems to be lost among today's actors, as they feel the need to scream to their hearts content in order to win an Oscar. The worst actors today are better than 95% of the actors pre-1970. Acting was new back then and most of it imo was terrible. Why do I hate most silent films? Because it bores me. I'm a child of the 80's. I grew up with Spielberg and Lucas and Stallone and Zemekis and Arnold and so on. The silent era is like the dinosaurs. It had its chance. But its gone and good riddance imo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Stingray Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dashrendar44 Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Silent acting was much more challenging than "speaking acting", because actors have to show more expressions. They simply couldn't communicate to the audience with words. How come? This type of acting seems to be lost among today's actors, as they feel the need to scream to their hearts content in order to win an Oscar. Botox and plastic surgery. I wish Black Swan was a silent movie, it would have been less ridiculous... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Nevada Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I love Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton etc. I also think that if you want to write about film or teach the history of film for a living you should see the essentials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchumacherFTW Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Only silent film I've seen, to my shame as a film fan, is the artist. Which I thought was shite. Not because, it was silent, it was just a boring film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndustriousAngel Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Only silent film I've seen, to my shame as a film fan, is the artist. Which I thought was shite. Not because, it was silent, it was just a boring film. Come on, you've never seen a Laurel&Hardy short? Can't believe that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fancyarcher Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 (edited) The worst actors today are better than 95% of the actors pre-1970. Acting was new back then and most of it imo was terrible. Why do I hate most silent films? Because it bores me. I'm a child of the 80's. I grew up with Spielberg and Lucas and Stallone and Zemekis and Arnold and so on. The silent era is like the dinosaurs. It had its chance. But its gone and good riddance imo. So many acclaim actors like Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep and so on have said that the acting of yesterday is better than the actor of today, and I agree with them. There are many great actors out there right now, but there are also a lot who aren't so great. Edited September 14, 2013 by Boxofficefanatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rukaio101 Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 So many acclaim actors like Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep and so on have said that the acting of yesterday is better than the actor of today, and I agree with them. There are many great actors out there right now, but there are also a lot who aren't so great. I'd disagree with that. It's not so much that the acting of yesterday is better than today, it's just that only the outstanding acting/films stand the test of time, while the substandard ones are forgotten about. The same thing will probably happen to modern cinema in 50 years or so, provided we're not too busy fighting off alien Crab-men to watch movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fancyarcher Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 I'd disagree with that. It's not so much that the acting of yesterday is better than today, it's just that only the outstanding acting/films stand the test of time, while the substandard ones are forgotten about. The same thing will probably happen to modern cinema in 50 years or so, provided we're not too busy fighting off alien Crab-men to watch movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
