Nowadays, it is near-unthinkable to have a film without sound, color or digital touches. But nearly a century ago, people were watching silent films, where people performed incredible stunts and gags and caught the audience’s attention, awe and applause. They were entertainment at its newborn, most pure form - people carrying out all sorts of outrageous antics – and they still hold firm even today. The greatest silent cinema stars – in my hones opinion anyway, I’ve seen Chaplin and Lloyd – were Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The thin, child-like Laurel and the beefy, stubborn Hardy fit together like hydrogen and oxygen; their antics were timeless and set the blueprint for the comic double-act of polar opposites that became a staple of comedy. Their rapport was incredible: even when they disagreed and argued and fought it was the same as if they were friends doing teamwork, something difficult to capture – and in fact they were the best of friends offscreen (ironically it was Stan who was the brains of the group, while Ollie was the content one who went along). They were two of the best entertainers ever; even when sound films came into vogue, their talent did not fade away, but in fact adjusted to the new medium (the line “That’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into” is an immortalized example). Their appeal lasted till about the mid-20th century, then they sort of faded into the background with the incoming of more spectacular films. However, occasionally people stumble on their films, like I did, and enjoy their lively b/w performances. Here are clips from some of their best films (these are documentary clips, so please excuse the additional dialogue/music/audioFX, but otherwise they’re great): Laurel and Hardy - "Putting Pants on Philip" - YouTube (Scots may find this a WEE bit weird) Laurel and Hardy - "Wrong Again" - YouTube (Horsies!) Laurel and Hardy - "The Finishing Touch" - YouTube (Just as good at building as the Wreckers) LAUREL & HARDY : FUGITIVE - YouTube (Never, EVER get a crab in your pants) Laurel and Hardy - "You're Darn Tootin'" - YouTube (A fight begins for kicks, and then for underwear) Anyone has any silent films they enjoy, please feel free to comment on this thread.
Well, at least two that I've liked enough to put in my DVD collection happen to be two of the most influential: "Metropolis" and "Nosferatu". I'm seriously considering tracking down a Lon Chaney collection of some sort too; I saw "The Unknown" a few weeks ago on TCM and loved it.
for some reason, my favorite silent film is the 1920's phantom of the opera, i don't know why, i just love it
I wouldn't call myself an avid fan of silent films, but I can enjoy them just as much as films with audio. I've only seen a handful (The Lost World, Nosferatu, The Ghost of Slumber Mountain), and I'd definitely like to see Metropolis and the first Phantom of the Opera though.
Metropolis, Phantom Of The Opera, Nosferatu and The Thief Of Baghdad. I grew up watching Phantom and Thief on AMC long ago, back when they showed silent films in the very early '90s. Metropolis due to my love of Queen, and Nosferatu on a whim.
I'm a fan of silent films. Nosferatu, Metropolis and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari are all really good movies.
imagine a silent film version of Transformers? you can just hear the piano playing, for dramatic effect. lol
Oh yes. I have an entire Fritz Lang collection and many silent (mostly horrors). Just to name a few: The 'Complete' Metropollis (Blu-Ray, with all the Argentine footage in it) Woman in the Moon Die Valkerie Nosferatu Cabinet of Doctor Caligari The Golem The Great Train Robbery (Comedy) The Woman in the Moon is a favorite of mine; it doesn't match the epic scope of Metropollis, but it's got a real heart and it's a weird mix of completely wrong science and shockingly accurate science as well. When I was persuing my film minor I managed to watch a lot of silents, some great, some OK. Lastly, to the original poster, watch some Fatty Arbuckles if you can; I personally prefer him to Laurel and Hardy. I'll also admit I'm a big Buster Keaton fan; he's got a great body of work.
Most copies of it are pretty much considered 'poor' considering the original film stock is missing entire scenes due to the celluloid rotting away. My DVD replaces these lost scenes with just a screen of text describing what is supposed to be there.
That would be the Kino release. IIRC that's the most complete version of the film you can obtain in the US, currently. It also didn't help that they butchered the shit out of it for the colorized version in '80s with the Queen/Pat Benetar soundtrack. I'd really like to see the full version, but it's absolutely impossible at this point. It was something like 2.5 hours.
"...he went around painting the whole town black and white and when a building nearly fell on him, he didn't even say Oh blimey. That was close".
As a child I liked Charly Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, but I guess they don't show these anymore nowadays?
