Like The Artist? Check Out These 7 Great Classic Silent Films
Battleship Potemkin
Technically a propaganda film, Battleship Potemkin, released in 1925, is notable for its fearless portrayal of soldier rebellion against their Tsarist officers and for Sergei Eisenstein’s experimentation with montage to influence audience sympathies. The movie dramatizes the 1905 Potemkin uprising and is perhaps better known for inventing a grisly civilian massacre on a long staircase in the port of Odessa that was intended to incite revolution. The chilling Odessa steps sequence alone is worth watching to recognize how it inspired countless filmmakers from Francis Ford Coppola to Woody Allen.
The General
Also based on a military incident, The General, released in 1926, is generally considered Buster Keaton’s greatest work. Set during the Civil War, the adventure comedy centers on Johnnie Gray, a Confederate Army reject who’s better off remaining an engineer with the Western & Atlantic Railroad. The object of Johnnie’s affection, Annabelle, refuses to acknowledge him until he’s in uniform, but the man doesn’t need one to become a war hero during what’s known as the Great Locomotive Chase. A mesmerizing portrayal of this real wartime incident follows, with Johnnie trading sabotage tactics with the Union spies who have stolen his train — and abducted Annabelle in the process. Keaton’s weapons in this battle to reclaim the train range from a boneshaker bicycle to an uncooperative cannon. Little comedic touches throughout place The General among the most lighthearted of war films.
Sherlock Jr.
Here’s a bonus Buster film, arguably better than The General and even more fun than a runaway train. Keaton’s 1924 comedy tells the story of a film projectionist who dreams, literally, of becoming a renowned detective of the likes of Holmes. As he attempts to win the heart of a girl in town, the projectionist is framed for stealing her father’s pocket watch and is quickly ostracized. His budding detective skills fail to help him prove his innocence, so he returns to the projection booth, where he falls asleep and lives a second life as “Sherlock Jr.” Pursuing the bad guys in a film within a film, Keaton rolls through visual gags like nobody’s business. A long sequence sends him on a perilous trip atop the handlebars of a motorcycle, unaware that no one’s driving. The cleverly choreographed nail-biter of a scene is a great example of Keaton’s artistry.
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A couple of good choices in here, but overall, this is a terrible list for people who like The Artist. If you like The Artist, don't watch Battleship Potemkin. Or Nosferatu, for that matter. Potemkin is boring propaganda only to be admired for the editing that was co-opted from it. Nosferatu is also relatively boring and not scary because if what has come since. For a good early horror film, choose the psychological journey of The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.
Keep the Chaplin film and both Keaton films, but make sure to add Safety Last, The Freshman, and Grandma's Boy from Harold Lloyd. On the top of the list should be Sunrise. Throw in The Crowd and then you are getting somewhere. Seriously, the Lloyd films are a must. The guy was way more popular and successful at the time than Chaplin or Keaton and for good reason. His films were prototypes for tons of films. Like Hoosiers or Rudy? The Freshman is for you. Like Rom Coms? Try Safety Last.
And Chien Andalou? Again, this is an experimental art film. It's miles away from The Artist. Sadly, this list you created reads more like a google search for "important silent films" not a search for "films similar to The Artist." The Artist is a fun and enjoyable film. Half of your list is full of important but not enjoyable films to watch.
Seriously, if you want to see great silent films, take my advice and watch Safety Last first. Then watch Sunrise. Then watch Sherlock Jr. or The General. You will love them.
I agree. I kept waiting to see the mention of 'Sunrise' and was very disappointed that it wasn't on the list -- I'm not even sure why, especially since it IS a classic. And while I love 'Metropolis' and consider it one of my all-time favorite silent movies, I'm not sure I would recommend it to someone who may be introducing themselves to silent films for the first time. I didn't see '...Potemkin' for years and appreciate it for the camera-work. The first time I saw 'Nosferatu', I was bored to tears until the very end; I enjoy it more now, but as Jake said, we've seen so much since it was made, it's no longer all that frightening (and the sight of the vampire physically carrying about his own coffin still has me holding back the chuckles). I agree with the Keaton films, and yes, the Chaplin, and completely agree that Harold Lloyd shouldn't be missed (this is another absence from the list which puzzles me). If I'm going to include Fritz Lang on the list, can I suggest 'The Woman in the Moon' (Die Frau im Mond) which is also science-fiction but one of his lesser known works? Not a classic but it's a good Lang film. I might even suggest one of the "drawing room" comedies of Cecil B. DeMille, the ones he made with
Gloria Swanson and before he became better known for his epics. They're surprisingly funny and touch on such then taboo subjects as *gasp* divorce. But when you're starting to find a love for silents, I don't suggest going for the experimental as an introduction (just saw Pabst's 'Secrets of a Soul' and I would only recommend it for silent buffs) -- there are a few even I stay clear of. I'd even rent Douglas Fairbanks' 'The Mark of Zorro' if you like the later swashbucklers of Errol Flynn; and if you can locate the hard to find 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse', Valentino is actually very good, as he is in the heart-breaking 'Cobra'. You watch that and wonder what might have been had he lived.
Jake said it best: this sounded more like a list of 'important silent films' (and sorry but I'm not even familiar with 'Chien Andalou' and need to do a quick Google search LOL). Go to sites like Silentera.com, goldensilents.com, or silentsaregolden.com and start to work your way through. You'll find something you'll enjoy, and if you're lucky, like I was, one day you'll find yourself hoping that one day, the missing hours of Von Stroheim's 'Greed' will eventually be discovered. Just have fun and don't worry about "important."
Agree with Jake - this is a list for a film school student, not someone who has learned from 'The Artist' just how entertaining a silent drama can be and wants to see more.
Instead, watch the work of any of the directors that actually influenced Michel Hazanavicius - King Vidor's silent films ('Show People', 'The Crowd', or 'The Big Parade' to name a few), F.W. Murnau's 'Sunrise', Frank Borzage's 'Seventh Heaven', or even something a little more obscure - Frank Urson's 'Chicago' or Pal Fejo's 'Lonesome'.
The silent film fan has never had it better as far as accessibility and availability goes, and I hope 'The Artist' does inspire a lot of people to search them out.
Just not the likes of 'Potemkin'.
I just watched a screener of THE ARTIST, and enjoyed it immensely. I paid special attention to the score -- for obvious reasons, given the lack of dialogue, but also because I had heard it was very good. It was -- especially when the dramatic sequence began of George Valentin's discovery of Peppy's deception, followed by his near-suicide attempt, intercut with Peppy's following him in her car. At this point, the score was suddenly familiar to me; it was, and is, the love theme from Hitchcock's VERTIGO, written, of course, by Bernard Hermann. It wasn't just a little like it -- it was note for note, and used for the entire sequence. I was a little surprised, but figured they just couldn't find anything as good as their temp track, and kept it in. But -- I watched the end credits, and found no mention of the music by Hermann, nor have I seen any mention of it on imdb or anywhere else. Then I read in articles like the one above that they're planning live concerts of the score. Am I missing something? Was the use of this music credited elsewhere, and I just missed it? Has anyone else mentioned this or noticed it? It's one of the most famous film scores of all time, so I'm wondering....
They seem to have chosen music that people will be familiar with for the trailers, none of which are in the movie. The movie has an original score.
Agree with the above: your list skews toward the self-consciously "important." In contrast, the Artist tells the viewer that the best silent films are inviting, all-enveloping, and beautiful. So, in that spirit:
For rom coms, I suggest Marion Davies in "The Patsy" and Mary Pickford in "My Best Girl."
For romance of a different kind: D.W. Griffith's "True Heart Susie" and "A Romance of Happy Valley."
For the Dickensian: Almost any Chaplin, and Pickford in "Sparrows."
For silent movies about the silent movies, try King Vidor's comedy "Show People."
For non-clown comedy, try Lubitsch's "Lady Windemere's Fan" (sad and witty) and his early screwball "So This is Paris."
How about the poetic films of director Von Sjostrom: Lillian Gish in "The Wind" and Lon Chaney in "He Who Gets Slapped"?
For sheer genius, the last reel of Keaton's "Steamboat Bill, Jr."
And how in the world can this list omit the films of Douglas Fairbanks, on whom so much of Dujardin's character is based? For his swashbuckler mode, "The Black Pirate" and "Mark of Zorro," and the visually thrilling "Thief of Bagdad."
And (again, considering the specifics of "The Artist") why not suggest a silent musical? Try "Our Dancing Daughters."
Most of these are on video, dvd, or TCM. And for when those fail, great silents are often shown at art galleries, cinematheques, and small local theaters devoted to the classics.
Nosferatu is a great movie and not boring. Orlock is creepy as sin. I would agree though, that some of the movies listed are nothing at all like The Artist and are more of a list of must see silent movies. A list of seven is much too short however, and would benefit from the titles added by Jake.
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