Putting this final collage together, to do the podcasts individually is a triumph in itself. With every ‘cast, we as hosts have gotten better and have gained more confidence and knowledge of the subject matter while discussing the topics of the films, especially if we hadn’t known prior. To see a majority of our discussed silents come together such as this really puts into perspective what great and controversial films were written and created in the Silent Era’s time; how they have shaped the future of the current film industry we as visual consumers can watch instantaneously and daily.
Netflix, Paramount, Miramax, FOX, Disney, Warner Bros., MGM – none of these conglomerates would exist without a strange contraption of a box filled with lenses, cogs and wheels rotating round and around.
In a roundabout way, as much as we’ve enjoyed (a majority) of these silent films, I doubt there to be a handful of “movie buffs” or casual viewers willing to watch a Silent.
Because … well … they’re primitive! And aren’t they silent?
If you’ve followed along with our podcast since our first introduction, Silents clearly are not just silent – they were never meant to be that way without musical scores. A Silent film is in a category all its own (obviously). They have a quiet heart that beats strong and can be recognized through the eyes of the patron as having a certain quality, discernable no matter what country or language the silent film was created.
A Silent film is a visual experience.
A Silent film had to be captivating.
As one of the host’s, I’m willing to admit some of these were hard to watch. It felt like clenching teeth and pulling hair while viewing several of them. Curiously though, as much as I disliked this film or that one, I do not forget them.
I do not forget them because they are beyond forgetting since they weren’t my cup of tea or they were simply terrible.
I don’t forget them because of the power they had created to draw the movie goer to the screen with an almost inability to look away, even briefly, even if the moments on screen sent chills down my spine.
Because you might miss something important.
These days we use television and our favorite movies as white noise in the background while we scroll on our phones or work on a last-minute deadline. We are able to do this because of synchronized sound – thanks Talkies!
But with silent movies such as The Gaucho or Where Are My Children?, a “Western” and a “Drama” piece I would call them, your aloof gaze of the screen cannot waver even momentarily. Everything is important to the story: the character’s dress, the time and space, the motivation of certain protagonists and their rivals.
True, you might be cued to raise your head while not paying attention to the sudden sound of cymbals and trumpets, but you certainly didn’t catch why exactly those sounds occurred.
Which takes me back to the importance of silent films.
Los Angeles and Hollywood really came to be thanks to those filmmakers out in Fort Lee, New Jersey sick of the clouds and needing those extra few hours of sunlight to keep filming.
A big portion of American culture has been steeped and represented in our early film reels, and I believe a big reason we have such an expansive collaborative community of filmmakers is due to people like Georges Méliès, Alice Guy and Thomas Edison (even if he was a pain in the rear!) willing to take a chance on something out-of-the-ordinary.
Filmmaking became more than just a fad, it became the ultimate staple to attest time.
Maybe not all silent films, but the progression of silents in the mid to late 20s produced some of the best films I’ve watched in a while–being that I haven’t really watched many current films within the last few years of doing this podcast. But I’ll still recommend them.
Know about Nosferatu? Right. That old vampire movie. But have you seen it?
Douglas Fairbanks . . . yeah, I’ve heard of him. Did you know how he got his start? No?
So where does that leave us, the hosts moving on with our lives and the silents still out there waiting to be watched?
We don’t know the future ourselves, but another season of discussions will never be out of the question.
Who knows? Maybe we’ll just be kicking back on a Friday evening to watch something “new” from Harold Lloyd pop up on our YouTube recommendations.
That written, there’s still hundreds of silent films waiting to be watched right now.
Those old films of the past are completely new to me.
Watching Silent Films 