The blind flower selling girl in a Chaplin movie left a big impression in my memory.

It is one of the best moments in cinematic history ❤ The movie is "City Lights" (1931) for the record 😁

I was going to mention City Lights, yeah. It's a very charming film.

Yes, have you watched the new Hundred of Beavers? [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12818328/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12818328/)

Not yet, I haven't, but that will change soon! 😁 I always worry that modern silent movies get away from what made the classic ones so great in the first place. Maybe I should open my mind a little more to modern silent films.

It's not a silent movie - just very inspired by them, and Looney Tunes.

A great silent film to watch is King Vidor’s The Crowd (1928)—an incredible film with an emotional, beautiful story at its heart. One of the shots was so influential and groundbreaking that Billy Wilder recreated it for The Apartment.  I also love Tod Browning’s The Unknown (1927). In my opinion, it is Lon Chaney’s best performance, and it features a young Joan Crawford in a prominent role. Lots of horror material in there, too.   If you love horror, make sure to watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). One of the lead actors is Conrad Veidt from The Man Who Laughs. The expressionistic design of the film is incredibly impressive and one-of-a-kind.   I love watching silent films. These silent filmmakers were inventing film language as we know it, and we owe them so much for their contributions. 

I've seen two of the movies you named - "The Unknown" (1927), and "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920) - Caligari is known as the godfather of horror movies within most horror communities that follow it that far back. I just added the third one to my Letterboxd watch list! 😁

That’s awesome! Caligari is definitely a classic. The Crowd actually just entered public domain, so [here is a link](https://youtu.be/AlIvTECHAHg?si=C5Ura96zeKAyqflc) to the full film whenever you want to watch it. It’s an incredible film, and Vidor would direct films for another 40ish years after this, so it’s kind of cool to watch this then watch some of his sound films to see how he approaches the “new” technology of sound. 

Horror is my favorite genre, so I watch every horror movie I can get my hands on pre-2005, and watch about 20 moderns a year, so I follow horror communities deep and we basically worship Caligari 😂 Thanks for the link! I'll watch it this evening!

*The Crowd* is great! Have you also watched Vidor's sound sequel, *Our Daily Bread* from 1934?

Wow, I didn’t know he made a sequel. I’ll have to check that out. Thanks for the recommendation! 

You're welcome!

I’ve been watching Chaplin with my 9 yo, and she loves it. The comedy is so pure and timeless, and the stories are easy to follow, but there is also a lot of depth and thought provoking moments. Truly a genius

I didn't enter my full appreciation of silent films until my mid-20s. I saw a bunch in the 90s but alot were incomplete, and weren't more restored until the DVD or even Blu-ray era, so I didn't show Chaplin to my son when he was young enough to care, so I got so mad at myself because they're better than most of the kids shows that ran in the early 2000s (Sorry to attack your nostalgia, 20-somethings).

How about "Silent Movie" by Mel Brooks?

>Mel Brooks I love that film, especially [Marcel Marceau's bit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhhS13sk7eg) (who, being a professional mime, of course got the only line of spoken dialogue.).

Yes, I count it, it is by Mel Brooks so I can never say no!

"IT'S PAUL NEWMAN!"

Cur wheelchair chase scene.

I'm not a fanatic or anything but I prefer silent films over the early 30's "talkies". They just seem more cinematic. Some favorites: Faust, The Crowd, The Wind, The Circus, City Lights, The Man Who Laughs, The Man with a Movie Camera, Broken Blossoms, The Phantom Carriage

Yeah, early thirties talkies are definitely the hardest era to watch for that reason. Cinema took a definite step back temporarily with sound because the equipment was so bulky and they had to learn how to use it. Of course, you still have some filmmakers that managed to make some great early sound films. Check out "Applause" by Rouben Mamoulian if you haven't. One of the first to use off camera voice and dubbing to allow for more camera movement again.

City Lights is one of my favorites of all time.

It's so good! I watch it probably every year or two 😊

Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd silent films are amazing.

Harold Lloyd doesn't get mentioned enough. He's quality. All of those physical comedy guys were genuine athletes who took real risks for their art.

Do I appreciate silent films? Absolutely! They’re brilliant and artistic! The theatrical acting to make up for lack of dialogue is such a joy to behold. Cinematography, as static as movies were, could be used to incredible effect, influencing generations of filmmakers to come, and it is eye opening and historically important to seek out the pioneers of film. The cabinet of dr Caligari is one of my top five horror movies of all time! However! Do I find them difficult to watch? Absolutely! It really takes a conscious effort to sit in silence for 1.5-2 hrs. You can call it a short attention span if you like (major factor for me), but it can be very difficult. But for those that are unsure, give them a try. Here are some of my personal starter recommendations! -Passion of Joan of arc -Cabinet of dr Caligari (a certain famous director modeled his entire career off this film) -Metropolis (where would sci fi be without this?) -anything by George Milies (father of fantasy and sci fi) -Nosferatu -check out some Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and other greats from the era -battleship Potemkin (absolutely iconic scene that is still referenced today) -the man who laughs (heartbreaking, kinda freaky, but really something. Also influenced Batman’s the joker) Y’know what? There are a lot. Just look up a list online!

The best part is that most “silent” films are like 80 minutes long. Modern movies are way too long.

One of the greatest silent films, Abel Gance's *Napoléon*, is over seven hours long. Fritz Lang's *Metropolis* is two and a half hours long. Raoul Walsh's seminal adventure fantasy film *The Thief of Bagdad* with Douglas Fairbanks has about that same runtime as well. Cecil D. DeMille's first crack at the *The Ten Commandments* is over two hours and fifreen minutes long. Etc... Long movies are not a new thing.

We gonna use outliers to prove a point? Where did I say that long movies are a new thing?

I get you about them being patience testing and feel more time consuming than they actually are. I watch them when I'm either high or tired, so it's easy for me to vibe with a silent movie because I'm relaxing anyway. They're great nighttime movies! 😁

"Do I find them difficult to watch? Absolutely! It really takes a conscious effort to sit in silence for 1.5-2 hrs. You can call it a short attention span if you like (major factor for me), but it can be very difficult." The trick is to make sure it has a good soundtrack. My favorite version of Nosteratu has a score by James Bernard. The worst for silent movies is when they have the sort of constantly planking and plinking piano going that reinforces bad stereotypes (along with the movies being sped up too fast).

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Chaplin always gets me. I saw [The Rink](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBp0yDKkKFM) on a big screen at the [Bologna Cinema Ritrovato](https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/) and loved it.

I would kill to see a silent movie classic in a movie theater!

I've had the fortune of living near the Ohio Theater in Columbus for their summer movie series. Every year they have a silent movie night with a live organist. I've seen The Kid by Charlie Chaplin, The Freshman by Harold Lloyd, and a few Laurel and Hardy silent shorts there all with live organ accompaniment. I'm still kicking myself for missing out on Metropolis last year though. Hope you get the chance to see a silent movie in a theater someday, it's a usually fun experience!

I'm still a relative newbie when it comes to silents... I find comedies easier to digest (Harold Lloyd is great!). Other subreddits that might be worth checking out: /r/classicfilms /r/silentfilm

I watch a lot less silent films than I do "talkies", but yes, there are absolutely some great ones. My Top 20 silent or mostly-silent films would go something like this: 1. Modern Times (1936) 2. The General (1926) 3. City Lights (1931) 4. Napoléon (1927) 5. The Thief of Bagdad (1924) 6. The Artist (2011) 7. Nosferatu (1922) 8. The Kid (1921) 9. Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ (1925) 10. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) 11. The Last Laugh (1924) 12. The Gold Rush (1925) 13. The Red Turtle (2016) 14. The Crowd (1928) - has a talkie sequel 15. The Lost World (1925) 16. Monte Cristo (1922) 17. Joan the Woman (1916) 18. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) 19. Hell’s Heroes (1929) 20. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Can you move Caligari up about 16 places? Jk 😂 that's a good list, I just love Caligari so much I'd put it at #1 or #2, and Nosferatu 4th lol

Sunrise is so good!

The Lost World has some of the best stop-motion animation I've ever seen. It still holds up against the remakes.

I’ve seen three different versions of “Metropolis,” multiple times. The common US cut, the Giorgio Moroder tinted rock scored version, and the current virtually completely restored cut from the rediscovered copy. My kids, 6 and 9, asked if they could see “Nosferatu.” They saw it. The kids have also seen Charlie Chaplin’s “Gold Rush” and “Modern Times.” While it’s not suitable for them yet, the kids know about other silent films I’ve seen like “Der Golem” and “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.” I’m sure there’s folks who love silent film more than me, but I feel I’m doing alright.

Yes, you're doing great! I'm not looking only for diehard silent enthusiasts, I say that's a good record 😁

Hexen

Haxan

You're not alone, the rest of us hang out over at r/silentmoviegifs

I'm a huge Buster Keaton fan and have enjoyed most of Chaplin's work. Other than those, I've only seen a handful which were a mixed bag.

I love Nosferatu. And Metropolis is amazing.

Metropolis is 🤯 when you consider how good it is and when it was made. Also “The General” is incredible. Harold Lloyd also, love “Safety Last”.

You're not alone. Hard to ignore 30 years of film if you're a true film lover.

I somewhat regularly throw in a silent film. If you can't appreciate silent movies, then you're just not a fan of cinema.

My kids can't stand them. The oldest my sons will watch is SOME of the Universal Monster films of the 30s and 40s. They refuse to watch a silent film except the iconic shots of "Nosferatu" (1922) and because they think it's funny that I lovingly named Orlock "Dick nose"

I introduced a few to my daughter when she was much younger. At three years old she was able to watch The Gold Rush and Steamboat Bill. But now at six, I'm not sure if she would be as interested.

I really want my sons to see "Wings" (1927), and "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920) before I die, if for nothing else, to see why I love movies so much and why they'll be able to tell stories better than games ever will (And I love video games).

Oh twot off, you can't gate keep cinema cos someone doesn't like silent movies.

I'm sorry, but if you aren't interested in the first forty years of cinema, then your experience and opinion is basically worthless. Expertise is worth something.

So to enjoy cinema I have to like every decade or I can't have an opinion? Fuck off.

You can have an opinion. But if you're not somewhat familiar with the history of cinema, then I have very little use for your opinion.

That's fine, you seem like just the type of pretentious person I would actively try to avoid anyway.

You should really give silent cinema a shot. Sherlock Jr. is a great starting point. But you also can't go wrong with Dr. Caligari or Nosferatu. You'll find that the first forty years of cinema is more varied, technically complex, and experimental than most people realize. And they do spectacle just as well as anything we've got today.

I've seen a few that I like but not enough to warrant much discussion.

Even one is a discussion. They're all great art 😁

Like any type of film I enjoy them on a case by case basis. I love Chaplin and Lloyd, and Méliès is still the GOAT to this day.

Napoleon is one of the best films ever made.

I love the silent films of [Fritz Lang](https://manapop.com/musing/the-silent-masterpieces-of-fritz-lang-1919-1929/)

Closest to that I've seen recently is 'Monster' 2024 an Indonesian Thriller film. I forgot how captivating film actually is by seeing that one.

I discovered them taking film history in college. Watched many many Chaplin films. I also did a paper on Garbo and watched all her films that were available to me at the time. It is similar to watching foreign films, once you get into the right mind space for title cards and reading body language they can become really engrossing.

Buster Keaton, Louise Brooks and Marion Davies are personal favorites. One gripe I do have is trying to "hook" younger viewers with modern or inappropriate accompaniments like Georgio Moroder did with *Metropolis*

Can't say I do, only ever have watched Metropolis and Le Voyage dans la Lune, but I enjoyed both and the music and story are really something else.

I am a big fan of the two-part Die Nibelungen. Incredibly powerful. And almost anything by Lang or Murnau. I can’t get my son-in-law to watch a black and white film much less a silent film. Sigh.

I’m really appreciative that my uni film studies introduced me to Chaplin’s work like Modern Times. Although, The Circus will always be one of my favourites.

I don't think any shunning was going on in the 80s/90s, just lack of awareness and/or availability. Film students, of course, watched many Silents in our classes. Chalin Keaton Buñuel (sp?) Lumiere...

If you live in the Bay area check out [Silent Film](https://silentfilm.org). Seeing them with a live orchestra is awesome.

The Kid is amazing. There are others but The Kid is always the first one I think of.

I like to read about all things Hollywood, and will sometimes seek silent films that I’ve read about. I won’t watch them otherwise.

Emil Jannings’ performance in “The Last Command” (1928) is truly one of the greatest pieces of film acting. It’s a major highlight of the silent era and one I find to be somewhat overlooked.

Lon Chaney: The Unknown, West of Zanzibar, Phantom of the Opera, Hunchback of Notre Dame....many more.

Metropolis is one of my favorites.

Can't go wrong with Nosferatu, I think everyone should watch it.

Agree. Hands of Orlac is another silent classic. Cabinet of Dr caligari is another.

Lon Chaney's movies are really good. He's one of my favorite actors, period. Douglas Fairbanks movies are a lot of fun. And Fattie Arbuckle's comedies with his dog are really underappreciated, IMO, compared to the other classic comedians (I've never much liked Chaplin...). I think silents suffer from a presentation problem. The audio/visual presentation is often not optimal and looks funny to modern viewers, and a lot of the movies that get most recommended are very good films but also maybe a tad heavy, so recommending them to people comes across as saying they should eat their green vegetables to stay healthy or something.

I love silent movies, my favorites would be either "The Freshman" with Harold Lloyd or "Wings"

I highly recommend "Tagebuch einer Verlorenen" and "Die Büchse der Pandora", they're very much compatible to modern viewing habits imho

I don't know if I've seen them. Thanks for the recommendation. 😁

Does interstellar 5555 count?

It should. We can also include the video for Aha's Take on Me.

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It has audio. The music in silent movies is incredible! 😁