A Beginner's Guide to Silent Cinema 

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To anyone who enjoys "Nosferatu" I would highly recommend "Faust" which is also by F. W. Murnau, about a man making a pact with the devil.

Silent films are wonderful. So much depends on the skills of the actors, camera men, directors, etc.. They are truly an art form that has come to us by the efforts of many people with extradentary vision. A humble beginning accelerated to climatic popularity that continues to live on! Thank you for sharing these pieces of silent film history with us.

Metropolis is amazing and i also love the golem from 1920

Looking at those old movies are true time travelling events. People are smaller and look different (than a current Hollywood actor), their clothes are made of different materials and less neat, customs/culture is different in subtle ways (like the 'Herr Kommissar' pronountiation in Fritz Lang's "M") or how people look and talk to each other), and many many other differences. Also the searching and experimenting is interesting to watch, in particular when considering their technical limitations. Great suggestions in this beginner's guide!

Great guide. Personally, I consider "The Passion of Joan of Arc" as the best drama film of all time. C.T. Dreyer was simply a genius and his filmography is flawless. Another one I really love is Erich Von Stroheim's "Greed", but I'm aware of how difficult it is to watch today, so it's something I would recommend to someone who has already seen a bunch of silent films. Victor Sjöström's "The Wind" is also an awesome and timeless movie.

Bravo. A very well-done intro to a subject that many younger cinema fans have a hard time getting their head around. One quibble: I'd say the best Keaton to start with would be one of the shorts, as they are very compact and hilariously funny. The General is a masterwork, but people who aren't versed in silent film will think it slower. Also, I've found that Keaton is in general a better intro to silent comedy than even Chaplin. Chaplin was a comic genius, but he could be over-sentimental for modern tastes. Keaton's deadpan is so complete it works as well today as it did in 1922. And minute by minute, there are more laughs in a Keaton short, I'd say. But that's one man's opinion. You've done a great job. Let's have more.

Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans is amazing.

i have only seen three silent films but have loved them all: pandora's box 1929, meshes of the afternoon 1943, and a page of madness 1926

As a former cinema student, I loved this! Just have to correct something that is not very public known: the real inventor of the camera was Louis Le Prince, who mysteriously disappeared before he presented it. Of course Edison, has he did best, later presented it as his invention. He was the one that made the first "videos" in history. The most famous one being of his family walking around in circles which I think is available here on YT. His family is still out there and I think they have the original plans.

The Last Laugh, Murnau.. and introducing the unchained camera

Awesome guide, mentioning some really iconic and important silent films that are very much a no brainer recommendations. I especially love how briefly you manage to talk about this much history of different directors and filmmakers and their cinematography, without it feeling weird or jarring. Very thorough yet concise.

My favourite silent film is the lodger (1929)

I tried watching the Crowd and had never seen any other silent film. I thought the filmmaking was brilliant and the messages were still important to this day, but I couldn’t stay interested in the story. Maybe I’ll watch these and come back to it and see if my perspective changes.

A few years ago, I told three co-workers over lunch that I was really into silent movies. They stared at me like I'd just said I eat live ants. One of them said, "I think I'd rather stab my eyes out." Sigh. Anyway, I loved them from the first moment I saw one ("Nosferatu," I think) when I was a teenager. I never had any difficulty with finding them aesthetically accessible. Their "strangeness" was (and still is) one of the things I enjoyed.

This is great. Thanks for the work.

Thanks for sharing this list. Awesome.

Thanks for the work you put into making this video. Much appreciated.

This is the video that made me subscribe, but even moreso your interest in doing history for various countries' cinema

Excellent choices!

00:24 We didn't need dialogue. We had faces.

Thanks for the smile back on Chaplin's work.

Very synthetic still comprehensive overview. My channel is about silent comedy films so I can only love it! A suggestion: a beginner's guide to western movies.

Nice video, can tell you put a lot of work into this!

I was fortunate to have been well exposed to silent movies when I was very young. During the same year I was in kindergarten, my parents were able to buy a set of Charlie Chaplin's silent short films that we'd watch on the weekends. Of course in those long ago days that meant setting up the home film projector and the movie screen we had to watch our home movies. I think silent films, especially comedies, are an excellent genre for young kids around five years old to begin watching in an analytical way. Each film is around 20 minutes long, which a youngster can readily focus on without getting bored. And smart kids will easily see the recurring themes and techniques the filmmakers used to produce their works!

I been thinking of narrating some silent film movies on Facebook in a watch party what was going to do Alice in wonderland and a few micky mouse short film what do you think of this idea ?

Good job

My favourite silent films are :- 1. Nosferatu. 2. Un chien andalou. 3.the lodger. 4. The cabinet of Dr caligari. 5. The phantom carriage.

Would you be interested in doing "a introduction to British cinema"

Thank you

nice!

Have you ever seen the silent film Napoleon(1927)?

would like to add to your beginner's series a video on german expressionism?

I watched this video with no sound on,is it a good start?

Gloria Swanson made alot of them too

interesting sum up

Your channel has inspired me thank you 😊 📽🎬◼⬜🖲🧠

The Trick Cyclist is clearly my favourite.

Interesting video, I have never watched a Silent film but would love to, what silent film would you recommend?

If you ever do a Portuguese movie video i'll be glad to help kiu the good work!

8:39 mamamammamaamma MAN RAY!

Metropolis (Fritz Lang) is well worth the view and deserves the accolades. But that is coming from an older person. I can see a "gamer" or someone raised on the quick change of scene and soaring sound track of modern films finding it tedious. On the comedy front start not with the obvious choice of the cinephiles and chattering class (Chaplin) but Keaton and Lloyd and Arbuckle. Chaplin is pathos and sentiment and subtle and often not so subtle political message. The others just want you to enjoy yourself and laugh though not without pathos too.

3:58

You didn't put any Italian film. Cabiria (1914) A classic

1.5x 🙌

Most 'silents' of the 20s, 30s and 40s were remade by the CIA MKUltra team... in the 50s.

NEVER FOUND THE HUMOUR IN CHAPLIN FILMS. GIVE ME VALENTINO ANY DAY!

Fatty Arbuckle best

Shuuush