Queen Prawn Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Do any of you watch silent movies? I used to watch them all the time, but haven't in a while. Lon Chaney is my favorite silent movie actor (which is why Cagney's 'A Man Of A Thousand Faces' is one of my favorite older movies). As for older movies, ones that I like are William Pratt's (better known as Boris Karloff) 'The Mummy,' Gone With The Wind, Wizard of Oz, Various Disney full length cartoons and movies, All of the Marx brothers movies (Viaduct? Why not a chicken?!), Singing In the Rain, Brigadoon, Yankee Doodle Dandy, West Side Story, Captain Blood, Sea Hawk, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Damn Yankees, The Lou Gehrig Story, Arsenic and Old Lace, Citizen Cane, Casablanca, The Ghose and Mrs. Muir, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Guys and Dolls, various Cecil B. DeMille movies, 12 Angry Men, The Day The Earth Stood Still, The Quiet Man, Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1956 (never have been able to look at a watermelon in quite the same way after seeing this movie), The Music Man, Psycho, Rosemary's Baby, The Sound of Music and To Kill A Mockingbird. I know there are plenty of great ones that have slipped my mind, but what are your favorite Silent Movies/Older Movies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 War of the Worlds is one of my all time favorite movies. I remember being totally rapt by it as a kid. I still watch the movie anytime I see it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 My favorite horror/gothic silent films are: Nosferatu (and DeFoe absolutely nailed max Shreck in Mark of the Vampire) The Cabinat of Dr. Caligari (German Expressionism atg its best) The Lon Chaney Hunchback (1923) The Lon Chaney Phantom (1925 - good avatar FanOf!) Der Golem Metropolis - OK it's sci-fi not horror, but it still rocks. "M" (Metropolis' Director Fritz Lang and Peter Lorrie as a deranged child-killer - what could be more fun?) Non-horror Chaney Sr. favorite: The Unholy Three. If you ever get a chance, see this one. Chaney plays a dual role as a circus sideshow ventriloquist and a little old lady pickpocket/scam artist. It's great to see Chaney's outstanding performance without the tons of makeup that mark many of his other films. Directed by Todd Browning fo Dracula and Freaks fame to boot. Favorite non-horror silent films: Battleship Potempkin The Gold Rush (Chaplin) The General (Keaton) Birth of a Nation (Sure it's off the charts racist, what with the Klan coming to save the day cavelry style, but it's of lasting artistic and historical significance). I appreciate the earliest silent efforts of Lumiere and perticularly Georges Méliès et al., even though in the case of Lumiere's stuff there was not much to the shorts he made other than the fact that, hey! they move! Fave classic sound films: Kane, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale's masterpiece), Casablanca. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted May 3, 2004 Author Share Posted May 3, 2004 Nosferatu (and DeFoe absolutely nailed max Shreck in Mark of the Vampire) Metropolis - OK it's sci-fi not horror, but it still rocks. Non-horror Chaney Sr. favorite: The Unholy Three. If you ever get a chance, see this one. Chaney plays a dual role as a circus sideshow ventriloquist and a little old lady pickpocket/scam artist. Nosferatu! I have the 1970's remake and yes, I saw the remake with Defoe and he definitely hit the nail on the head. As for the Lon Chaney movie you mentioned, I have wanted to see that - they covered bits of that movie in 'Man of a Thousand Faces.' I have seen 'Birth of a Nation' as well and agree with your comments. There is another one that I have been trying to remember the name of and can't - from what I can remember, it's early 1900s (maybe even late 1890s) and it shows a moon and a landing (in the eye of the moon no less) and such. Does anyone remember the name by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wong & Owens Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I honestly don't like silent movies, or most pre-1960's "talkies" One of my favorite movies, however, is a oldie -- North by Northwest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 There is another one that I have been trying to remember the name of and can't - from what I can remember, it's early 1900s (maybe even late 1890s) and it shows a moon and a landing (in the eye of the moon no less) and such. Does anyone remember the name by any chance? Yeah, that's a "Trip to the Moon" aka From Earth to the Moon, by Director Georges Méliès I had sent props out to earlier. It's based on Jules Verne's novel From Earth to the Moon and I've lost count of the number of times I have ssen that image of the moon face co-opted in pop culture, in videos, ads, etc. I think the film was 1914 but I could be wrong. That 1970s Nosferatu remake with Klaus Kinski as the Vampyr was very good. My wife got me an import DVD of the Murneau original (with an added selectable organ track of the score originally written for the theatrical release) last Christmas. As much as I love Nosferatu and should love Murneau's masterpiece the American-made "Sunrise," I really do not like that as much as a lot of other early cinema. Brando can probably tell me what I missed in that one but it never quite did it for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I honestly don't like silent movies, or most pre-1960's "talkies" One of my favorite movies, however, is a oldie -- North by Northwest. North by Northwest is indeed a classic, one of my favorite Hitch flicks. But give some of the other stuff a chance. If you haven't seen Casablanca, or haven't seen it lately, rent it and give it a shake. It still stands up as some of the tightest stoytelling ever out of Hollywood. Later films like Raiders of the Lost Ark simply would not exist if not for Casablanca. The film becomes that much more momentous when you realise how contemporary it was - it came out in late 1942 and its subject matter is the still very real threat of Nazi Germany overrunning Europe. Max Steiner score, a hundred quotable lines. Give it a shot. And that 18 year old Ingrid Bergman.... wow, what a tall drink of water (he says in his best Jimmy Stewart impression). I think in that film she was the most beautiful human being ever put on celluloid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moochpuppy Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 War of the Worlds is one of my all time favorite movies. I remember being totally rapt by it as a kid. I still watch the movie anytime I see it on. This movie is going to be remade by Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise is to star. I think it's supposed to be released late 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 This movie is going to be remade by Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise is to star. I think it's supposed to be released late 2005. OMG you are kidding? That will be AWESOME!!! It would have been nice if it wasn't Tom Cruise, but Spielberg is a great choice for director. Damn I can't wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 "Sherlock Junior" is an awesome silent movie. I enjoy Buster Keaton movies more then Chaplin, but that is just me. As for older movies, I like the Hitchcock stuff. Obviously "Vertigo", Kim Novak YOWZAS, and "Psycho" are up there along with "Stranger on A Train" and "North by Northwest." Then others like "Easy Rider", "The Graduate", and "The Maltese Falcon." There are other movies from back in the day I did not like at all that others adore. Like "Midnight Cowboy." That is what is so great about movies, everyone has their own opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 OMG you are kidding? That will be AWESOME!!! It would have been nice if it wasn't Tom Cruise, but Spielberg is a great choice for director. Damn I can't wait. What's wrong with Cruise, especially in a Spielberg movie? "Minority Report" was my fav movie of the year it came out...2002? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 What's wrong with Cruise, especially in a Spielberg movie? "Minority Report" was my fav movie of the year it came out...2002? I just don't see him fitting the roll. JMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldmember Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 OMG you are kidding? That will be AWESOME!!! It would have been nice if it wasn't Tom Cruise, but Spielberg is a great choice for director. Damn I can't wait. http://movies.go.com/movies/W/waroftheworlds_2005/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Birth of a Nation (Sure it's off the charts racist, what with the Klan coming to save the day cavelry style, but it's of lasting artistic and historical significance). it was made by a benign, "good-intentioned" racist (if highly skilled) filmmaker who catered to the audience taste of his day; I don't need to tell you how Blacks were viewed in that era. Topic? Kane Dr. Strangelove Manchurian Candidate Sunset Boulevard Psycho And the usual suspect foreign and silent flick oeuoeuouvre. I am predictable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 And that 18 year old Ingrid Bergman She was 27. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 She was 27. Then I don't feel so seedy in thinking she was georgeous. So what was it about Murnau's Sunrise that I missed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippedoutpunk Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Metropolis - OK it's sci-fi not horror, but it still rocks. one of the first movies i got for my DVD collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Then I don't feel so seedy in thinking she was georgeous. Hey now, I thought the cut off age for the mental stuff was 16. Damn, gotta get Amy Rossum outta me head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Old movies, huh? 3 Ninjas takes me back..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KipWellsFan Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 The Day the Earth Stood Still!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiff Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 it was made by a benign, "good-intentioned" racist (if highly skilled) filmmaker who catered to the audience taste of his day; I don't need to tell you how Blacks were viewed in that era. Topic? Kane Dr. Strangelove Manchurian Candidate Sunset Boulevard Psycho And the usual suspect foreign and silent flick oeuoeuouvre. I am predictable. You gotta have the right sense of humor to like Dr. Strangelove, because the satire is so dry, most people get bored with the lack of slapstick humor. I love it though, it's an awesome movie. Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Colonel... that Coca-Cola machine. I want you to shoot the lock off it. There may be some change in there. Colonel "Bat" Guano: That's private property. Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Colonel! Can you possibly imagine what is going to happen to you, your frame, outlook, way of life, and everything, when they learn that you have obstructed a telephone call to the President of the United States? Can you imagine? Shoot it off! Shoot! With a gun! That's what the bullets are for, you twit! Colonel "Bat" Guano: Okay. I'm gonna get your money for ya. But if you don't get the President of the United States on that phone, you know what's gonna happen to you? Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: What? Colonel "Bat" Guano: You're gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 You gotta have the right sense of humor to like Dr. Strangelove, because the satire is so dry, most people get bored with the lack of slapstick humor. I love it though, it's an awesome movie. QUOTE Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Colonel... that Coca-Cola machine. I want you to shoot the lock off it. There may be some change in there. Colonel "Bat" Guano: That's private property. Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Colonel! Can you possibly imagine what is going to happen to you, your frame, outlook, way of life, and everything, when they learn that you have obstructed a telephone call to the President of the United States? Can you imagine? Shoot it off! Shoot! With a gun! That's what the bullets are for, you twit! Colonel "Bat" Guano: Okay. I'm gonna get your money for ya. But if you don't get the President of the United States on that phone, you know what's gonna happen to you? Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: What? Colonel "Bat" Guano: You're gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola company. What a movie. From Peter Sellers to George C. Scott to Sterling Hayden and that hilarious dude playing the Head Soviet Diplomat.....Kubrich....Vera Lynn's closing "We Meet Again".....pretty close to perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.