0004. 9 Great Silent Films Available Now on DVD
Submitted by lbangs on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 09:16
Tags:
- The Battleship Potemkin
- The Birth of a Nation
- Broken Blossoms
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
- City Lights
- The General
- The Gold Rush
- The Kid (currently packaged with A Dog's Life)
- The Passion of Joan of Arc
Author Comments:
I thought this might be a nice corrective to the more modern lists on the site. All 9 films above are fantastic, and it is a shame that silent films are rarely watched today. What a treasure to have these captured on DVD, although we still await several others to find their way to that medium (Napoleon, Sunrise, and The Last Laugh spring to mind).
the general and the gold rush were two movies my older brother had me watch with him many years ago. I enjoyed both of them and when i got to college and took an intro film class I was pleased to see that i had atleast seen two of the many films that we studied. i probably should of thanked my brother for introducing me to two great movies along with helping me to feel somewhat cultured and in the know when i took my film class.
tate
Tate, you are too kind. Some of my favorite movie memories are watching The Gold Rush and King Kong with you for the first time, and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
lbangs,
It's always cool to find someone else who enjoys silent films, and I love the films on this list that I've seen (haven't seen Broken Blossoms or The Kid). I'm sure you're aware of this, but Kino I believe is releasing a cleaned-up print of Metropolis either this month or next. I'm excited about that.
Also, a few silent films I consider great that are on DVD: Nanook of the North, The Lost World, and Haxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages).
Johnny Waco
I dig silent films, and I'm thrilled you do as well. All too few do nowadays. (Boy, do I sound old!)
I need to update this list - it was an early one for me, and I think many more candidates are now on DVD than at the time. Your suggestions are excellent ones!
Reading this again, however, reminds me of how much I miss having Turner Classics on my television, one of the few mass media sources for silents. :(
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Netflix has The Last Laugh on DVD.
Personally, I'd add Metropolis to the list (even though half of it is technically gone forever).
Many moons ago, when I first glued this list together, Metropolis had still yet to see the digital light of day. Time changed, and this list never did...
So sad.
Which is simply a goofy way of nodding. You are right. Metropolis is neck to neck with Potemkin snd The Passion of Joan of Arc as my favorite silent film ever. I just really need to update this list!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Do you think Safety Last! is fantastic enough to make this list? (er, I guess it would have to be renamed, then, but you know...)
It very possibly might. I created this list back when there were far fewer silent films on DVD than there are now. I suspect this list could easily change the number to fifty or so at this point, if not more.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I've really enjoyed the recent Criterion release of the 1927 De Mille King of Kings. Not sure I'd call the film great, but it's overwhelming enough to come close.
You've been threatening to update this list for a long time: time to get biz-zay!!
Johnny Waco
Ugh! You would not believe how busy I have been today. Karazy, I tell ya!
All in due time. :)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs