A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood. I firmly believe that this film has stood the test of time and remains on this list because it is a near perfect look and commentary on what happened during the transition from silent … Continue reading 5. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically. Okay. I’m going to be completely honest: I have not been able to figure out why this particular Charlie Chaplin film is this high on the list. The reason can’t merely be that Chaplin decided … Continue reading 11. City Lights (1931)
After being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines. You know what’s funny? Every single synopsis that I’ve read for Buster Keaton’s 1926 film The General has put emphasis on the civil war aspect of the film. And, … Continue reading 18. The General (1926)
Recently, I showed my boyfriend the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a film often considered one of the first horror films from the 1920s. It’s filled with loads of German Expressionism and your girl loves German Expressionism. He really enjoyed the film (thank goodness), and we got to talking about remakes. We started discussing who we would cast in a remake of this film. … Continue reading A Recasting of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
I have made the decision to not watch this film. I understand why it is on this list, however I cannot bring myself to watch it. And that’s not just because it’s a three hour and seventeen-minute silent film. Intolerance was DW Griffith’s response to the backlash he received about his film Birth of a Nation, a film that is terribly racist and needs to … Continue reading 49. Intolerance (1916)
“A prospector goes to the Klondike in search of gold and finds it and more.” This is, I think, the third time I’ve seen this film. The only version I could find this time was a version that had music and narration added by Charlie Chaplin. Now, for those of you that have been with me for a while, one of the things you may … Continue reading 58. The Gold Rush (1925)
“The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.” Now, I have this bad habit of falling asleep during ANY SILENT FILM EVER. It’s not because I’m bored. It’s not because I’m not enjoying myself. I honestly don’t know what it is about silent films that make me sleepy. And, although I dozed off for, roughly, ten … Continue reading 78. Modern Times (1936)
