Scene from the 1921 Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, one of the highest-grossing silent films. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1921 Silent movie produced by Metro Pictures Corporation, directed by Rex Ingram and starring

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. Sound' is Vibration transmitted through a Solid, Liquid, or Gas; particularly sound means those vibrations composed of Frequencies A dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog) is a reciprocal Conversation between two or more entities.

The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, most films were silent before the late 1920s. Sound' is Vibration transmitted through a Solid, Liquid, or Gas; particularly sound means those vibrations composed of Frequencies

The silent film era is sometimes referred to as the "Age of the Silver Screen".

History

Roundhay Garden Scene 1888, the first film recorded. Roundhay Garden Scene is an 1888 Short film directed by French inventor Louis Le Prince.

Main article: History of film

The first film was created by Louis Le Prince in 1888. The history of film spans over a hundred years from the latter part of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st century. Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (born 28 August 1842 vanished 16 September 1890 was an inventor who is considered by many film historians as the true father of motion pictures who It was a two second film of people walking around in Oakwood Grange garden, titled Roundhay Garden Scene. Roundhay Garden Scene is an 1888 Short film directed by French inventor Louis Le Prince.

The art of motion pictures grew into full maturity in the "silent era" before silent films were replaced by "talking pictures" in the late 1920s. A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image as opposed to a Silent film. Many film scholars and buffs argue that the aesthetic quality of cinema decreased for several years until directors, actors and production staff adapted to the new "talkies".

The visual quality of silent movies — especially those produced during the 1920s — was often extremely high. However, there is a widely held misconception that these films were primitive and barely watchable by modern standards. This misconception is due to technical errors (such as films being played back at wrong speed) and due to the deteriorated condition of many silent films (many silent films exist only in second or even third generation copies which were often copied from already damaged and neglected film stock).

Intertitles

Main article: Intertitle

Because silent films had no synchronized sound for dialogue, onscreen intertitles were used to narrate story points, present key dialogue and sometimes even comment on the action for the cinema audience. In Motion pictures an intertitle (also known as a title card) is a piece of filmed printed text edited into the midst of (i Cinemaaustraliajpg|thumb|A movie theater in Australia ]]A movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre or cinema is a venue The title writer became a key professional in silent film and was often separate from the scenario writer who created the story. Intertitles (or titles as they were generally called at the time) often became graphic elements themselves, featuring illustrations or abstract decorations that commented on the action.

Live music and sound

Showings of silent films almost always featured live music, starting with the pianist at the first public projection of movies by the Lumière Brothers on December 28, 1895 in Paris. Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city ^[1] From the beginning, music was recognized as essential, contributing to the atmosphere and giving the audience vital emotional cues (musicians sometimes played on film sets during shooting for similar reasons). Small town and neighborhood movie theaters usually had a pianist. A pianist (/'piənɪst/ is a Musician who plays the Piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces play with an ensemble or Orchestra From the mid-teens onward, large city theaters tended to have organists or entire orchestras. The organ (from Greek όργανον – organon "organ instrument tool" is a Keyboard instrument of one or more divisions each An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well Massive theatrical organs such as the famous "mighty Wurlitzer" could simulate some orchestral sounds along with a number of sound effects. The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, is an American company formerly a producer of stringed instruments woodwind brass instruments For the album by The Jam see Sound Affects. Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced Sounds

The scores for silents were often more or less improvised early in the medium's history. Improvisation (also called extemporization) is the practice of acting singing talking and reacting of making and creating in the moment and in response to the stimulus of Once full features became commonplace, however, music was compiled from photoplay music by the pianist, organist, orchestra conductor or the movie studio itself, which would send out a cue sheet with the film. Photoplay music is the term given to music written specifically for the accompaniment of Silent films. A movie studio (aka film studio) is in the established sense of the term a company that distributes films. Starting with mostly original score composed by Joseph Carl Breil for D.W. Griffith's groundbreaking epic The Birth of a Nation (USA, 1915) it became relatively common for films to arrive at the exhibiting theater with original, specially composed scores. A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film Joseph Carl Breil ( 29 June 1870, Pittsburgh - 24 January 1926, Los Angeles) composed the scores for early motion picture David Llewelyn Wark "D W" Griffith (January 22 1875 &ndash July 23 1948 was a premier pioneering Academy Award -winning American Film director. The Birth of a Nation (also known as The Clansman) a Silent film directed by D ^[2]

By the height of the silent era, movies were the single largest source of employment for instrumental musicians (at least in America). But the introduction of talkies, which happened simultaneously with the onset of the Great Depression, was devastating to many musicians.

Some countries devised other ways of bringing sound to silent films. The early cinema of Brazil featured fitas cantatas: filmed operettas with singers performing behind the screen. Brazilian cinema has more recently sparked attention overseas thanks to the success of films like Central Station ( Central do Brasil) and Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter ^[3] In Japan, films had not only live music but also the benshi, a live narrator who provided commentary and character voices. The cinema of Japan (日本映画 Benshi (弁士 in Japanese) or Katsudō-Benshi (活動弁士 were Japanese performers who provided live narration for Silent films The benshi became a central element in Japanese film form, as well as providing translation for foreign (mostly American) movies. ^[4] Their popularity was one reason why silents persisted well into the 1930s in Japan.

Few film scores have survived intact from this period, and musicologists are still confronted by questions in attempting a precise reconstruction of those which remain. Scores can be distinguished as complete reconstructions of composed scores, newly composed for the occasion, assembled from already existing music libraries, or even improvised.

Critical in the development of the silent score is the theater organ designed to fill a gap between a simple piano soloist and a larger orchestra. A theatre organ is a Pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra but in latter years new designs have tended to be around some of the sounds and Theater organs had a wide range of special effects, and used actual percussion.

Interest in the scoring of silent films fell somewhat out of fashion during the 1960s and 1970s. There was a belief current in many college film programs and repertory cinemas that audiences should experience silent film as a pure visual medium, undistracted by music. This belief may have been encouraged by the poor quality of the music tracks found on many silent film reprints of the time. More recently, there has been a revival of interest in presenting silent films with quality musical scores, either reworkings of period scores or cue sheets, or composition of appropriate original scores. A watershed event in this context was Francis Ford Coppola's 1980 restoration of Abel Gance's Napoleon (1927) with a live orchestral score composed by his father Carmine Coppola. Francis Ford "Frank" Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award -winning American Film director, Abel Gance (25 October 1889 - 10 November 1981 was a French Film director, producer, Writer, Actor and editor best

Notable current specialists in the art of arranging and performing silent film scores include Steven Ball (of Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater); Rosa Rio (organist at the Brooklyn Fox during the silent era and now at the Tampa Theater), Ben Model, Neil Brand, Phillip C. Neil Brand (born March 18 1958) is a British Writer, Composer, and a renowned silent film Accompanist. Carli, Jon Mirsalis, Dennis James and Donald Sosin. Dennis James is an American musician who according to Carl Bennett has played "a pivotal role in the international revival of silent films presented with live music Carl Davis has created entirely new scores for silent era classics. Carl Davis CBE (born October 28, 1936, New York City, United States is an American conductor and Composer who has Robert Israel has written new scores for the comedies of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton ( October 4 1895 &ndash February 1 1966) was an Academy Award -winning American Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr ( April 20, 1893 &ndash March 8, 1971) was an American Film actor and producer In addition to composing original film scores Timothy Brock has restored many of Charlie Chaplin's scores. Timothy Brock (born 1963 is an American composer and conductor specializing in concert works of the early 20th century and silent film Some ensemble groups have specialized in accompanying silent films, including Silent Orchestra, Alloy Orchestra and the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

Acting techniques

Lillian Gish was a major star of the silent era and continued to promote the art of silent films until her death. Lillian Diana Gish ( October 14 1893 – February 27 1993) was an American stage screen and television actress whose

Silent film actors emphasized body language and facial expression so that the audience could better understand what an actor was feeling and portraying on screen. Body language is a term for Communication using Body movements or Gestures instead of or in addition to sounds verbal language or other communication A facial expression results from one or more motions or positions of the Muscles of the Face.

Much silent film acting is apt to strike modern-day audiences as simplistic or campy. For this reason, silent comedies tend to be more popular in the modern era than drama, partly because overacting is more natural in comedy. Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and

The melodramatic acting style was in some cases a habit actors transferred from their former stage experience. The pervading presence of stage actors in film was the cause of this outburst from director Marshall Neilan in 1917: "The sooner the stage people who have come into pictures get out, the better for the pictures. Marshall Ambrose Neilan ( April 11, 1891 - October 27, 1958) was an important pioneer Motion picture Actor, Screenwriter " In other cases, directors such as John Griffith Wray required their actors to deliver larger-than-life expressions for emphasis. As early as 1914, American viewers had begun to make known their preference for greater naturalness on screen. In any case, the large image size and unprecedented intimacy the actor enjoyed with the audience began to affect acting style, making for more subtlety of expression. Actresses such as Mary Pickford in all her films, Eleanora Duse in the Italian film Cenere (1916), Janet Gaynor in Sunrise, Priscilla Dean in The Dice Woman and Lillian Gish in most of her performances made restraint and easy naturalism in acting a virtue. Mary Pickford ( April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979) was an Academy Award -winning Canadian motion picture Eleonora Duse ( October 3, 1858 &ndash April 21, 1924) was an Italian actress often known simply as Duse. Janet Gaynor ( October 6, 1906 &ndash September 14, 1984) was an American actress. Sunrise A Song of Two Humans (also known as Sunrise) is an American Film from 1927 directed by F Priscilla Dean ( November 25, 1896 - December 27, 1987) was an American Actress popular in movies as well as in theatre Lillian Diana Gish ( October 14 1893 – February 27 1993) was an American stage screen and television actress whose Directors such as Albert Capellani (a French import who directed several Alla Nazimova films) and Maurice Tourneur insisted on naturalism in their films; Tourneur had been just such a minimalist in his prior stage productions. Alla Nazimova (Алла Назимова born Mariam Edez Adelaida Leventon (Мириам Эдес Аделаида Левентон May 22, 1879 Many mid-20s American silent films were quite thoughtfully acted, though as late as 1927 such patently overacted movies as Metropolis were still being released. Metropolis is a silent Science fiction film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and Thea von Harbou. Some viewers liked the flamboyant acting for its escape value, and some countries were later than the United States in embracing naturalness in their films. Just like today, a film's success depended upon the setting, the mood, the script, the skills of the director and the overall talent of the cast. ^[5]

Projection speed

Up until around 1925, most silent films were shot at slower speeds (or "frame rates") than sound films, typically at 16 to 23 frames per second depending on the year and studio, rather than 24 frames per second. Unless carefully shown at their original speeds they can appear unnaturally fast and jerky, which reinforces their alien appearance to modern viewers. At the same time, some scenes were intentionally undercranked during shooting in order to accelerate the action, particularly in the case of slapstick comedies. Time-lapse photography is a Cinematography technique whereby each Film frame is captured at a rate much slower than it will be played back Slapstick is a type of Comedy involving exaggerated physical violence or activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense such as a character being hit in the face with The intended frame rate of a silent film can be ambiguous and since they were usually hand cranked there can even be variation within one film. Film speed is often a vexed issue among scholars and film buffs in the presentation of silents today, especially when it comes to DVD releases of "restored" films; the 2002 restoration of Metropolis (Germany, 1927) may be the most fiercely debated example. The film preservation, or film restoration, movement is an ongoing project among film historians archivists Museums and Non-profit organizations to rescue Metropolis is a silent Science fiction film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and Thea von Harbou.

Projectionists frequently showed silent films at speeds which were slightly faster than the rate at which they were shot. Most films seem to have been shown at 18 frame/s or higher - some even faster than what would become sound film speed (24 frame/s). Even if shot at 16 frame/s (often cited as "silent speed"), the projection of a nitrate base 35 mm film at such a slow speed carried a considerable risk of fire. Often projectionists would receive instructions from the distributors as to how fast particular reels or scenes should be projected on the musical director's cue sheet. Theaters also sometimes varied their projection speeds depending on the time of day or popularity of a film in order to maximize profit. ^[6]

Top grossing silent films

Scene from Birth of a Nation.

The following are the films that earned the highest ever gross income in film history, according to Variety magazine in 1932. Variety is a weekly entertainment trade newspaper founded in New York in 1905 by Sime Silverman The dollar amounts are not adjusted for inflation, and the values were calculated in 1932. ^[7]

1. The Birth of a Nation (1915) - $10,000,000
2. The Big Parade (1925) - $6,400,000
3. Ben-Hur (1925) - $5,500,000
4. Way Down East (1920) - $5,000,000
5. The Gold Rush (1925) - $4,250,000
6. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) - $4,000,000
7. The Circus (1928) - $3,800,000
8. The Covered Wagon (1923) - $3,800,000
9. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) - $3,500,000
10. The Ten Commandments (1923) - $3,400,000
11. Orphans of the Storm (1921) - $3,000,000
12. For Heaven's Sake (1926) - $2,600,000
13. Seventh Heaven (1926) - $2,400,000
14. Abie's Irish Rose (1928) - $1,500,000

Silent films in the sound era

Silent gives way to sound

Although attempts to create sync-sound motion pictures go back to the Edison lab in 1896, the technology became well-developed only in the early 1920s. The Birth of a Nation (also known as The Clansman) a Silent film directed by D The Big Parade is a 1925 Silent film which tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the Army and is sent to France to fight in Ben-Hur was a 1925 Silent film directed by Fred Niblo. It was a blockbuster hit for newly merged Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Way Down East ( 1920) is a American Drama Silent film directed by D The Gold Rush is a 1925 Silent film comedy written directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin in his Little Tramp The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1921 Silent movie produced by Metro Pictures Corporation, directed by Rex Ingram and starring The Circus is a 1928 silent Film which finds Charlie Chaplin 's Little Tramp character being chased by a police officer at a Circus The Covered Wagon ( 1923) is a American silent Western Feature film released by Paramount Pictures The 1923 film version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Lon Chaney as Quasimodo and Patsy Ruth Miller as Esmeralda The Ten Commandments is a 1923 epic Silent film directed by Cecil B Orphans of the Storm is a 1921 film by DW Griffith set in late 18th century France, before and during the French Revolution For Heaven's Sake is a 1926 comedy Silent film starring Harold Lloyd. For other uses see Seventh Heaven (disambiguation. Seventh Heaven ( 1927) is a Silent film and one Abie's Irish Rose is a Broadway Comedy play by Anne Nichols about an Irish Catholic girl who marries a young Jewish The next few years saw a race to design, implement, and market several rival sound-on-disc and sound-on-film sound formats. The term Sound-on-disc refers to a class of Sound film processes utilizing a Phonograph or other disc to record or playback Sound in sync with a motion Sound-on-film refers to a class of Sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film usually but not always the same Although The Jazz Singer's release in 1927 marked the first commercially successful sound film, silent films formed the majority of features produced in both 1927 and 1928. The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American Musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized Dialogue Thus the modern sound film era may be regarded as coming to dominance beginning in 1929.

Silent films in the early sound era

For a listing of notable silent era films, see list of years in film for the years between the beginning of film and 1928. This list of years in film indexes the individual year The following list includes only films produced in the sound era with the specific artistic intention of being silent.

• The Docks of New York, Josef von Sternberg, 1929
• Diary of a Lost Girl, GW Pabst, 1929
• Pandora's Box, GW Pabst, 1929
• Man with a Movie Camera, Dziga Vertov, 1929
• Earth, Aleksandr Dovzhenko, 1930
• Love Is Strength, Mikio Naruse, 1930
• City Lights, Charlie Chaplin, 1931
• Tabu, F. W. Murnau, Robert Flaherty, 1931
• I Was Born, But..., Yasujiro Ozu, 1932
• A Story of Floating Weeds, Yasujiro Ozu, 1934
• Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin, 1936

Later homages

Several filmmakers have paid homage to the comedies of the silent era, including Jacques Tati with his Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953) and Mel Brooks with Silent Movie (1976). The Docks of New York ( 1928) is a Silent film starring George Bancroft, Betty Compson, Olga Baclanova, Clyde Cook Josef von Sternberg aka Jonas Sternberg ( 29 May 1894, Vienna, Austria &ndash 22 December 1969, Los Diary of a Lost Girl ( Tagebuch einer Verlorenen) is a 1929 Silent film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. Georg Wilhelm Pabst ( August 25, 1885 - May 29, 1967) was an Austrian Film director. For the Greek myth see Pandora. For other uses see Pandora (disambiguation and Pandora's box (disambiguation Pandora's Georg Wilhelm Pabst ( August 25, 1885 - May 29, 1967) was an Austrian Film director. For the TV-series see Man with a Camera. ---- Man with a Movie Camera, sometimes The Man with the Movie Camera, Dziga Vertov (Дзига Вертов Дзиґа Вертов January 15, 1896 &ndash February 12, 1954) was a Soviet pioneer Earth ( Russian and Земля translit Zemlya literally translated "Soil" ( 1930) is a Soviet film by Alexander Petrovych Dovzhenko (Олександр Петрович Довженко Oleksandr; Александр Петрович Довженко Aleksandr Petrovich is a 1930 Japanese Drama film directed by Mikio Naruse and written by Takao Yanai. was a Japanese Film director, Writer and producer who directed some 89 films spanning from the end of the silent era (1930 through the sixties (1967 This article refers to the Charlie Chaplin film For other uses see City Lights (disambiguation City Lights is a 1931 English Tabu (also called Tabu a Story of the South Seas) is a 1931 film which tells the story of two lovers in the South Seas who must escape their Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, better known as F W Murnau ( December 28, 1888 &ndash March 11, 1931) was one of the most influential Robert Joseph Flaherty (16 February 1884 Iron Mountain Michigan - 23 July 1951 Dummerston Vermont) was an American Filmmaker who directed and produced ( 1932) is a Japanese Silent film directed by Yasujiro Ozu. The film's bittersweet story centers on two young brothers whose faith in their father was an influential Japanese Filmmaker. Marriage and family were among the most persistent themes in his body of work is a 1934 Silent film directed by Yasujiro Ozu which he later remade as Floating Weeds in 1959 was an influential Japanese Filmmaker. Marriage and family were among the most persistent themes in his body of work Modern Times is a 1936 Comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character in his final silent-film appearance Jacques Tati (October 9 &ndashNovember 5) was a noted French comedic Filmmaker. Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (released as Monsieur Hulot's Holiday in the UK and as Mr Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American director, Writer, Composer, Lyricist Silent Movie is a 1976 Comedy film directed by and starring Mel Brooks. Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's acclaimed drama Three Times (2005) is silent during its middle third, complete with intertitles; Stanley Tucci's The Impostors has an opening silent sequence in the style of early silent comedies. Hou Hsiao-Hsien ( (born April 8, 1947) is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan 's New Wave cinema movement. Three Times (最好的時光 Zui hao de shi guang; lit 'Best of Times' is a 2005 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Stanley Tucci Jr (born 11 November 1960) is an American Golden Globe - and Emmy Award -winning Screen Actors Guild - and See also The Impostors (Thunderbirds episode The Impostors is a 1998 Farce motion picture written and directed by Stanley Writer / Director Michael Pleckaitis puts his own twist on the genre with Silent (2007). Reminiscent of Pleasantville (1998), it's done in the vein of a silent movie from the earliest days of cinema. Pleasantville is an Academy Award -nominated 1998 film written produced and directed by Gary Ross.

The 1999 German film Tuvalu is mostly silent; the small amount of dialog is an odd mix of European languages, increasing the film's universality. Tuvalu is a 1999 experimental movie from Germany The style evokes early 20th Century Silent movies and motifs commonly found in German expressionism Guy Maddin won awards for his homage to Soviet era silent films with his short The Heart of the World after which he made a feature-length silent, Brand Upon the Brain! (2006), incorporating live Foley artists, narration and orchestra at select showings. Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian Screenwriter and director of both features and Short films The Heart of the World is a Short film written and directed by Guy Maddin, produced for the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival Brand Upon the Brain! is a 2006 Silent film directed by Guy Maddin and produced by The Film Company. The Foley artist on a Film crew is the person who creates many of the natural everyday Sound effects in a film which are recorded during a session with a Recording Shadow of the Vampire (2000) is a highly fictionalized depiction of the filming of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's classic silent vampire movie Nosferatu (1922). Shadow of the Vampire is a movie that opened in the United States on December 29, 2000. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, better known as F W Murnau ( December 28, 1888 &ndash March 11, 1931) was one of the most influential Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living Nosferatu A Symphony of Horror is a German Expressionist film by F Werner Herzog honored the same film in his own version, Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979). Werner Herzog (born Werner H Stipetić; September 5 1942 is a German Film director, Screenwriter, actor and Opera director Nosferatu the Vampyre ( Ger. Nosferatu Phantom der Nacht, Eng. Some films draw a direct contrast between the silent film era and the era of talkies. Sunset Boulevard shows the disconnect between the two eras in the character of Norma Desmond, played by silent film star Gloria Swanson. Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 American Film noir classic Directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, it was named Norma Desmond is a main character in Billy Wilder 's film Sunset Boulevard. Gloria Swanson (March 27 1899 – April 4 1983 was an Academy Award -nominated Golden Globe -winning American Hollywood

In 1999, the famous Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki produced Juha which captures the style of a silent film, using intertitles in place of spoken dialogue. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Aki Olavi Kaurismäki ( (born April 4, 1957 in Orimattila, Finland) is a Finnish script writer and Film director. ^[8]

In India, the 1988 film Pushpak,^[9] starring Kamal Hassan, was a black comedy entirely devoid of dialog. Pushpaka Vimaana (Kannadaಪುಷ್ಪಕ ವಿಮಾನ English title The Love Chariot) or just Pushpak for subsequent films in other languages is a Kamal Haasan (born November 7, 1954 in Paramakudi, India is an Indian Film actor and director, considered among

At least two stage plays have drawn upon silent film styles and sources. Actor/writers Billy Van Zandt & Jane Milmore staged their Off-Broadway slapstick comedy Silent Laughter as a live action tribute to the silent screen era. ^[10] Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford created and starred in All Wear Bowlers (2004) which started as an homage to Laurel and Hardy then evolved to incorporate life-sized silent film sequences of Sobelle and Lyford who jump back and forth between live action and the silver screen. Laurel and Hardy were the popular American -based comedy team of thin British-born Stan Laurel (1890-1965 and heavy American-born Oliver Hardy (1892-1957 ^[11]

Preservation and lost films

Main articles: Lost film and Film preservation

Many early motion pictures are lost because the nitrate film used in that era was extremely unstable and flammable. A lost film is a Feature film or Short film that no longer exists in either studio archives or private collections The film preservation, or film restoration, movement is an ongoing project among film historians archivists Museums and Non-profit organizations to rescue Nitrocellulose (also cellulose nitrate, flash paper) is a highly flammable compound formed by Nitrating Cellulose through exposure to Additionally, many films were deliberately destroyed because they had little value in the era before home video. It has often been claimed that around 75% of silent films have been lost, though these estimates may be inaccurate due to a lack of numerical data. ^[12] Major silent films presumed lost include Saved from the Titanic (1912);^[13] The Apostle, the world's first animated feature film (1917); Cleopatra (1917);^[14] Arirang (1926); Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1927);^[15] The Great Gatsby (1926); and London After Midnight (1927). Saved From the Titanic (Known as A Survivor From the Titanic in the UK ( 1912) was a Silent film starring Dorothy Gibson El Apóstol (The Apostle is a 1917 Argentine Animated cartoon, and also the world's first animated feature film This list of animated feature-length films compiles animated feature Films from around the world and is organized alphabetically under the year of release Cleopatra ( 1917) was directed by J Gordon Edwards and starred Theda Bara in the title role Arirang is a 1926 Korean film One of the earliest feature films to be made in the country it is named after the traditional song Arirang, which This silent version of the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, directed by Malcolm St The Great Gatsby is a 1926 Silent film adaptation of the novel The Great Gatsby by F London After Midnight is a 1927 silent Mystery film with horror overtones Though most lost silent films will never be recovered, some have been discovered in film archives or private collections.

In 1978 in Dawson City, Canadian Yukon, a bulldozer uncovered buried reels of nitrate film during excavation of a landfill. Dawson City used to be the end of the distribution line for many films, and the titles were stored at the local library until 1929 when the flammable nitrate was used as landfill in a condemned swimming pool. Stored for 50 years under the permafrost of the Yukon, the films turned out to be extremely well preserved. Included in this treasure trove were films by Pearl White, Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, and Lon Chaney, Sr.. Pearl Fay White, ( March 4, 1889, Green Ridge Missouri - August 4, 1938, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) was an Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr ( April 20, 1893 &ndash March 8, 1971) was an American Film actor and producer Douglas Fairbanks ( May 23 1883 – December 12 1939) was an American Actor, Screenwriter, director Lon Chaney ( April 1 1883 &ndash August 26 1930) nicknamed " The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American These films are now housed at the Library of Congress. ^[16]

The degradation of old film stock can be slowed through proper archiving, or digitization can preserve films. Silent film preservation has been a high priority among movie historians. The film preservation, or film restoration, movement is an ongoing project among film historians archivists Museums and Non-profit organizations to rescue

See also

• Category:Silent films
• Category:Silent film actors
• Classic Images
• Laurel and Hardy films
• List of film formats
• List of silent films released on 8 mm or Super 8 mm film
• Melodrama
• Sound stage
• Lost films
• At the Moving Picture Ball (Song about silent film stars)

References

External links

• Silent-Movies.Com
• The Silent Era
• Biographies of the Silent Era
• Jeffrey Dym, Associate Professor of History, California State University, Sacramento. A Brief History of Benshi (Silent Film Narrators)