Silent Film
In Sunset Boulevard, Silent Film star Norma Desmond summed the era up admirably: "We didn't need dialogue. We had faces". The silent film era was much more than cinema's warm-up for the talkies. It produced masterpieces that we still watch with awe today on DVD: the classic comic genius of Keaton and Chaplin; the inventive spectacle of movies like Metropolis, the heartbreak of Sunrise. This is film that remains powerful and thrilling.
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- Action & Adventure 9 titles
- Comedy 43 titles
Action & Adventure 9 titles
You only need to look at the first five minutes of Fritz Lang's Dr Mabuse: The Gambler to see just how exciting and involving silent film can be - it's like a fast-paced pu... More
Action & Adventure Silent Film section
Comedy 43 titles
Before the advent of sound, visual comedy was the primary means of reaching out and engaging with an audience. Slapstick and burlesque leant themselves to the silent screen... More
Crime 6 titles
During the era of silent film, before censorship and the restrictive Hays Code shifted the focus, criminals were more important figures than the enforcers of the law. This ... More
Drama 56 titles
'Silent Drama' is, as it must be, a catch-all term for some of the most visually exciting, innovative films ever made. From the early films of such filmmakers as RW Paul an... More
Horror 9 titles
Silent films were made in an era of great experimentation with the medium of film itself and its possibilities. 'Horror' films of the time used this experimentation to grea... More
Melodrama 7 titles
With a plot to appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience, and sometimes complemented with an exaggerated acting style well suited to the demands of silent cinema, m... More
