I think the only silent film I've watched in full was Laurel and Hardy's "Big Business", which was absolutely hilarious - I laughed so hard I cried, I think, and I loved the fact it was silent and in black and white, too.
That being said, it's not a full-length feature film, of course. I'm not sure anymore what the accompanying music was, either (if any, but I'm pretty sure there was *something*, at least); also, I'm rating it as a 10 simply because I loved it so much and because I think the fact it was silent etc. was an integral part of why I loved it. ^^
Laurel and Hardy were really funny, even when they made sound films, but I think they were best in the silents. They made both short features and long ones. Try "Their Purple Moment" or "Two Tars" for something of greater length. There was also one (title escapes me at the moment) that involved trying to move a piano up a long flight of stairs. You wouldn't think they could make so much of that, but they did, and you keep laughing at their antics throug the whole thing.
You should look up some of the big name titles I've listed. Fritz Lang (Metropolis) and F. W. Murnau (Nosferatu) were your countrymen and their work must surely be available. Sergei Eisenstein (Potemkin) is still acclaimed as a master, and was partly of German descent.
Oh, Lang and Murnau are definitely available. I actually started watching "Metropolis" at one point, but I'm not generally able to watch longer movies these days anymore, at least unless they're hilariously funny (like the Laurel and Hardy ones you mentioned would probably be - I'll have to check those out, thanks!), and that's not something you could say about any of Fritz Lang's works, I think.
"Nosferatu" I haven't even started watching, but I know it's considered a great classic that can still be found.
Mmm, Eisenstein? I've got to admit the only Eisenstein I know (of) is the one behind this. ^.~
Yep, Lang was no comedian. But then, neither were others of the early silent writers and directors. The surrealist film Un chien Andalou by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali is one of the strangest things I've ever seen. Thank the gods it's only 16 minutes long, because I'm sure an hour of that would drive anyone insane.
Another one I have seen, though I can't remember the title, was made by either a French or German film maker and features the temptations of a Roman Catholic priest who has fallen in love (or lust) with a woman who comes to him for confession. It is filled with drawn out misery, scenes of him crawling up cobblestone streets on his knees or imagining being carried away by overwhelming floods of water. The saving grace was the organist at the showing, Jay Warren, who kept entertaining us by shouting out comments from the organ console, such as "You haven't seen the worst yet" or "Halfway done, grit your teeth!" The music, needless to say, was the reason I went to see it, so it was still worthwhile.
*noddles* Yeah, that doesn't sound like a movie I'd particularly enjoy, either.
(Of course, there is no reason why a film should be any less nerve-wracking or possibly even annoying just because it's silent instead of having sound.)
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That being said, it's not a full-length feature film, of course. I'm not sure anymore what the accompanying music was, either (if any, but I'm pretty sure there was *something*, at least); also, I'm rating it as a 10 simply because I loved it so much and because I think the fact it was silent etc. was an integral part of why I loved it. ^^
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You should look up some of the big name titles I've listed. Fritz Lang (Metropolis) and F. W. Murnau (Nosferatu) were your countrymen and their work must surely be available. Sergei Eisenstein (Potemkin) is still acclaimed as a master, and was partly of German descent.
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"Nosferatu" I haven't even started watching, but I know it's considered a great classic that can still be found.
Mmm, Eisenstein? I've got to admit the only Eisenstein I know (of) is the one behind this. ^.~
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Yep, Lang was no comedian. But then, neither were others of the early silent writers and directors. The surrealist film Un chien Andalou by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali is one of the strangest things I've ever seen. Thank the gods it's only 16 minutes long, because I'm sure an hour of that would drive anyone insane.
Another one I have seen, though I can't remember the title, was made by either a French or German film maker and features the temptations of a Roman Catholic priest who has fallen in love (or lust) with a woman who comes to him for confession. It is filled with drawn out misery, scenes of him crawling up cobblestone streets on his knees or imagining being carried away by overwhelming floods of water. The saving grace was the organist at the showing, Jay Warren, who kept entertaining us by shouting out comments from the organ console, such as "You haven't seen the worst yet" or "Halfway done, grit your teeth!" The music, needless to say, was the reason I went to see it, so it was still worthwhile.
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(Of course, there is no reason why a film should be any less nerve-wracking or possibly even annoying just because it's silent instead of having sound.)