Not-so-silent Films of the 1920s

[altivo]

I never make polls, but answering a meme about films over on Facebook inspired me to ask these questions of LJ readers.

[Poll #1445665]

Comments

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Couldn't really complete this because I've never seen a silent film all the way through.

The entirety of my silent film knowledge: We saw clips of Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Battleship Potemkin at uni and were told that the Steps at Odessa is a very famous scene. I know Charlie Chaplin was a notable silent star. And I was aware that they originally had an organ playing in the cinemas rather than actual silence. (That last fact partly courtesy of Terry Pratchett's nice novel about early films, and partly from general knowledge osmosis.)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I do think you'd find it worth the trouble to look up some of the more noted titles and watch them. Most are readily findable on DVD now. In fact, I'd be very interested in hearing the aspie viewpoint on a tearjerker like Orphans of the Storm, though I suspect you'll like the comedies or the technical accomplishments better. Give Metropolis or The General a try. The first is science fiction of a sort, while the latter is based on real events of the US Civil War, though turned into a comedy romance.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Re: tear jerkers: I have no soul, so unless an animal is put in mild discomfort I'll just look bored... ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I see no evidence that you are lacking a soul, only that your perceptions are different.

Orphans of the Storm is about the French Revolution, and follows the experiences of two sisters, one of whom is falsely accused as a traitor and sentenced to the guillotine. Will she be found and rescued in time? With all appropriate fanfare, flourishes, and hand-wringing. Today it seems camp,a sort of Perils of Pauline, but in the time in which it was made, the writers and director were dead serious.