A trip to the city Sunrise
FILM-TRIP Narrative film had its start in 1896 when Georges Méliès began connecting scenes to tell a story. Within a surprisingly short time (less than two
decades) the cinema developed a narrative language (shots, editing, camera placement, lighting, acting) that has remained essentially unchanged to this day, due in large measure to the work of D.W. Griffith in America and Alice Guy in France.
The feature films listed here are among the greatest achievements of the cinema, sound or silent. In other words, a synchronized sound track is not a prerequisite when judging the art of film, though to look at the AFI list of 100 Greatest Movies one would think it was. (Only four silent films made the list:
The Birth of a Nation and three Chaplin comedies. No Keaton, no Sunrise, no The Crowd!!!) This myopia is not surprising since the film industry has been discarding old movies for as long as it's been making them. It will take the public's interest in silents to reverse this trend. As a point of reference, of the American films listed by title on this page several have not yet been selected for The National Film Registry of The Library of Congress. They are: Orphans of the Storm, Our Hospitality, Steamboat Bill Jr., Way Down East, The Musketeers of Pig Alley, Tumbleweeds, Linda, as well as many shorts.
The GREAT SILENTS
THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (EISENSTEIN)
THE BIRTH OF A NATION (GRIFFITH)
BROKEN BLOSSOMS (GRIFFITH)
THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (WIENE)
CITY LIGHTS (CHAPLIN)
THE CROWD (VIDOR)
THE FRESHMAN (TAYLOR, NEWMEYER)
THE GENERAL (KEATON)
THE GOLD RUSH (CHAPLIN)
GREED (VON STROHEIM)
INTOLERANCE (GRIFFITH)
METROPOLIS (LANG)
NAPOLEON (GANCE)
NOSFERATU (MURNAU)
ORPHANS OF THE STORM (GRIFFITH)
OUR HOSPITALITY (KEATON)
PANDORA'S BOX (PABST)
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (DRYER)
SHERLOCK JR. (KEATON)
STEAMBOAT BILL JR. (KEATON)
SUNRISE (MURNAU)
WAY DOWN EAST (GRIFFITH)BEGINNINGS
LUMIERE
MELIES
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
THE MUSKETEERS OF PIG ALLEY
DE MILLE
ALICE GUY
SILENT CLOWNS
CHAPLIN
KEATON
LLOYD
LANGDON
LAUREL & HARDY
STARS
BOW
THE GISH SISTERS
C. MOORE q
PICKFORD
FAIRBANKS
SWANSON
VALENTINO
CHANEYFEATURES
NANOOK OF THE NORTH
THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD
THE LAST LAUGH
TUMBLEWEEDS
THE BIG PARADE
IT
WINGS
LINDA
