Silent Film Marathon: Final Film

Well, this marathon now comes to a close. It has been a most interesting and informative marathon that lasted longer than I expected.
As interesting as the marathon was, I still look forward to reviewing some more recent films, day after day of Silent film watching did get tiring after a while, maybe I had been over ambitious, but I'm pleased with the result.
If you want a complete list of the films I reviewed just click on this icon which you can find either in my review index or on my blog sidebar (where it will not remain much longer):

For this final post, I have decided to do away with my original plan, which was to watch and review the Soviet film Ivan. I was greatly disappointed by Arsenal, a film of the same director, so decided to remove Ivan and replace it by a more interesting film.
Over the course of the marathon I had seen a certain silent film mentioned in the comment section quite a few times, this would be Nanook Of The North.
I decided that this would be an excellent replacement as it is considered one of the staple films of the era. Luckily it was on Youtube in it's entirety.

Silent Film Marathon: Film 15

Similarly to the previous film reviewed, L'Age D'Or, Charlie Chaplin's City Lights is not technically a Silent film either, but unlike Bunuel did with the previous film, Chaplin obviously consciously made the chose to make this silent even though it he had the choice not too.

If I remember correctly, this was the first Charlie Chaplin film I ever saw. I was greatly impressed and even after seeing more of his work I believe it to be one of the best of his films, alongside Modern Times.
However, this is by far his most charming film.

Silent Film Marathon: Film 12

This is a film that was considered lost for many years after it's release, due to several accidents and fires. But luckily it was discovered again in 1981 and restored in 1985.
It has since been recognised as one of the masterpieces of the Silent era and Falconetti's performance in particular has received large amounts of praise.

 Technically a French film, under the title of La Passion De Jeanne D'Arc, it was however directed by a Dane. This is the second film directed by a Dane in this marathon, the first being the exceptional Haxan. Dreyer is possibly the most well known Danish director of his time, who in addition to this film directed the somewaht cult Silent film, Vampyres and the non-silent film Ordet which many speak of extremely highly but which I have yet to see. 

Silent Film Marathon: Film 11

This film was probably one of my most anticipated films in this marathon so I was extremely glad when I finally got around to it.
Murnau is a director who has impressed me before, especially with Faust, and seeing as this film is often considered his finest, although it is far from being his most well known, I had high expectations.

 

Thankfully I was not disappointed, although the film was not exactly like I had thought it would be. 

Silent Film Marathon: Film 10

The third Murnau film featured in this marathon. After being rather unimpressed by the fist two I was starting to have my doubts about Murnau's films. So I wasn't exactly sure what to expect before watchign this film.

But it turns out that I was very pleasantly surprised. As Faust happens to be one of the best Silent films it has been my pleasure to see over the course of this marathon. 

Silent Film Marathon: Film 9

Of all the Silent films I've seen, I think Charlie Chaplin's are by far the most accessible to modern audiences.
His comedic talent remains just as impressive despite the number of years that have gone by, it is still just as brilliant as when it was released.
Even for those unfamiliar with Silent films, even for those with little more than a fleeting interest in Cinema, Chaplin is something that will be enjoyed. 

So how could I possibly leave out some of his work from my Marathon ?
Even though I will only be reviewing two of his films, I think that will be a fitting enough tribute to one of Cinema's greats.

The first film is:

Silent Film Marathon: Film 8

The second film of legendary director F.W. Murnau to appear in this marathon, but certainly not the last.

Murnau is a director who achieved legendary status with his film Nosferatu, which is by far one of the most well known Silent films ever made. It is iconic.
But I decided I shouldn't just leave my knowledge of his work there, even if I was disappointed by Nosferatu I decided to explore more of his rather small filmography.
This time I thought I would choose one of his lesser known films, The Last Laugh - 1924

Silent Film Marathon: Film 7

 I had posted a review for this film a few days ago, and I know many of you read it and such, but blogger erased it during it's troubles and as I had not backed-up, all that was restored to me was a basic draft of the post. I'll try my best to rewrite it, but I don't want to spend to much time on it as I have already reviewed this before and it's starting to get a bit repetitive, plus I just want to get in with the marathon.


Aha! We come to a film by often overlooked French Director Abel Gance. I have championed this directors work ever since I saw his amazing Silent Epic Napoleon.
That film played a large part in my ever growing admiration for Silent films. In fact if I hadn't of watched that film I probably wouldn't be doing this marathon.

So naturally I was looking forward to this film a lot. I was expecting it to be one of the highlights of the marathon, as some of the things Gance achieves on film were greatly ahead of their time and marvellous to watch.
It is also the longest film of the marathon, at near on 5 hours, but when a film is great, then I usually have no problem with the length.

Silent Film Marathon: Film 6

Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages is a film I had only vaguely heard of before thinking of this marathon, it was the only one of these Silent films that I didn't own already, but as it was very highly recommended to me I decided to add it to my collection and subsequently review it as part of this marathon. And as it is part of the inestimable Criterion Collection it was easy to obtain and then watch.

After having watched it I must first thank all those who recommended it for it is a truly amazing film. I was fascinated all the way through and the film's subject was one of such originality and was presented in such an honest and appealing way that I could not help but feel that I was watching one of the wonders of the Silent Era.

Silent Film Marathon: Film 5

Nosferatu, one of the most widely known of all Silent films and one of the most instantly recognisable Horror films of all time. Loosely based on the amazing "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, and remade by Werner Herzog and yet I had not seen it until now.

Silent Film Marathon: Film 4

The fourth film of this marathon is the German Expressionist Classic The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.
It is one of the earliest examples of the Expressionist movement and is a fascinating film that has been hugely influential.

Silent Film Marathon: Film 3

For the third part of this marathon I'll be writing about Griffith's follow up to his infamous The Birth of A Nation.
But before I start the review I must mention that I have been unable to see the entire film due to technical difficulties. Basically, I managed to watch about 2 hours and a half of the film, but the remaining 1 hour seems to be corrupted and unwatchable.
So this isn't really a review of the entire film, just some thoughts on what I did see. 

Silent Film Marathon: Film 2

The Birth of A Nation is one of the best known of Silent films, mainly because of the controversy that surrounds it.
It is widely claimed to be a major step forward in Cinema in terms of technical abilities, budget and the amount of money it made, among other things.
It was the highest grossing film of the Silent era, making about 10 million dollars.

 I had heard much about it before viewing it, the controversy, the ground breaking technical achievements etc. And was curious to find out for myself what all the fuss was about.
Some reviews I had read criticised the film in the strongest possible terms for it's content which they labelled nothing less than racist. Some called for people to look past the controversial content and recognise the films technical achievements. I can't recall any saying they enjoyed or could relate to the story though...