A list of movies to introduce the family to silent films. All movies have a happy ending. (I double checked!)

[TO BE REWRITTEN]

Please refrain from viewing trailers before reading my descriptions. Some movie trailers RUIN THE ENTIRE MOVIE. If you're interested in knowing anything more about a movie, please ask me. I would feel terrible if you stumbled upon spoilers for Seconds (1966) or something. Using AI might also work, but make sure to be clear it doesn't include even any "minor" spoilers. I don't recommend this though.

Important Notice:  Browse as you like, but if you are interested in watching a silent film or other kind of movie you are not familiar with, I suggest reading my description so you can have the right frame of mind when entering the film. There's nothing worse than a crude entrance to a film. As for some films, I would recommend you don't watch them at all until you have seen more accessible films in their genre.

Silent Films:  Roughly #1-#60 (excluding some Disney films) I will always suggest you watch the films with their original color (often tinting), many people want to watch the black and white (or recent colorized) versions, but those may be confusing, as they used tinting to give information to the audience that may be lost in B&B. (However, there are some exceptions, notably Metropolis (1927), The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Wings (1927) etc.)

There are some things you should know when watching silent films. Not many on this list have any racist jokes, but blackface was much more common back then, though rare in my list. People generally used a mix, or all black actors, but you may see the occasional white actor in minstrel show costume or black face paint. From what I understand, for the face paint, NOT the minstrel show makeup, is that it wasn't meant to be offensive, but just a thing people did. When the character isn't the butt of the joke, I imagine it was just done so that a white actor could get a role. Racist, yes, but not necessarily what you think. A huge exception to this is "The Birth of a Nation" (1915), which I have yet to watch.

I would recommend starting with "One Week" (1920) by Buster Keaton. After that it will be easier to understand "the greats" such as Metropolis (1927), The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Nosferatu (1922), Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) etc. I still recommend watching a few of the other comedies first, just so you can get used to the medium.

Silent Film Soundtracks:  Most silent films didn't actually have proper soundtracks. The reason Bach's Fugue in D minor is seen as related to vampries is because it was played along side horror films. Some soundtracks are pretty bad or often non-existent. Recommendations below work surprisingly well on repeat.

The Firebird: Introduction (Igor Stravinsky) Le Sacre du Printemps: pt. 2 "Le Sacrifice": VI. Danse Sacrale (Igor Stravinsky) Die Walküre: Act III: Walkürenritt or Ritt der Walküren (Richard Wagner) Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 / Act 1: Dance Of The Knights (Sergei Prokofiev) Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor op. 35: 3. Marche funébre - Lento (Frédéric Chopin) (Leif Ove Andsnes version is best by far) Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Best Version Ever) [by MovieMongerHZ on YouTube] (Johann Sebastian Bach) Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain (Modest Mussorgsky) Suite Gothique, Op. 25, IV. Toccata (Léon Boëllmann) Cello suite No.1 Prelude in G Major (Johann Sebastian Bach) Le Carnaval des Animaux, R. 125 - 7. Aquarium (Saint-Saëns) Mozart: Requiem In D Minor, K.626 lacrimosa (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Symphony No. 5, First movement (Beethoven) Le Carnaval des Animaux, R. 125 - 8. Fossiles (Saint-Saëns) The Fairy Round: Galliard III (Holborne) The Photographer: Act I; A Gentleman's Honor (Phillip Glass) Jutrznia - Utrenja (Krzysztof Penderecki)

Later Films: If the color of the film isn't obvious (such as there being multiple versions) I will mark it.

Richard Gere in Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

Feodor Chaliapin Jr. in The Name of the Rose (1986)

Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall, and Thelma Ritter in Pillow Talk (1959)

Movies With Wired Phones Used in Necessary Scenes

Jodie Foster in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

American Film Institute's Top 35 Villains of All Time

Most Frightening Subliminal Suspense Horror Movies

Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in Paranormal Activity (2007)

What Kind of Fear Is Your Favorite Horror?

Sigourney Weaver in Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997)

Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, and Harvey Stephens in The Omen (1976)

Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess in Broken Blossoms (1919)

Celebrating 100 Years Anniversary (1919-2019)

Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess in Way Down East (1920)

Still Not in the Library of Congress National Film Registry

Charles Chaplin and Jackie Coogan in The Kid (1921)

Celebrating 100 Years Anniversary (1921-2021)

Favorite Feature Film Directed by Buster Keaton

Thomas3-44421

Badges4

Lists8

Recently taken polls

Recently viewed