Silent films.

[REDUNBECK~!]

teknoteam2000 said:

Actually that inter title was not added until after its original 1915 run. There are a few things to note about the film 1. Griffith's grandfather was an officer in the confederate army 2. The film had numerous scenes cut out of it including Gus not only being lynched but also...let's just say he'd be singing soprano if he was alive after 3. The movie was adapted from a novel called The Clansman which was the title of the movie until the author praised it so much that it should have a new title 4. It helped the Klan become reformed just to name a few things. Strangely though Griffith was once quoted as saying"I love the black people, they are my children" when he was surprised about the controversy of the film.

Well, there's my point. There's no evidence that Griffith himself was racist - he was just making a movie based on a book that, unfortunately, was very popular at the time. Movie studios have been making movies out of popular books forever. Directors are just hired to do the work - the film doesn't necessarily reflect the director's true beliefs.

In Griffith's case, he made this fairly clear by A) portraying slaves as sympathetic characters in Intolerance and B) making plans to make a film dedicated to the history of African-Americans (which he never got to make, because he died soon after formulating the idea). I think his dedication to his job - making Birth of a Nation as close to The Clansmen as possible - may cloud peoples' judgment of Griffith.

It is certainly not his fault that the KKK came back. That's just a stupid idea. If those hicks could have read they'd have come back after the novel was released.

[8.2.11/SAVIOR_NEZ]

gsguy said:

getinthecardad said:

I don't believe The Three Stooges ever did any silent films. The first film they ever appeared in was "Soup to Nuts" in 1930 (back when straightman Ted Healy was part of the act), and it was a very early "talkie".

Actually, Shemp was in a silent film as a kid. Moe was in two silents as a kid as well.

This is true, although The Three Stooges as a unit were not in any silent films. Actually, they appeared in two very early color films (using a two-strip technicolor process), "Nertsery Rhymes" and "Hello Pop" (which is lost) in 1933. Just thought I would throw that in.

[gsguy]

lovingway said:

Love silents. No mention of Laurel and Hardy or Keystone Cops (or is it Kops?) who did silents

My fave CHAPLIN movie is Great Dictator too, just a classic

I am real surprised nobody has mentioned DW Griffith. I actually saw Birth of a Nation a few years back was in shock at how someone could actually do a movie like that (think Indians and Cowboys with black and whites). Not a great movie, but fascinating to watch someone kill his career

I mentioned Griffth before when I said Intolerence was one of my favorites. He did that after Birth of a Nation which means his career wasn't killed. He also did Broken Blossoms and Way Down East after Intolerence.

[The Happnin' Mojo]

I like Laurel and Hardy but only in silent films and as an American I'd be put in jail for liking them over Abbot and Costello.

And Birth of a Nation was apparently Woodrow Wilson's favorite movie......

[dustybabydoll1985]

my favorite is also Nosferatu.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Along with many other posters thus far, I also love silent movies. Most recently I saw The Man with a Movie Camera (1929). Though after the advent of sound this was still kept silent, which really helps out the imagery of a lot of the project. Also if anyone's interested I recommend tracking down a copy that has a soundtrack composed in 1995 though the name of the orchestra esscapes me. As a fan of silent film I have listened to a lot of bad reconstructions of silent movie music as well as very off new music constructed for a certain film. This score however is phenominal, probably the best I've ever heard to go along with a silent film.