RE: Silents for Publics

Trent Nicholas (Tnicholas@vmfa.state.va.us)
Wed, 5 Jun 2002 07:17:56 -0700 (PDT)

Excellent choices everyone.
To add, if available and still in a good form, BROKEN BLOSSOMS. And I have
found BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN will impress many of the general public beyond
just the "academics". It has a strong history angle as well as all the
amazing cinematics.
M is a sound film, however, does use long passages of silence very
effectively. Get it anyway. MODERN TIMES is a sound film too made with
sound effects and music and some jibberish-like speech. Chaplin's THE
CIRCUS, silent w/music added later, holds up remarkably well today
SOUTH, the original, actual footage of Shackleton's thwarted 1914 expedition
is fascinating.
Be prepared to field commentary on BIRTH OF A NATION about its extreme
racial stereotyping.
Keaton's SEVEN CHANCES is great in a good form with early 2-color
process and sepia tone from Kino, if they still offer it. And THE MOVIES
BEGIN series is indispensable.
Eternal thanks to Kino and Milestone.

Trent Nicholas
Statewide Media Resource Coordinator
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts


-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Handman [mailto:ghandman@library.berkeley.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 7:28 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Silents for Publics

Ten silents in five years! Woah! Let's not move too quickly here.

My list of essentials would include:

Movies Begin (5 vols avail from Kino)
Library of Congress Video Collection (4 vols available from FACETS et al)

Chaplin: (avail from FACETS, et al)
Gold Rush
Modern Times
Chaplin's Essanay comedies
Chaplin's Mutuals

Buster Keaton
The Art of Buster Keaton (Kino)

Slapstick Encyclopedia (8 vols, Kino)

D.W. Griffith (all available on tape and DVD from FACETS)
Birth of a Nation
Intolerance
Way Down East

Early German Film:

M (Fritz Lang) (Kino)
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Image Entertainment; avail from FACETS)
Metropolis (Kino)
Nosferatu (Murnau) (Kino)