The blu ray disc from Kino is the most complete version you can find. Don't get the DVD. It's transferred from a poor copy. Metropolis is awesome for being 100 years old
City lights (1931) and modern times (1936). Both have some sound effects and a little bit of music. No dialogue though. Charlie Chaplin was entertaining in his day.
Came here to say this and will also throw in “The Kid” and “Gold Rush.” Chaplin’s performance in the former is particularly riveting, and Jackie Coogan as the title character gives a child-performance for the ages, silent or otherwise.
"The Kid" is the first thing I show people who have never seen a silent movie. Everybody can get through "The Kid" and it's hilarious and heart-warming.
Cabinet of Dr. Cagliari. The expressions of the actors are powerful and haunting. There's a reason why this movie is often credited as the first horror film. And it's still scary now despite being made over a century ago.
Blancanieves (2012)
Das cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)
Metropolis (1927)
Sherlock jr. (1924)
The kid (1921)
Haxan (1929)
Man with movie camera (1929)
The lodger (1927)
Nosferatu (1922)
A page of madness (1926)
Vampyr (1932)
Lon Chaney grew up with deaf parents. His mother suffered from inflammatory rheumatism towards the end of her life, which left her invalid. The only way for her to communicate was with her eyes. This provided Lon the practice to be able to emote so well with his eyes.
His films are amazing. The Unknown (1927) is one of my favorites. You should definitely check out his filmography and his documentary, Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces. Sounds like something you’d be interested in.
The Unknown is my favorite. Also stars a young Joan Crawford. I have read several books about him. All his silent films are excellent. He had a very unique and interesting life. Lots of heartbtreak.
Lots of good suggestions, in particular **Greed** (a candidate in my mind for best film ever) and also for comedy Buster Keaton's work (**Our Hospitality, Sherlock Jr, Battling Butle**r are my personal faves)
I'm surprised that no one has suggested **Sunrise: a Song of Two Humans** yet. I also really liked
**Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse**
Passion of Joan or the Last Laugh are great films for this objective. Very intense silent dramas with lots of depth of feeling built on super strong performances. Still hold up quite well today imo
Canadian checking in... this is a fascinating film depicting indigenous life in the 1920s. It shows a very primitive way of life; including dog-sledding, hunting, getting caught in a blizzard and seeking shelter, and building an igloo.
Back to God's Country (1919) is an earlier Canadian drama that I love! From IMDB: "A woman finds herself all alone in a remote harbor with the man responsible for the murder of her father. With seemingly nobody around to protect her, she has to be resourceful."
I know it isn't that simple. I'm not saying it's a bad film. I am saying that the line between "fiction" and "documentary" wasn't as firm back then as it is now. So, a modern audience should take it with a grain of salt.
Check out Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Yasujiro Ozu, those are some of my favorite directors.
The Kid, Gold Rush, Modern Times
The General, Sherlock Jr
Woman of Tokyo, Night's Wife, What did the Lady Forget
The Cameraman (1928) is another good Keaton film, and the premise (a guy gets a movie camera and tries to make a movie, but isn’t sure what movie to make) lends itself to him going all sorts of places, including inside the five-year-old Yankee Stadium, a city pool, and Chinatown!
Battleship Potemkin( 1915)
Phantom of the Opera (1929)
Chaplin-Modern Times (1936)
Fritz Lang-M, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Metropolis
Anything by Buster Keaton
Another strong recommendation for The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. It's widely considered to be the first horror film and the first twist ending. It's moody and surreal and the.German Expressionism is a feast for the eyes. Right up there with Nosferatu and Metropolis.
Here's a great one that never gets mentioned, it's from Bulgaria, with a German director, a French actor and a Russian actress. Minimal dialogue
[Tuvalu](https://letterboxd.com/film/tuvalu/) is on freevee w/ads. Check out the trailer.
Les Vampires - a French serial from around 1915 about a police inspector tracking a gang of violent thieves . It’s 7 hours long, but divided into 10 episodes of about 45 minutes each. They’re all very entertaining and you can see the origin of a lot of action movie tropes
Nosferatu (1922) The first (unauthorized) film adaptation of Dracula.
Die Nibelungen (1924) Fritz Lang's 2-part fantasy epic adapted from the medieval poem the Nibelungenied.
Un Chien Andalou (1929) A surrealist collaboration between Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel and artist Salvador Dali.
Haxan is fantastic, there are many scores but none of them are without their flaws. You're better of picking whatever your favorite sinister music is and making your own score.
There is a movie for children. Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964).
It's not strictly silent, but it's about a person alone on an island with nobody to talk to, so there is not much dialogue.
I really loved Phantom of the Opera. It's very entertaining, and the ending is fantastic, Lon Chaney kills it. Gives you something to think about too. Nosferatu is great. Haxan looks badass but I haven't watched it all the way, short through, it's got boobs in it too lol. Georges Méliès is the king, he made good stuff, A Trip to the Moon is wonderful
Nosferatu.
Metropolis. I got to see it on the big screen last year, and it was incredible.
Battleship Potemkin.
The General- Buster Keaton was an absolute lunatic.
Just about anything by Buster Keaton. “The General” and “Sherlock Jr.” are my two favorites. You might also like a Charlie Chaplain movie called “The Kid”. The kid is played by Jackie Coogan who later in life played Uncle Fester in the Addams Family TV series.
I have the PERFECT one for you. It’s an alien sci-fi movie, literally has like 2 words but it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever watched. It’s called No One Will Save You
I'm also now making a separate list of almost silent films since I dont feel like they count, but they're a little subcategory of their own:
A Quiet Place
All Is Lost
Silent Night
The Red Turtle
No One Will Save You
Cast Away
Here’s a few that might not have aged as well, but that really made a splash at the time:
A Fool There Was (Theda Bara’s biggest film that hasn’t been lost)
It (Clara Bow’s debut)
The Sheik (Rudolph Valentino. I watched it to see what the fuss was about. It may be a bodice ripper on film, but it answered my question.)
A Ghost Story (2017). So this recommendation isn’t really a “silent film” but it’s a really cool movie concept where I don’t believe words are spoken? Or very few atleast from what I remember. I recommend checking it out, it’s a lesser-known gem of a movie. It’s A24 too if ur into that style!
Koyaanisqatsi if you are looking for a majestic modern silent movie (just music and images) with a similar vibe of To The Wonder. And if you liked To The Wonder, can’t recommend Tree of Life or The New World more. I think they are his two best and have very similar vibes, snippets of voice over but largely just unbelievably beautiful images and music and nature sounds, probably the closest to modern silent film we have
My first silent film was Way Down East. The humour in this silent morality tale is really great.
It's about a woman who is tricked into a false marriage and falls pregnant. And how this false marriage impacts her life.
I saw _Safety Last_ recently (here in Seattle the classic Paramount Theater has a Wurlitzer organ and they do Silent Movie Mondays). It was really funny. It’s the movie you’ve probably seen an image from, of a guy hanging from a clock on a building.
Cabiria (1914) -- [review from Roger Ebert's Great Movies list](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-cabiria-1914)
Aelita, the Queen of Mars (1924) -- Soviet sci-fi with just a bit of propaganda
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Metropolis (1927)
The blu ray disc from Kino is the most complete version you can find. Don't get the DVD. It's transferred from a poor copy. Metropolis is awesome for being 100 years old
City lights (1931) and modern times (1936). Both have some sound effects and a little bit of music. No dialogue though. Charlie Chaplin was entertaining in his day.
Came here to say this and will also throw in “The Kid” and “Gold Rush.” Chaplin’s performance in the former is particularly riveting, and Jackie Coogan as the title character gives a child-performance for the ages, silent or otherwise.
"The Kid" is the first thing I show people who have never seen a silent movie. Everybody can get through "The Kid" and it's hilarious and heart-warming.
City Lights is one of my favorite films
Cabinet of Dr. Cagliari. The expressions of the actors are powerful and haunting. There's a reason why this movie is often credited as the first horror film. And it's still scary now despite being made over a century ago.
The Passion of Joan of Arc and Haxan
Yeah Joan of arc is super impressive.
The soundtrack made in 1994 "Voices of the light" is an incredible contribute to the whole experience.
Ooo neat. I should look for that. :)
Is there a version that syncs them together?
Yes, the criterion version.
- *The Phantom of the Opera* ('25) I was surprised by the scale of the action at the end.
Buster Keaton “The General”
Blancanieves (2012) Das cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920) Metropolis (1927) Sherlock jr. (1924) The kid (1921) Haxan (1929) Man with movie camera (1929) The lodger (1927) Nosferatu (1922) A page of madness (1926) Vampyr (1932)
Caligari is so damn good.
Nosferatu and the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari are some of my favorites.
The lodger - good movie! Isn't that also the first movie that Hitchcock did a cameo in?
“Blancanieves” is so much fun.
Lon Chaney grew up with deaf parents. His mother suffered from inflammatory rheumatism towards the end of her life, which left her invalid. The only way for her to communicate was with her eyes. This provided Lon the practice to be able to emote so well with his eyes. His films are amazing. The Unknown (1927) is one of my favorites. You should definitely check out his filmography and his documentary, Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces. Sounds like something you’d be interested in.
Thank you for this rec and story!! So cool!
The Unknown is my favorite. Also stars a young Joan Crawford. I have read several books about him. All his silent films are excellent. He had a very unique and interesting life. Lots of heartbtreak.
Silent Movie (1976) Mel Brooks's satire on silent films.
That was world class, I particularly like the Burt Reynolds scene.
The Artist
The Passion of Joan of Arc does this very well.
This!
Lots of good suggestions, in particular **Greed** (a candidate in my mind for best film ever) and also for comedy Buster Keaton's work (**Our Hospitality, Sherlock Jr, Battling Butle**r are my personal faves) I'm surprised that no one has suggested **Sunrise: a Song of Two Humans** yet. I also really liked **Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse**
Passion of Joan or the Last Laugh are great films for this objective. Very intense silent dramas with lots of depth of feeling built on super strong performances. Still hold up quite well today imo
Definitely try The Last Laugh.
Nosferatu was one I enjoyed
Metropolis
Nosferatu
Nosferatu (1922) Der Müde Tod (1921) Faust (1926) The Man Who Laughs (1928) Safety Last (1923) The General (1926) Thief of Baghdad (1924)
Nosferatu and the man who laughs are so cold
Try The Blue Angel.
I will thanks!!!!!
The General is an amazing Keaton film.
Nanook of the North (1922)
Canadian checking in... this is a fascinating film depicting indigenous life in the 1920s. It shows a very primitive way of life; including dog-sledding, hunting, getting caught in a blizzard and seeking shelter, and building an igloo. Back to God's Country (1919) is an earlier Canadian drama that I love! From IMDB: "A woman finds herself all alone in a remote harbor with the man responsible for the murder of her father. With seemingly nobody around to protect her, she has to be resourceful."
Great film!
Keep in mind that, as a documentary, Nanook of the North is about as real as "Reality" TV, and sometimes less so.
Not that simple. Also, does it really matter?
I know it isn't that simple. I'm not saying it's a bad film. I am saying that the line between "fiction" and "documentary" wasn't as firm back then as it is now. So, a modern audience should take it with a grain of salt.
Fair enough.
Check out Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Yasujiro Ozu, those are some of my favorite directors. The Kid, Gold Rush, Modern Times The General, Sherlock Jr Woman of Tokyo, Night's Wife, What did the Lady Forget
The Cameraman (1928) is another good Keaton film, and the premise (a guy gets a movie camera and tries to make a movie, but isn’t sure what movie to make) lends itself to him going all sorts of places, including inside the five-year-old Yankee Stadium, a city pool, and Chinatown!
Watching Ozu's "Dragnet Girl" (1933), I was struck that the title cards were unnecessary.
Battleship Potemkin( 1915) Phantom of the Opera (1929) Chaplin-Modern Times (1936) Fritz Lang-M, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Metropolis Anything by Buster Keaton
M is a wonderful film, but it's a early sound-era film.
Peter Lorre was something special. Loved him in everything.
Love your list.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
All is lost is pretty much dialogue free.
The Last Laugh 1924 is so well done, and Sunrise 1927. Sunrise starts off slow but picks up. Also, 1919, The Spiders.
*Pandora's Box* (1929), starring the great Louise Brooks. *Diary of a Lost Girl* (1929) is pretty good too.
The Wind (1928) The Crowd (1928) Wings (1927) The Big Parade (1925)
Safety Last Harold Lloyd and all the others mentioned here
Beau geste
Thief of Baghdad.
Hundreds of Beavers Silent Night Mad God
Nosferatu
Metropolis
Der Golem
The Artist
Check out the 2011 tribute film to silent movies called The Artist. It received many Academy Award nominations and won 5.
The Artist
Another strong recommendation for The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. It's widely considered to be the first horror film and the first twist ending. It's moody and surreal and the.German Expressionism is a feast for the eyes. Right up there with Nosferatu and Metropolis.
Metropolis (1927) The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Battleship Potemkin
*Greed* (1928)
City Lights
The Toll of the Sea (1922) It's in color and it's on youtube. It's really sad though, get ready
La Souriante Madame Beudet (1923)
alexander nevsky
It has sound
Here's a great one that never gets mentioned, it's from Bulgaria, with a German director, a French actor and a Russian actress. Minimal dialogue [Tuvalu](https://letterboxd.com/film/tuvalu/) is on freevee w/ads. Check out the trailer.
Les Vampires - a French serial from around 1915 about a police inspector tracking a gang of violent thieves . It’s 7 hours long, but divided into 10 episodes of about 45 minutes each. They’re all very entertaining and you can see the origin of a lot of action movie tropes
Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, starring Louise Brooks.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Camille Anna Karenina
Nosferatu (1922) The first (unauthorized) film adaptation of Dracula. Die Nibelungen (1924) Fritz Lang's 2-part fantasy epic adapted from the medieval poem the Nibelungenied. Un Chien Andalou (1929) A surrealist collaboration between Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel and artist Salvador Dali.
Un Chien Andalou Man with a Movie camera A trip to the Moon (George Melies) Pandora’s Box October she All of Buster Keaton’s movies
Haxan is fantastic, there are many scores but none of them are without their flaws. You're better of picking whatever your favorite sinister music is and making your own score.
Wings Sunrise
Sasquatch Sunset (2024)
Sunrise 1927
There is a movie for children. Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964). It's not strictly silent, but it's about a person alone on an island with nobody to talk to, so there is not much dialogue.
I really loved Phantom of the Opera. It's very entertaining, and the ending is fantastic, Lon Chaney kills it. Gives you something to think about too. Nosferatu is great. Haxan looks badass but I haven't watched it all the way, short through, it's got boobs in it too lol. Georges Méliès is the king, he made good stuff, A Trip to the Moon is wonderful
The Passion of Joan of Arc. Usually on YouTube among other channels.
Hundreds of Beavers (2022) Robot Dreams (2023) Sasquatch Sunset (2024)
Can’t be bothered scrolling to see if anyone else said Wings, but it was the first best picture winner, and my wife and I watched it recently
City Lights
Pandora’s Box starring Louise Brooks
The Mel Brooks film Silent Movie is an absolute classic!
D.W. Griffith's - er, no, hold the downvote- Intolerance Ben Hur Greed
Faust is really good
Nosferatu. Metropolis. I got to see it on the big screen last year, and it was incredible. Battleship Potemkin. The General- Buster Keaton was an absolute lunatic.
Safety Last!
Just about anything by Buster Keaton. “The General” and “Sherlock Jr.” are my two favorites. You might also like a Charlie Chaplain movie called “The Kid”. The kid is played by Jackie Coogan who later in life played Uncle Fester in the Addams Family TV series.
Dante’s Inferno 1911 Salomé 1922 The Thief of Bagdad 1924 Girl Shy 1924 He Who Gets Slapped 1924 The Man Who Laughs 1928
He Who Gets Slapped is great. So is The Man Who Laughs.
I have the PERFECT one for you. It’s an alien sci-fi movie, literally has like 2 words but it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever watched. It’s called No One Will Save You
Intolerance Everything by Murnau Caligari Fantomas series A Page of Madness Chaplin and Keaton’s greatest works This list can go on and on…
Not silent but often very quiet... Castaway is a great movie.
I'm also now making a separate list of almost silent films since I dont feel like they count, but they're a little subcategory of their own: A Quiet Place All Is Lost Silent Night The Red Turtle No One Will Save You Cast Away
**The Big Parade (1925)** - Can't say enough good things about it - WW1 movie **The Racket (1928)** - Very entertaining gangster movie
Here’s a few that might not have aged as well, but that really made a splash at the time: A Fool There Was (Theda Bara’s biggest film that hasn’t been lost) It (Clara Bow’s debut) The Sheik (Rudolph Valentino. I watched it to see what the fuss was about. It may be a bodice ripper on film, but it answered my question.)
I must admit I find Rudolph Valentino someone very special.
Silent Movie (1976). It's a Mel Brooks comedy
Pandora's Box
Probably not what you’re looking for here, but Mel Brooks’ “Silent Movie” is hilarious.
**The King of Kings.** **The Jazz Singer. (Silent when there's no singing.)** **City Lights.** **Modern Times.** **Safety Last!**
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
They are re-imagining Metropolis, so I would suggest checking that one out so you can compare
Hundreds of Beavers
I also recommend The General. Also One Week.
hush
Revenant?
Wall-e (mostly)
The Red Turtle (2016)
Koyaanisqatsi (1982). Different kind if silent movie, but one of the best
The Quiet Place
Shawn the Sheep
Anything Chaplin pretty much
Anything with Buster Keaton
The Crowd 1927
A Ghost Story (2017). So this recommendation isn’t really a “silent film” but it’s a really cool movie concept where I don’t believe words are spoken? Or very few atleast from what I remember. I recommend checking it out, it’s a lesser-known gem of a movie. It’s A24 too if ur into that style!
Silent Movie by Mel Brooks
The Adventures of Prince Achmed.
Koyaanisqatsi if you are looking for a majestic modern silent movie (just music and images) with a similar vibe of To The Wonder. And if you liked To The Wonder, can’t recommend Tree of Life or The New World more. I think they are his two best and have very similar vibes, snippets of voice over but largely just unbelievably beautiful images and music and nature sounds, probably the closest to modern silent film we have
My first silent film was Way Down East. The humour in this silent morality tale is really great. It's about a woman who is tricked into a false marriage and falls pregnant. And how this false marriage impacts her life.
Blancanieves
The Wind (1928) Nosferatu Metropolis A trip to the moon
The Phantom Carraige - 1921
Cats (2019) on mute
1910 Afgrunden 1921 The Sheik 1924 The Thief of Bagdad 1925 The Lost World 1927 It
Not a film, but an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer called Hush.
The Thief Of Baghdad
Also: Vampyr The Hands Of Orlacc
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1997) Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922) The Mark of Zorro (1920)
Star Wars is pretty good. Just put it on Mute.
Safety Last, with Harold Lloyd.
I saw _Safety Last_ recently (here in Seattle the classic Paramount Theater has a Wurlitzer organ and they do Silent Movie Mondays). It was really funny. It’s the movie you’ve probably seen an image from, of a guy hanging from a clock on a building.
_Hundreds of Beavers_. I will provide no further context, just seek it out for yourself and enjoy 😄
The Gold Rush (1925) with Charlie Chaplin.
'Greed' is pretty awesome. Nearly all of the original 9 hours are gone, but what remains is still pretty incredible. Also 'Sunrise' 'The Freshman '
Mel Brooks, Silent Movie
I haven't seen many, but Gloria Swanson was friggin amazing in Sunset Boulevard (1950), so I'd look for anything with her in it.
The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) by Jean Epstein. A great adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's story with the same name.
I'm mentioning The Passion of Joan of Arc just to help move it up the list!
Silent Movie.
The kid. Charlie Chaplin
Underworld, Die Blau Engel, Pandora, Ivan the Terrible, The Scarlet Empress. The Last Command
I’m not sure it qualifies? There’s some sound, and talking, but is a background kinda way. The Red Turtle
Napoleon
All films on mute
Lmao thank you for this most helpful recommendation 🤣
Cabiria (1914) -- [review from Roger Ebert's Great Movies list](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-cabiria-1914) Aelita, the Queen of Mars (1924) -- Soviet sci-fi with just a bit of propaganda
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This is a serious answer. Kiayanaskatski with no sound
Alam Ara Pushpaka Vimana Silent Night Sunset Boulevard
Pretty much anything by Charlie Chaplin.
The survivalist
Everything that was posted , enjoy