I'm not a big fan of most of the film's found in film historian Kevin Brownlow's list of "essential silents" — The Crowd and The Wind are the two I like best; I haven't seen Varieté, yet — even though Brownlow certainly included 10 of the most renowned silent ever made.
Now, if I were to come up with an impromptu list of 10 "essential silents" — all from a very personal point of view — I'd include the following ( knowing full well that I'd be leaving out another 20 or 30 or 50 "essentials," among them numerous historically important bores):
Sold for Marriage, 1916 When worlds — New and Old — collide. An early silent that feels incredibly modern. Lillian Gish stars. The underappreciated Christy Cabanne directed.
The Hoodlum, 1919 A delightful, surprisingly modern, socially conscious Mary Pickford comedy.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse [top], 1921 Rex Ingram may not be a household name today — even in the household of film historians — but in his day, Ingram was considered one of the top three or four film directors in the world. The Four Horsemen is most likely his greatest film. The romantic epic also helped to launch Rudolph Valentino's stardom.
Greed [right], 1924 Erich von Stroheim's masterpiece about deadly human foibles.
Lady Windermere's Fan, 1925 Ernst Lubitsch directs with his usual panache. Irene Rich steals the show as a woman of both a certain age and a certain reputation.
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg, 1927 A wistful Ramon Novarro vehicle, delicately directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and co-starring Norma Shearer at her charming-est.
Street Angel, 1928 Perhaps the best of all Frank Borzage's melodramas I've seen, and the best of the Janet Gaynor-Charles Farrell love stories. (Heresy of heresies: I find Street Angel infinitely more touching than the revered Sunrise.)
The Crowd, 1928 Perhaps King Vidor's best film (certainly the best of the ones I've seen). As a plus, the film stars a superb Eleanor Boardman (at the time married to her director), a now unfairly forgotten actress that was one of the most talented performers of the 1920s.
Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück / Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness, 1929 Phil Jutzi's haunting, immensely touching social tragedy, starring a brilliant Alexandra Schmidt.
The Pagan [right], 1929 Ramon Novarro at his most unaffected in a (mostly) light, romantic tale set in the South Seas, with a great score (from the "Pagan Love Song" by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown) and dazzlingly lush cinematography (by Clyde De Vinna).
What, no Eisenstein? No, no Eisenstein.
No Chaplin, or Keaton, or Lloyd? Definitely no Chaplin, Keaton, or Lloyd.
Sorry.
Kevin Brownlow's Essential Silents
SHOOTER (2007) by Antoine Fuqua: Film Review
STAR WARS Kicks off the Academy's Great To Be Nominated Series Part III
hahahah
I'm know I'm a heretic when it comes to film appreciation — and when it comes to just about everything else…
So, Boyd, what movies would *you* include in your list?
What, no Eisenstein? No, no Eisenstein.
No Chaplin, or Keaton, or Lloyd? Definitely no Chaplin, Keaton, or Lloyd.
Sorry.
Well, OK – nothing much left to comment on, then :)
You're excused anyway, as the best thing about these lists is that they are personal.