What did they call silent movies?
Before the invention of "talkies," silent films were commonly referred to as "silent movies," "the silent screen," or simply "silent films." The term "the pictures" or "movies" was also used to describe them, as they were the earliest form of motion pictures exhibited in theaters.
The term silent film is therefore a retronym — that is, a term created to distinguish something retroactively. That is to say before sound was introduced, (silent) movies were called motion pictures or just films.
The term "Silent Film" describes the period of early cinema that lasted from its very beginnings in the late 1800s to the early 1930s. Due to technological issues, these films were released without sound and so a visual language and style of presentation developed that is still the basic grammar of movies today.
Getting sound and silence to work together really flourish a composition. Silence emphasizes on the emotion that every single sound creates. The term for this type of silence in film is called “filmic silence”. Filmic silence is defined as the lack of sound in a scene where only a quiet ambient track is present.
We define 'classic' as everything released from the birth of cinema (at the turn of the 20th century) up until 1969.
The largest cause of silent-film loss is intentional destruction. Before the eras of home cinema, television and home video, films were considered to have little future value when their theatrical runs ended.
Some of the most popular genres included comedy, drama, adventure, romance, and fantasy. Silent films were also made in genres such as horror, western, and science fiction. Each genre allowed filmmakers to experiment with storytelling and visual techniques without the use of synchronized sound.
The oldest surviving silent film is known as the Roundhay Garden Scene. It was recorded on October 14, 1888, by inventor Louis Le Prince in Roundhay, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.
The American silent era produced about 10,919 films. Just 2,749 of those are still with us in some complete form, either as an original American 35mm version, a foreign release, or as a lower-quality copy.
The technology to capture and record sound on film along with the images was not mastered until the mid-1920s, and it wasn't in common use until later in that decade. That means that for most of the first 35 years of motion pictures, theaters had to provide their own accompaniment with the films.
Why do silent films look sped up?
Economics dictated shooting closer to the threshold of the illusion, and most silent films were filmed around 16-18 frames per second (fps), then projected closer to 20-24 fps. This is why motion in those old silent films is so comical, the film is sped up: Charlie Chaplin.
The new movies in the 1920's where called talkies. In the late 1920s, the technology called synchronized sound was developed, allowing movies to include talking and singing talkies.
Roundhay Garden Scene is a short silent motion picture filmed by French inventor Louis Le Prince at Oakwood Grange in Roundhay, Leeds, in Northern England on 14 October 1888. It is believed to be the oldest surviving film. The camera used was patented in the United Kingdom on 16 November 1888.
The shift from silent films to talkies was a huge deal for actors in the late 1920s. Many silent film stars found it difficult to “find their voice” and place in this new Hollywood medium, which completely changed the game of on-screen performance.
Statistics on lost films
Deutsche Kinemathek estimates that 80–90% of silent films are gone; the film archive's own list contains over 3,500 lost films. A study by the Library of Congress of 2013 states that 75% of all silent films are lost.
Some people enjoy watching silent movies for a variety of reasons. Silent films can be appreciated for their historical significance, artistic expression, and storytelling techniques. They often rely on visual storytelling, expressive acting, and creative use of music to convey emotions and narratives.
Silent films were never silent. From their earliest days as an exhibition attraction, motion pictures were accompanied by some form of music–typically a piano, a musical combo in more modest sized houses, and sometimes an entire orchestra in movie palaces.
| Title | Year | Gross rental |
|---|---|---|
| The Birth of a Nation | 1915 | $10,000,000 |
| The Big Parade | 1925 | $6,400,000 |
| Ben-Hur | 1925 | $5,500,000 |
| The Kid | 1921 | $5,450,000 |
Silent comedies often place heavy emphasis on visual and physical humors, often including "sight gags", to tell stories and entertain the viewer.
There were funny faces such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd, John Bunny and Ben Turpin; dashing faces such as Richard Barthelmess and Valentino, who died tragically at 31 in 1926, and astonishingly beautiful faces such as Norma Shearer, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, Constance and Norma ...
What ended the silent film era?
In 1927, The Jazz Singer was the first feature length film to include sound. By the early 1930s, the silent film era was over as “talkies” became a theatre sensation.
The first all-talking motion picture was Lights of New York in 1928. But some studios stubbornly clung to silent pictures, at least for another couple of years. The last silent feature film was The Poor Millionaire in 1930.
03Charlie Chaplin is the most famous silent film star of all time, spanning a career of more than 75 years until his death in 1977.
Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)
This is typically recognized as the first silent film ever recorded. It was captured on an old fashioned camera by French inventor Louis Le Prince in northern England in 1888. It's only 1.66 seconds long and depicts several people in a garden.
This led to the silent movie era which ranged from 1894 to 1929. During this time period, a number of moving pictures were created and shown in theaters on big screens.
