![]() I love its ambition, its huge cast of characters, its grand themes, its attention to detail– everything about its big beautiful bloated self. One of the grandest spectacles ever put on film, now and forevermore. So I nearly put The General here, then thought–but what about Buster’s shorts? So I put down The Scarecrow, then thought–but One Week‘s one of the greatest things in life! And then I put down One Week, then thought–aw heck, they’re all mindblowing but The Scarecrow‘s my favorite. I love Murnau’s Nosferatu as much as the next person, but will give Faust a slight edge. This film just stuns me–its style, its boldness, the plot of the old tale that taps into nothing less than the eternal struggle of good vs. And by the way, Lillian Gish is the First Lady of the cinema. Plus, the reunion scene between the Tramp and the Kid never fails to turn me into a blubbering mess.Įxquisite, impressionistic, poetic, daring, bittersweet, delicate, raw, experimental, timeless, artistic, meditative, lyrical–if I keep going eventually I’ll run out of descriptive words. ![]() It doesn’t have the self-consciousness of some of his later work. He took his comedy to a new level, inspired by his actual life experiences. A simple, dramatic David-and-Goliath story with a small cast of vivid characters and an idyllic rural setting–it’s tailor-made for me.Ĭhaplin’s beautiful, gritty, heartstring-tugging masterpiece. But this one gets a little edge for that fantastic scene where Buster and Roscoe “flirt” in the hallway (err, it makes more sense in context).Ī milestone piece of Americana worthy to be ranked with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and your grandmother’s apple pie recipe. They’re all so fresh, so unpretentious, so hilarious and full of energy, that I nearly rent my garment with despair. I’m obsessed with the Comique shorts, so choosing my favorite is like a mother having to choose a favorite child. Sci-fi, religion, surrealism, allegory, expressionism, fantasy, drama, dreams–it’s all here, and once you see it you’ll never forget it. What more can I say? It’s epic, it’s operatic, it’s a triumph of the imagination, and its art direction is second to none. I don’t know if my list is the most surprising one in the world (no worries, it’s not smugly crammed with obscure social dramas from Finland or something), but here it is, in no particular order–except for #1! (Links are included for the ones I’ve reviewed so far.) Needless to say, picking just ten films was a task akin to scaling Mount Everest. So allow me to tell you a little about myself. Here I’ve been publishing posts on our beloved old films week in and week out, and never thought to write the most basic one of all–a “my favorite silents” list. And depending on the context, they can tell you a little about the writer, too. So I’ve been thinking: good ol’ Internet listicles are fun.
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