A Brief History of Silent Movies
They say speech is silver, but silence, gold. In accordance, many regard the era of silent films as a time when some of the masterpieces of the movie industry were crafted and presented to audiences. Presented here is a brief history of the era of silent movies.
| CONTENTS |
THE JOURNEY OF SILENT CINEMA
It All Begins
The Golden DaysMAKING WAY FOR THE TALKIES
MOST CELEBRATED LEGENDS OF THE SILENT ERA
*Click on images to enlarge
| THE JOURNEY OF SILENT CINEMA |
It All Begins
The history of silent movies begins with the history of cinema itself; as all movies made in those times did not have sound. Eadweard Muybridge's Sallie Gardner at a Gallop was the first film ever to be made. It documented equine motion and was released in 1878. The film consisted of a series of 24 photographs that were projected on the Zoopraxiscope (considered the first movie projector) in succession at high speeds to create the illusion of motion. Muybridge's Zoopraxiscope was the inspiration behind the Kinetoscope, which was meant for individual viewing. It used the same basic technique of relaying successive photographs to create the illusion of motion. However, in spite of being a 'motion'-picture, Sallie Gardner at a Gallop cannot be really called a 'film', as it was merely a relay of successive photographs that created the 'illusion' of motion. Also, it was more-or-less a documentary, rather than a narrative. The first narrative film ever, Roundhay Garden Scene (a scene from which can be seen in the picture on the left), was made by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (seen in the picture on the right). It was released on 14 October 1888, and, believe it or not, was only 2 seconds long! Louis Le Prince is considered the true father of motion picture. Motion pictures matured into full-length feature films in the 1920s, but still lacked sound. It is this short period of a few decades that is referred to as the era of silent cinema.The Golden Days
Silent movies were at their peak by the 1920s - the decade saw the birth of many a legend and many a masterpiece, that would go on to be appreciated, liked and seen over and over again by generations to come. By the 1920s, people had mastered the technique - or rather the art of speaking volumes without saying a word. In fact, so adept was the film fraternity with the concept of silent films, that for quite a few years after the 'talkies' arrived, movies failed to create the impact they did in the silent era, for directors and actors alike could not deal with all the sound! A lot of the techniques used to make silent films are not understood by audiences today, and so they, at times, fail to grasp the aesthetic sense of the era, and they fail to grasp the art of movie-making of those times. So let me try and throw some light on a few of the movie-making aspects that prevailed in mute movies.
Acting
Charlie Chaplin, one of the geniuses of the silent era, very correctly said once that "Cinema is pantomimic art". No sound meant no dialogues, so your body language and facial expressions had to do all the talking. Many actors hence adopted hyperbole in their acting, which worked in their favor of course. You may notice many actors exaggerate their actions in the silent films - you fall, it has to be dramatic; you are sad, you have to melodramatic; you are falling in love, you have to bat your eye-lashes and blush! Exaggeration worked especially well for comedies. But exaggerating grief is something that can very quickly and easily go wrong. But they all managed to do it beautifully; and that is sheer brilliance, I believe.
Music
The importance of music in creating a mood was already known - music was effectively used to the same purpose in plays and dramas. But getting music into a mute film was like trying to make a blind man see a picture! Nonetheless, movie-makers came up with creative alternatives. In the very beginning, music was only used to entertain the audiences before the actual movie began, and during the intertitles (covered below). Later, movies came to be accompanied with live music performances that coordinated with the scene. Theater organs were used to create special sound effects too. However, most of the movies adapted theater music and improvised on it. The first ever movie to have an original music score was D.W. Griffith's 1915 epic The Birth of a Nation (composed by Joseph Carl Breil). Seen in the picture alongside is the poster of the same movie, that was used to advertise the movie. As movies gained popularity, musicians came to largely depend on movies to earn a living. As silent movies reached their highest peaks of success, the popularity of plays and dramas slowly waned. This is why many an artists were deeply saddened when the talkies arrived. However, music in movies never lost its importance. Many musicians eventually played for the talkies as well; only now, the music was recorded and played along with the film.Direction
Directors of the silent era never shied away from experimenting, for movies were still very very new to everyone. While most directors insisted on their actors being theatrical, melodramatic and flamboyant, a few allowed the actors to identify their own acting styles, and act naturally and candidly. Many movie-makers considered this style as rather mellow and subtle. This may seem a little difficult for you to grasp - movies have metamorphosed tremendously and have become more subtle and more intense in terms of direction over the years. But it would be equally hard, say, to grasp the undercurrents when the Corleone family members spoke to one another if there was no sound, and hence no dialogues. Direction was hence a big challenge, which talented, daring directors took up bravely, and did justice to.
Dialogues
The absence of sound meant the characters on screen could never 'say' anything to take the story forward. But sometimes, the requirement of saying something is unavoidable. At such times, movies made use of something called intertitles. Intertitles are the text plates that were interspersed between the visuals. They helped carry the story from one point in the plot to another. Intertitles themselves too went through various stages, from simple text intertitles to elaborate ones, sometimes even carrying an illustration of one or more of the movie characters. Writing intertitles became a profession, and soon people apart from the screenplay writers (or scenario writers, as they were called back then) came to be hired to write intertitles for movies! This may seem too easy a task, but if you take a look at some of the intertitles from some silent movies, you will realize how creative and illustrative they were - intertitles evolved too, like all other aspects of silent movies, to become a special feature of the films.Technology
The technology which was used to make movies in the silent era, and hence the norms that governed movie-making, are completely different from those which exist now. Right from the lights, to movie projectors, to the film reels, everything has witnessed a drastic change. CGI (computer-generated imagery), VFX (visual effects) and DFX (digital effects) have greatly simplified movie-making now, so that it is not difficult to show a small boy flying on a broomstick! But even thinking of showing a man dreaming would have seemed blasphemous in the silent era! And yet it was achieved brilliantly by G.A. Smith as early as in the year 1898, using a technique called double exposure. Other techniques like stop motion were also used to add to the movie-watching experience. Film continuity, slow motion, animation - some of the techniques that have become the basics of movie-making now, were all developed in the silent era of cinema.
| MAKING WAY FOR THE TALKIES |
The first ever talking movie was The Jazz Singer, which was released in 1927. However, attempts to construct a device that could combine visuals and sound had been made many many years prior to the release of this movie. Thomas Edison's Kinetophone was probably the earliest of movie projectors to combine sound and visuals. Even after the release of the first talky, silent films continued to reign the cinema world for quite a few years. The early attempts of the film fraternity to adapt to 'talking movies' were clumsy, and for a brief period, the quality of work produced reduced significantly. But even as talkies gained popularity, many a director, producer and film-maker, continued to make silent movies, some with the specific intention of making a film that would celebrate the art of silent cinema, and some to pay a tribute to an era gone by. Murnau's City Girl (1930), and Chaplin's Modern Times (1931), are few such examples.
| MOST CELEBRATED LEGENDS OF THE SILENT ERA |
Before the task of movie-making came to be divided under different responsibilities like direction, production, composing music, cinematography, etc., many a time the crew of a movie would be a one-man army. Movies were the brain-child of one person, who would then set about making the movie. Hence, some of the initial movies were written, directed, produced, by a single person. Even after various divisions were established, some ambitious movie-makers continued to make 'all-me' films, where they worked on more than just one aspect of movie-making. Below is an account of some of the most celebrated legends of the silent cinema.
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D.W. Griffith: The man who directed the epic The Birth of a Nation (1915), D.W. Griffith is regarded by film historians as one of the greatest American film directors ever, although he arrived in New York with the dreams of becoming a successful playwright. He made his debut in the film industry as an actor in Edward Porter's Rescued from an Eagle's Nest. With The Birth of a Nation, Griffith raised the bar of movies to another level. The movie set many a record, becoming the highest grossing film in history, and the first American feature film. Griffith is also celebrated for his other films - Lady Helen's Escapade, Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages, and Broken Blossoms; all of which have been preserved by the United States National Film Registry. |
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Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle: Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was an actor, director and screenwriter. But he is widely and most significantly acknowledged for his comic genius. Arbuckle's is a life full of controversies. When he was born, his father named him after a politician he despised, because he did not believe Roscoe was his child. Since he was a child, Roscoe had a very melodious voice. He was soon pulled into vaudeville for his singing talent. Arbuckle's acting debut was Ben's Kid. He popularized the cliché gag 'pie in the face' that went on to be adapted into several comedies of the silent era. But more than anything else, I think we are all indebted to Arbuckle for having mentored Charlie Chaplin (it is believed 'The Tramp' was adapted from Arbuckle's dressing style) and discovered Buster Keaton; two very famous personalities of the silent era. |
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Charlie Chaplin: Charlie Chaplin is one of the most sensitive comedians to have ever existed. You watch a Chaplin movie, and you laugh - but look into the eyes of the actor, and you cannot help shedding a tear. Chaplin's early life had him face tough times and go through hardships unimaginable of a small boy. It must have, however, paved the way for his film-technique - for Chaplin's humor is one that begins with laughter but leaves you ashamed of yourself and what the world around is turning into. Chaplin had the power to make you introspect, after giving you a good laugh - almost as if he were challenging you. Chaplin's films came to define and dominate the silent era, especially in the 1920s. Two of his films - The Gold Rush and The Circus, went on to become top-grossing silent films in the United States. They are also among the top 10 Charlie Chaplin movies ever made. |
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Buster Keaton: If Charlie Chaplin epitomizes pantomime, Buster Keaton is 'The Great Stone Face' (as he was nicknamed). Keaton's comic appeal came from the way his characters in different films were always unfazed by the events occurring around them. Keaton's debut in The Butcher Boy was first in the legacy of films of the duo that Arbuckle and Keaton made. Keaton went on to become Arbuckle's gag-man, second-director, and best friend for life, who was to stand by Arbuckle through all his highs and lows. Such was the acting and directorial genius of the man, that he has been ranked as the 7th greatest director of all times (Entertainment Weekly) and 21st greatest male star of all times (American Film Institute). He and Arbuckle together as a pair have given the film industry some of the best comedy films. |
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Sergei Eisenstein: One cannot talk of silent cinema and not mention Eisenstein, a director and a film theorist. Eisenstein traveled a lot throughout his life. As a young boy, Sergei took up architecture and engineering, his father's profession. Eisenstein's introduction to the arts came with the study of the Japanese language, when he learned about the Kabuki theater. Eisenstein is best known for his silent film Battleship Potemkin. One who has seen this film cannot help but remember and shudder at the aesthetic beauty in which the Odessa Steps scene was shot. Though not entirely factual, the incident was added in the film to emphasize on the cruelties of the Imperial regime. Alexander Nevsky, one of Eisenstein's talkies, won him Order Of Lenin. |
The names of many more maestros are associated with the silent era; like the German film director and expressionist F.W. Murnau, or Fritz Lang, who gave us the earliest science fiction film Metropolis, which was also the most expensive silent film ever made. Some film personalities even began their careers in the silent era and continued to work through the talkies till as late as the 1980s, like the silent era actress Lilian Gish, who had one of the longest careers, a complete 75 years!
Beginning at personal experiments ending in a two-second clip, the U.S. movie industry has grown into a gigantic force providing employment to more than 2 million people, contributing grossly $180 billion each year to the U.S. economy. Beginning at probably only a few dollars, movies now cost hundred million dollars, with Spider Man 3 being one of the most expensive films ever made ($258 million)... and to think of it, all of this began 'without a word'! We indeed have a lot to owe to personalities of the silent film era, for they developed in us a taste to see motion on a screen, even though it was without sound. The art of silent movies will be celebrated by generations to come.
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