The Silent era was louder than you think

   When you watch a movie with your family tonight, could be a new Hollywood release. The new 3-D movie with the mind blowing special effects and starring the big name actor. The sounds of popcorn crunching in your mouths are buried beneath the deep sound of your sub-woofer as the villain and hero clash. As entertaining as the movie is, we should reflect on how this technology got us here.
   Everything has to start somewhere. Before 3-D we had high definition. Before that we had computer special effects or CG. Prior to that, there was the evolution of color. Even before that, we had black and white cinema with sound, and before that we had the silent era.
   Some people can be turned off with a silent movie, but hopefully can still appreciate how valuable they were to movies today. Just think if Thomas Edison didn't put all those pictures together to make a movie. Or the famous flip book of the running man, then it might not have sparked the idea of "movies". The silent era had such classic actors as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Actors like this had to rely on visual comedy rather than telling a joke. If you see a silent film, you will witness some of the best comedy that was ever captured on film. Take the movie "The General" for example. In this movie, Buster Keaton is operating a train locomotive, and is seen dangling out the sides while it is in motion and riding on top, all while telling a story visually with only a musical background. Throughout the film, I was cracking up louder than I have laughed at a movie in years. The movie "City Lights" starring the iconic Charlie Chaplin. He is seen doing the same slapstick visual humor that has sparked the careers of many comedic actors since. Both of these films are classic in themselves, but what this genre started basically gave birth to American cinema. Besides acting, silent films also had to tell a story visually. For directors and screen writers, they couldn't rely on dialogue to carry the story.
   Not only is the silent film an icon, but it's something that we should all look back and appreciate. Especially when we are watching the latest summer blockbuster in the Imax 3-D. If it wasn't for the running man and those early flipbooks that made images move..we might not have what we see today.

by
Joe Talmage
webmoviepick@gmail.com