Great Silent Movie Free On YouTube

Steve K

I've talked about avoiding dialogue and my love of the great silent stars (Chaplin, Keaton).  Another great is Harold Lloyd whose still image (attached) from his 1923 movie "Safety Last" is one of the icons of the silent era.  Many would recognize the image but I doubt many have seen the movie.  It is now free at YouTube and is a lot of fun and pretty scary at times.  The scenes high on the building (about half the movie) are real, with a false facade raised high on various building roofs and the real streets below in the background.  They say audiences would be alternately laughing loudly then screaming ...  

Headwax

thanks for that , amazing isn't it?

Diomede

One of my favorite films.  

Steve K

Diomede said:

One of my favorite films.  

Yes, and now one of mine after watching it for the first time on The Criterion Channel.  They also had a commentary with critic Leonard Maltin and a man who became the curator of carefully preserved films for the retired Mr. Lloyd, who had been careful to maintain ownership..  Interesting points like the fake facade had handholds, unlike a real stone/brick facade, and Mr. Lloyd wore rubber sole shoes and kept himself in great shape.  And the long shots of the "human fly" stunt man actually climbing a tall building used wires to keep him from falling, even though the stunt man did not want it.  But he had had an accident not long before and producer Hal Roach and Harold Lloyd did not want a potentially lethal repeat. 

Overall, pretty spectacular editing given the state of film making at the time, everything was very convincing ... and scary. 

Steve K

And now another one, "Sherlock Jr.", 1924 starring Buster Keaton.   It was profitable but not nearly as popular in its day as other Keaton films. Possibly because it came out during a big studio merger to form MGM, with some associated confusion in marketing, etc.  But its reputaion has grown over time, now its on the AFI list of funniest films of the century.  The 45 minute movie starts a little slow, but stay with it, it gets wilder and wilder.  One critic said the Keaton stunts are every bit as entertaining as Harold Lloyd's.

ed3D

And  Then  YouTube themself has up All 5 original Planet of the Apes for Free with commercials  _  thanx

 

Planet of the Apes (1968), Beneath the Planet of the Apes,

Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes.

Steve K

ed3D said:

 ... 

Planet of the Apes (1968) ...

Rated 8.0 at IMDB, higher than I remembered.  Roger Ebert: "  'Planet of the Apes' is much better than I expected it to be. It is quickly paced, completely entertaining, and its philosophical pretensions don't get in the way.  If you only condescend to see an adventure thriller on rare occasions, condescend this time. You have nothing to lower but your brow."  

ed3D

And ,  thought it  "Could " be of  interest

  _  actualy You-Tube has a number of Movies &  T.V. show  Free with commercials   _  Thanx 

Bunyip02

Another spot for freebies - https://tubitv.com/

Diomede

I recently took out the Planet of the Apes TV show DVD from my library.  Could only make myself watch the first couple of episodes. Somehow, I remembered it better from a kid in the 70s perspective.

Several of the original movies hold up very well, particularly #1 and #3. 

ed3D

~  Was  Not  trying to  "take over"  this  disscustion  ,  Sorry  ~

Diomede

I feel bad for following up on Planet of the Apes.  Except, no, no I don't feel bad about that.  

.

RE: silent films was the original topic.  I have posted several Silent Comedy / Jackie Chan videos in other threads.  Worth admiring the history of silent comedy and how Jackie applies it in his modern films.  Jackie's background was in Chinese Opera and in stunt work for martial arts films before he was cast as lead and then became his own producer/director.

Buster Keaton's parents were dancers.  You can see his natural athleticism and grace in his movements - similar to Jackie bringing his opera background to stuntwork.  Keaton, Chaplin, etc were not just doing prat falls.

Steve K

Diomede said:

 ...   Keaton, Chaplin, etc were not just doing prat falls.

Hilarious compilation, most of which I've never seen.  Incredible talent.  I noticed especially the Chaplin dancing forks @ ~1:26.  Johnny Depp pays tribute in "Bennie & Joon":

Steve K

Roger Ebert on "Benny and Joon", reinforcing Diomede's point about physical grace:

"The first time we see Sam (the Depp character), riding on the bus, he's reading a book about the silent clown Buster Keaton. This is not idle curiosity. Sam has somehow determined to internalize the genius of Keaton, Chaplin and the other early screen comedians, and although he never says that out loud, either, it becomes clear in a gradual, unforced way, as he incorporates bits from their films into his daily life.

If I had been reading the screenplay of 'Benny and Joon,' I would have started to form ominous misgivings at about this point, since the conceit of bringing a character like Sam into the story seems a little too precious. But Depp pulls it off. In 'Edward Scissorhands' he demonstrated two of the skills that are crucial to his performance in 'Benny and Joon': He was able to build an essentially wordless performance out of expression and gesture, and he had natural physical grace.

Here, without ever explaining himself, he simply behaves sometimes in the real world in the way Keaton and Chaplin behaved in their movie worlds.

There is a moment at a lunch counter, for example, when he sticks two forks into two dinner rolls, holds them under his chin, and moves them to suggest that the rolls are his feet, and he is dancing. It's a steal from [Chaplin's] 'The Gold Rush,' but done with an offhand charm that makes it work all over again."