To watch silent film in a live setting with a live audience in the SF Bay Area you can go to Niles Canyon Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, CA. They apparently still have live film screenings on the weekends. I used to go once in a while when I lived in the area.
The Niles Canyon section of Fremont was an early nucleus of the film industry in the USA, before Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin's "The Tramp" was filmed there. During WW1 the film industry shifted to Hollywood.
I really like Safety Last! - many people here recommended Buster Keaton and I’m here to say “don’t overlook Harold Lloyd!”.
I also enjoyed People On Sunday, if only to see what Berlin was like in the 20s. It was Billy Wilder’s early works, before he made some waves in Hollywood.
There are already mentions of all the greats in other comments: Keaton, Lloyd, Chaplin, as well as Lang, Murnau, Griffith and others.
I wanted to mention a silent film I watched recently, Lonesome (1928) https://letterboxd.com/film/lonesome/
Although it includes added dialogue (and color!) for a few scenes, it is still considered a silent black-and-white movie. You get a wonderful view of life in a big American city almost a century ago. It is amazing what still remains the same...
mindcrime ·6 days ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(1927_film)
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nwatson ·6 days ago
The Niles Canyon section of Fremont was an early nucleus of the film industry in the USA, before Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin's "The Tramp" was filmed there. During WW1 the film industry shifted to Hollywood.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niles_Essanay_Silent_Film_Muse...
helph67 ·9 days ago
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pixelatedindex ·6 days ago
I also enjoyed People On Sunday, if only to see what Berlin was like in the 20s. It was Billy Wilder’s early works, before he made some waves in Hollywood.
zvr ·6 days ago
I wanted to mention a silent film I watched recently, Lonesome (1928) https://letterboxd.com/film/lonesome/ Although it includes added dialogue (and color!) for a few scenes, it is still considered a silent black-and-white movie. You get a wonderful view of life in a big American city almost a century ago. It is amazing what still remains the same...