Faust (1926)

I know the term silent cinema is common but I couldn't pick a better word than cinema.

Needless to say I was heavily impressed, intrigued, and taken in by what many would claim to be F.W. Murnau's crowning achievement in filmmaking. To be honest I think I'm one of them even though I haven't seen even half his filmography mostly due to the fact that out of his 21 films only 11 still exist, but the power of Faust puts even modern films to shame in the simplest term for movies, imagery. This is a monumentally gorgeous film with so much special effects shooting it could be considered the Star Wars of it's day, where almost every frame is a painting filled with brilliant contrast of light and shadow, a wonderful mix of miniatures, cross dissolves, rear projection, and even animatronics that wouldn't be surpassed in cinema until 1933's King Kong. Concerning an old alchemist whose town is beleagured by plague, turns to the king of Hell itself to try to save people but is quickly snared by promises of youth and love as not only his life spirals but those he interacts with as well. The road to Hell is often paved with the goodest of intentions. For such a simple story it's told on a grand scale with drama to match, all the performances are big but not hammy or over the top. Gösta Ekman who plays the young and old versions of Faust does very good work and can convey a lot through facial acting, Camilla Horn as his love interest Gretchen honestly is my second favorite performance because she has so much range and dare I even say haunting moments which is amazing to witness, but the whole show is stolen in my humble opinion by Emil Jannings who plays Mephisto. I know, I know, praising the villain as per usual but you have not seen what I have seen. Dis guy, lemme tell you about dis guy! I have never seen a performance in silent movies so relishing in the part, I almost want to say he goes camp but that is not in a derogatory sense, gleefully indulging in vice, you can practically hear the hisses and groans when he's confronted with religious symbols, his natural instinct to backstab and lie. I am hardpressed in all of my years to think of a better devil character in fiction than this fella right here! Exquisite, definitive, iconic. Yet even with the lighter moments this movie can get dark man, with shots of people dying from pestilence, being stabbed with the most nonchalant grace, pretty much everything that happens to Gretchen after falling for Faust is horrific and depressing. I almost expected the movie to end on a seriously pessimistic if not even nihilistic note, but there is hope at the end with a message of love to help you fight through the darkness. I couldn't praise the visuals more and I'd be here all damn day if I tried, the direction is so tight and focused, you can tell this was a production that worked hand in hand with each department to craft the best movie possible. For an almost 2 hour movie it pretty much had me in a headlock before even the two minute mark hit, and it's got a solid pace to it. I loved it, I can fully see why it is lauded so much and has a special place in film history, I also can easily recommend it and hope that you enjoy it just as much if not even more than I did. Full 4 stars, 9/10, and I hopefully saved the best for last with one of the most influential movies of all time, Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

Nosferatu

Not my first silent film but certainly one of the most effective.

Nosferatu deserves a lot of credit and a lot of respect in the horror genre, not only did it truly bring to life vampires in cinema but is such an eerie film that I can pinpoint to many different reasons. The plot is a loose adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula mainly changing the names of characters, and it's honestly a miracle this film even exists because Bram Stoker's widow sued the filmmakers and almost every print was destroyed. Sure London After Midnight is the holy grail of lost horror films, but I don't think people appreciate fully that we have this movie at all. There's many versions of this movie, it fell into the public domain which makes all of 3 horror films I know of that you can watch straight on YouTube, and the quality I got on there was good with the proper color tinting but the runtime didn't reach 90 minutes, I can fullheartedly say you should buy the Kino version because it looks outstanding and is at a pretty good price for a DVD. F.W. Murnau was a monumental director and did such a good job with this, the shots can be pretty and can also be skin crawling, and while I watched it with an organ accompaniment I feel the only true way is to watch it with zero audio. But not only that, the performance from Max Schreck is for my money the scariest vampire in cinema. His physicality can never be forgot and the strange unearthly way he moves in tandem with the rest of the cast is excellent. Silent cinema of the 1920s is never represented better than in the horror genre, I mean seriously how many silent black and white films can you name that aren't outright horror movies? I can name a few but that's because I enjoy that type of movie, especially with Lon Chaney as the star but an average person points to Nosferatu, The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, and The Phantom Of The Opera. This movie is nearly a century old and having that context makes it such a strange curiosity further engrossing the uncanny and creepy visuals. Bottom line, it's a classic for a reason. 4 stars, 7.5/10! But there's only one way to ever watch it, in the middle of the night ,when you are alone, edging towards sleep, with nothing but the silence and glow of your TV as company. And as you make your way to your bedroom in almost pitch black, you don't dare look behind you and hope that the sun rises a little quicker than usual.