I had a question come up and it's a good one, so I thought I would do a quick thread: We often see silent movie footage that is battered, decayed and smeary but what did these films look like to their original audience. And the answer is... it depends!
When I was a kid in the early '70s I would stay up late and watch silent and foreign films on KCET. This after midnight and I'd sit right in front of the TV in part because I had to keep the sound low. At that time I just assumed "they" had really lousy cameras back then.
KCET?!? Southern California? Me too. It was the most reliable source for movies like that. They were great for silent and foreign films. The more mainstream, big studio movies were on KABC 7's late, late show. My grandfather and I would sit up till all hours watching them together.
Imagine being 11 sitting with a plate of Ritz crackers and cheddar cheese slices one foot from the TV and watching THE SILENCE.
Thanks-this is great thread! When I watch a silent film on TCM, I wonder about the music, since it often seems to be something created recently. I wondered if they had an official score someone was supposed to play, or if local theaters basically improvised. It sounds like it was often the latter.
There were only a handful of prints at any given time. Wide release wasn't a thing, prints were sent on to the next theater once the run was finished or they were taken on a roadshow. Every time a print is projected, there is some damage. Big theaters in major cities would have clearer prints...
But smaller theaters would often complain about wear and tear and damage. (Plus, many theaters had to deal with clouds of tobacco smoke!) Theater managers would complain about "rainstorms" (scratched prints) and United Artists was singled out for providing unusually clean and clear film reels.
When we see a fresh restoration released on Bluray (like BEHIND THE DOOR), we are watching a movie as it would have been seen at its premiere. Your experience at the movies in the silent era was HEAVILY changed depending on where you were and how much money you spent.
Also, what we see on home media depends one what the film was transferred FROM and TO. For example, the first version of EVE'S LEAVES that I saw was an 8mm transfer to VHS. The next version I saw was probably a 16mm transfer to HD DVD. Big difference.
And once you get into 35mm transfers to HD (as we see with THE BLOOD SHIP), then you're really cooking! You can count the pores of the cast!
The film's last reel only survives on 16mm, so there is a drop in clarity but the good transfer means there is still a lot of detail.
So, I guess the modern silent film experience can also depend on where you are and how much money you have to spend. One thing is for sure, a high quality home media release is probably better than most theatrical experiences at smaller theaters, with battered prints and questionable music.
Ain't this just the truth. I saw "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928) at a cinema that screened the film with NO musical accompaniment & distributed the translation on print-outs. The theatre was filled with people craning to read the paper in the dark. Way to kill what I'm told is an excellent film.
There are accounts of theater musicians going on autopilot and playing something like Does the Spearmint Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight when the comedy relief scene was done and high romance was ensuing. Big cities had orchestras. Tiny towns often had Whoever Could Kind of Play.
And wide release is a thing for studio fare now but we are still in the silent era with anything indie or foreign in the USA. (And, of course, foreign markets often have to wait for Hollywood films in wide release here.) Sound systems vary by theater, of course, but the score is the same everywhere
The available movies were different too. Most of the majors owned theaters (Universal being an exception) but small towns had indies and relied on what was called "States Rights" distribution. Westerns went over big. Big fancy epics tended to flop.
Doubly in the silent era as some repertoire theatres are the theatres that are from that era still, hanging on by their nails! My favourite one to go to opened in 1910!
Ahhh, would love to hear even a small orchestra at a screening. Have attended two showings with Dennis James playing music intended for each film’s original release. That was cool.
I love the idea of a Kino alternate track of “improv by Aunt Irene”
Right? Give us the real experience (loads old fireworks under the theater seats for added authenticity)
On this topic, years ago I enjoyed the documentary Dawson City: Frozen in Time, about the discovery of a preserved cache of silent movies buried there. (I am guessing you've seen it.) They talked about the quality issue, too, & how long it took movies to reach the Yukon--it was the end of the line.
Valentino always looks good to me!
I know a lot about silent movies, but it's always cool to learn from someone who knows *more*!
Fantastic thread! Have you seen @billmorrison.bsky.social ‘s DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME? The wear on those films is haunting. It’s one of my all time favorite films.
May I add the matter of panchromatic vs orthochromatic film stocks, which changed during the silent era: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchro...
As a kid going to the cinema, we used to cheer and heckle when the film would catch fire which it frequently did. At least we had decent fire extinguishers. I imagine a reel of film going across America, being played nightly would get tatty pretty quickly!
I remember (doesn't seem all THAT long ago 🤣) waiting for the Big movies to be sent to the discount movie theater where I could watch it for $3.25. There was always some broken spot in the film & we had to wait a bit for the 2nd reel to be loaded & started. Was sad when they tore down that theater.😢
