The lost 1923 Alfred Hitchcock movie discovered after 88 years: “The missing link”
A monumental discovery.
Silent Film
Silent film is a form of cinema produced without synchronised recorded dialogue, relying instead on visual storytelling, expressive performances, intertitles and live musical accompaniment to convey narrative and emotion.
Dominating the motion picture industry from the late 19th century until the widespread adoption of sound in the late 1920s, silent cinema established many of the techniques that continue to define filmmaking today. Directors including Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, F W Murnau, D W Griffith and Sergei Eisenstein pioneered innovations in editing, cinematography and visual narrative, while actors developed highly expressive styles suited to the medium.
Landmark films such as ‘Metropolis’, ‘The General’, ‘Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans’ and ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ remain celebrated as masterpieces that demonstrate the artistic sophistication and enduring influence of silent cinema.
The “absolutely beautiful” silent film Quentin Tarantino called a “fucking masterwork”
Too quiet for him, no?
Cinema’s most timeless director, according to Alfred Hitchcock: “The Columbus of the screen”
A controversial figure.
More About Silent Film
A silent film is a motion picture produced without synchronised recorded dialogue, telling its story through visual performances, intertitles and musical accompaniment.
Early filmmaking technology did not allow synchronised recorded dialogue. Although live musicians often accompanied screenings, synchronised sound only became commercially viable with the introduction of 'talkies' in the late 1920s.
Among the most acclaimed silent films are 'Metropolis', 'The General', 'Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans', 'The Passion of Joan of Arc', 'The Gold Rush', 'Battleship Potemkin' and 'City Lights'.