silent cinema
Movies without sound
Silent cinema refers to the era of filmmaking before synchronized sound became standard, roughly from the 1890s through the late 1920s.
Films from this period relied on visual storytelling, exaggerated acting, title cards for dialogue, and live musical accompaniment in theaters.
The term also describes the body of work from this era or the aesthetic style it established.
Chaplin and Keaton were masters of silent cinema.
Without color gradations
- intertitlesText frames in silent films
- slapstickExaggerated physical humor
- celluloidTransparent flammable synthetic material
- shortsAbbreviated lower garments
feature · nickelodeon · flickers · projector · title cards · tinting · hand-cranked · two-reeler
Drama through gesture alone
- gesturesExpressive body movements
- facial expressionEmotive muscle positioning
- emotingExpressing theatrically
- deadpanExpressionless, especially for humor
physical comedy · exaggerated · body language · mugging · slapstick · pratfalls · stunts · gags
French cinematograph inventors
- EdisonProlific American inventor
- GriffithSurname meaning strong chief
- kinetoscopeEarly motion picture viewer
- zoetropeSlotted cylinder animator
special effects · montage · cross-cutting · close-up · innovation · experimentation · storytelling · narrative technique
- Rudolph ValentinoSilent era matinee idol
- matinee idolHandsome stage or film star
- flapperTwenties unconventional young woman
Quality from past eras
- sepiaReddish-brown pigment
- flickeringShining unsteadily, intermittently
- roaring twentiesProsperous 1920s period
- antiquatedOld and outdated
restoration · archive · film preservation · cinematheque · revival · retrospective · golden age · bygone era
Hero's fictional American city
- Nosferatu1922 German vampire film
- City LightsGlowing metropolitan nightscape
- The Gold RushFrenzy over precious metal
- NapoleonFrench emperor, military genius
black-and-white
Without color gradations
- intertitlesText frames in silent films
- slapstickExaggerated physical humor
- celluloidTransparent flammable synthetic material
shorts · feature · nickelodeon · flickers · projector · title cards · tinting · hand-cranked · two-reeler · serial
pantomime
Drama through gesture alone
- gesturesExpressive body movements
- facial expressionEmotive muscle positioning
- emotingExpressing theatrically
deadpan · physical comedy · exaggerated · body language · mugging · slapstick · pratfalls · stunts · gags · chase scenes
Lumière brothers
French cinematograph inventors
- EdisonProlific American inventor
- GriffithSurname meaning strong chief
- kinetoscopeEarly motion picture viewer
zoetrope · special effects · montage · cross-cutting · close-up · innovation · experimentation · storytelling · narrative technique · camera movement
Charlie Chaplin
- Rudolph ValentinoSilent era matinee idol
- matinee idolHandsome stage or film star
- flapperTwenties unconventional young woman
vintage
Quality from past eras
- sepiaReddish-brown pigment
- flickeringShining unsteadily, intermittently
- roaring twentiesProsperous 1920s period
antiquated · restoration · archive · film preservation · cinematheque · revival · retrospective · golden age · bygone era · film history
Metropolis
Hero's fictional American city
- Nosferatu1922 German vampire film
- City LightsGlowing metropolitan nightscape
- The Gold RushFrenzy over precious metal