This List Is B*llsh*t!!!

Maybe I should be encouraging the compilers of this linked-to article, 17 SILENT FILMS EVERY MOVIE LOVER SHOULD SEE, rather than disparaging it. Silent cinema is a lost artform, and one sadly underappreciated by people today. Anything that encourages folks to seek out and experience the forgotten masterpieces of this bygone age is ultimately a good thing. Even so, when one, anyone, creates a list of the “greatest” of anything, he or she had better make sure that list is accurate and complete. This one here is neither.

To be sure, there are some great films included here. Nor is the Horror genre underrepresented. Quite the opposite, actually. With films like THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, METROPOLIS (this one is more Sci-Fi than Horror, but we won’t nitpick), and THE LODGER making the cut, it’d be hard to complain in this area. And the inclusion of perhaps the greatest of all silent movies, F.W. Murnau’s NOSFERATU, is downright obligatory. But where on this list is the magnificent Lon Chaney, the era’s greatest screen talent? Where is THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME? Where is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA? Without them, the compilation loses all credibility. If you’ve never seen a silent film before, start with those two and NOSFERATU, and THEN check out the rest, if you don’t want your viewing experience to be incomplete.

By TheCheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS, specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced, and directed (and occasionally acted in) over two dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and True Crime genres. He obtained a doctorate in Occult Studies from Miskatonic University and is an active paranormal investigator. Is frequently told he resembles Anton Lavey. And Ming the Merciless. Denn die totden reiten schnell!

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