Silent Era : The silent film website

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
UltraHD/Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Cat and the Canary
(1927)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc collection
Wonder Dogs!
(1897-1928)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
Sign of the Claw (1926)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
His Master’s Voice (1925)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Sky Rider (1928)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
Ramona (1928)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
Teeth (1924)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
Borderline (1930)

Added reviews of the
Undercrank Productions
Blu-ray Disc editions of
The Law of the Plains (1929) and The Man from Nevada (1929)

Added review of the
Sony Pictures
UltraHD / Blu-ray Disc edition of
Submarine (1928)

Added review of the
Sony Pictures
Blu-ray Disc edition of
That Certain Thing (1928)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc collection
Oscar Micheaux: The Complete Collection (1920-1940)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Beloved Rogue (1927)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Pace That Kills (1928)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
Carmen (1918)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
Anna Boleyn (1920)

Added reviews of the
Warner Home Video Blu-ray Disc double feature edition of
The Boob (1926) and Why Be Good? (1929)

Added review of the
VCI Entertainment
Blu-ray Disc edition of
Stella Maris (1918)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber Blu-ray Disc double-feature edition of
Seven Chances (1925) and Sherlock, Jr. (1924)

Added review of the
Film Reserve / Maltese Film Works
Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Johnstown Flood (1926)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
UltraHD / Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Added review of the
Undercrank Productions
Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Bat (1926)

Added review of the
D&D Productions
Blu-ray Disc collection
Billy Bevan:
Silent Comedian
(1917-1929)

Added review of the
Milestone Films
Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Dragon Painter (1919)

Added review of the
Milestone Films
Blu-ray Disc edition of
His Birthright (1918)

Added review of the
Milestone Films
Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Man Beneath (1919)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
Annie Laurie (1927)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
Madame Dubarry (1919)

Added review of the
Eureka Entertainment
US Blu-ray Disc edition
of The Cat and the Canary (1927)

Added review of the
Kino Lorber
Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Road to Ruin (1928)

Added review of the
Undercrank Productions
Blu-ray Disc edition of
The Craving (1918)

Added review of the
Undercrank Productions
Blu-ray Disc collection
Accidentally Preserved, Volume 5 (1925-1929)

Added and updated dozens of home video reviews, added and updated hundreds of film listings, and repaired broken links and page interfaces.

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Top 10
Silent Era Films

1. The General (1926)
2. Metropolis (1927)
3. Sunrise (1927)
4. City Lights (1931)
5. Nosferatu (1922)
6. The Gold Rush (1925)
7. La Passion et la Mort de Jeanne d’Arc (1928)
8. Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)
9. Bronenosets ‘Potyomkin’ (1925)
10. Greed (1924)

COMPLETE
TOP 100 LIST

Questions About Silent Films?

Answers may be on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

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Explored These
Silent Film
Topics?

A biography of actress Anna May Wong by Joseph Worrell.

A filmography of Roscoe Arbuckle silent era films.

A 1913 appraisal of early sound film technologies.

A review of The Keystone Kid: Tales of Early Hollywood by Coy Watson Jr.

A list of German silent era films released on home video.

An article on actress Virginia Bradford by her husband, Cedric Belfrage.

A review of the 30th Annual Pordenone Festival of Silent Film by Lokke Heiss.

A list of silent era theaters in Portland, Oregon.

The latest issue of Taylorology.

A listing of world film archives.

Our listing of some of the silent era fims that are thought to be lost.

A review of the many home video editons of Nosferatu (1922).

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Tristan Ettleman and I recently discussed a handful of films released in 1906
for his podcast, The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever. We invite you to listen
and perhaps discover your own five favorite 1906 films.

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2IXNbPxD52RHtfHUplQS4F?si=a3d653762d414573
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1906-e2-carl-bennett/id1750539873?i=1000716446879

https://www.the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/
to submit your own top five for 1906.

The Criterion Collection (USA) has announced their Blu-ray Disc collection Return to Reason (1923-1929) of experimental films directed by May Ray mastered from archival film prints. The collection includes La retour à la raison (1923), Emak Bakia (1926), L’étoile de mer (1928) and Les mystères du Château du Dé (1929). / The films are presented with music scores composed and performed by Sqürl (Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan). / Supplemental material includes an interview on the scores of the films by Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan; concert footage of Sqürl performing their music; and an esssay by Mark Polizzotti. / The disc will be available 2 December 2025.

The Film Preserve and The Maltese Film Works (USA) have announced their Blu-ray Disc edition of Beau Geste (1926), mastered from 4K high-definition scans of archival film elements held by Library of Congress. / The film is accompanied by a music score compiled by Rodney Sauer and performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. / Supplementary material includes audio commentary by historian Frank Thompson; a radio adaptation of the novel featuring Orson Welles; the featurette “Music for Beau Geste”; two image galleries; and an insert booklet with notes by Frank Thompson. / The edition will be available 25 November 2025.

Milestone Film & Video (USA) has announced their double feature Blu-ray Disc edition of Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life (1925) and Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927). / Grass is accompanied by scores composed by Patrick Holcomb and performed by Malcolm Dalglish and students of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with an optional score by Gholam Hossain Janati-Ataie, Kavous Shirzadian and Amir Ali Vahabzadegan, and Chang by a score composed by Bruce Gaston and performed by Fong Naam. / Supplementary material includes an audio interview with Merian C. Cooper; and audio commentary by Rudy Behlmer. / The disc will be available 18 November 2025.

Flicker Alley (USA) has announced their Blu-ray Disc collection Laurel & Hardy: Year Three (1929). / The films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed by Neil Brand, Andreas Benz, Robert Israel and Maud Nelissen, with optional Vitaphone soundtracks for some films. / Supplementary material includes audio commentaries by Randy Skretvedt and Richard W. Bann; a video essay by John Bengtson on L&H locations; an excerpt from The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929); alternate versions of two films; an image gallery; and an insert booklet with contributions by Serge Bromberg, Leonard Maltin, Skretvedt and Bann. / The collection will be available 11 November 2025.

Kino Lorber (USA) has released their Ultra HD / Blu-ray Disc edition of The Cat and the Canary (1927), remastered at 4K high definition by Photoplay Productions from archival 35mm nitrate prints. / The film is accompanied by a music score composed by Neil Brand and performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Timothy Brock. / Supplementary material includes audio commentaries by David Del Valle and Randy Haberkamp and by Anthony Slide; and a short film by Paul Leni (BD only). / A separate Blu-ray Disc only edition has also been released.

Flicker Alley (USA) has released their Flicker Fusion Blu-ray Disc edition of He Who Gets Slapped (1924), directed by Victor Sjöström, starring Lon Chaney with Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Tully Marshall and Ford Sterling mastered from a first-generation 35mm safety print and a 16mm reduction duplicate negative. This reconstruction presents a significantly longer running time than previous home vsideo editions. / The film is presented with two optional music scores composed and performed by Antonio Coppola and The Alloy Orchestra. / Supplemental material includes audio commentary by Michael F. Blake; a featurette; an image gallery; and an insert booklet.

Film Masters (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc edition of Tarzan of the Apes (1918) starring Elmo Lincoln and Enid Markey mastered from a 16mm reduction print. / It is unknown whether the film is accompanied by an original music score or not. We have to assume that the soundtrack will be a compilation of preexisting music recordings. / It is yet to be seen if this will be an improvement over previous home video editions.

Milestone Film & Video (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc collection Made in New Jersey: Films from Fort Lee, America’s First Film Town (1909-2015) mastered from archival film materials. Twelve short silent films produced from 1909-1913 in and around Fort Lee, New Jersey, are presented along with the feature The Danger Game (1918). / The films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed by various composers. / Supplemental material includes two documentaries on film production in Fort Lee; a 4K restoration of Edgar G. Ulmer’s Cossacks in Exile (1939); and an insert booklet with writings by Richard Koszarski.

VCI Entertainment (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Little American (1917) starring Mary Pickford mastered from archival 35mm film materials held by the Mary Pickford Foundation in association with the UCLA Film and Television Archive. / The film is accompanied by an orchestral music score composed and performed by Adam Chavez. / Supplemental material includes audio commentary by Marc Wanamaker; the short film A Lodging for the Night (1912); a photo gallery by Tiffany L. Clayton; and an insert booklet with information by the Pickford Foundation.

Split Reel (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc and DVD editions of Pokes & Jabbs: 12 Comedy Shorts (1912-1917) with Bobby Burns and Walter Stull mastered from archival 35mm film materials held by the Library of Congress and the British Film Institute National Archive. / The films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed by Andrew Earle Simpson. / Supplemental material is included.

Film Preservation Society (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc double-feature edition of Kid Boots (1926) with Eddie Cantor and Clara Bow and Get Your Man (1927) with Clara Bow and Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers mastered from archival film materials. / The films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed by Daan van den Hurk and Donald Sosin. / Supplemental material includes the D.W. Griffith Biograph short, A Decree of Destiny (1911) with a music score by Donald Sosin.

Kino Lorber (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc collection Wonder Dogs!: Canine Stars of the Silent Era (1897-1928) mastered from archival film elements by the Library of Congress. / Animal stars include Thunder, Strongheart, Fearless, Luke, Peter the Great, Brownie the Bear, Jean the Vitagraph Dog, among others. / The films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed by various composers. / Supplemental material includes audio commentaries by Anthony Slide; and interviews with Lynanne Schweighofer and George Willeman.

Kino Lorber (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc edition of Ramona (1928) mastered from the Library of Congress digital restoration conflated from archival film materials held by Gosfilmofond and Národní filmový archiv. / The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed by Ben Model. / Supplemental material includes audio commentary by Anthony Slide.

Undercrank Productions (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc and DVD editions of The Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection, which includes The Law of the Plains (1929) and The Man from Nevada (1929) directed by the prolific J.P. McGowan. The discs have been mastered from 2K high-definition scans of 35mm prints by the USC HMH Moving Image Archive and the Library of Congress. / The films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed by Ben Model.

Flicker Alley (USA) has reissued their two-disc collection Chaplin’s Essanay Comedies 1915 (1915-1918) in a Blu-ray Disc-only edition. / The films are accompanied by musical scores by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Robert Israel and Timothy Brock. / Supplemental material includes Triple Trouble (1918); the restored Charlie Butts In, a one-reel film released in the 1920s; additional edits of A Night Out and A Burlesque on Carmen; a restoration of Police!; and a 28-page booklet.

Kino Lorber (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc edition of Borderline (1930) mastered from a 4K high-definition scan of archival film materials. This late silent feature stars the legendary Paul Robeson and Eslanda Robeson. / The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed by Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky) with a small ensemble.

Flicker Alley (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc edition of The King of Kings (1927) with both the 1927 roadshow version and the 1928 general release version. / The versions are accompanied by music scores by Robert Israel, Hugo Riesenfeld and Christian Elliott / Supplemental material includes commentary by Marc Wanamaker; featurettes including behind-the-scenes footage with commentary by Wanamaker; image galleries; and an insert booklet with contributions by Robert S. Birchard and Serge Bromberg.

Warner Archive Collection (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc edition of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) mastered from a 4K high-definition scan of the Photoplay Productions 1993 photochemical restoration of the film. / The film is accompanied by a music score composed and conducted by Carl Davis.

The Criterion Collection (USA) has released their separate Blu-ray Disc and DVD editions of A Woman of Paris (1923) mastered from archival print materials. / The film is accompanied by two optional music scores: the first by Charles Chaplin to accompany the 1976 rerelease of the film, and a score by Timothy Brock. / Supplemental material includes an introduction by historian David Robinson; a video essay by Jeffrey Vance; the featurette Chaplin Today: A Woman of Paris; a documentary by Arnold Lozano; an audio interview with cameraman Roland Totheroh; deleted and archival footage; trailers; and an essay by Pamela Hutchinson.

Flicker Alley (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc edition of Merry-Go-Round (1923) mastered from a restoration of survivng archival print materials, supplemented by a restoration presentation of Old Heidelberg (1915). / Merry-Go-Round is accompanied by a score composed and conducted by Robert Israel. / Supplemental material includes audio commentary by Richard Kosarski; the featurettes “Vienna Actualities” and “Restoring Merry-Go-Round”; and an insert booklet with writings by Richard Kosarski, Serge Bromberg and Lucie Fourmont.

Flicker Alley (USA) has released their double-feature
Blu-ray Disc edition of Behind the Door (1919) featuring Hobart Bosworth and Wallace Beery, and Below the Surface (1920) featuring Hobart Bosworth and Lloyd Hughes. / The films are accompanied by music scores by Stephen Horne. / Supplementary material includes a presentation of the Russian version; the featurettes “Restoring Irvin Willat’s Behind the Door” and “Kevin Brownlow Spotlights Irvin Willat”; a slideshow gallery; and an insert booklet with writings by Jay Weissburg and Scott Simmon.

Kino Lorber (USA) has released their five Blu-ray Disc collection Oscar Micheaux: The Complete Collection (1920-1940) mastered from archival print materials held by the Library of Congress and other film archives, including Within Our Gates (1920), The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), Body and Soul (1925), Veiled Aristocrats (1932), Murder in Harlem (1935), Underworld (1937), God’s Step Children (1938), Swing! (1938), Lying Lips (1939) and The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940). / The silent films are accompanied by custom music scores. / Supplementary material includes introductions by Rhea L. Combs; theatrical trailers for selected films; and an insert booklet.

ClassicFlix (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc collection The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents, Volume 1 (1921-1923) mastered from archival print materials, including the most complete presentation possible of Our Gang (1922). / The films are accompanied by music scores by Philip Carli and Ben Model. / Supplemental material includes the early Ernie Morrison two-reeler, The Pickaninny (1921).

Edition Filmmuseum (Germany) has released their PAL DVD edition of The Student of Prague (1926) and Alraune (1928) mastered from archival 35mm print materials. / The films are accompanied by music scores by Stephen Horne and Richard Siedhoff. / Supplemental material includes excerpts from Auf gefährlichen Spuren (1924); a 20-page insert booklet with articles by Stefan Drössler, Henrik Galeen, Michael Farin, Felix Panten and Hanns Heinz Ewers; and a ROM PDF.

Edition Filmmuseum (Germany) has released their PAL DVD edition of Karl Grune’s The Street (1923) mastered from archival 35mm print materials. / The film is accompanied by a music score by Günter A. Buchwald and Frank Bockius. / Supplemental material includes the documentary Dangers of the Big City Street (1923) with a music score by Richard Siedhoff (67 minutes); and a 16-page insert booklet with articles by Stefan Drössler, Eugen Klöpfer, Albert Sander, Louis Collier and Hans Spielhofer.

Kino Lorber (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc edition of The Beloved Rogue (1927) mastered from archival 35mm print materials. / The film is accompanied by a new music score by Robert Israel. / Supplemental material includes audio commentary by film historian Anthony Slide; and a filmed introduction with ending comments by Orson Welles for the early 1970s syndicated Paul Killiam television series The Silent Years.

StudioCanal (England) has released their Region B Blu-ray Disc boxset Hitchcock: The Beginning (1927-1932) mastered from archival print materials of four silent and seven Hitchcock sound films. / The silent films are accompanied by music scores by Neil Brand and Stephen Horne. / Supplemental material includes audio comentaries by Farran Smith Nehme, Tim Lucas, Troy Howarth, Peter Tonguette and Nick Pinkerton; featurettes; audio interviews with Hitchcock; a full-length documentary Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy of Blackmail (2024), narrated by Elvis Mitchell; image galleries; an insert booklet; and a poster.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) edition of The Blood Ship (1927) starring Hobart Bosworth, Richard Arlen and Jacqueline Logan. The edition has been mastered from the recent 35mm restoration of the film. / The film is accompanied by a custom music score.

Kit Parker Films (USA) has released their Blu-ray Disc and DVD collections Charley Chase: Charley Chase at Hal Roach: The Late Silents, 1927 (1927) mastered from archival print materials of 15 Chase films. / The films are accompanied by music scores by Andrew Earle Simpson. / Supplemental material includes audio commentary by film historian Richard M. Roberts; three bonus short subjects; and an extensive image gallery.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (USA) has released their UltraHD / Blu-ray Disc boxset Frank Capra at Columbia (1928-2024) with 20 Capra films mastered from archival print materials, nine of them also in UltraHD. / The silent era films are accompanied by music scores. / Supplemental material includes the full-length documentaries, Frank Capra’s American Dream (1997) by Kenneth Bowser, and Frank Capra: Mr. America (2023) by Matthew Wells.

Kino Lorber (USA) has released their double feature Blu-ray Disc edition of Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances (1925) and Sherlock, Jr. (1924) mastered from 35mm print materials in the Blackhawk Films collection. / The film is accompanied by a music score arranged and conducted by Robert Israel. / Supplemental material includes audio commentary for Seven Chances by Adam Nayman and for Sherlock Jr. by Matt Singer; a Three Stooges short A Brideless Groom (1947); and Edison short How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the New York Herald Personal Columns (1904) directed by Edwin S. Porter.

Flicker Alley (USA) has released their two-disc Blu-ray Disc collection Laurel & Hardy: Year Two (1927-1929) mastered from 35mm print materials. / The films are accompanied by music scores by Neil Brand, Antonio Coppola and Andrea Benz. / Supplemental material includes audio commentaries by Randy Skretvedt and Richard W. Bann; interviews with Stan Laurel, Anita Garvin, Thomas Benton Roberts and Hal Roach; a video essay by John Bengtson on L&H locations; a one-reel fragment of Now I’ll Tell One (1927); home movies of the Roach studio; an image gallery; and an insert booklet.

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