Silent cinema is typically seen as boring. I disagree. Silent cinema was the pioneer to all other films and was groundbreaking. Perhaps the most compelling of all early films are the trick films headed by George Méliès. Professionally he was a magician who owned a theatre in Paris. Through film, he added new dimensions to his magic shows. He made hundreds of quirky and theatrical fantasy films of varying length, including his most well known film, “Trip to the Moon”. The film includes advanced special effects that are still used in films today. For example, the substitution trick which involves someone disappearing or appearing out of thin air was used numerous times. This trick involves a shot of the subject and then the camera to be turned off and the subject moved out of the shot and then the camera turned back on to resume filming, creating a disappearing effect. Another one of Méliès’ films involves Méliès himself acting in a semi-freak show where his head becomes larger and larger until it explodes. However, as his head is getting larger, his surroundings stayed intact, including his woman assistant. The special effects used in order to create such a trick are still used to this day. So how could it be said that silent cinema is boring? Some of the same riveting special effects were first displayed in trick cinema as early as 1909! It is fascinating to see where cinema began and the complexity of early films.
For me, these films would have been ruined by sound. Their creativity and appeal were captured in the visual.
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