Essay on Silent Movie Reviews

Submitted By pbenya23
Words: 774
Pages: 4

Charlie Chaplin:
The Kid- Charlie Chaplin's study of a tramp teaming up with a street kid (Edna’s baby) makes a fine line to tread between humor and emotion, and is true to what you would expect of his best work. The tramp (Chaplin) always manages to connect to the hearts of his viewers and also make them laugh and entertained. By adding a little boy to the mix, it made the movie that much more relatable if you were watching as a young kid. This movie was very entertaining to watch and I thought it was one of Chaplin’s best silent films. Even though it was silent, it kept me entertained for 50 minutes.

A Dog's Life- This movie actually accompanies the kid and continues the life of a street tramp played by Chaplin. In this one however the little tramp takes care of a dog, a nice touch in this movie. There are also familiar elements that happen in most of his movies. He encounters the police, he tries to steal food from a salesman, has money problems in a bar, has some trouble with two thugs and of course he gets the girl. My favorite part is when he pretends to be one of the two thugs who took the money he found. This a perfect piece of comedy and this part makes the movie worth watching. There are other funny moments, and these make the short a fun one to watch. I enjoyed watching this and “The Kid” and following Chaplin as a tramp who has wacky adventures.

Buster Keaton:
Sherlock Jr.- This film surprised me in a really good way because I was not expecting the modern movie making elements within it. It’s about a movie projectionist who basically gets framed so it creates an element of a movie in a movie. Buster operates the movie projector at a theater, while trying to study on his own to be a detective. He is involved in a real-life mystery that involves his girlfriend's family, and which turns out badly for him. He retreats into the fantasy world of a picture showing at his theater, and from then on creates a world of acting that is very impressive for a silent movie. The creative comedy, the technical skill, and the subtly expressed themes are all remarkable.

The Cameraman- This movie is a class tale of a man basically forgetting his whole life to impress and be with a so called girl of his dreams. While working as a TinType photographer, he meets Sally who works at MGM and who has stolen his heart. Because of this, he drops his trade to become a cameraman to try to impress her and ends up getting involved in a daunting task that he wasn’t ready for. The movie is filled with a bunch of funny moments but it really seemed to be more of a romance film. It really only kept me interested because of the good acting and the entertaining romance-comedy like plot.

Roscoe Arbuckle:
The Cook- This short was a good example of what I