All articles about Silent film

Object of the week

Object of the week: 96-year-old footage of Alfred Hitchcock in a test take for his thriller Blackmail

Less than a minute long, this sound test from 1929 offers precious on-set footage of Alfred Hitchcock on mischievous form nearly 100 years ago.

By Bryony Dixon

Object of the week: 96-year-old footage of Alfred Hitchcock in a test take for his thriller Blackmail

Object of the week

Object of the week: promotional still for the lost silent romcom Swim Girl, Swim

By Eva Norton

Object of the week: promotional still for the lost silent romcom Swim Girl, Swim

Features

28mm: the forgotten home movie gauge

By Christopher Bird

28mm: the forgotten home movie gauge

10 great

10 great films of 1925

By Pamela Hutchinson

10 great films of 1925

Lists

The birth of action: 10 sensational stunts from the silent era

By David Parkinson

The birth of action: 10 sensational stunts from the silent era

News

Restoration of Silent Sherlock: Three Classic Cases to premiere at the 68th BFI London Film Festival

10 great

10 great films of 1924

By Pamela Hutchinson

10 great films of 1924

Features

Napoleon: 10 unmissable highlights from Abel Gance’s five-and-a-half-hour masterpiece

By Pamela Hutchinson

Napoleon: 10 unmissable highlights from Abel Gance’s five-and-a-half-hour masterpiece

Features

These rural English comedies from the silent era are gobsmackingly beautiful

By Bryony Dixon

These rural English comedies from the silent era are gobsmackingly beautiful

10 great

10 great films of 1923

By Pamela Hutchinson

10 great films of 1923

10 great

10 great British silent films

By Bryony Dixon, Neil Brand and others

10 great British silent films

News

Silent Sherlock Holmes series of the 1920s gets major restoration project

Features

How the Lulu bob became cinema’s most imitated haircut

By Pamela Hutchinson

How the Lulu bob became cinema’s most imitated haircut

BFI Recommends

BFI Recommends: The Great White Silence

By Angelo Lucatello

BFI Recommends: The Great White Silence

Where to stream

Where to stream the best silent films

By Pamela Hutchinson

Where to stream the best silent films

Where to begin

Where to begin with Lillian Gish

By Pamela Hutchinson

Where to begin with Lillian Gish

News

Lost for nearly a century, Love, Life and Laughter screens as BFI LFF’s Archive Special Presentation with live musical accompaniment

Where to begin

Where to begin with early women filmmakers

By Pamela Hutchinson

Where to begin with early women filmmakers

Features

How Weimar cinema influenced 6 modern genres

By Alex Barrett

How Weimar cinema influenced 6 modern genres

Features

How the Victorians first saw their world on film

By Bryony Dixon

How the Victorians first saw their world on film

Features

4 hard-and-fast rules of filmmaking... and how The Passion of Joan of Arc breaks them

By Alex Barrett

4 hard-and-fast rules of filmmaking... and how The Passion of Joan of Arc breaks them

10 great

10 great silent romances

By Pamela Hutchinson

10 great silent romances

Where to begin

Where to begin with city symphonies

By Pamela Hutchinson

Where to begin with city symphonies

Features

The serial-killer thriller that launched Alfred Hitchcock’s career

By Pamela Hutchinson

The serial-killer thriller that launched Alfred Hitchcock’s career

Features

Metropolis at 90: 5 early sci-fi films that paved the way for Fritz Lang’s classic

By Pamela Hutchinson

Metropolis at 90: 5 early sci-fi films that paved the way for Fritz Lang’s classic

10 great

10 great silent epics

By Pamela Hutchinson

10 great silent epics

Features

It’s time for one of the great British silent films to get its due: The Informer

By Bryony Dixon

It’s time for one of the great British silent films to get its due: The Informer

Lists

Fascinating suffragette films now on BFI Player

By Bryony Dixon, Edward Anderson and others

Fascinating suffragette films now on BFI Player

Features

How to make your first (silent) movie count

By Bryony Dixon

How to make your first (silent) movie count

Features

The joys of archival discovery: The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands

By Bryony Dixon

The joys of archival discovery: The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands