Navarro's Silent Film Guide

Navarro's Silent Film Guide - The Book
10,000 titles! Title, year of release, director, and/or production company Cast lists Synopses! Extended commentaries! 661 pages 36 illustrations	A comprehensive look at silent cinema	This is the book the silent film fan has been waiting for: a directory listing virtually every feature film produced in the U.S.A. during the silent era... and it's illustrated! Navarro's Silent Film Guide has more information on silent film here than any other book within a single cover, and will be a valuable resource for fans and researchers for years to come. Unfortunately, as of this date, their are no copies left! Dan is searching for ways to get a publisher to prit more. Check back for any news!

A long time ago, in the century before this one and the century before that, there were movies that did not speak.

Not only was there no dialogue. There were no screeching tires, no loud gunshots, no ear-splitting sound effects. All you had was the art of the photoplay, there on the screen before you, and sometimes a friendly pianist or organist to provide a bit of mood music.

Far from feeling deprived, however, the audience thought silent movies were wonderful. Now that we've had more than 75 years of sound pictures, we are starting to see why. Silent movies were an art form complete in and of itself. They were not mute because they had to be; they were mute because that is the way the audiences wanted them.

For more than 30 years, going to the movies meant sitting in a darkened auditorium or converted store, and marveling along with your fellow audience members at the moving images on the large screen. You listened to the actors' voices in your heart. It was a very intimate art form.

On these pages, we will try to look at the silent era without mocking it or trying to flaunt the "superiority" of modern sound films. And we may find that the modern product is not so superior, looked at properly. Silent film was more than just pictures without talking. It was an art form, mature and complete unto itself.

CHARLES FARRELL and JANET GAYNOR were one of the silent screen's most popular romantic couples... in spite of the fact that only three of their twelve pictures together were made in the silent era. This still is from 7th Heaven (1927).

Navarro's Silent Film Guide - The Book