silent film

Let’s Finally Watch This: Episode 0 – A Trip to the Moon (1902)

Welcome to the test episode for Let’s Finally Watch This, a podcast for casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies. Our test episode features 1902’s A Trip to the Moon.

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Let’s Finally Watch This: Episode 1 – Nosferatu (1922)

It’s 1922. It’s the era of silent films, and our first classic movie of the century is Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, a early (and unofficial) Dracula film directed by F. W. Murnau. What Nosferatu offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: iconic imagery, German expressionism, early vampire lore, and…

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Episode 11 – The Great Train Robbery (1903)

Welcome to season 2 of Let’s Finally Watch This, a podcast for casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies. Once again we’re traveling through the century, highlighting one movie from each decade from 1903 to 2013. In each episode, we’ll highlight what’s going on film history, how the chosen film affected…

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Episode 12 – Mabel’s New Hero (1913)

It’s 1913. The movie industry is starting to move from the East Coast out west, and nickelodeons are a growing staple of American society. Out of those burgeoning years of the movie industry and newly minted movie stars come Mabel Normand, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, and the Keystone Cops, all of whom are involved in this…

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Episode 13 – The Ten Commandments (1923)

It’s 1923. The building blocks of classic Hollywood are coming together and the people are enjoying silent movies in their movie palaces in the years following the Great War. Director Cecil B. DeMille, known for the biblical epic 1956 movie The Ten Commandments, releases a movie with the same title in this year. What this…

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Episode 23 – The Impossible Voyage (1904)

It’s 1904. French director Georges Méliès is at the height of his career, creating fantastic, creative movies in the early days of cinema. Like his earlier A Trip to the Moon, this film is about a fantastic voyage, but as the Institute of Incoherent Geography visits mountain villagers, the surface of the sun, and monster-infested…

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Episode 24 – Cabiria (1914)

It’s 1914. Out of Italy comes what many classify as the first film epic. In this silent film, the girl Cabiria survives an eruption from Etna, is kidnapped by pirates, nearly offered to the god Moloch, and spends years as a servant. Meanwhile, Roman soldier Fulvius Axilla and his Samson-like servant Maciste cross paths with…

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Episode 25 – Sherlock Jr. (1924)

It’s 1924. Buster Keaton, one of the cinematic greats of this era, is at the height of his career. Called “The Great Stone Face” due to his distinctive stoical expression, Keaton’s films include dangerous physical stunts and impeccable comedic timing. Sherlock Jr. is no exception. Keaton plays a movie projectionist who hopes to become a…

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