Silent Film Festival: Classic Films with New Audio Commentaries
Silent and classic films are not always the most accessible to modern audiences. In some cases their brilliance and timelessness needs no explanation, but in other instances their meaning can be lost or overlooked by viewers unfamiliar with the social and cultural forces which helped to shape them. With this Silent Film Festival four classic films have been combined with new audio commentaries in order to open up some of the depths hidden in these cinematic gems. This series includes Charlie Chaplin’s 1917 masterpiece, The Immigrant, the finale of D.W. Griffith’s controversial 1915 epic, The Birth of a Nation, one of Griffith’s shorter pieces, 1909’s The Mended Lute, and one of the cinematic Superman shorts from 1941. Each film features a new audio commentary which explores the issues and attitudes at the heart of each, from Chaplin’s sympathetic defense of immigrants to Superman’s descent into war time propaganda. To keep up to date with this series remember to subscribe to the Youtube channel and the Podcast feed on iTunes.
The Suggestive Ending of D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation with Audio Commentary
Superman: The Eleventh Hour with Audio Commentary
D.W. Griffith’s The Mended Lute with Audio Commentary
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