ENTRY #6

Fifth lecture, Part 5 of 5

Cinema as visual art

One thing we can learn from Silent Cinema and from Docks of New York in particular is the imperativeness of making everything visible, to tell the story through visual means. Sperberg is a genius at solving problems by coming out with a new way of showing something. He applies unusual angles to catch the viewer’s attention. Regardless of the lack of sound, “the effect” is transmitted by a convincing shot. He found new ways to introduce characters to the audience in order to avoid clichés. For instance, he shows the reflect of a woman instead of showing her, and then when she goes underwater to kill herself, splashes of water and a wave are shown. This kind of tacit and non explicit shots create very interesting moments in screen, which calls for the audience attention. Ducks of New York and Street Angel give a generalization about silent film making abstractions of the real world. Both, in the title cards, introduce the characters by their job; they are presented more as types or stereotypes than people. In addition, both have very melodramatic plots. The films are situated in the past and started in a point of abstraction. The power and specificity of Sperger’s images are features that make his films outstanding. This two films make the most of Silent Cinema because their directors do get the stories not from words but from images, people moving in and out of light and shadow, the attitudes of the actor’s bodies, the way they looked, their gestures, the objects and the visual motifs. Due to the above, compositions became abstracted and emotionally charged that tell the story. Silent Cinema turned film into a personal, emotional and direct visual medium that speaks directly to us.