The Pros and Cons of Silent Movies

With the recent success of The Artist, audiences are starting to appreciate the lost art of silence. As a result, we thought it would be fun to speculate on some of the advantages filmmakers have when producing a silent movie, along with any possible drawbacks. First, screenwriters should appreciate how they will never have to worry about actors forgetting their lines, or improvising them beyond recognition. In silent films, a lot of the words are spoken, but not heard, and often displayed on the actual screen to be read by viewers. Perhaps that is how stories were initially intended. Next on the list of pros would be a showcase of music, where composers will undoubtedly rejoice at the chance to have center stage. Uninterrupted scores will enhance the dramatic effect of a story, and take the viewer to the next level of a cinematic experience as they get caught up in the emotion. And finally, if the person sitting next to you is loud and obnoxious, you will not have to keep rewinding or wondering what the characters are saying. Hearing aid wearers will also enjoy this luxury. Oh, and as for the cons of silent movies—the only ones we can think of are the obvious three: no dialogue, no dialogue, and no dialogue (was that clear enough?!) Some of the current movies will benefit from less dialogue, and overall, more silence in films would make the rating system a lot more interesting for sure. The question is whether or not it is possible for movie studios to effectively produce quality movies without relying on clever lines, and successfully navigate toward the silent era.