Nosferatu
This film needs no introduction. It is iconic and still has the best vampire portrayal in Max Schreck’s Count Orlock, even after all the on-screen Draculas since 1922. Much has been written about this film so I defer to others’ …
Category Archives: Film Scores
The King of Kings (1927)
This is a remarkably well-made film. The silent era was already feeling the immanent arrival of sound so it was a gamble for Cecil B. DeMille to release it. It was part of his trilogy of Biblical epics, starting with …
Metropolis
This was my first attempt at writing for a feature-length film, the 1926 sci-fi classic, Metropolis. As I watched it, I could hear in my mind’s ear the rise and fall of the orchestra, synthesizers, and soundscapes. I somewhat frivolously …
Phantom of the Opera
This is a classics classic and still holds up well as dramatic and poignant horror story. Lon Chaney’s portrayal of the Phantom is legendary and to this day, his makeup is unsurpassed. Remember, this was made in 1925 and he …
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
A 1920 German silent horror film, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, it tells the story of an insane hypnotist (Werner Krauss) who uses a somnambulist …
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments is a 1923 American silent religious epic film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Written by Jeanie MacPherson, the film is divided into two parts: a prologue recreating the biblical story of the Exodus and a …
The Lodger
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog is a 1927 British silent thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is Hitchcock’s third feature film, it was released on 14 February 1927 in London and on 10 June 1928 in …
Sunrise
Sunrise 1927 is a silent romantic drama film directed by German director F.W. Murnau. It tells the story of a married farmer who is tempted by a city woman to murder his wife. What follows is a moving and beautiful …