Rumors of the death of silent cinema are greatly exaggerated. After the talkies arrived, the special techniques of silent films continued to be used in mainstream cinema as needed, even going underground into commercials and music videos. There’s something about what Alfred Hitchcock called “pure cinema”, the ability to tell a story through visual movement and music, that casts a magic spell.
The decades since the advent of home video have seen a flowering of silent film festivals. Among the mightiest and most venerable is the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, now celebrating its 25th anniversary. Back blazing at the Castro Theatre after two years of COVID shutdown, the festival will present 29 screenings from 5-11 May. Be there or be quadrilateral.