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Signalling only one out from the silent era is quite a-difficult task but I think I just found the one-film that can be considered the greatest from that era: The Man Who Laughs is perfect example of the beauty hides behind the beast. Let me explain: The film plays like a horror movie and it even feels like one but in reality, it isn't. It's a romantic movie - tragic-romance to be more clear - and uses the expressionism techniques to portray the life of Gwynplaine, or more accurately, The Man who Laughs. So, truth be told, it plays like a melo-drama but acts like a horror film.
This film, you may agree, is a classic masterpiece. With impressive cinematography, a well chosen cast and great story-telling, there's no wonder why this film is Conrad Veidt's most celebrated film. It's also very touchy and heart-breaking and the character of Dea (played by Mary Philbin) is the most beautiful character I've seen and not just by looks alone but rather from the inside too. The cruelty and curiousness in mankind has been coming for a-long time and it's perfectly showcased right here. Some might say people were more cruel back then than now but I disagree. Back then you had to pay in order to laugh at his or her's hideousness or abnormalities. Now you do it for free and anytime you want too and not only that, you also mock them, creating them as cartoon characters and then bending them as any way you want to. There you go, the now is much worse than the then!
Anyway, everything about this film is great and the one thing I like about the pre-50's films, especially horror or moody, is that just how minimalistic they just were. The character of Gwynplaine is mostly shown with his mouth-mask and sporadically shown without and even in that little moments, manages to grab your attention and print itself in your mind. I liked the dark, ominous setting and the characters of Dea and Ursus, whereas the character of Barkilphedro is the worst sort of a character I've ever seen but his performance was one of the best.
Speaking of which, most of the silent films are sped up, which feels like a Tom & Jerry episode and therefore some performances seem quite funny or unnatural but even then, I really enjoyed Cesare Gravina as Ursus and of course, Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine.
All in all, a fine masterpiece from the classic cinema and one of the greatest in German Expressionism.
9.1/10
