For the last three years, Don McHoull has been faithfully uploading gifs from silent era films to Twitter under the handle @SilentMovieGIfs.
Not surprisingly, the account heavily features the work of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Fritz Lang. McHoull also routinely adds context and supplemental information to the clips, fostering greater appreciation for the filmmaking and talent of the period’s most famous actors.
The Sifter hopes the 10 gifs below will pique your curiosity and encourage you to check out more amazing silent film moments at @SilentMovieGifs on Twitter! (Via Twisted Sifter)
Harold Lloyd pretending to be a reflection in The Marathon (1919) pic.twitter.com/1AwnAsU3Nj
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) March 19, 2018
Buster Keaton in The Bell Boy, which was released 100 years ago today, on March 18, 1918. Still a brilliant gag a century later pic.twitter.com/3lkpRfKOsS
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) March 18, 2018
How a background was added to a shot from Modern Times using a glass matte painting shot pic.twitter.com/4EddbfTOh8
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) January 6, 2017
Buster Keaton in Day Dreams (1922) pic.twitter.com/xfimZtvciF
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) July 3, 2017
Harold Lloyd does a sound-based joke in a silent movie.
(The Freshman 1925) pic.twitter.com/EKacwp7AcX— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) February 3, 2017
Buster Keaton's vanishing act in Sherlock Jr. (1924) pic.twitter.com/KOfEWiYNb4
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) April 10, 2017
Buster Keaton and Sybil Seely in One Week (1920) pic.twitter.com/khQ0rfXAs9
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) March 19, 2017
Famed surrealist André Breton was a fan of Charley Bowers, because of gags like this one
(Egged On 1926) pic.twitter.com/nmB1WLvzRp— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) June 7, 2017
F.W. Murnau was a master of using forced perspective. Small cars driven by children pass through the background of this shot from The Last Laugh (1924), creating an illusion of depth. In the far back, the cars are just wooden silhouettes moving on a track pic.twitter.com/AI2saLYANX
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) March 13, 2018
Wings (1927), directed by William Wellman, won the first Academy Award for Best Picture (technically the award was called Outstanding Picture in 1929)#Oscars pic.twitter.com/4O1YwXw7fG
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) March 5, 2018
A good illustration of how the Schüfftan process was used in Metropolis. Actors were filmed through a mirror reflecting a miniature set pic.twitter.com/9MMyxOkZty
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) July 14, 2017
Buster Keaton could really sell a punch
(Convict 13 1920) pic.twitter.com/6j8AAlEAAb— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) August 26, 2017
