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As we know, "The Artist" was recognized as the best film of 2012 in the Oscar Awards.

Is this the first try to create silent film in last 20 years or have there been silent films made without such success?

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This still seems to be a list question (see the answers). –  Oliver_C Mar 3 '13 at 16:45
@Oliver_C: I don't know why I forgot silent movies in education in my answer - now I extended my answer to a less list like answer. –  knut Mar 3 '13 at 21:05
@knut - It's not the answers I consider problematic (I actually upvoted yours), but the question. It basically asks for a list of silent films made after 1990 (that didn't win an Oscar). Future or past list questioners could point to this and ask "Why is this list question okay, but not mine?" –  Oliver_C Mar 4 '13 at 13:05

4 Answers 4

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Your question isn't restricted to feature films - so it includes short films.

The Giornate del Cinema Muto (Silent Movie Festival Pordenone) had a section FILM MUTI DEL XXI SECOLO/21ST CENTURY SILENTS with modern silent movies. You can search for films of this sections in the GCM-database.

Most of the films I remember were short films, made by students. Some film schools use silent films as part of the education.

There is also a competition for filmmakers age 20 and under to create a modern version of silent film.

Norman Studios kicked off a Silent Film Competition

Some feature films:

Juha (1999) by Aki Kaurismäki was quite successfull in Europe. (IMDB)

Silent Movie (1976) is another 'big' silent film, but already older then 30 years.

Der die Tollkirsche ausgräbt (2006, 40 minutes) is another nearly-silent movie. It is in the style of an old silent movie [black and white...) and only one actors talks.

Louis (2010) is a silent film about Louis Armstrong as a young boy and how he acquired his first cornet.

Blancanieves is a 2012 Spanish black-and-white silent fantasy drama film written and directed by Pablo Berger. Based on the fairy tale "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm, the story is set in a romantic vision of 1920s Andalusia. (IMDB)

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+1 for mentioning Silent Movie, which was the first thing that came to my mind. –  Barry Hammer Mar 6 '12 at 13:54

Brand Upon the Brain!(2006) is a silent film directed by Guy Maddin, also rated 7.2 in IMDB.

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Here's a list of silent movies in the last 20 years:

  • La antena(2007) - A city without a voice.. - 7.4 IMDB rating

  • The Call of Cthulhu (2005) - The Call of Cthulhu is HP Lovecraft's most famous story.. - 7.3 IMDB rating

  • Single Bound (2010) - With the desire to leap tall buildings in a single bound, one boy tests the strength of faith and power... - 7.3 IMDB rating

  • The Fall (2006) - In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient... - 7.9 IMDB rating

All this movies have been categorized by IMDB as silent movies, or maybe part of the movie.

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Single Bound is a 3-mins short, and The Fall is hardly a "silent movie" (watch the trailer). –  Oliver_C Mar 3 '13 at 16:43

Although there's some dialog, Pixar's Wall-E (2008, IMDb 8.5) is virtually a silent film and would work well with the dialog replaced with intertitles.

"Analysis of Wall-E and Silent Films" says:

This movie, just like all silent movies, consisted of body language, music, and other sounds for providing the setting of the movie, and even the personalities of the two characters. Yet, without dialogue throughout most of the movie, Andrew Stanton, writer and director of Wall-E, does a great job of setting the mood, as well as the entire setting of the movie. He is able to give us this futuristic world that has no hope of survival; and through Wall-E’s existence, Stanton is able to convey a sense of loneliness, especially at the beginning of the movie, but also his lovable personality to the audience.

A writer for the National Public Radio, Bob Mondello, best compares Wall-E to original silent films by saying, “Wall-E is a crazily inventive, deliriously engaging and almost wordless silent comedy of the sort that Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton used to make.” In other words, this movie is as close as anyone has gotten to producing a silent film as good as the ones Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton used to perform in, which is a reasonably good feat considering they were two of the most influential actors during the time of silent films.

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