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When you hear the words “silent film” you probably think of a glitzy old school cinema, with a rickety projector playing a fuzzy moving image that you’re supposed to recognise as Nosferatu.

The actors on screen are jerkily moving around faster than is humanly possible. A cloud of cigarette smoke is hovering over the audience and the weary organist is playing a slowed down version of Sam Fonteyn’s Galloping Gertie even though it doesn’t match with the film at all.

This feverish, nostalgia-fuelled vision couldn’t be further from the truth, and some local movie lovers are working to fix the unfortunate reputation of the silent era of film.

(Image: Everett Collection)

South West Silents dedicate themselves to acquiring high-quality copies of rare silent films and providing what co-founder Peter Walsh calls “a one of a kind experience” to audiences in Bristol and the West.

Peter blames the negative perception of the genre on YouTube: “There are so many low quality silent films on YouTube, and they’re not in good shape. When we screen a film, people always leave surprised at how good it looked.”

James Harrison, one of Peter’s fellow co-founders says silent films have picked up a lot of unfortunate stereotypes over the years, the cartoonish fast walking, inappropriate accompanying music, and terrible visual quality are prime examples. These faults associated with silent films are caused by the films not being played properly – something which they take very seriously.

James says he wants people to look beyond the well-known silent films like Nosferatu and Metropolis: “Not because they’re bad, but because there’s thirty years of silent films that people have left largely unexplored.”

Thanks to the work of people like James and Peter, the romantic era of silent film is experiencing a small renaissance across the region.

(Image: South West Silents)

Peter says the live musical accompaniment is probably the biggest draw for Bristol audiences: “We’re bringing together lovers of film and people who want a little extra too, it’s like going to see a gig.”

The influence of the silent era can be felt in films to this day, as James was quick to point out: “Gromit from Wallace and Gromit is a silent character, but audiences still connect to him in a powerful way.”

On September 16, the Curzon Community Cinema in Clevedon will be showing G.W. Pabst’s 1929 controversial silent classic, Pandora’s Box.

The film was heavily censored in its time, in no small part thanks to Louise Brooks’ erotic performance as Lulu, which immortalised her as one of the queens of the silent screen. Lulu is also significant for being one of cinema’s first LGBT characters.

Peter says the Curzon is the perfect location for silent films, having been in continuous operation since 1912. He said: “You’d have to go a long way to find another venue like it. We love it, it’s our second home.”

Of course, the Curzon Cinema is also home to a restored Christie pipe organ from the 1930s, which was specifically designed to provide an accompaniment to a vast array of silent movies.

“If we want to show a film that an organ accompaniment is suitable for, there’s nowhere better than the Curzon.”

You can read more about James and Peter’s work at southwestsilents.com