Apologies if this video has already done the rounds, but we’ve only just seen it. A simple enough pairing on paper – Star Wars and silent movies – and suddenly all those gravitas-laden moments from history’s most important trilogy are transformed into Buster Keaton-esque pratfalls, Chaplin-inspired Vaudeville clowning and music hall melodrama. Life must’ve been so much simpler in the age of the silent movie, and if that discipline can reduce said trilogy to a cavalcade of slapstick and physical comedy, imagine what it could do for similarly worthy titles.
Gasp as the chariot race from Ben-Hur becomes a joy-ride with restless piano accompaniment!
Cheer as Mel Gibson does some high-speed running around the Higlands in Braveheart!
Laugh yourself silly as Norman Bates claims another victim, Stooges-style, in Psycho!
Just amazing.
So, are there any other films that would benefit from the silent movie treatment?