"[During the silent era] the camera had a greater responsibility for telling the story and also..."

“[During the silent era] the camera had a greater responsibility for telling the story and also greater freedom– freedom of motion, freedom to create expressive, non-linear images. The visual language of silent films is fluid, atmospheric, and often symbolic; it communicates not only what is happening, but what characters are feeling or thinking.”

- Imogen Smith on why the silent era was amazing
(via nitrateglow)