It’s often hard to find silent movies on DVD, but the classics are out there, as well as collections of short subjects. Be aware of how your child might react to real knock-down slapstick humour – some may find it a little upsetting. (I tried a few Chaplin shorts on my 3-year-old and they were a little too much for her!)
Of course you’ll have to read the title cards… though a version of The Gold Rush is available that’s narrated by Charlie Chaplin himself!
Here are five brilliant and funny silent movies for the whole family.
1. Sherlock Jr. (1924) – Buster Keaton – 4+
Meek projectionist dreams of being a world-famous detective. Visual effects and stunt tour de force. See full review.
2. Safety Last (1923) – Harold Lloyd – 4+
A department store clerk arranges for a stuntman to climb the building as a publicity stunt, but then finds he must make the daring climb himself. (You all know the famous clock-hanging shot!)
3. The Gold Rush (1925) – Charlie Chaplin – 5+
Charlie’s Tramp goes to the Klondike in search of gold, goes through hard times, falls in love. Some menacing with rifles, a bad guy shoots Mounties, then dies in avalanche. A bear is shot (offscreen) for food.
4. Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) – Buster Keaton – 6+
Bill Jr., a puny and delicate lad, tries desperately to impress his burly steamboat captain dad.
5. Modern Times (1936) – Charlie Chaplin – 6+
The Tramp struggles to survive in the modern world, undergoes a stint in jail and another in a factory. Some gunplay, usual slapstick stuff, plus smoking, accidental drunkenness, and accidental ingestion of “nose powder”, resulting in crazy behaviour.
I wanted to reclaim at least one evening a week for us to spend time together, so I announced that from now on Saturday night is Movie Night. We are going to sit down every Saturday night and watch a movie together. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Rarest Kind of Best 
Watching Old Movies
27 May 2011 Leave a comment
by Kim in Advertising and Consumerism, Commentary, Issues, Movies, Old Movies, Silent Movies, Violence
Wouldn’t it be pleasant to sit down and watch a movie with your kids that wasn’t presold on sequels and Happy Meals? Or take them to an action movie that didn’t either freak them out or weigh down their little bones with premature irony? – Ty Burr, The Best Old Movies for Families
When I talk about Old Movies I don’t mean going back to Toy Story 1, or even aaall the way back to the first Star Wars (though 1977 does seem long, long ago in a galaxy far far away)… I’m talking about Oooooold movies here.
You may not have any interest in old movies, indeed, I realize not everyone has spent a lifetime loving them like I have. But if you are old enough to be a parent, you are certainly aware of how much movies have changed since the flicks you watched as a kid. They’ve changed for the better, in terms of technology. The complex visual and sound effects of modern movies absolutely boggles the mind. (Just compare a Harryhausen Sinbad movie to Avatar!) And they’ve also changed for the worse… can you even imagine a world in which there were no teen slasher horror films?
Whether or not you know much about old movies, when it comes to picking films for family movie nights, there are many good reasons to turn to the oldies…
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