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  1. #1
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    Default Unspoken: Moments In Film Where No Words Told The Story

    First Thing, SILENT FILMS NEED NOT APPLY

    I'm thinking of moments in film where there is no dialogue, and looks or actions tell the story.

    For example (and the source of this OP), in The Searchers Ethan (John Wanye) Edwards' sister,-in-law tenderly gives him a coat, and he gently kisses her forehead before he goes off to hunt Comanche raiders. Edwards and his brother's wife clearly and deeply shared an unconsumated love, which is what powers his obsession thru the rest of the film.

    Your example?

  2. #2
    Invincible Member Kirby101's Avatar
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    2001. HAL reading lips.
    There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kirby101 View Post
    2001. HAL reading lips.
    Huh. Not the kind of thing I had in mind, but absolutely nails what I had in mind.

    My respects.

  4. #4
    King of Wakanda Midvillian1322's Avatar
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    Thor Ragnarok. Theres a one sided conversation between Thor and Loki in a elevator. Its a nice scene by hemsworth but Tom does the heavy lifting without saying anything. Its his reaction to learning how Thor truly felt about him and then you can see him realize he's the ******* and problem in this relationship. There this who conversation and Tom does his side without talking. Well he's talks in that scene but I'm talkong about the specific part of it. Lokis entire character shift is captured with nothing more then facial expressions.

    Its not a Film but God of War for the Ps4 was great at it. Throughout the game Kratos struggles to connect with his son. Theres tons of little scenes where you see his struggle without him talking. There one that sticks out is his son crying about the loss of his mother and he reaches out to comfort him and rub his back and stops just short and freezes before pulling his hand away. Hard to explain but great story telling for a video game.
    Last edited by Midvillian1322; 07-03-2020 at 09:05 PM.

  5. #5
    My Face Is Up Here Powerboy's Avatar
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    I don't remember the name of the movie but it was a Charlie Chaplin movie. This does not break the whole "no silent movies" rule because the reason they did this was because they had to be subtle.

    There was a movie where they needed to tell the audience that his character was having sex with the female lead without being married. But they could not come out and say that in that era. So they are in the living room. He runs upstairs to her bedroom, walks over to her dresser and pulls out a pair of his socks and puts them on.

    You've told the audience everything it needs to know without a word spoken and in such a way that younger kids won't even catch on.
    Power with Girl is better.

  6. #6
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    The version of Blade Runner without the narration, where we have to deduce from the finding of the origami unicorn that the replicant-hunter Gant had been present, and let Dekard and Rachael just walk away to live their lives, despite Rachael (at least) being a replicant. The narration wasn't really necessary, IMO, but even with the narration, it was never really said in the film itself. (Nor was it ever explicitly said one way or another whether or not Dekard was a replicant.)

  7. #7
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    The scene that lifts Donner's SUPERMAN (1978) up beyond a comic book movie to a universal movie--and one of the reasons I think Geoffrey Unsworth should have posthumously won the Oscar for best cinematography (he had won it for CABARET and he would win it posthumously for TESS)--is the scene with Clark and Martha saying goodbye. There is talking, but it's what they don't say that's more important than what they do say in the middle of those amber waves of grain. You just know that Ma wants to reach out and hug her boy, but she stops herself because she has to let him go. It's something we all can relate to, so it's universal yet specific.

  8. #8
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    This may be cheating a bit, but Finn and Rey’s introductions in The Force Awakens. Finn, or FN-2187, doesn’t say a word for the entire opening scene on Jakku, even though Kylo and other character do plenty of talking. But even under a helmet and in body armor, John Boyega’s body language, panicked breathing, and John Williams’s music tell you all you need to know about the horror and humanity the character is going through. Likewise, Rey’s entire first scene has her not say a word until she runs into BB-8, and established the kind of hard-scrabble but idealistic girl she is, as well as her denial. Driver’s unnerving silence and the slowly disconnected look in his eye before Kylo kills Han would also count.

    It’s just a shame that Rian Johnson ignored the characterization behind those scenes in exchange for dismissing Finn from the male lead role, rewriting Rey into a convenient tool for white guys’ arcs, and trying to make Kylo some weird Byronic anti-hero.
    Like action, adventure, rogues, and outlaws? Like anti-heroes, femme fatales, mysteries and thrillers?

    I wrote a book with them. Outlaw’s Shadow: A Sherwood Noir. Robin Hood’s evil counterpart, Guy of Gisbourne, is the main character. Feel free to give it a look: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asi...E2PKBNJFH76GQP

  9. #9
    Fantastic Member Valentis's Avatar
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    Titanic.

    Young Rose looking at the statue of liberty , discovering she had the heart of the ocean necklace. At the same time old Rose reveals she still had it and throws it into the ocean.

    No words spoken but the story implies her looking at the statute of liberty was a symbol of her own freedom from Carl and her mum. Old rose throwing the necklace into the ocean was her finally letting everything go and letting Titanic rest in peace at the bottom of the ocean.

  10. #10
    Invincible Member Kirby101's Avatar
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    The climax of Jeremiah Johnson is all action without dialog.
    There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!

  11. #11
    Extraordinary Member Güicho's Avatar
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    Default Where no words told the story

    Entire opening act (Moon-Watcher tribe) and closing act (Star-Gate....Star-Child final) of 2001 a Space Odyssey

    these are purely visual experiences, which tell the story.
    Last edited by Güicho; 07-31-2020 at 08:52 AM.

  12. #12
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    In Jaws every time the shark was about to attack. That's why the music is so iconic. You didn't need words - the music let you know something awful was about to happen.

  13. #13
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    The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence: James Stewart's face is screaming his fear and his determination as he walks forward to face Lee Marvin. At the end, both Stewart and Vera Miles' reaction to being told "Nothing's too good for the man that shot Liberty Valence."

    This one is tough, because it's sandwiched between two pieces of dialogue.

    LA Confidential: On telling Kim Basinger she looks better than Veronica Lake, everything about Russel Crowe's face shifts, with no more than a lifted eyebrow. He's blatantly embarrassed at giving that much of himself away, and has to hit Reset before resuming the interrogation.

  14. #14
    Wonder Moderator Gaelforce's Avatar
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    A scene that has been lauded as one of the greatest montage sequences in the history of movies - the sequence at the beginning of Up.

    Brings a tear to my eye every time.

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    The very ending of THE GRADUATE completely turns the tables at the conclusion of the movie and gives us something to think about. And . . . it's inspired by a silent movie.

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