75% Of Silent Films Are Lost
I’m pulverized by this news: ‘A research study from the Library of Congress reveals for the first time how many feature films produced by U.S. studios during the silent film era still exist, what condition they’re in and where they are located. To no one’s surprise, the news is bleak. Only 14% of the 10,919 silent films released by major studios exist in their original 35mm or other format, according to the report, “The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912-1929.†Another 11% survive in full-length foreign versions or on film formats of lesser image quality.’
