If you were teaching a silent film class to newcomers to film history...

I'm truly no expert on movie theory but a couple of silent classics that I would approach are Eisenstein's 'Battleship Potemkin' and Murnau's 'Nosferatu'. The use of shadow in Nosferatu is sublime.

La Roue (The Wheel) 1923 french silent over 4 hours long but a must see
Sunrise beloved masterpiece
Wings the first best picture winner and very entertaining
The Crowd excellent film

Definitely Intolerance and Passion of Joan of arc

Eisenstein's "Strike!" or "Battleship Potemkin".

And a film of Pudovkin may be useful. I can't recommend one because they're seemingly difficult to source. See his list here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0699877/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_1#Director

Charlie Chaplin's film demonstrate pure substance with little style - this might be useful.

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.

The General
The Kid
Cabiria
The Lodger

@Twitzkrieg - Glasgow's FOREMOST authority

I would consider Birth of a Nation and Potemkin automatic choices.



"Get on board, dick."

Intollerance is most likely a good choice.

Safty Last is a good choiche to. Other comedies you should consider are: The Goldrush or The General. However Safety Last is most likely the best choice (Altough I have to give you that I liked the other 2 more).

Not watched Thief of Bagdad or The Wind.

German Expressionism:
Caligari is the common example pretty much.
I haven't watched Pandora's Box
However: The Golem is a pretty good choice as well.

You see things; and you say Why? But I dream things that never were and I say Why not?

I would show The Birth of a Nation over Intolerance myself. Seems to be the first and greatest example of "the power of cinema".

Battleship Potemkin, Metropolis, and Sherlock Jr. are all recommendations of mine as well. Maybe The Man With a Movie Camera and The Last Laugh too.

Greed. The best.