Don McHoull is the creator of @silentmoviegifs, first on Twitter and now Bluesky. He has found viral success with striking images throughout silent film history, and with his picks, he similarly finds comedy, tricks, and drama that still resonate today.

Don’s enthusiasm for silent movies led to his GIF creations over ten years ago. He has also been making long-form videos on film and comic strips on his YouTube channel.

Films and resources mentioned:

• His First Cigar (1908) - Louis J. Gasnier
• Excursion to the Moon (1908) - Segundo de Chomón
• The Dog Outwits the Kidnapper (1908) - Lewin Fitzhamon
• The Last Days of Pompeii (1908) - Arturo Ambrosio and Luigi Maggi
• L'Arlésienne (1908) - Albert Capellani
• Wings (1927) - William A. Wellman
• Workers Leaving Lumière Factory (1895) - Louis Lumière
• The Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. Griffith
• Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest (1908) - J. Searle Dawley
• A Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges Méliès
• The Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. Porter
• Humanity through the Ages (1908) - Georges Méliès
• Intolerance (1916) - D.W. Griffith
• Taxi Driver (1976) - Martin Scorsese
• Raging Bull (1980) - Martin Scorsese
• Reefer Madness (1936) - Louis J. Gasnier
• One A.M. (1916) - Charlie Chaplin
• Troubles of a Grass Widower (1908) - Max Linder
• Mary Jane’s Mishap (1903) - George Albert Smith
• The Dream of an Opium Fiend (1908) - Georges Méliès
• The Impossible Voyage (1904) - Georges Méliès
• The Kiss (1896) - William Heise
• Rescued by Rover (1905) - Cecil Hepworth and Lewin Fitzhamon
• Taken (2008) - Pierre Morel
• Air Bud (1997) - Charles Martin Smith
• The Last Days of Pompeii (1913) - Eleuterio Rodolfi
• Jone or the Last Days of Pompeii (1913) - Ubaldo Maria Del Colle and Giovanni Enrico Vidali
• Pompeii (2014) - Paul W.S. Anderson
• The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) - Charles Tait
• The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (1897) - Enoch J. Rector
• The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) - Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack
• Ronin (1998) - John Frankheimer
• Les misérables (1912) - Albert Capellani
• Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) - F.W. Murnau
• The Zulu’s Heart (1908) - D.W. Griffith
• Movies Silently
• Albert Capellani: cinéaste du romanesque - Christine Leteux