Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk is one of the best films of 2017, hands down.
By now, we know the film is a departure from traditionally dialogue-heavy movies, but speaking about it earlier this year director Nolan revealed that he initially wanted to do away with dialogue altogether.
"I said, 'I don't want a script'," he said. "Because I just want to show it, it's almost like I want to just stage it. And film it."
Well, one YouTuber has taken that idea and ran with it, re-editing Dunkirk into a silent movie as part of an exercise in the power of visual storytelling. And, we have to say, it actually works really well.
The eight-minute long video from Like Stories of Old displays all the hallmarks of silent movies typical of the era, from the interstitial cards, to the score, to the black and white rendering.
"It began when I re-edited a few clips from Dunkirk into a silent film style to compare it to existing silent films that Nolan mentioned as his inspirations," the YouTuber wrote about the edit.
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"I was amazed at how well it translated and how well it highlighted Nolan's use of camera angles, body language, facial expressions and staging in Dunkirk's storytelling; a great use of visuals both in portraying minor conflicts as well as in telling the story as a whole.
"I think there are many recent films that have scenes with strong visual storytelling, but I can't think of many films that can be turned into a silent film in their entirety and still work. Dunkirk however, I believe, is one of those films."
And after seeing that video, we can believe that too.
Following the film's release earlier this year, Dunkirk managed to surpass $130 million at the US box office, topping the chart for two weeks running.
It's also already being tipped as an Oscar frontrunner for next year and it's made Digital Spy's list of the best movies of the year too (which is a prize we'd take over an Oscar any day).
Dunkirk is available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD now.
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