Why Are So Many Silent Films Missing?

As the 1800's faded and the 1900's became new, many wonders of the modern world began to take shape. One of these wonders was the world of film. Movies transitioned from simple spectacles that showed off camerawork, into full blown narratives in a matter of years. Unfortatenly, we can only really read about this early era of Hollywood, not watch it. This is because an estimated 90% of all silent films are missing. This is a high number you may have heard before, but have you ever wondered why it is so high? Today, I try to answer that very question: Why Are So Many Silent Films Missing? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cleopatra: The Oldest Lost Silent Film    • Cleopatra: The Most Expensive Lost Silent ...   Other Historic Lost Media:    • 10 Pieces of Historic Lost Media   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join My Discord Server!   / discord   Follow me on Twitter! https://x.com/tanman5123 Follow me on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/tanman5123.b... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introduction 00:00 Unintentional Destruction 1:26 Intentional Destruction 4:13 Film Exchanges: 8:46 Sound Film Invented: 11:03 Hayes Codes: 13:42 Studio Fires: 15:41 The Most Important Missing Films: 21:26 Rise of Film Preservation: 25:11 Conclusion: 29:19