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A still frame from the silent film "A Trip to the Moon" showing a rocket capsule embedded in the right eye of the man in the moon, who blinks and sticks out his tongue as blood drips from the impact site.

Spring, 2023

The Audio Described Films of George Méliès.

Silent film classics described for the first time!

Students enrolled in Matt Lauterbach's Spring 2023 Accessible Cinema course at DePaul University described the films of French illusionist Georges Méliès.

May 20, 2021

Access to classic cinema. By Alex Howard.

Imagine the shower scene in Psycho. No dialogue at all, right? Just a scream.

The visuals are unforgettable. The quick cuts of the knife. Marion reaching for help and pulling down the shower curtain. The slow zoom out from her motionless, lifeless body as the water runs over her, washing her blood down the drain.

Now imagine this iconic scene with no visuals. Just sound effects. The score by Bernard Herrmann, the blood curdling scream, the stabbing sounds, the thud of something falling and the running water. The combination of audio and visuals make this scene what it is, and you could argue that one cannot exist without the other.

Thankfully, Psycho has audio description - unlike many of the classic films on the American Film Institute’s Top 100 List.