Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Films

by mathildeswaitingroom | created - 26 Nov 2011 | updated - 26 Nov 2011 | Public
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1. The Arrival of a Train (1896)

Not Rated | 1 min | Documentary, Short

A train arrives at La Ciotat station.

Directors: Auguste Lumière, Louis Lumière | Stars: Madeleine Koehler, Marcel Koehler, Mrs. Auguste Lumiere, Jeanne-Joséphine Lumière

Votes: 12,850

2. Leaving the Factory (1895)

Not Rated | 1 min | Documentary, Short

Workers leaving the Lumière factory for lunch in Lyon, France in 1895; a place of great photographic innovation and one of the birth places of cinema.

Director: Louis Lumière

Votes: 7,539

3. Tunneling the English Channel (1907)

Not Rated | 15 min | Short, Adventure, Fantasy

King Edward VII of England and the President of the French Republic, Armand Fallières, envision tunnelling the English Channel; nevertheless, only a maiden voyage can determine whether this is a triumphant aspiration or an acrid nightmare.

Director: Georges Méliès | Stars: Fernande Albany, Jehanne d'Alcy, Georges Méliès

Votes: 686

4. A Corner in Wheat (1909)

G | 14 min | Short, Crime, Drama

An unscrupulous and greedy capitalist speculator decides to corner the wheat market for his own profit, establishing complete control over the markets.

Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Frank Powell, Grace Henderson, James Kirkwood, Linda Arvidson

Votes: 2,742

5. The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)

Not Rated | 17 min | Short, Crime, Drama

A tender young woman and her musician husband attempt to eke out a living in the slums of New York City, but find themselves caught in the crossfires of gang violence.

Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Elmer Booth, Lillian Gish, Clara T. Bracy, Walter Miller

Votes: 2,486

6. Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine (1913)

Not Rated | 54 min | Crime, Drama

Inspector Juve is tasked to investigate and capture an infamous criminal Fantomas.

Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl

Votes: 2,479

7. Fantomas: The Man in Black (1913)

Not Rated | 61 min | Crime, Drama

In Part Two of Louis Feuillade's 5 1/2-hour epic follows Fantômas, the criminal lord of Paris, master of disguise, the creeping assassin in black, as he is pursued by the equally resourceful Inspector Juve.

Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl

Votes: 1,679

8. Fantômas: The Dead Man Who Killed (1913)

Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

After a body disappears from inside the prison, a series of crimes take place, all seemingly by the dead man. With Juve presumed dead, Fandor must investigate alone. Will Fantomas finally be brought to justice?

Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Georges Melchior, André Luguet

Votes: 1,331

9. Fantomas: The Mysterious Finger Print (1914)

Not Rated | 59 min | Crime, Drama

The press and the public opinion suggest that Inspector Juve may in fact be Fantômas. As Juve is jailed, the actual Fantômas schemes to keep him behind bars forever.

Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Georges Melchior, Laurent Morléas, Renée Carl

Votes: 1,428

10. Fantômas: The False Magistrate (1914)

Not Rated | 70 min | Crime, Drama

Having committed murder in Belgium, Fantomas is sentenced to life imprisonment. Two crimes committed in France suggest to inspector Juve that the Fantomas gang is still at work. He ... See full summary »

Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Georges Melchior, Mesnery

Votes: 1,197

11. The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' (1914)

Not Rated | 78 min | Crime, Drama, Horror

Prevented from dating his sweetheart by his uncle, a young man turns his thoughts to murder.

Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Henry B. Walthall, Spottiswoode Aitken, Blanche Sweet, George Siegmann

Votes: 1,426

12. Child of the Big City (1914)

37 min | Drama, Short

Seamstress Mary dreams of a better life in luxury instead of her badly-paying sweatshop grind. Her dreams come true when she draws the attention of Victor, a bourgeoisie, who invites her to... See full summary »

Director: Yevgeny Bauer | Stars: Elena P. Smirnova, Nina Kosljaninowa, Michael Salarow, Arsenii Bibikov

Votes: 396

13. L'enfant de Paris (1913)

Not Rated | 124 min | Crime, Drama

The young daughter of an army captain missing in action runs away from school and is kidnapped by Parisian lowlifes. When the kidnapper flees to Nice with the child, the kind-hearted employee of one of his accomplices sets off in pursuit.

Director: Léonce Perret | Stars: Léonce Perret, Louis Leubas, Maurice Lagrenée, Émile Keppens

Votes: 448

14. The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England (1914)

54 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

After being expelled from college, Giles runs away from home and meets and falls for a young lady.

Director: Maurice Tourneur | Stars: Vivian Martin, Alec B. Francis, Chester Barnett, Gyp Williams

Votes: 350

15. Les vampires (1915)

Not Rated | 421 min | Action, Adventure, Crime

An intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires.

Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: Musidora, Édouard Mathé, Marcel Lévesque, Jean Aymé

Votes: 5,423

16. A Burlesque on Carmen (1915)

Passed | 31 min | Short, Comedy

A gypsy seductress is sent to sway a goofy officer to allow a smuggling run.

Directors: Charles Chaplin, Leo White | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Ben Turpin, Lawrence A. Bowes

Votes: 1,884

17. Intolerance (1916)

Passed | 163 min | Drama, History

99 Metascore

The story of a poor young woman separated by prejudice from her husband and baby is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Mae Marsh, F.A. Turner

Votes: 16,708 | Gross: $2.18M

18. Judex (1916)

Not Rated | 300 min | Adventure, Crime

A twelve-part serial following the adventures of the masked vigilante Judex as he fights against criminals led by the corrupt banker Favrauxom.

Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Cresté, Musidora, René Poyen, Édouard Mathé

Votes: 1,126

19. One A.M. (1916)

TV-G | 26 min | Comedy, Family, Short

A drunken homeowner has a difficult time getting about in his home after arriving home late at night.

Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Albert Austin

Votes: 3,608

20. Tih Minh (1918)

418 min | Adventure, Mystery

Jacques d'Athys, a French adventurer, returns to his home in Nice after an expedition to Indochina where he has picked up a Eurasian fiancée and a book that, unbeknownst to him, contains a ... See full summary »

Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: Mary Harald, René Cresté, Georges Biscot, Édouard Mathé

Votes: 467

21. Barrabas (1919)

489 min | Crime, Thriller

The efforts of lawyer Jacques Varese and journalist Raoul de Nerac who attempt to expose and destroy the criminal organization led by a sadistic banker Rudolph Strelitz.

Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: Fernand Herrmann, Édouard Mathé, Gaston Michel, Georges Biscot

Votes: 112

22. Broken Blossoms or the Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)

Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance

A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.

Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Donald Crisp, Arthur Howard

Votes: 11,052

23. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Hypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.

Director: Robert Wiene | Stars: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover

Votes: 69,966

24. The Oyster Princess (1919)

Not Rated | 60 min | Comedy

An American heiress seeks the hand of an impoverished German prince.

Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Victor Janson, Ossi Oswalda, Harry Liedtke, Julius Falkenstein

Votes: 2,161

25. True Heart Susie (1919)

Not Rated | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Susie, a plain young country girl, secretly loves a neighbor boy, William. She believes in him and sacrifices much of her own happiness to promote his own ambitions, all without his ... See full summary »

Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Wilbur Higby, Loyola O'Connor

Votes: 1,990

26. The Last of the Mohicans (1920)

Not Rated | 73 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

In the midst of the French and Indian War, the eldest daughter of a British officer develops an attraction towards an Indian ally who is the last living warrior of his tribe, the Mohicans.

Directors: Clarence Brown, Maurice Tourneur | Stars: Wallace Beery, Barbara Bedford, Alan Roscoe, Lillian Hall

Votes: 1,441

27. The Parson's Widow (1920)

TV-14 | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror

A newly elected village parson is required to marry the previous parson's widow. However he's already married, and the woman is old enough to be his grandmother.

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Hildur Carlberg, Einar Röd, Greta Almroth, Olav Aukrust

Votes: 1,513

28. The Doll (1919)

Not Rated | 66 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Forced into marriage by his uncle, a man decides to fool him by marrying a life-like mechanical doll instead.

Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Ossi Oswalda, Hermann Thimig, Victor Janson, Max Kronert

Votes: 2,359

29. Cops (1922)

Unrated | 18 min | Short, Comedy, Family

A series of mishaps manages to make a young man get chased by a big city's entire police force.

Directors: Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline, Virginia Fox, Steve Murphy

Votes: 6,934

30. Destiny (1921)

Not Rated | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

When a woman's fiancé disappears, Death gives her three chances to save him from his fate.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Bernhard Goetzke, Lil Dagover, Walter Janssen, Hans Sternberg

Votes: 6,684 | Gross: $0.01M

31. The Kid (1921)

Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

The Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.

Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan, Carl Miller

Votes: 134,651 | Gross: $5.45M

32. Nanook of the North (1922)

Passed | 78 min | Documentary

In this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.

Director: Robert J. Flaherty | Stars: Allakariallak, Alice Nevalinga, Cunayou, Allegoo

Votes: 13,440

33. Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922)

Not Rated | 242 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Arch-criminal Dr. Mabuse sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede-Nissen, Gertrude Welcker, Alfred Abel

Votes: 9,162

34. Foolish Wives (1922)

Not Rated | 117 min | Drama, Thriller

A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.

Director: Erich von Stroheim | Stars: Rudolph Christians, Miss DuPont, Maude George, Mae Busch

Votes: 4,016 | Gross: $0.40M

35. Nosferatu (1922)

Not Rated | 94 min | Fantasy, Horror

Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.

Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder

Votes: 105,298

36. Orphans of the Storm (1921)

Not Rated | 150 min | Drama, History, Romance

Two orphaned sisters are caught up in the turmoil of the French Revolution, encountering misery and love along the way.

Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut, Frank Losee

Votes: 5,473 | Gross: $0.79M

37. Crime and Punishment (1923)

135 min | Drama

Student Raskolnikow, who has written an article about laws and crime, proposing the thesis, that un-ordinary people can commit crimes if their actions are necessary for the benefit of ... See full summary »

Director: Robert Wiene | Stars: Gregori Chmara, Elisabeta Skulskaja, Alla Tarasova, Andrei Zhilinsky

Votes: 361

38. The Smiling Madame Beudet (1923)

26 min | Short, Drama

An unhappily married woman devises a scheme to get rid of her husband.

Director: Germaine Dulac | Stars: Germaine Dermoz, Madeleine Guitty, Jean d'Yd, Yvette Grisier

Votes: 2,941

39. The Covered Wagon (1923)

98 min | Adventure, Romance, Western

Two wagon caravans converge at what is now Kansas City, and combine for the westward push to Oregon. On their quest the pilgrims will experience desert heat, mountain snow, hunger, and ... See full summary »

Director: James Cruze | Stars: J. Warren Kerrigan, Lois Wilson, Alan Hale, Ernest Torrence

Votes: 776 | Gross: $7.63M

40. Three Ages (1923)

Not Rated | 63 min | Comedy

The misadventures of Buster in three separate historical periods.

Directors: Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Margaret Leahy, Wallace Beery, Joe Roberts

Votes: 5,198

41. Ballet mécanique (1924)

19 min | Short

A pulsing, kaleidoscope of images set to an energetic soundtrack. A young women swings in a garden; a woman's face smiles. The rest is spinning cylinders, pistons, gears and turbines, ... See full summary »

Directors: Fernand Léger, Dudley Murphy | Stars: Kiki of Montparnasse, Fernand Léger, Dudley Murphy, Katherine Murphy

Votes: 3,292

42. Greed (1924)

Not Rated | 140 min | Drama, Thriller, Western

The sudden fortune won from a lottery fans such destructive greed that it ruins the lives of the three people involved.

Director: Erich von Stroheim | Stars: Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt, Dale Fuller

Votes: 10,749 | Gross: $0.16M

43. L'inhumaine (1924)

Not Rated | 135 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance

Claire Lescot is a famous first lady. All men want to be loved by her and among them is the young scientist Einar Norsen. When she mocks at him, he leaves her house with the declared intention to kill himself.

Director: Marcel L'Herbier | Stars: Jaque Catelain, Léonid Walter de Malte, Philippe Hériat, Fred Kellerman

Votes: 1,039

44. The Last Laugh (1924)

Not Rated | 90 min | Drama

An aging doorman is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbors and society after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel.

Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller, Emilie Kurz

Votes: 15,191 | Gross: $0.09M

45. Michael (1924)

Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Romance

Triangle story: painter, his young male model, unscrupulous princess.

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Walter Slezak, Benjamin Christensen, Nora Gregor, Alexander Murski

Votes: 2,038

46. Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924)

Not Rated | 100 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, sets off on a treacherous journey to the Kingdom of Burgundy to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Princess Kriemhild.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Paul Richter, Margarete Schön, Theodor Loos, Gertrud Arnold

Votes: 6,539

47. Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (1924)

Not Rated | 129 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

Princess Kriemhild vows to avenge her husband's murder but must overcome her brothers who swore allegiance to Hagen. She marries Etzel, King of the Huns, and persuades his army to attack Hagen, but she loses more than she bargained for.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Margarete Schön, Gertrud Arnold, Theodor Loos, Hans Carl Mueller

Votes: 4,984

48. At 3:25 (1925)

Unrated | 59 min | Sci-Fi

A scientist's invisible ray freezes Paris into immobility.

Director: René Clair | Stars: Charles Martinelli, Louis Pré Fils, Albert Préjean, Madeleine Rodrigue

Votes: 1,973

49. Peter Pan (1924)

105 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Peter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook.

Director: Herbert Brenon | Stars: Betty Bronson, Ernest Torrence, George Ali, Esther Ralston

Votes: 1,260 | Gross: $0.63M

50. Sherlock Jr. (1924)

Passed | 45 min | Action, Comedy, Romance

A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.

Director: Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, Erwin Connelly

Votes: 56,841 | Gross: $0.98M

51. Strike (1925)

Not Rated | 82 min | Drama

A group of oppressed factory workers go on strike in pre-revolutionary Russia.

Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Maksim Shtraukh, Mikhail Gomorov, I. Ivanov

Votes: 8,608

52. The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Not Rated | 155 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

A recalcitrant thief vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess.

Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Douglas Fairbanks, Julanne Johnston, Snitz Edwards, Charles Belcher

Votes: 6,967 | Gross: $4.36M

53. The Big Parade (1925)

Not Rated | 151 min | Drama, Romance, War

A young American soldier witnesses the horrors of the Great War.

Directors: King Vidor, George W. Hill | Stars: John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Claire McDowell

Votes: 7,266 | Gross: $11.00M

54. Chess Fever (1925)

Not Rated | 20 min | Comedy, Short

With an international chess tournament in progress, a young man becomes completely obsessed with the game. His fiancée has no interest in it, and becomes frustrated and depressed by his ... See full summary »

Directors: Vsevolod Pudovkin, Mykola Shpykovskyi | Stars: José Raúl Capablanca, Vladimir Fogel, Anna Zemtsova, Natalya Glan

Votes: 1,475

55. The Gold Rush (1925)

Passed | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.

Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman

Votes: 118,521 | Gross: $5.45M

56. Master of the House (1925)

Not Rated | 111 min | Comedy, Drama

When a man becomes tyrannical towards his family, the women of the house decide to teach him a lesson in gratitude.

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Johannes Meyer, Astrid Holm, Karin Nellemose, Mathilde Nielsen

Votes: 2,367

57. The Merry Widow (1925)

Passed | 137 min | Drama, Romance

A prince must woo the now-wealthy dancer he once abandoned, to keep her money in the country in order to keep it from crashing economically.

Director: Erich von Stroheim | Stars: Mae Murray, John Gilbert, Roy D'Arcy, Josephine Crowell

Votes: 2,564 | Gross: $1.92M

58. Metropolis (1927)

Not Rated | 153 min | Drama, Sci-Fi

98 Metascore

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge

Votes: 185,303 | Gross: $1.24M

59. Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Not Rated | 66 min | Drama, History, Thriller

97 Metascore

In the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.

Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barskiy, Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Ivan Bobrov

Votes: 61,396 | Gross: $0.05M

60. Seven Chances (1925)

Passed | 56 min | Comedy, Romance

A man learns that he will inherit a fortune if he marries by 7PM that evening.

Director: Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Ruth Dwyer, T. Roy Barnes, Snitz Edwards

Votes: 11,715 | Gross: $1.30M

61. Tartuffe (1925)

Not Rated | 70 min | Comedy, Drama

A young man shows his millionaire grandfather a film based on Molière's Tartuffe, in order to expose the old man's hypocritical governess who covets his own inheritance.

Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Hermann Picha, Rosa Valetti, André Mattoni, Werner Krauss

Votes: 2,710

62. By the Law (1926)

80 min | Action, Drama, Mystery

A five-person team of gold prospectors in the Yukon has just begun to enjoy great success when one of the members snaps, and suddenly kills two of the others. The two survivors, a husband ... See full summary »

Director: Lev Kuleshov | Stars: Aleksandra Khokhlova, Sergey Komarov, Vladimir Fogel, Pyotr Galadzhev

Votes: 1,233

63. Faust (1926)

Not Rated | 107 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

The demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul.

Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Gösta Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn, Frida Richard

Votes: 16,605

64. Fig Leaves (1926)

Passed | 70 min | Comedy, Romance

In the modern day (1920s) story, Adam, a plumber, is happily married to Eve, a wardrobe-obsessed housewife, until she accidentally meets a supercilious fashion designer. At the prompting of... See full summary »

Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: George O'Brien, Olive Borden, Phyllis Haver, George Beranger

Votes: 309

65. Moana (1926)

Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary

Filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty presents a docufictional account of a family living in a Samoan village in the early 1920s.

Directors: Frances H. Flaherty, Robert J. Flaherty | Stars: Ta'avale, Fa'amgase, T'ugaita, Tama

Votes: 736

66. Mother (1926)

Not Rated | 89 min | Drama

A story about a family torn apart by a worker's strike. At first, the mother wants to protect her family from the troublemakers, but eventually she realizes that her son is right and the workers should strike.

Director: Vsevolod Pudovkin | Stars: Vera Baranovskaya, Nikolay Batalov, Aleksandr Chistyakov, Anna Zemtsova

Votes: 3,062

67. A Page of Madness (1926)

Not Rated | 70 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.

Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Masuo Inoue, Ayako Iijima, Yoshie Nakagawa, Hiroshi Nemoto

Votes: 4,555

68. The Horse Ate the Hat (1928)

Not Rated | 108 min | Comedy

On his way through the woods to his marriage, Fadinard's horse eats the hat of a married lady spending here a few moments with her lover. Fadinard has to find the very same rare hat to ... See full summary »

Director: René Clair | Stars: Alice Tissot, Alexej Bondireff, Marise Maia, Yvonneck

Votes: 928

69. Sur un air de Charleston (1927)

17 min | Short, Sci-Fi

Shot in three days, this surreal, erotic silent short shows a native white girl teaching a futuristic African airman the Charleston dance.

Director: Jean Renoir | Stars: Catherine Hessling, Johnny Hudgins, Pierre Braunberger, André Cerf

Votes: 726

70. The General (1926)

Passed | 78 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

After being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.

Directors: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley

Votes: 98,037 | Gross: $1.03M

71. La glace à trois faces (1927)

45 min | Drama, Romance

Psychological narrative avantgarde film about a wealthy young businessman who consecutively falls in love with a classy English woman (Pearl), a Russian sculptress (Athalia), and a naive ... See full summary »

Director: Jean Epstein | Stars: Jeanne Helbling, Suzy Pierson, Olga Day, Raymond Guérin-Catelain

Votes: 964

72. It (1927)

Passed | 72 min | Comedy, Romance

A salesgirl pursues a handsome playboy.

Directors: Clarence G. Badger, Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Clara Bow, Antonio Moreno, William Austin, Priscilla Bonner

Votes: 3,556 | Gross: $0.41M

73. October (Ten Days that Shook the World) (1927)

95 min | Drama, History

A large-scale view on the events of 1917 in Russia, when the monarchy was overthrown.

Directors: Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Boris Livanov, Nikolay Popov, Vasili Nikandrov, Layaschenko

Votes: 8,438

74. The Ring (I) (1927)

Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, Romance, Sport

Two boxers compete for the love of a woman.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall-Davis, Ian Hunter, Forrester Harvey

Votes: 3,938

75. 7th Heaven (1927)

110 min | Drama, Romance

A street cleaner saves a young woman's life, and the pair slowly fall in love until war intervenes.

Director: Frank Borzage | Stars: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Ben Bard, Albert Gran

Votes: 4,154 | Gross: $3.92M

76. Sunrise (1927)

Passed | 94 min | Drama, Romance

95 Metascore

A sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.

Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, Bodil Rosing

Votes: 53,802 | Gross: $0.54M

77. L'Argent (1928)

195 min | Drama, Romance

The business tycoon Nicolas Saccard is nearly ruined by his rival Gunderman, when he tries to raise capital for his company. To push up the price of his stock, Saccard plans a publicity ... See full summary »

Director: Marcel L'Herbier | Stars: Brigitte Helm, Marie Glory, Pierre Alcover, Yvette Guilbert

Votes: 1,151

78. The Cameraman (1928)

Passed | 76 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

Hopelessly in love with a woman working at MGM Studios, a clumsy man attempts to become a motion-picture cameraman to be close to the object of his desire.

Directors: Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Marceline Day, Harold Goodwin, Sidney Bracey

Votes: 13,155

79. Un chien andalou (1929)

Not Rated | 16 min | Short, Fantasy, Horror

Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí present 16 minutes of bizarre, surreal imagery.

Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Pierre Batcheff, Simone Mareuil, Luis Buñuel, Pancho Cossío

Votes: 53,756

80. The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)

Not Rated | 72 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

Allan visits the sinister Usher family mansion, where his friend Roderick is painting a portrait of his sickly wife Madeline. The portrait seems to be draining the life out of Madeline, slowly leading to her death.

Director: Jean Epstein | Stars: Jean Debucourt, Marguerite Gance, Charles Lamy, Fournez-Goffard

Votes: 4,492

81. The Crowd (1928)

Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Romance

The life of a man and woman together in a large, impersonal metropolis through their hopes, struggles, and downfalls.

Director: King Vidor | Stars: Eleanor Boardman, James Murray, Bert Roach, Estelle Clark

Votes: 9,153

82. The Docks of New York (1928)

Not Rated | 76 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide.

Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: George Bancroft, Betty Compson, Olga Baclanova, Clyde Cook

Votes: 5,023

83. Leave 'em Laughing (1928)

Passed | 22 min | Short, Comedy

In the dead of night, a terrible toothache wakes up poor Stan, and after a series of home-made remedies, Ollie takes him to the dentist. There, ample amounts of laughing gas lead to the perfect mess. Will Stan ever visit the dentist again?

Directors: Clyde Bruckman, Leo McCarey | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlie Hall, Edgar Kennedy

Votes: 1,083

84. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Passed | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History

98 Metascore

In 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz

Votes: 60,582 | Gross: $0.02M

85. The Little Match Girl (1928)

40 min | Short, Drama, Fantasy

An impoverished girl tries to sell matches on NYE. Shivering with cold and unable to sell her wares, she sits in a sheltered nook. Striking a match to keep warm, she sees things in the flame.

Directors: Jean Renoir, Jean Tédesco | Stars: Catherine Hessling, Eric Barclay, Jean Storm, Manuel Raaby

Votes: 1,569

86. Queen Kelly (1932)

Passed | 101 min | Drama

A convent girl is abducted and seduced by a prince before being sent off to a brothel in East Africa.

Directors: Erich von Stroheim, Richard Boleslawski | Stars: Gloria Swanson, Walter Byron, Seena Owen, Sylvia Ashton

Votes: 3,359

87. Spies (1928)

Not Rated | 90 min | Romance, Thriller

The mastermind behind a ubiquitous spy operation learns of a dangerous romance between a Russian lady in his employ and a dashing agent from the government's secret service.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gerda Maurus, Willy Fritsch, Lien Deyers

Votes: 3,940

88. Two Tars (1928)

Passed | 21 min | Short, Comedy, Family

At a rail crossing, a small fender-bender incident turns into a major tit-for-tat retaliatory war among various motorists.

Director: James Parrott | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, Thelma Hill

Votes: 1,555

89. Arsenal (1929)

Not Rated | 70 min | Drama, War

A soldier returns to Kyiv after surviving a train crash and encounters clashes between nationalists and collectivists.

Director: Aleksandr Dovzhenko | Stars: Semyon Svashenko, Georgi Khorkov, Amvrosi Buchma, Dmitri Erdman

Votes: 2,332

90. Black and Tan (1929)

Not Rated | 19 min | Short, Drama, Music

Duke Ellington in a jazz musical short with a tragic plotline.

Director: Dudley Murphy | Stars: Duke Ellington, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Fredi Washington, Hall Johnson Choir

Votes: 594

91. Blackmail (1929)

Not Rated | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

After killing a man in self-defense, a young woman is blackmailed by a witness to the killing.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anny Ondra, John Longden, Sara Allgood, Charles Paton

Votes: 11,942

92. Dynamite (1929)

Passed | 129 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Wealthy Cynthia is in love with not-so-wealthy Roger, who is married to Marcia. The threesome is terribly modern about the situation, and Marcia will gladly divorce Roger if Cynthia agrees ... See full summary »

Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, Charles Bickford, Julia Faye

Votes: 488

93. Old and New (1929)

Not Rated | 121 min | Drama

100.000.000 peasants - illiterate, poor, hungry. There comes a day when one woman decides that she can live old life no longer. Using ways of new Soviet state and industrial progress she changes life and labor of her village.

Directors: Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Marfa Lapkina, M. Ivanin, Konstantin Vasilyev, Vasili Buzenkov

Votes: 1,723

94. Hallelujah (1929)

Passed | 109 min | Drama, Musical

A sharecropper decides to become a preacher after falling for a vamp from the city.

Director: King Vidor | Stars: Daniel L. Haynes, Nina Mae McKinney, William Fountaine, Harry Gray

Votes: 1,998

95. Lonesome (1928)

Passed | 69 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Two lonely people in the big city meet and enjoy the thrills of an amusement park, only to lose each other in the crowd after spending a great day together. Will they ever see each other again?

Director: Pál Fejös | Stars: Barbara Kent, Glenn Tryon, Fay Holderness, Gusztáv Pártos

Votes: 2,599

96. The Love Parade (1929)

Passed | 107 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

The queen of mythical Sylvania marries a courtier, who finds his new life unsatisfying.

Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Lupino Lane, Lillian Roth

Votes: 2,611

97. Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

Not Rated | 68 min | Documentary

96 Metascore

A man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.

Director: Dziga Vertov | Stars: Mikhail Kaufman, Elizaveta Svilova

Votes: 27,929

98. The New Babylon (1929)

120 min | Drama, History

In the beginning of the industrial revolution, the Paris Commune was established in 1871 against the rich and the powerful, and violently repressed by the army that remained faithful to a ... See full summary »

Directors: Grigoriy Kozintsev, Leonid Trauberg | Stars: David Gutman, Yelena Kuzmina, Andrei Kostrichkin, Sofiya Magarill

Votes: 933

99. Thunderbolt (1929)

Passed | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

A criminal known as Thunderbolt is imprisoned and facing execution. Into the next cell is placed Bob Moran, an innocent man who has been framed and who is in love with Thunderbolt's girl. ... See full summary »

Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: George Bancroft, Fay Wray, Richard Arlen, Eugenie Besserer

Votes: 880

100. The Golden Age (1930)

Not Rated | 63 min | Comedy, Drama

A surrealist tale of a man and a woman who are passionately in love with each other, but their attempts to consummate that passion are constantly thwarted by their families, the Church, and bourgeois society.

Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Gaston Modot, Lya Lys, Caridad de Laberdesque, Max Ernst

Votes: 14,799 | Gross: $0.03M



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