Hypocrites

Lois Weber, the main director of this film, was among America's first female directors. Most of her films, like most pre-1920 films, are lost forever. However, Hypocrites (1915), helps us understand how one of the leading film magazines in 1916 named her the best film director in the world. DW Griffith came in second even though he had already made Birth of a Nation.

She is largely forgotten today because the introduction of the studio system largely purged most female directors. Since Weber was largely influenced by European film, Hypocrites tends to focus more on concept than plot, but in an excellent manner. The film utilizes the newest technical innovations of the times with beauty. I have seen several silent films and many of Chaplin's greatest movies. But I must say that this is one of the top 3 silent films I've ever seen, and among the top 15 films I've ever seen period. (I have seen The Godfather, Citizen Kane, etc.)