Greatest Films by Year

Tim · **Joined:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:47 pm **Posts:** 11198

ManPerson wrote:

Also,
Are we giving the 1910s it's own decade list?

Mine and paul's earlier comments:

pauldrach wrote:

Tim wrote:

I think at least 1920s deserve its separate list.

This. And then pre-1920s. These are vastly different eras we will be dealing with in a very quickly changing film scene. Most of the basic narrative and technical innovations happened before 1920. The 1920s will already present us with the fully formed medium film (well, ok, sound and color have only been experimented with). The era before that may turn out to be the most interesting and difficult one to do because only very few of its films remain canonized. It will be fairly easy to do a top 250 for the 1920s. I imagine that a few less films may suffice for the pre-1920 era.

pauldrach · **Posted:** Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:02 am

Tim wrote:

pauldrach wrote:

Tim wrote:

I think at least 1920s deserve its separate list.

This. And then pre-1920s. These are vastly different eras we will be dealing with in a very quickly changing film scene. Most of the basic narrative and technical innovations happened before 1920. The 1920s will already present us with the fully formed medium film (well, ok, sound and color have only been experimented with). The era before that may turn out to be the most interesting and difficult one to do because only very few of its films remain canonized. It will be fairly easy to do a top 250 for the 1920s. I imagine that a few less films may suffice for the pre-1920 era.

Exactly, but having looked at each year up to the beginning of time in detail (ok, I lumped everything before 1895 together), I'd now say 250 for the pre-1920s is exactly the right number. More would soon become arbitrary but fewer would result in very important films having to be left out.

pauldrach · **Posted:** Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:04 am

Tim wrote:

I see paul is serious about the greatest films of the 1910s list.

ain't gonna let nobody steal my jelly roll

pauldrach · **Posted:** Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:06 am

1922:

TSPDT

1. Nosferatu - F. W. Murnau
2. Nanook of the North - Robert J. Flaherty
3. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 1: The Great Gambler - Fritz Lang
3. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 2: Inferno - Fritz Lang
5. Foolish Wives - Erich von Stroheim
6. Häxan - Benjamin Christensen
7. Cops - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
8. Phantom - F. W. Murnau
9. Salomé - Charles Bryant
10. Robin Hood - Allan Dwan
11. Die Gezeichneten - Carl Theodor Dreyer
12. The Great White Silence - Herbert G. Ponting
13. Laborer's Love - Zhang Shichuan
14. La femme de nulle part - Louis Delluc
15. È piccerella - Elvira Notari
16. One Exciting Night - D. W. Griffith
17. Pay Day - Charles Chaplin
18. The Paleface - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
19. No País das Amazonas - Silvino Santos
20. Sodom and Gomorrah - Michael Curtiz
21. The Burning Soil - F. W. Murnau
22. Finlandia - Erkki Karu & Eero Leväluoma
23. Sam's Boy - Manning Haynes
24. Saturday Night - Cecil B. DeMille
25. Secrets of Nature: The Battle of the Ants - Geoffrey Barkas
26. Crainquebille - Jacques Feyder
27. Jocelyn - Léon Poirier
28. The Electric House - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
29. The Three Must-Get-Theres - Max Linder
30. Vanina - Arthur von Gerlach
31. Samson and Delilah - Alexander Korda
32. Down to the Sea in Ships - Elmer Clifton
33. Smilin' Through - Sidney Franklin
34. Sky High - Lynn Reynolds
35. Kodachrome Color Motion Picture Tests - John Capstaff

Films101

1. Nosferatu - F. W. Murnau
2. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 1: The Great Gambler - Fritz Lang
2. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 2: Inferno - Fritz Lang
4. Nanook of the North - Robert J. Flaherty
5. Foolish Wives - Erich von Stroheim
6. Häxan - Benjamin Christensen
7. Robin Hood - Allan Dwan
8. Cops - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
9. Blood and Sand - Fred Niblo
10. When Knighthood Was in Flower - Robert G. Vignola
11. Sky High - Lynn Reynolds
12. Grandma's Boy - Fred C. Newmeyer
13. The Prisoner of Zenda - Rex Ingram
14. The Loves of Pharaoh - Ernst Lubitsch
14. Phantom - F. W. Murnau
16. The Blacksmith - Buster Keaton & Malcolm St. Clair
16. Day Dreams - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
16. The Electric House - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
16. The Frozen North - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
16. My Wife's Relations - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
16. The Paleface - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline

RYM

1. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 2: Inferno - Fritz Lang
2. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 1: The Great Gambler - Fritz Lang
3. Nosferatu - F. W. Murnau
4. Häxan - Benjamin Christensen
5. The Great White Silence - Herbert G. Ponting
6. Foolish Wives - Erich von Stroheim
7. Nanook of the North - Robert J. Flaherty
8. Cops - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
9. The Burning Soil - F. W. Murnau
10. Salomé - Charles Bryant
11. Pay Day - Charles Chaplin
12. Phantom - F. W. Murnau
13. The Electric House - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
14. La femme de nulle part - Louis Delluc
15. Grandma's Boy - Fred C. Newmeyer
16. Dr. Jack - Fred C. Newmeyer
17. Les grenouilles qui demandent un roi - Ladislas Starevich
18. Cinderella - Lotte Reiniger
19. The Blacksmith - Buster Keaton & Malcolm St. Clair
20. Robin Hood - Allan Dwan
21. Day Dreams - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
22. The Frozen North - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
23. Die Gezeichneten - Carl Theodor Dreyer
24. The Paleface - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
25. The Three Must-Get-Theres - Max Linder
26. Sherlock Holmes - Albert Parker
27. Crainquebille - Jacques Feyder
28. Blood and Sand - Fred Niblo
29. The Toll of the Sea - Chester M. Franklin
30. Kodachrome Color Motion Picture Tests - John Capstaff
31. My Wife's Relations - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
32. Oliver Twist - Frank Lloyd
33. Beyond the Rocks - Sam Wood
34. Lichtspiel Opus II - Walter Ruttmann
35. Kino-pravda no. 1 - Dziga Vertov
36. Der var engang - Carl Theodor Dreyer
37. Nathan the Wise - Manfred Noa
38. The Victor - Walter Ruttmann
39. Danse macabre - Dudley Murphy
40. Cinderella - Walt Disney
41. Tess of the Storm Country - John S. Robertson
42. The Loves of Pharaoh - Ernst Lubitsch
43. Shadows - Tom Forman
44. The Prisoner of Zenda - Rex Ingram
45. Little Red Riding Hood - Walt Disney
46. Kino-pravda no. 7 - Dziga Vertov
47. Marizza - F. W. Murnau
48. Kino-pravda no. 5 - Dziga Vertov
49. The Four Musicians of Bremen - Walt Disney
50. The Secret of the Marquise - Lotte Reiniger

Box office (UMR)

1. Manslaughter - Cecil B. DeMille
2. Robin Hood - Allan Dwan
3. Smilin' Through - Sidney Franklin
4. When Knighthood Was in Flower - Robert G. Vignola
5. Tess of the Storm Country - John S. Robertson
6. Sherlock Holmes - Albert Parker
7. Saturday Night - Cecil B. DeMille
8. Oliver Twist - Frank Lloyd
9. One Exciting Night - D. W. Griffith
10. Foolish Wives - Erich von Stroheim
11. Dr. Jack - Fred C. Newmeyer
12. The Hottentot - James W. Horne & Del Andrews
13. Grandma's Boy - Fred C. Newmeyer
14. Monte Cristo - Emmett J. Flynn
15. The Young Rajah - Phil Rosen
16. East Is West - Sidney Franklin
17. Back Home and Broke - Alfred E. Green
18. My American Wife - Sam Wood
19. The Storm - Reginald Barker
20. To Have and to Hold - George Fitzmaurice
21. Her Gilded Cage - Sam Wood
22. The Bachelor Daddy - Alfred E. Green
23. While Satan Sleeps - Joseph Henabery
24. The Man Who Saw Tomorrow - Alfred E. Green
25. Nice People - William C. deMille
26. Across the Continent - Phil Rosen
27. The Good Provider - Frank Borzage
28. The Dictator - James Cruze
29. The Impossible Mrs. Bellew - Sam Wood
30. The Eternal Flame - Frank Lloyd
31. More to Be Pitied Than Scorned - Edward LeSaint
32. Under Two Flags - Tod Browning
33. Our Leading Citizen - Alfred E. Green
34. Turn to the Right - Rex Ingram
35. The Masquerader - James Young

Box office (Wikipedia)

1. Robin Hood - Allan Dwan
2. When Knighthood Was in Flower - Robert G. Vignola
3. Blood and Sand - Fred Niblo
4. Grandma's Boy - Fred C. Newmeyer
5. Smilin' Through - Sidney Franklin
6. Rags to Riches - Wallace Worsley
7. Heroes of the Street - William Beaudine
8. The Beautiful and Damned - William A. Seiter
9. Your Best Friend - William Nigh

IMDb (Number of ratings)

1. Nosferatu - F. W. Murnau
2. Häxan - Benjamin Christensen
3. Nanook of the North - Robert J. Flaherty
4. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 2: Inferno - Fritz Lang
4. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 1: The Great Gambler - Fritz Lang
6. Cops - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
7. Pay Day - Charles Chaplin
8. Foolish Wives - Erich von Stroheim
9. The Paleface - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
10. The Electric House - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
11. The Blacksmith - Buster Keaton & Malcolm St. Clair
12. Day Dreams - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
13. Beyond the Rocks - Sam Wood
14. Robin Hood - Allan Dwan
15. The Frozen North - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
16. My Wife's Relations - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
17. Grandma's Boy - Fred C. Newmeyer
18. Phantom - F. W. Murnau
19. Dr. Jack - Fred C. Newmeyer
20. Blood and Sand - Fred Niblo
21. The Great White Silence - Herbert G. Ponting
22. When Knighthood Was in Flower - Robert G. Vignola
23. Salomé - Charles Bryant
24. Oliver Twist - Frank Lloyd
25. Beauty's Worth - Robert G. Vignola
26. The Toll of the Sea - Chester M. Franklin
27. The Burning Soil - F. W. Murnau
28. Sherlock Holmes - Albert Parker
29. Nice and Friendly - Charles Chaplin
30. Les grenouilles qui demandent un roi - Ladislas Starevich
31. The Three Must-Get-Theres - Max Linder
32. The Loves of Pharaoh - Ernst Lubitsch
33. The Prisoner of Zenda - Rex Ingram
34. Our Gang - Robert F. McGowan
35. Die Gezeichneten - Carl Theodor Dreyer
36. Tess of the Storm Country - John S. Robertson
37. Manslaughter - Cecil B. DeMille
38. Little Red Riding Hood - Walt Disney
39. Der var engang - Carl Theodor Dreyer
40. Shadows - Tom Forman
41. Cinderella - Walt Disney
42. The Young Rajah - Phil Rosen
43. Monte Cristo - Emmett J. Flynn
44. Crainquebille - Jacques Feyder
45. Lichtspiel Opus II - Walter Ruttmann
46. Mud and Sand - Gilbert Pratt
47. Down to the Sea in Ships - Elmer Clifton
48. Moran of the Lady Letty - George Melford
49. Cinderella - Lotte Reiniger
50. The Four Musicians of Bremen - Walt Disney

AFI Desk Reference: notable films (in alphabetical order)

Arabian Love - Jerome Storm
Blood and Sand - Fred Niblo
The Cradle - Paul Powell
Crainquebille - Jacques Feyder
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 1: The Great Gambler - Fritz Lang
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 2: Inferno - Fritz Lang
Foolish Wives - Erich von Stroheim
Grandma's Boy - Fred C. Newmeyer
Infinite Sorrow - Aleksander Panteleyev
The Loves of Pharaoh - Ernst Lubitsch
Lucrezia Borgia - Richard Oswald
Nanook of the North - Robert J. Flaherty
Nosferatu - F. W. Murnau
One Terrible Day - Robert F. McGowan & Tom McNamara
Pan - Harald Schwenzen
Phantom - F. W. Murnau
The Power of Love - Nat G. Deverich & Harry K. Fairall
The Prisoner of Zenda - Rex Ingram
Robin Hood - Allan Dwan
Sky High - Lynn Reynolds
Tess of the Storm Country - John S. Robertson
The Toll of the Sea - Chester M. Franklin
When Knighthood Was in Flower - Robert G. Vignola
The World's Champion - Phil Rosen

pauldrach · **Posted:** Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:07 am

My list:

1. Nosferatu
2. Nanook of the North
3. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 2: Inferno
4. Häxan
5. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 1: The Great Gambler
6. Cops
7. Foolish Wives
8. Robin Hood
9. Blood and Sand
10. Grandma's Boy
11. Pay Day
12. The Electric House
13. The Great White Silence
14. When Knighthood Was in Flower
15. Salomé
16. Phantom
17. Dr. Jack
18. Crainquebille
19. Beyond the Rocks
20. The Paleface

21. Oliver Twist
22. The Toll of the Sea
23. The Prisoner of Zenda
24. Down to the Sea in Ships
25. The Frozen North
26. La femme de nulle part
27. The Blacksmith
28. Beauty's Worth
29. The Burning Soil
30. Day Dreams
31. Manslaughter
32. Smilin' Through
33. Our Gang
34. Sherlock Holmes
35. Les grenouilles qui demandent un roi
36. Tess of the Storm Country
37. The Loves of Pharaoh
38. The Power of Love
39. Monte Cristo
40. Kino-pravda No. 1
41. The Headless Horseman
42. The Three Must-Get-Theres
43. Moran of the Lady Letty
44. Saturday Night
45. Cinderella [GER]
46. The Beautiful and Damned
47. The Young Rajah
48. East Is West
49. Die Gezeichneten
50. One Terrible Day
51. Sky High
52. My Wife's Relations
53. Little Red Riding Hood
54. The Impossible Mrs. Bellew
55. Kodachrome Color Motion Picture Tests
56. The Hottentot
57. Laborer's Love
58. Back Home and Broke
59. Her Gilded Cage
60. Cinderella [US]
61. My American Wife
62. Heroes of the Street
63. Lichtspiel Opus II
64. The Storm
65. Rags to Riches
66. To Have and to Hold
67. The Bachelor Daddy
68. Lorna Doone
69. While Satan Sleeps
70. The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
71. One Exciting Night
72. Sodom and Gomorrah
73. Nice People
74. Across the Continent
75. The Good Provider
76. The Dictator
77. Your Best Friend
78. The Eternal Flame

Tim · **Joined:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:47 pm **Posts:** 11198

1922
1. Nosferatu - F. W. Murnau
2. Nanook of the North - Robert J. Flaherty
3. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler Part One: The Great Gambler - Fritz Lang
4. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler Part Two: Inferno - Fritz Lang
5. Foolish Wives - Erich von Stroheim
6. Häxan - Benjamin Christensen
7. Robin Hood - Allan Dwan
8. Blood and Sand - Fred Niblo
9. Cops - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
10. Our Gang - Robert F. McGowan & Fred Newmeyer

11. Grandma's Boy - Fred C. Newmeyer
12. When Knighthood Was in Flower - Robert G. Vignola
13. The Prisoner of Zenda - Rex Ingram
14. The Toll of the Sea - Chester M. Franklin
15. The Loves of Pharaoh - Ernst Lubitsch
16. Manslaughter - Cecil B. DeMille
17. The Electric House - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
18. The Paleface - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
19. The Blacksmith - Buster Keaton & Malcolm St. Clair
20. Daydreams - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline

ManPerson · **Posted:** Wed Nov 30, 2022 3:13 pm

1. Nosferatu
2. Nanook of the North
3. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler Part. 1
4. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler Part. 2
5. Haxan
6. Foolish Wives
7. Cops
8. Robin Hood
9. Grandma’s Boy
10. The Great White Silence
Phantom
Salome
Pay Day
The Paleface
Blood and Sand

Tim · **Joined:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:47 pm **Posts:** 11198

1923, the leads:

1. Safety Last! (Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor) (Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis)
2. Our Hospitality (Buster Keaton & John G. Blystone) (Buster Keayon, Joe Roberts, Natalie Talmadge)
3. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Wallace Worsley) (Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry)
4. La Roue (Abel Gance) (Severin-Mars, Ivy Close, Pierre Magnier)
5. The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille) (Theodore Roberts, Charles De Roche, Estelle Taylor)
6. A Woman of Paris (Charles Chaplin) (Edna Purviance, Clarence Geldart, Carl Miller)
7. Cœur fidèle (Jean Epstein) (Gina Manès, Léon Mathot, Edmond Van Daële, Marie Epstein)
8. The Smiling Madame Beudet (Germaine Dulac) (Germaine Dermoz, Alexandre Arquillière)
9. Three Ages (Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline) (Buster Keaton, Margaret Leahy, Wallace Beery)
10. The Covered Wagon (James Cruze) (J. Warren Kerrigan, Lois Wilson)

11. Why Worry? (Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor) (Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston)
12. The Pilgrim (Charles Chaplin) (Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Sydney Chaplin)
13. Scaramouche (Rex Ingram) (Ramon Novarro, Alice Terry, Lewis Stone)
14. Little Old New York (Sidney Olcott) (Marion Davies, Harrison Ford)
15. Warning Shadows (Arthur Robison) (Alexander Granach, Max Gülstorff)
16. Merry-Go-Round (Rupert Julian) (Norman Kerry, Mary Philbin)
17. Flaming Youth (John Francis Dillon) (Colleen Moore, Milton Sills)
18. The Extra Girl (F. Richard Jones) (Mabel Normand, Ralph Graves, George Nichols)
19. Souls for Sale (Rupert Hughes) (Eleanor Boardman, Frank Mayo, Mae Busch)
20. Rosita (Ernst Lubitsch) (Mary Pickford, Holbrook Blinn, Irene Rich)

Bruno · **Joined:** Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:00 am **Posts:** 3702

1. Nosferatu
2. Nanook of the North
3. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 1: The Great Gambler
4. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 2: Inferno
5. Häxan
6. Foolish Wives
7. Cops
8. Robin Hood
9. Blood and Sand
10. Grandma's Boy

11. Pay Day
12. The Electric House
13. Salomé
14. When Knighthood Was in Flower
15. Phantom
16. The Great White Silence
17. The Paleface
18. Crainquebille
19. The Blacksmith
20. Dr. Jack

Luuk · **Joined:** Fri Nov 09, 2012 10:32 am **Posts:** 1408

1. Nosferatu
2. Nanook of the North
3. Häxan
4. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 1: The Great Gambler
5. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part 2: Inferno
6. Cops
7. Foolish Wives
8. Robin Hood
9. Grandma's Boy
10. Blood and Sand

11. Pay Day
12. The Great White Silence
13. When Knighthood Was in Flower
14. The Electric House
15. The Paleface
16. Beyond the Rocks
17. Phantom
18. Dr. Jack
19. Salomé
20. Crainquebille

HM's
Oliver Twist
The Prisoner of Zenda
The Toll of the Sea
The Burning Soil
The Three Must-Get-Theres

Luuk · **Joined:** Fri Nov 09, 2012 10:32 am **Posts:** 1408

Dr. Mabuse may win acclaim, but doesn't Häxan win popularity and influence?

Tim · **Joined:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:47 pm **Posts:** 11198

What do we have in mind for influence of either? I'd think Dr. Mabuse generally considered to be a highly influential on crime films.

Tim · **Joined:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:47 pm **Posts:** 11198

What do we think?

1. Nosferatu - F. W. Murnau
2. Nanook of the North - Robert J. Flaherty
3. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler Part One: The Great Gambler - Fritz Lang
4. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler Part Two: Inferno - Fritz Lang
5. Häxan - Benjamin Christensen
6. Foolish Wives - Erich von Stroheim
7. Cops - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
8. Robin Hood - Allan Dwan
9. Blood and Sand - Fred Niblo
10. Grandma's Boy - Fred C. Newmeyer

11. The Great White Silence - Herbert G. Ponting
12. Pay Day - Charles Chaplin
13. The Electric House - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
14. When Knighthood Was in Flower - Robert G. Vignola
15. Salomé - Charles Bryant
16. Phantom - F. W. Murnau
17. The Paleface - Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
18. Crainquebille - Jacques Feyder
19. Dr. Jack - Fred C. Newmeyer
20. Beyond the Rocks - Sam Wood

ManPerson · **Posted:** Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:19 pm

Seems fine.

pauldrach · **Posted:** Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:33 pm

Greatest Films by Year

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