Top 100 Films of the 1920s
I am sooooo excited to be writing this right now. It’s finally here, the 1920s. The last decade. The last list before the fun ones. All of my homework is more or less complete, I have seen all I can see to make my final list decisions. I also know that at least a few of you out there thought this wouldn’t ever happen because there was so much time of inactivity on this blog and even on Instagram in the mid-year. But somehow, someway, I pushed through and created ten 100 lists. This list was not as arduous as I thought it would be and certainly nowhere near as tough as the 1930s. The 1920s was an interesting decade, a giant leap for the medium. Feature-length films became standard, normal fair, the business of filmmaking was developing quickly, ideas had just begun and weren’t tired out yet, and censorship boards were minimal. It was a time where nothing felt impossible for artists.
The decade of shadows. I debated calling it the decade of so many other things. The decade of silence, but sound was harnessed in the late 20s. The decade of birth, but film had been a thing for a minute already. Shadows felt right however because light was the best thing the artists really had to work with for most of the decade. That’s probably why German Expressionist films really came to the forefront. Nosferatu, for example, leans heavily into its darkest corners for suspense and horror—as does Faust, The Cat and the Canary, and The Phantom Carriage. It wasn’t only the time for horror films, however. There were major developments in all genres: mystery, drama, rom-coms (comedy in general, actually), and sci-fi (with Metropolis being a crowning achievement of the decade and still widely considered one of the best films ever.
Class consciousness was a major staple of films from all over the world during this time. While that may seem like an obvious path in the USSR with films by the likes of Eisentstein (Battleship Potemkin, Strike), it wasn’t the only place. The aforementioned Metropolis, which is set in a literal upper/lower class city, is a German film. In America there were films such as The Docks of New York and Greed. This trend honestly makes sense considering WWI and a pandemic had just ended and much of the world was either in economic shambles or about to see the fallout of massive income inequality propped up by a fragile foundation. (oh, wait…..) “The roaring 20s” as they were called weren’t good for everyone and filmmakers knew that.
If I had to guess, that’s why I enjoy this decade of films more than I did the 30s. There was an awareness of the stories filmmakers wanted to tell and evidence of clear artistic vision. Even if I don’t enjoy silents (I don’t) and even if I struggle with VERY dated on-screen looks (I do) I can still put myself in the mindset of these creators and harness what they were truly aiming for. Even DW Griffith made a not bad/disgusting movie in the 20s. How crazy is that?
I don’t really have a lot more to say about this last list, though. It honestly was a blur and incredibly taxing to make it this far. Honestly, I’m astonished I did at all. So please, enjoy this last decade list and hopefully find something new to enjoy. Click here for the Letterboxd list.
100. The Viking
99. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
98. The Beloved Rogue
97. Chicago
96. The Red Mill
95. The Unknown
94. The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
93. The Circus
92. Noah’s Arc
91. White Shadows in the South Seas
90. The Matinee Idol
89. Kurama Tengu
88. Under the Lantern
87. Storm Over Asia
86. Four Sons
85. The Docks of New York
84. Speedy
83. The White Stadium
82. Destiny
81. Spies
80. The Mysterious Lady
79. Underground
78. The Golem: How He Came into the World
77. Outside the Law
76. The Parson’s Widow
75. The Penalty
74. The Saphead
73. Monte Cristo
72. Love One Another
71. Crainquebille
70. Why Worry?
69. A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate
68. Salomé
67. Our Hospitality
66. La Roue
65. Isn’t Life Wonderful
64. Stella Dallas
63. The Iron Horse
62. The Saga of Gosta Berling
61. The Hands of Orlac
60. Peter Pan
59. Sherlock, Jr.
58. Greed
57. Riders of the Purple Sage
56. Orochi
55. Faces of Children
54. Variety
53. The Phantom of the Opera
52. The Holy Mountain
51. What Price Glory
50. Sparrows
49. The General
48. The Scarlet Letter
47. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
46. Miss Mend
45. Underworld
44. 7th Heaven
43. The Racket
42. Across to Singapore
41. A Woman of Affairs
40. The Wind
39. Arsenal
38. Woman in the Moon
37. Blackmail
36. A Cottage on Dartmoor
35. The Last Warning
34. Phantom
33. Spite Marriage
32. Michael
31. Robin Hood
30. Master of the House
29. Faust
28. Steamboat Bill, Jr
27. Die Nibelungen: Siegfried
26. The Ten Commandments
25. Beggars of Life
24. Diary of Lost Girl
23. Safety Last!
22. The Gold Rush
21. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
20. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
19.Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler
18. The Adventures of Prince Achmed
17. October (Ten Days that Shook the World)
16. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
15. The Cameraman
14. The Cat and the Canary
13. Un Chien Andalou
12. A Page of Madness
11. The Great White Silence
10. Noseratu
9. The Phantom Carriage
8. The Man Who Laughed
7. Battleship Potemkin
6. The Last Laugh
5. The Last Command
4. Pandora’s Box
3. The Passion of Joan of Arc
2. Metropolis
1. Strike
And there you have it. Every decade. Please stay tuned for New Years Eve when I publish the Top 100 Performances Ever and the Top 100 Films Ever.