the greatest films of all time part 1 - 1920's

the time article has put me in the mood and now is as good a time as any to bore you with my personal picks for the greatest films of all time. now, i've seen a lot of films, but there is still plenty of shit that i haven't seen. and there is some stuff that i haven't seen in a long time that may actually be much better or worse than i still think it is. regardless, these are my picks and they are all brilliant. my format of choice is always to go by decades so here is part 1 of a 9 part series; the 1920's

10. Wings (1927)

directed by william a. wellman
everybody knows this as the first movie and only silent movie to ever win best picture at the oscars. most of what i read about it was that it actually wasn't that good, but i liked it a lot. it was my first clara bow experience and i found her as enchanting as her reputation suggests. it also features a young gary cooper in one of his first roles and he is quite the stud.

9. Show People (1928)

directed by king vidor
this is a lesser known silent about a girl that comes to hollywood to be an actress and finds fame first as a screwball comedienne and then tries to graduate to dramatic actress. the plot sounds old hat now but it was maybe the first film to feature it. it's got cameos by charlie chaplin, douglas fairbanks, william s. hart and other stars playing themselves. it also serves as a fascinating look at what filmmaking was like back in those days.

8. The Crowd (1928)

directed by king vidor
two king vidor movies from the same year both in the top 10? can they really both be brilliant? indeed. i went on a huge king vidor kick a few years back and it was extremely rewarding. why he isn't a more well known director i'll never know. the crowd is a poignant story about a guy feeling stuck in his life, job, marriage etc. and apparently it was the first american film to show a toilet. so no the crowd, no trainspotting.

7. Metropolis (1927)

directed by fritz lang
it might be stupid to say that the effects in this film are amazing, but they really are. the star wars of the silent era. just do all you can to avoid the 80's re-release with hits from the era used as the soundtrack.

6. Safety Last! (1923)

directed by fred neymeyer, sam taylor
everybody knows this famous scene, but they probably don't know what movie it's from. the only harold lloyd film i've seen is so good it makes me ashamed that it's the only harold lloyd film i've seen.

5. The General (1927)

directed by clyde bruckman, buster keaton
maybe the best silent comedy of all. like all great comedies, it is hilarious but transcends the genre with genuine drama, thrills and engaging characters. buster keaton is way better than charlie chaplin.

4. Greed (1924)

directed by erich von stroheim
von stroheim apparently turned in his cut to mgm and it was 8 hours long. they told him to cut it down and he refused. eventually they took the movie away from him and cut it themselves down to a little over 2 hours. in retaliation, von stroheim took all the money they gave him for his next movie and threw lavish orgy parties with it. as brilliant as that story is, the movie is even better. maybe the best ending of all time.

3. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

directed by carl th. dreyer
if you only see one movie about one person's intense suffering that starts with "the passion of" then this is definitely the one to see.

2. The Big Parade (1925)

directed by king vidor
i'm always amazed when a silent film can move me and i found myself moved on more than one occasion during this war film. this and the number 1 film show that love can be easily expressed on film with no words at all.

1. Sunrise (1927)

directed by f.w. murnau
this is my default answer to the greatest movie of all time because it accomplishes what every other movie i love does, without any words. at one moment it's an engaging thriller, then the most romantic movie i've ever seen, then a spectacular action movie and back again. you have to see it.