I must confess that I haven't seen nearly as many films from the silent era (and very early sound era) as I should've. I've actually seen so few films from the twenties that in order to make this a "top ten" list rather than a "top eight" one I have to include two films that I'm not certain I've seen in their entirety. You might argue that I'm not qualified to create such a list, and you'd probably be right, but I have a great deal of appreciation for 20s films (particularly of the German Expressionist variety) and there are several films from this era that have impressed me so much that I can't bear not to include them in a "top ten" list of some kind. So, if you see that titles you feel should be here are missing (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Sunrise, Battleship Potemkin, The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Last Laugh) the reason I haven't included them is that I haven't seen them.
10 and 9. The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925) and The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921)
These two films are at the bottom of this list not necessarily because they deserve to be there, but because I don't think I've seen either in its entirety. During a Chaplinfest on AMC fifteen or so years ago, I caught part of The Gold Rush and watched the last 2/3 of The Kid. The Kid was very touching. I don't recall much about The Gold Rush, but Chaplin's films are always entertaining.
8. Nana (Jean Renoir, 1926)
I've always thought Jean Renoir to be one of the most overrated directors in the history of film (which isn't to say he's bad), and this is probably my least favorite of his works. The only reason it's #8 on this list (and the only reason it's on the list at all) is that I can only think of eight films from the 20s that I'm certain I've seen all the way through and it would seem like cheating to give a film I've only seen part of (or haven't seen at all) a higher ranking. I found the film dull, the title character off-putting (I guess she was supposed to be, but...), and Catherine Hessling's performance obnoxious.
7. Pandora's Box (G.W. Pabst, 1929)
Lulu is a much more interesting character than Nana (what was this 20s trend of making movies about showgirls with toddlerspeak names all about?), Louise Brooks was a much better actress than Catherine Hessling, and from what (little) I've seen G.W. Pabst was a much better director in the 20s than was Jean Renoir. A solid film.
6. Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (Benjamin Christensen, 1922)
From what I've read, the version of this film that I saw (on VHS, twelve or thirteen years ago) is kind of a mess, so it could be that this film isn't as high on this list as it should be. Once I see the Criterion edition (it's on my "to see" list, along with about 15,000 other titles), it might move up. Whether it does or not, this part documentary, part comedy, and part horror curiosity is certainly interesting.
5. The Lodger (Alfred Hitchcock, 1927)
Joe has begun to suspect that the Buntings' unusual new boarder is responsible for a string of recent London murders, but might there be another explanation for the lodger's mysterious behavior? This silent is one of Hitchcock's best films.
4. Faust (F.W. Murnau, 1926)
3. Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)
Other than Georges Melies's less serious Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon) (1902), Metropolis is the earliest science fiction film I've seen. This dazzling blend of futurism and anti-capitalist sentiment was a remarkable achievement in its day, and in my opinion it would be a remarkable (if somewhat dated-looking) achievement today.
2. Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse the Gambler) (Fritz Lang, 1922)
Master hypnotist, manipulator, counterfeiter, disguise artist and all-around criminal genius Dr. Mabuse has made a career of conning millionaires out of their fortunes, but will a persistent police inspector, a romantic obsession, and a sudden turn of conscience be his undoing? The version of this film that I saw was five hours long (last I checked, the most complete cut available on DVD was around four and a half hours in length) and I'll admit that I wasn't terribly enthusiastic about sitting through a 300-minute silent, but I was somewhat fanatical about Fritz Lang at the time and so I forced myself to watch it. I'm glad I did, as I found myself mesmerized from the opening scene. Highly recommended.
1. Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922)
Perhaps the best vampire film ever made, Nosferatu has an authentic feel due to the time it was made that simply couldn't be replicated today (Werner Herzog tried in 1979 and failed miserably). Max Schreck wasn't the Dracula that one imagined while reading Bram Stoker's 1897 novel; he was far more terrifying, and this was partly due to his inability to speak (except by way of title cards). The high-contrast lighting, dread-inspiring set design, and skewed camera angles combine to make Nosferatu more like an extended nightmare than a coherent story, and that's how most horror films should be. A masterpiece.
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