best film:  The Blue Angel from von Sternberg. Von Sternberg is as married to mise-en-scene as Renoir or Ophuls is to camera movement or Eisenstein is to montage and editing. The Blue Angel has a simple (yet

best film:  Pandora’s Box from G.W. Pabst Pabst’s film features an enthralling narrative and rich characterizations Louise Brooks and her tragic character, Lulu, are/were so influential to the time and to cinema lore (see films

best film:  The Passion of Joan of Arc from Dreyer It’s formally flawless and stylistically audacious at the same time. It’s one of the 20-25 (or so) I think you could legitimately call the greatest

best film:  Sunrise by Murnau. I should mention that I still haven’t been able to track down and see Abel Gance’s Napoleon- a pretty significant omission by all accounts (it is #176 of all-time on the

best film:  The General from Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman A set piece high-wire act that last for nearly the entire duration of the film At age 31, Keaton has a second unassailable masterpiece between

best film:  Battleship Potemkin from Eisenstein Pure cinematic excellence, a stylistic shock wave, a masterful collage of images—Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin stands alone as the greatest single achievement in film editing. Murnau is important—absolutely- what he did with

best film:  Sherlock Jr. from Buster Keaton though the top three films from 1924 would be the single best film of 1923 A jaw-on the floor masterpiece, and, believe it or not, one that doesn’t

best film:  Our Hospitality from Buster Keaton (his second feature). Our Hospitality isn’t Keaton’s best work but in a down year coming off of 1922—it is the best film of the year. A brilliant premise- a

best film:  Nosferatu from Murnau. Nosferatu is an essential masterpiece- a landmark in horror cinema, German expressionism, and Murnau’s wonderful body of work as an auteur. It is an unauthorized adaptation (much like Ossessione from Visconti

best film:  Destiny from Lang Fritz Lang’s Destiny takes narrative elements from Griffith’s Intolerance (three clear and distinct narrative strands- Mideast story line, Spanish, and Chinese) and mise-en-scene elements from Caligari (see décor detail) to make a brilliant early film for

best film:  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari from Wiene is by far the best film from 1920. It’s the birth of German expressionism, and, largely, mise-en-scene (or at least set design) in feature film (though of

best film: Intolerance from Griffith – It’s easily the greatest example of cinema as art to date in 1916 and wouldn’t be topped throughout the rest of the decade. It is one of cinemas historically great achievements