Early Cinema (13 titles)
95% from 8 members
The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari
Flipping brilliant! The first German silent film I saw, and it sent me on a magical journey through the beginning of the age of film. (And it has a much-copied twist at the end)
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The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari
on DVD
(1919)
Starring: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Lil Dagover
Director: Robert Wiene
Certificate:
In the unsuspecting hamlet of Holstenwall, Germany, the time has come again for the town's annual fair. When Francis and his best friend Alan attend the festivities, they are led into an exhibition that will change their lives forever. The sinister hypnotist, Dr. Caligari, is the keeper of a ..read more »
69%
from 2,248 members
Der Golem
More great stuff. Superb depiction of an ancient Jewish legend. Wonderful to see the highly stylised sets and acting - and several set pieces apparently 'borrowed' for Frankenstein a decade or so later.
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Der Golem
on DVD
(1920)
Starring: Paul Wegener, Ernst Deutsch, Albert Steinruck
Director: Paul Wegener
Certificate:
With his third version of THE GOLEM, director, writer, and actor Paul Wegener is credited with creating the first horror movie series, and historians consider THE GOLEM AND THE DANCER (his 1917 follow-up to the 1914 original) to be the first sequel in cinema history. Based on a legend in Jewish ..read more »
62%
from 474 members
Un Chien Andalou
Ouch! To quote Monty Python's St.John Gumby "My brain hurts!" Impossible to analyse, so don't try. The perfect embodiment of Surrealism on film. As utterly off the wall as any collaboration between the two geniuses/loonies that were Dali and Bunuel was always likely to be.
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Un Chien Andalou
(2 discs)
on DVD
(1929)
Starring: Pierre Batcheff, Simone Mareuil, Jaime Miravilles
Director: Luis Bunuel, Salvador Dali
Certificate:
Un Chien Andalou is Bunuel's first film and collaboration with Salvador Dali, a surreal exploration of desire and passion. L'Age D'or is another collaboration with Dali, a surrealist dissection of civilised values.
70%
from 1,801 member
Pandora's Box
More first-rate film-making. One of THE all-time classics. A delight.
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Pandora's Box
on DVD
(1929)
Starring: Louise Brooks, Francis Lederer, Carl Gotz
Director: Georg W. Pabst
Certificate:
This classic silent German film tells of Lulu (Louise Brooks in her most famous role), a sensual chorus girl whose uncontainable sexual power literally destroys every man with whom she has an affair, until she encounters one of history's most notorious killers--Jack the Ripper. The film was ..read more »
70%
from 1,124 member
Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey
Stunning. I only saw this for the first time recently, but loved it straight away. Just a few spoken lines, and the actors were obviously feeling their way into 'talkies'. (And, as an aside, does anyone else think that the statue at the start of the film looks as though it may have later made an appearance on the roof of the Town hall in Royston Vasey?)
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Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey
on DVD
(1932)
Starring: Julian West, Sybille Schmitz, Henriette Gerard
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Certificate:
Young traveller David Gray arrives in a remote castle and starts seeing weird, inexplicable sights (a man whose shadow has a life of its own, a mysterious scythe-bearing figure tolling a bell, a terrifying dream of his own burial). Things come to a head when one of the daughters of the lord of the ..read more »
64%
from 577 members
Haxan - Witchcraft Through The Ages
Now this was an odd one. I'm not quite sure what to make of this, but it's certainly interesting enough to make this list. Worth a look, but may very well not appeal to everyone.
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Haxan - Witchcraft Through The Ages
on DVD
(1922)
Starring: Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan, Elith Pio
Director: Benjamin Christensen
Certificate:
Since its premiere in 1922, Benjamin Christensen's exploration of the role of superstition in medieval minds has caused outrage and protest from both the general public and religious groups. Dramatising satanic activities and rituals including the ways in which suspected witches were tortured and ..read more »
61%
from 430 members
M
Fritz Lang is a master. This film really gets into the mob psyche, and Peter Lorre plays his role to perfection.
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M
(1931)
Starring: Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke
Director: Fritz Lang
Certificate:
In Fritz Lang's startling and exquisite film M, fear stalks the streets of Berlin in the form of a serial child murderer whose grisly accomplishments are so heinous even the criminal minds of the underworld want him dead. Filmed in post-Weimar Germany during the infancy of the Nazi state, this tale ..read more »
Not currently released
76%
from 3,630 members
Nosferatu
Pretty much the first Dracula film (although Bram Stoker's estate wouldn't let the makers use the name Dracula) and still one of the best.
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Nosferatu
(2 discs)
on DVD
(1922)
Starring: Max Schreck, Gustav Von Wangenheim, Gustav von Wangenheim
Director: F.W. Murnau
Certificate:
The silent horror classic made on location in the Baltics. Black and White.
69%
from 3,544 members
Metropolis
Ignore the silly version with music by Queen, this is wonderful. A fantastic portrayal of industrial relations in a dystopian future (although the predicted date for this sci-fi nightmare has long since passed)
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Metropolis
(2 discs)
on DVD
(1927)
Starring: Rudolph Klein-Rogge, Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel
Director: Fritz Lang
Certificate:
METROPOLIS, a visionary and elaborate spectacle by director Fritz Lang is an epic projection of a futuristic city divided into a working and an elite class. Its exhilarating climax brings the city to its knees, as the classes clash against each other.In the 21st-Century, a de-humanized proletariat ..read more »
68%
from 6,470 members
The Last Laugh
Brilliant. Just seen and bought it, and it has joined a growing list of films from this era that I've loved.
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The Last Laugh
on DVD
(1924)
Starring: Emil Jannings, Kurt Hiller, Emelie Kurtz
Director: F.W. Murnau
Certificate:
One of the most brilliant of all German Expressionist silent films, Murnau's THE LAST LAUGH uses a constantly moving and subjective camera to capture the emotional anguish of a man whose life is suddenly devoid of meaning. Because of his age, an elderly doorman at a hotel finds himself ..read more »
72%
from 631 members
Average rating for this collection:
95% from 8 members
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