100 Favorite Films To Recommend Part 1: The 1920s

Luis A. Mendez

Boricua. Floridian. Theist. Writer. Critic. Oscar Predictor. Godzilla Fanboy. Member Of The Critics Association Of Central Florida And The Puerto Rico Critics Association.

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6 Responses

  1. Aaron David says:

    A few of these are films I had heard about, read about, but never scene. I (now that I have time…) will look for some of them. Thanks for the recomendation.

    And one of the nice things about silent films on Youtube is you don’t get distracted by wierd accents or bad dubbing. I watched The Battleship Potemkin (1925) recently, and it was good fun.Report

  2. rexknobus says:

    May I suggest for further viewing: 1926’s “The Bat” (and its remake by the same director as a talkie in 1930: “The Bat Whispers.”) Rather amazing films and relatively unknown. Lots of interesting details to make these worth watching (check out the director’s history, writers’ credits, connection to the “Dracula” phenomenon, etc.) and some amazing visuals. They aren’t “good,” necessarily, but very different than what you might expect from the time. Well worth the time.Report

  3. 1929: The Coconuts

    OK, it’s not very good, what with the cheesy production numbers, stagey acting, and “no one could possibly care about this” love story. But it is our earliest view of the Marx Brothers and contains some classic bits, notably “Why a Duck?”.Report

  4. PD Shaw says:

    I happened to notice Calagari this morning on cable after reading this article and watched. I did mostly enjoy it; the set designs often stole the scene. I’m not sure about the ending, but that’s mainly because its a type of ending I tend never to like, but it was executed well.Report

  5. Rufus F. says:

    I’ll have to check out Wings. It sounds great and, if it’s a better pick for 1927 than Metropolis, then I gotta see it.

    I actually just watched Dr. Caligari- as in minutes ago- and it’s really a marvel of production design. One fun thing about silent movies is you can add your own soundtrack. I played an album by the Italian prog-horror soundtrack band Goblin and it fit perfectly. Great film!Report

  6. No visit to the 20’s would be complete without a shout out for Buster Keaton.

    One of the things I really enjoy about watching very old movies is seeing how familiar the facial expressions are. It really brings it home that the people of the past thought and felt as we do, and reacted the same way to situations, in a way that still photos really don’t. Some might say we’re just used to it because the tropes have survived all this time, but I find it speaks to some commonality in human reaction across time and space.

    Great piece BTW Luis! Looking forward to seeing the next installment.Report