Showing posts with label Metropolis. Show all posts

Friday, March 7, 2025

Top Movies of the 1920s

1920s:

Top 25 of the Decade

These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by overall points in Dave’s Movie Database.

1) Metropolis (1927)
2) Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
3) The General (1926)
4) The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc) (1928)
5) Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925)

6) The Gold Rush (1925)
7) Nosferatu, a Symphony of Terror (aka "Nosferatu, the Vampire") (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (1922)
8) Greed (1924)
9) Sherlock Jr. (1924)
10) Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s Kinoapparatom) (1929)

11) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari) (1920)
12) The Kid (1921)
13) The Crowd (1928)
14) Napoléon (1927)
15) Pandora’s Box (aka “Lulu”) (Die Büchse der Pandora) (1929)

16) Safety Last! (1923)
17) Wings (1927)
18) The Big Parade (1925)
19) An Andalusian Dog (Un Chien Andalou) (1928)
20) Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

21) Nanook of the North (1922)
22) The Jazz Singer (1927)
23) The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
24) The Wind (1928)
25) The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

Resources:

Dave’s Movie Database: Eras
Dave’s Movie Database: Movies of the Year
Dave’s Movie Database: Box Office
Dave’s Movie Database: Awards Page
Dave’s Movie Database: Ratings Page

Originally posted 3/7/2025.

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Silent Movies: Top 25

image of Charlie Chaplin

Top 25 Movies

This list of the top 25 silent movies of all time was compiled by aggregating the lists at the bottom of this page along with the films’ overall status in Dave’s Movie Database.

1. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
2. Metropolis (1927)
3. The General (1927)
4. The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc) (1928)
5. Nosferatu, a Symphony of Terror (aka “Nosferatu, the Vampire”) (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (1922)

6. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari) (1920)
7. City Lights (1931)
8. The Gold Rush (1925)
9. Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925)
10. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)

11. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
12. The Kid (1921)
13. The Wind (1928)
14. An Andalusian Dog (Un Chien Andalou) (1928)
15. Modern Times (1936)

16. Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916)
17. Greed (1924)
18. Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s Kinoapparatom) (1929)
19. Safety Last! (1923)
20. Pandora's Box (aka “Lulu”) (Die Büchse der Pandora) (1929)

21. The Cameraman (1928)
22. The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
23. Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
24. The Big Parade (1925)
25. Napoléon (1927)

Resources:

Dave’s Movie Database: Genre Lists
Audicus.com (10/6/2014). “Switch Off Your Digital Hearing Aid: The Top 5 Silent Films of All Time”
CheatSheet.com (8/27/2019). “10 Silent Movies That Everyone Should See”
CriterionCast.com (1/19/2012). “TCM Reveals Their List of the 10 Most Influential Silent Films”
TheCultureTrip.com (11/4/2016). “Pre-Talkie Spectacles: The 10 Most Striking Silent Films”
FilmSchoolRejects.com (4/14/2018). “The Silent Film Era: 30 Essential Films You Should Watch”
FilmsRanked.com “100 Greatest Silent Films”
FlickChart.com “The Best Silent Films of All Time”
TheGuardian.com (11/13/2013). “Top 10 silent movies”
Guinness Book of Film (1999). “The Top 100 Films by Genre Type” (includes top 5 silent films)
Internet Movie Database (9/15/2016). “The 20 Best Silent Movies of All Time”
Independet.co.uk (1/20/2012). “The 10 best silent films”
ListAmaze.com “10 Greatest Silent Films Ever”
ListVerse.com (1/27/2010). “Top 15 Greatest Silent Films”
Paste magazine (6/8/2015). “The 100 Best Silent Films of All Time”
Ranker.com “The Best 1920s Silent Movies”
SilentEra.com “The Top 100 Silent Era Films”
TasteOfCinema.com (11/9/2015). “The 30 Best Silent Movies in Hollywood History”
WhatCulture.com “15 Silent Films That Changed Cinema Forever”

Originally posted 9/3/2019; last updated 5/25/2023.

Sci-Fi Movies: Top 25

image from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies

18 lists (resources listed at bottom of page) were aggregated to create this list of the top 25 sci-fi films of all time. Movies and sequels have been listed together if each movie earned enough points indvidually to rank in the top 50.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. Blade Runner (1982)
3. Alien (1979) / Aliens (1986)
4. Star Wars:

Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

5. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
7. Metropolis (1927)
8. Back to the Future (1985)
9. Jurassic Park (1993)
10. The Terminator (1984) / The Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

11. The Matrix (1999)
12. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
13. Brazil (1985)
14. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
15. Forbidden Planet (1956)

16. Solaris (Solyaris) (1971)
17. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
18. The Fly (1986)
19. Planet of the Apes (1968)
20. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

21. Robocop (1987)
22. Wall-E (2008)
23. The Thing (1982)
24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
25. Avatar (2009)

Resources:

Dave’s Movie Database: Genre Lists
ABC News/People Magazine (3/22/2011). “Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time” (includes top 5 sci-fi movies)
American Film Institute (2016). “Top 10 Sci-Fi”
CinemaBlend.com (2017). “30 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
Clarke, Arthur C. (1984). “Arthur C. Clarke’s list of the best science fiction films of all time” (top 12 list)
GamesRadar.com (6/23/2019). “The 25 best sci-fi movies in this – or any other – galaxy”
The Guardian (2004). “Scientists Top 10 sci-fi films”
Guinness Book of Film (1999). “The Top 100 Films by Genre Type” (includes top 5 sci-fi films)
HiConsumption.com (6/1/2014). “The 50 Greatest Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movies of All Time”
IGN.com (Sept. 2010). “Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
MentalFloss.com (6/19/2017). “The 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
Norman, Barry (1993). “100 Greatest Films of All Time” (includes top 10 sci-fi films)
Online Film Critics Society (2002). “The Greatest Sci-Fi Films of All Time” (top 100 list)
RottenTomatoes.com “100 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
Slant Magazine (8/9/2019). “The 100 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
Syfy.com “The Top 10 Science Fiction Films of All Time”
Thrillist.com (1/4/2018). “The 50 Greatest Sci-Fi Films of All Time”
Time Out (2014). “The 100 Best Sci-Fi Movies”

Originally posted 8/30/2019; last updated 5/25/2023.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Turin University: “The Most Influential Films of All Time”

University of Turin:

The Most Influential Films of All Time

A team of researchers from Italy’s University of Turin developed an algorithm for measuring the influence of more than 47,000 movies. They used the Internet Movie Database to search for which films were most referenced. The study was published in the Applied Network Science journal.

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
2. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
3. Psycho (1960)
4. King Kong (1933)
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
6. Metropolis (1927)
7. Citizen Kane (1941)
8. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
9. Frankenstein (1931)
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

11. Casablanca (1942)
12. Dracula (1931)
13. The Godfather (1972)
14. Jaws (1975)
15. Nosferatu, a Symphony of Terror (aka “Nosferatu, the Vampire”) (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (1922)
16. The Searchers (1956)
17. Cabiria (1914)
18. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
19. Gone with the Wind (1939)
20. Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925)

Resources:

Dave’s Movie Database: Movie Lists
Newsweek (11/29/2018). “These Are the Most Influential Films, Directors and Actors of All Time – According to Science”

Originally posted 8/27/2019; last updated 6/4/2023.

Saturday, October 31, 1998

Premiere Magazine: 100 Most Daring Movies Ever Made

Premiere Magazine:

100 Most Daring Movies Ever Made

In their October 1998 issue, Premiere magazine presented its list of the 100 most daring movies ever made (also known as “Rebel Cinema” and “100 Movies That Shook the World.” The goal was to, as Filmsite.org says, celebrate films that “dared to be ridiculous, offensive, or even unpopular” but still ended up as classic films. The original list was presented in alphabetical order. It is presented here in order of the films’ rankings in Dave’s Movie Database.

1. The Seven Samurai (Schichinin no Samurai) (1954)
2. Blade Runner (1982)
3. 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963)
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
5. Metropolis (1927)
6. Nashville (1975)
7. Touch of Evil (1958)
8. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
9. The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959)
10. Blue Velvet (1986)

11. The Rules of the Game (La Règle du Jeu) (1939)
12. Do the Right Thing (1989)
13. Persona (aka “Masks”) (1966)
14. Badlands (1973)
15. Rashômon (1950)
16. The Conversation (1974)
17. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
18. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
19. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
20. Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) (1959)

21. The Terminator (1984)
22. Blazing Saddles (1974)
23. The Hustler (1961)
24. Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925)
25. Brazil (1985)
26. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
27. The Last Picture Show (1971)
28. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
29. Mean Streets (1973)
30. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

31. Airplane! (1980)
32. Trainspotting (1996)
33. The Conformist (Il Conformista) (1970)
34. Halloween (1978)
35. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
36. The Piano (1993)
37. Blow-Up (1966)
38. Dirty Harry (1971)
39. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
40. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

41. Nosferatu, a Symphony of Terror (aka “Nosferatu, the Vampire”) (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (1922)
42. Scarface (1983)
43. Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim) (1961)
44. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
45. Beauty of the Day (Belle de Jour) (1967)
46. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982)
47. Rome, Open City (Roma Città Aperta) (1945)
48. Raising Arizona (1987)
49. Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s Kinoapparatom) (1929)
50. Freaks (1932)

51. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
52. The Birds (1963)
53. The Crowd (1928)
54. Peeping Tom (1960)
55. Repulsion (1965)
56. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
57. An Andalusian Dog (Un Chien Andalou) (1928)
58. Last Tango in Paris (Ultimo Tango a Parigi) (1973)
59. Detour (1945)
60. The Killer (Dip Huet Seung Hung) (1989)

61. Cat People (1942)
62. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
63. The Killing (1956)
64. Johnny Guitar (1954)
65. Dumbo (1941)
66. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932)
67. Akira (1988)
68. If… (1968)
69. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
70. Faces (1968)

71. Pandora's Box (aka “Lulu”) (Die Büchse der Pandora) (1929)
72. Dead Ringers (1988)
73. The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978)
74. Don’t Look Back (1967)
75. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
76. Walkabout (1971)
77. Olympia (Parts 1 and 2) (1938)
78. Bob Le Flambeur (1955)
79. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
80. Zero for Conduct (Zero de Conduite) (1933)

81. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
82. Medium Cool (1969)
83. In the Company of Men (1997)
84. 28 Up (1984)
85. Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August (1974)
86. Shock Corridor (1963)
87. Pink Flamingos (1972)
88. Bananas (1971)
89. Eyes Without a Face (1959)
90. Shaft (1971)

91. Ride the High Country (1962)
92. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
93. The Harder They Come (1973)
94. Seconds (1966)
95. Animal Crackers (1930)
96. My Brilliant Career (1979)
97. The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)
98. The Gang’s All Here (1943)
99. Flesh (1968)
100. The Devil in Miss Jones (1973)

Resources:

Dave’s Movie Database: Movie Lists
Premiere (Oct. 1998). “100 Most Daring Movies Ever Made”

Originally posted 8/10/2019; last updated 6/2/2023.

Sunday, March 13, 1977

50 years ago: The original Metropolis released

Metropolis

Released: March 13, 1927

Studio: UFA

Genre: sci fi/silent/animation/foreign

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 1.24 Worldwide: --

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Fritz Lang

Screenwriting: Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang

Starring: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge

Review:

“Stylized, visually-compelling, [and] melodramatic,” ^FS “Lang’s German Expressionistic masterpiece helped develop the science-fiction genre.” ^FS “With its images of spired skyscrapers and synchronous lines of blue-collar drones,” ^PM this “classic silent-film fantasy” ^LM “set in the 21st century city of Metropolis” ^FS “defined a new type of futuristic-nightmare art, the influence of which can be seen in such films as Brazil and Gattaca.” ^PM

PM Lang’s vision of this “futuristic city and its mechanized society” ^LM “retains its power” ^PM all these years later. “The luxurious, futuristic city of skyscrapers and bridges is stratified and divided into an upper, elite, privileged class and a subterranean, nameless, oppressed, ant-like worker/slave class.” ^FS

Freder (Frohlich) is “the young son of a ruling, aristocratic capitalist Master John Fredersen (Abel).” ^FS He follows Maria (Helm), a beautiful, young, Christ-like woman, and a group of worker children “into the squalid, labyrinthine underground slums” ^FS and “discovers the miserable life of the proletariat.” ^FS He abandons “his life of luxury to join oppressed workers in a revolt.” ^LM

“Heavy going at times, but startling set design and special effects command attention throughout. Many shorter prints exist; reissued in 1984 at 87 minutes with color-tints and score by Giorgio Moroder.” ^LM