The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever

1912 seems to offer more threads of industrial, technological, and social changes in the global film industry than the previous few years, but maybe just because a few still recognizable names can essentially “headline” this season. The threads introduced in this intro, and many more, will be picked up by five guests to explore just how exciting the period is becoming.Films mentioned:Queen Elizabeth (1912) - Louis Mercanton and Henri DesfontainesOliver Twist (1912) - unknownOliver Twist (1912) - Thomas BentleyRichard III (1912) - André Calmettes and James KeaneCleopatra (1912) - Charles L. GaskillLorna Doone (1912) - Wilfred NoyWhat Happened to Mary (1912) - Ashley Miller and Charles BrabinShree Pundalik (1912) - Dadasaheb TorneSaved from the Titanic (1912) - Étienne ArnaudAn Unseen Enemy (1912) - D.W. GriffithWith Our King and Queen Through India (1912) - unknown

Casper Tybjerg, Associate Professor of Film Studies at the University of Copenhagen, selects five films that reflect the advancement of narrative cinematic drama. Whether they offer visual and emotional spectacle or crusading social messages, his picks demonstrate the international refinement of the cinematic medium.A scholar of Danish and international silent film, Casper is the co-editor of the anthology Danish and German Silent Cinema: Towards a Common Film Culture. He was awarded the Dr. Phil. (Habilitation) degree for his forthcoming book, The Historiography of Filmmaking – through the Lens of Carl Th. Dreyer.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1911!Films mentioned:The Lonedale Operator (1911) - D.W. GriffithThe Golden Wedding (1911) - Arturo Ambrosio and Luigi MaggiThe Defect (1911) - Louis FeuilladeThe Hauler (1911) - Léonce PerretTemptations of a Great City (1911) - August BlomThe Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) - Carl Theodor DreyerThe Phantom Carriage (1921) - Victor SjöströmHäxan (1922) - Benjamin ChristensenMikaël (1924) - Carl Theodor DreyerThe Life of a Butterfly (1911) - Roberto OmegnaIl tamburino sardo (1911) - Umberto ParadisiL’Odissea (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, and Giuseppe De LiguoroThe Fall of Troy (1911) - Giovanni Pastrone and Luigi Romano BorgnettoL’Inferno (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, and Giuseppe De LiguoroThe Vipers (1911) - Louis FeuilladeL’Atalante (1934) - Jean VigoLa belle Nivernaise (1924) - Jean EpsteinThe Swallow and the Titmouse (1920) - André AntoineThe Ballet Dancer (1911) - August BlomLes misérables (1912) - Albert CapellaniThe Abyss (1910) - Urban Gad

Thomas Christensen is Curator at the Danish Film Institute, so it stands to reason that all of his selections hail from Denmark. All but one of them come in at “feature length” (and from the same director) as well, reflecting the country’s place in advancing film grammar, subjects, and character psychology at a crucial transitional time.Thomas also serves on the Executive Committee of the European Cinematheque Association and served on the FIAF Technical Commission from 2003 to 2015. He has recently been involved in a project digitizing all surviving Danish silent films from 1896 to 1929.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1911!Films and resources mentioned:The Black Dream (1911) - Urban GadTemptations of a Great City (1911) - August BlomIn the Hands of Imposters (1911) - August BlomThe Price of Beauty (1911) - August BlomThe Girl Behind the Counter (1911) - August BlomThe Execution (1903) - Peter ElfeltThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadL’Inferno (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe de Liguoro, and Adolfo PadovanLion Hunting (1907) - Viggo LarsenThe Ballet Dancer (1911) - August BlomThe Two Gold Diggers (1909) - Viggo LarsenThe White Slave Trade (1910) - Alfred CohnThe White Slave Trade (1910) - August BlomThe Dangerous Age (1927) - Eugen IllésDouble Indemnity (1944) - Billy WilderThe Clown (1917) - A.W. SandbergLove One Another (1922) - Carl Theodor DreyerSilent Film Festival 2026

Kathy Feeley, professor of history at the University of Redlands, wrote Mary Pickford: Hollywood and the New Woman, so it makes sense that two of her picks center the film icon and pioneer, still in the early years of her career. But the rest of Kathy’s selections also paint a picture of women’s contributions before and behind the camera in an era before mass corporatization and the sidelining of women in various roles across the film industry.Kathy co-edited, with Jennifer Frost, When Private Talk Goes Public: Gossip in American History. She is also, again with Jennifer Frost, co-author of the forthcoming “‘Of Inestimable Value to All of Us’: Olivia de Havilland, the Studio Contract, and the Screen Actors Guild, 1943-1945” in Labor: Studies in Working Class History.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top five for 1911!Films and resources mentioned:Their First Misunderstanding (1911) - Thomas H. Ince and George Loane TuckerSweet Memories (1911) - Thomas H. InceRosalie and Léontine Go to the Theatre (1911) - Romeo BosettiA Heroine of ‘76 (1911) - Lois Weber, Phillips Smalley, and Edwin S. PorterCupid and the Comet (1911) - Alice Guy-BlachéBringing Up Baby (1938) - Howard HawksWomen Film Pioneers ProjectMedia History Digital LibraryCinema’s First Nasty Women

Hopefully you’re not too tired of hearing about how 1910 and its surrounding years are part of a transitional era, but this season’s conversations also revealed how diverse the global medium was at the turn of a new decade with offbeat modes, genres, and subjects. With a record slate of submissions from listeners, in addition to the guests’ selections, 1910’s collective list paints a broad picture of the year’s releases.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to see every film submitted by guests and listeners!Films mentioned:Jeffries-Johnson World’s Championship Boxing Contest (1910) - unknownLe Rembrandt de la Rue Lepic (1910) - Jean DurandThe White Slave Trade (1910) - August BlomThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadFrankenstein (1910) - J. Searle DawleyWhite Fawn’s Devotion (1910) - James Young DeerA Christmas Carol (1910) - J. Searle Dawley, Charles Kent, and Ashley MillerAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1910) - Edwin S. PorterThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) - Otis Turner

Kynan Dias, Assistant Professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is no stranger to podcasting as co-host, with Lester Ryan Clark, of a series of film history podcasts on the TruStory.FM network. His picks reflect some of the conversation surrounding this 1910 season regarding literary adaptations and real-world impact, but the discussion finds new angles to explore, including a landmark work of Native American filmmaking.Kynan earned a B.A. in film from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he pursued acting, screenwriting, and directing. Later, Kynan earned his MFA in screenwriting from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he developed a love for writing TV sitcoms that was further nurtured during his time studying improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your five selections for 1910!Films and resources mentioned:Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1910) - Edwin S. PorterFrankenstein (1910) - J. Searle DawleyThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) - Otis TurnerWhite Fawn’s Devotion (1910) - James Young DeerJeffries-Johnson World’s Championship Boxing Contest (1910) - unknownBoxing Cats (1894) - William K.L. Dickson and William HeiseThe Dancing Pig (1907) - unknownThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterThe “Teddy” Bears (1907) - Edwin S. PorterAlice in Wonderland (1903) - Cecil Hepworth and Percy StowAlice in Wonderland (1951) - Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton LuskeAlice in Wonderland (1933) - Norman Z. McLeodFrankenstein (1931) - James WhaleFrankenstein (2025) - Guillermo del ToroMary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) - Kenneth BranaghBride of Frankenstein (1935) - James WhaleA Christmas Carol (1910) - J. Searle DawleyThe Wizard of Oz (1939) - Victor FlemingThe Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) - J. Farrell MacDonaldThe Wizard of Oz (1933) - Ted EshbaughWicked (2024) - Jon M. ChuThe Wizard of Oz (1925) - Larry SemonCabin in the Sky (1943) - Vincente MinnelliThe Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908) - Francis Boggs and Otis TurnerThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithThe Red Girl and the Child (1910) - James Young DeerThe Toll of the Sea (1922) - Chester M. FranklinStagecoach (1939) - John FordSmoke Signals (1998) - Chris EyreGlenroy Bros. (1894) - William K.L. DicksonGuess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) - Stanley KramerBrokeback Mountain (2005) - Ang LeeNorma Rae (1979) - Martin RittTriumph of the Will (1935) - Leni RiefenstahlThe Great White Hope (1970) - Martin RittA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsThe Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney - Richard SchickelOscar Micheaux: The Great and Only - The Life of America's First Black Filmmaker - Patrick McGilligan

David Morton, Lecturer at the University of Central Florida, is the author of Motion Picture Paradise: A History of Florida’s Film and Television Industry. With this expertise in mind, the opening of the conversation covers the American film industry’s halting migration to the southern state, but moves on to American migrations to other locations and censored films.David received his Ph.D. in Texts and Technology in 2019 from University of Central Florida in 2019. He was a 2017-18 recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship and served as a visiting scholar at the Centre for Cinema and Media Studies at Ghent University.Films and resources mentioned:Ramona (1910) - D.W. GriffithJeffries-Johnson World’s Championship Boxing Contest (1910) - unknownThe Lad from Old Ireland (1910) - Sidney OlcottThe White Slave Trade (1910) - August BlomFrankenstein (1910) - J. Searle DawleyIn Old California (1910) - D.W. GriffithCreature from the Black Lagoon (1954) - Jack ArnoldMank (2020) - David FincherBroken Blossoms (1919) - D.W. GriffithBen Hur (1907) - Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes RoseAn Irish Honeymoon (1911) - Sidney OlcottMississippi Burning (1988) - Alan ParkerPsycho (1998) - Gus Van SantThe White Slave Trade (1910) - Alfred CohnThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadTaken (2008) - Pierre MorelFrankenstein (2025) - Guillermo del ToroFrankenstein (1931) - James WhaleDracula (1931) - Tod BrowningThe Crowd (1928) - King VidorSunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) - F.W. MurnauEarly American Cinema in Transition: Story, Style and Filmmaking - Charlie KeilA Century of Dishonor: A Sketch of the United States Government’s Dealings with Some of the Indian Tribes - Helen Hunt JacksonAt the Picture Show: Small-town Audiences and the Creation of Movie Fan Culture - Kathy Fuller-SeeleyThe O’Kalem Collection: Two Views - Michael Patrick GillespieMovie-Struck Girls: Women and Motion Picture Culture after the Nickelodeon - Shelley StampDanish, But Not Lutheran: The Impact of Mormonism on Danish Cultural Identity, 1850–1920 - Julie Allen

The start of the 1910s doesn’t quite immediately usher in the cinematic measurement that would come to rule the decade: the feature film. But proto-forms of what would become the narrative standard arise in 1910, and otherwise, exciting images, narrative experiences, and affecting displays of historical milieu can be found in the productions of the year.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top five picks for 1910!Films mentioned:The Broken Oath (1910) - Harry SolterThe Railroad Porter (1912) - William D. FosterThe Birth of a Race (1918) - John W. NobleThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithThe Actor’s Children (1910) - Barry O’NeillIn Old California (1910) - D.W. GriffithRamona (1910) - D.W. GriffithIn the Sultan’s Power (1909) - Francis BoggsThe Heart of a Race Tout (1909) - Francis BoggsThe Lad from Old Ireland (1910) - Sidney OlcottThe White Slave Trade (1910) - August BlomJeffries-Johnson World’s Championship Boxing Contest (1910) - unknownFrankenstein (1910) - J. Searle DawleyA Christmas Carol (1910) - J. Searle DawleyAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1910) - Edwin S. Porter

Paul Flaig, Lecturer in Film Studies at University of St Andrews, wrote a stellar synthesis of disciplines with his new book Weimar Slapstick and Hollywood Comedy Transformed. While it clearly deals with a later period than 1909, he still works German and American (and French!) comedy into his picks, in addition to a sound novelty and an actuality with a connection to Franz Kafka.Paul is also the co-editor, with Katherine Groo, of New Silent Cinema and co-director, with Dora Osborne, of the German Screen Studies Network (GSSN). His writing has appeared in many journals and edited collections, including Cinema Journal, Screen, Camera Obscura, animation, and Journal of Cinema and Media Studies (JCMS).Films and resources mentioned:Klebolin Sticks to Everything (1909) - Heinrich Bolten-BaeckersThose Awful Hats (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe Happy Microbes (1909) - Émile CohlWhat Is a Flag (1909) - Alice Guy-BlachéFirst International Competition for Airplanes in Brescia (1909) - unknownRain (1929) - Mannus Franken and Joris IvensGood Glue Sticks (1907) - Georges MélièsA Sticky Woman (1906) - Alice Guy-BlachéL'Arroseur Arrosé (1895) - Louis LumièreAt the Crossroads of Life (1908) - D.W. GriffithMiller’s Crossing (1990) - Joel and Ethan CoenFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile CohlBrains Repaired (1911) - Émile CohlThe Yawner (1907) - Segundo de ChomónPrincess Nicotine; or, the Smoke Fairy (1909) - J. Stuart BlacktonDaddy-Long-Legs (1919) - Marshall NeilanOriginal Films of Frank B. Gilbreth (1910-1924) - Frank B. GilbrethBad Film Histories: Ethnography and the Early Archive - Katherine Groo“Women's Hats and Silent Film Spectatorship: Between Ostrich Plume and Moving Image” - Maggie HennefeldEmile Cohl, Caricature, and Film - Donald CraftonKafka Goes to the Movies DVD setKafka Goes to the Movies - Hanns ZischlerMotion Study: A Method for Increasing the Efficiency of the Workman - Frank Gilbreth

Kathy Fuller-Seeley, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, studied early cinema audiences with her book At the Picture Show: Small Town Audiences and the Creation of Movie Fan Culture. Since then, her research interests have ranged to radio and back again to mid-1910s film history, and her interests similarly weave back and forth from morbid drama and eye-popping tricks.Kathy also produced the Blu-ray release Francis Ford: The Craving plus Three Shorts. She is co-author, with Frank Thompson, of the upcoming book The First Movie Studio in Texas: Gaston Méliès’ Star Film Ranch.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top picks for 1909!Films and resources mentioned:The Sealed Room (1909) - D.W. GriffithA Corner in Wheat (1909) - D.W. GriffithPrincess Nicotine; or, the Smoke Fairy (1909) - J. Stuart BlacktonA Trip to Jupiter (1909) - Segundo de ChomónThe Mill (1909) - Alfred MachinThe Cry of the Children (1912) - George NicholsThe Fabelmans (2022) - Steven SpielbergThe Haunted Hotel (1907) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe Haunted House (1907) - Segundo de ChomónThe Movie Orgy (1968) - Joe DanteThe Craving (1918) - Francis FordThe Phantom Carriage (1921) - Victor SjöströmSherlock Jr. (1924) - Buster KeatonThe One Man Band (1900) - Georges MélièsThe Devilish Tenant (1909) - Georges MélièsA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsExcursion to the Moon (1908) - Segundo de ChomónThe Cowboy Millionaire (1909) - Francis Boggs and Otis TurnerScreening Out the Past: The Birth of Mass Culture and the Motion Picture Industry - Lary MayThe Red Rooster Scare: Making Cinema American, 1900-1910 - Richard AbelFulton HistoryBefore Mickey: The Animated Film 1898-1928 - Donald Crafton

Paddy Adamson, Associate Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of St Andrews, recently published his monograph Projecting America: The Epic Western and National Mythmaking in 1920s Hollywood. While this particular research interest is represented by one pick, albeit through a Danish interpretation of the genre, the rest of his picks showcase film comedy as it was interpreted in France, Italy, America, and beyond.Paddy is also editor of Open Screens and Film Journal. His research on 1920s Westerns has appeared in journals including Film History.Films mentioned:Slippery Jim (1909) - Segundo de ChomónThe Curtain Pole (1909) - D.W. GriffithHappy New Year! (1909) - Arrigo FrustaThe Two Gold Diggers (1909) - Viggo LarsenWhy Girls Leave Home (1909) - unknownA Corner in Wheat (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe Lonely Villa (1909) - D.W. GriffithA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsThe Cowboy Millionaire (1909) - Francis Boggs and Otis TurnerThe Millionaire Cowboy (1913) - unknownThe Red Man’s View (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe House of Cards (1909) - Edwin S. PorterThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterThe Hazards of Helen (1914-1917) - J.P. McGowan and J. Gunnis DavisThe Kiss (1929) - Jacques FeyderThe Goddess (1934) - Wu YonggangNew Women (1935) - Cai CushengWhy Girls Leave Home (1913) - C.J. Williams

The introduction to this 1908 season addressed the elephant in the room: D.W. Grififth’s directorial debut. However, even though he came up quite a bit in the five conversations, his films didn’t dominate the selections (yet), and the heterogeneity of the picks makes for an eclectic viewing experience to represent 1908.Films mentioned:Get Me a Stepladder (1908) - unknownUnterm Paraplui Nr. 87 (1908) - unknownThe Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithThe Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) - Charles le Bargy and André CalmettesThe Last Days of Pompeii (1908) - Arturo Ambrosio and Luigi MaggiRescued from an Eagle’s Nest (1908) - J. Searle DawleyThe Electric Hotel (1908) - Segundo de ChomónThe Haunted House (1908) - Segundo de ChomónFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile Cohl