Could you choose the best movies of a decade ? Which were the best : those art films that expressed the very essence of the creator of the successful productions, which filled cinemas all over the globe, yet were disregarded by prestigious art critics ? By which criteria would you chose those movies which represent the best the ideas, creations, characters of that age ? When it comes to the 1920s. it is safe to say that it was a decade when some of the most important cinematography works ever were created, all over the world. Here are some of the very best.
Metropolis (1927) : the greatest work of Fritz Lang, the genius director, at the same time one of the best movies ever made. Little is known that what we have today is just a part of the movie, as a large part of the film was lost or destroyed. But since some of the original footage was recently recovered from the archives of a collector, it is just a manner of time before we will see a more complete version. The dark dystopia of a distant future, set in a world divided in half, with a working slave class and a master one, filled with robots and machinery, it still breathtaking today. And also highly influential.
Battleship Potemkin (1925) : there isn't virtually any chance for someone who knows something about cinema history not to at least have heard about this Eisenstein production. Many have also seen it, some have commented upon. Rewriting history according to the Soviet policy, at the same time doing it in a genius manner, Eisenstein offers not a realistic depiction of the past, but a masterpiece which mixed propaganda and brilliant directing and acting. A great work of art, still acclaimed as a great title. And it proved to be a great source of inspiration later, and the first major step in the history of Soviet cinema.
Faust (1926) : it would prove to be the last German film made by F.W. Murnau. But also the most expensive one - one of the costliest in German cinema - and one of the best movie versions of the famous story. Using Emil Jannings as Mephisto, an Expressionist manner and surprising special effects, Murnau produced one of the most important movies of the last century. He also wanted the famous Lillian Gish in this picture, yet the actress sadly turned down the offer. A great story, a huge director, an exceptional movie.
Napoleon (1927) : one may wonder what would Abel Gance have accomplished, if he had found the money for his series of historical movies, dedicated to Napoleon. Maybe it would have been a catastrophic failure, maybe the bigges cinema creation ever, maybe just a good bunch of movies. He only directed this one, Napoleon, a mythical movies among cinema aficionados, in a way which put together historical realities with fragments of the Napoleon mythical persona and Romantic view of the past. All in all with the strong, often Surrealstic elements of his camera work, with various tricks that would become techniques much later.
Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari (1920) : another great gem in the history of German Expressionism and one of the best known movies of the decade - if only by it's title - it was directed by Robert Wiene. The terrifying story of Dr Caligari and his assistant, Cesare, with somber tones, dark landscapes and troublig lights, awaking in the viewer the feeling of terror, must be seen by anyone who wants a real movie.
Nosferatu (1922) : and to continue this Expressionist voyage, here is another legendary work by F.W. Murnau, maybe his most famous one, a reinterpretation of the Dracula story. Using Max Schreck as the evil and terrifying Count Orlok, Nosferatu becomes from a horror movie a masterpiece, still both frightening and impressive as it was several decades ago. Little is known that Murnau couldn't afford to buy the copyright from Bram Stoker's Estate, so he changed the names and some fact, giving new life to the vampire myth and creating a splendid movie. A movie that was both well written, acted and directed, but also an expression of the fears and obsessions of a decade.
Nanook of the North (1922) : little is known and remembered about this movie by Robert J. Flaherty, and it is a great shame that it is not screened more often. Part documentary, largely fiction - as Flaherty actually staged most of it - it is a fascinating voyage in the world, life and beliefs of the Eskimo people, and it was a great critical success. Even if critics said the Flaherty cheated, and preffered to create artificial scenes, rather than filming real life, the movie was a masterpiece.
August 2008
