The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever

Although the 1912 season introduction asserted that “Hollywood was incoming,” the top picks for the year (fueled by a record number of submissions from guests!) is mostly made up of old power players, even if that power would recede in short order. Indeed, both that dynamic and the fact that all of the most popular selections are shorts may change in the near future!Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to see the list of every film submitted for 1912!Films mentioned:The Cameraman’s Revenge (1912) - Wladyslaw StarewiczThe Land Beyond the Sunset (1912) - Harold M. ShawHow a Mosquito Operates (1912) - Winsor McCayThe Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) - D.W. GriffithThe Conquest of the Pole (1912) - Georges MélièsCleopatra (1912) - Charles L. GaskillFrom the Manger to the Cross (1912) - Sidney OlcottDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912) - Lucius Henderson

Film historian and cultural critic Paul (PT) Klein’s work focuses on American filmgoing cultures. So even when discussing his sole foreign pick, the conversation dives into audience reception to his selections, then and now, in addition to the various aesthetic strengths of each of his movies.PT’s writing has appeared in Film Atlas, Film Matters, Foglifter, Metro Weekly, and more. His work can be found at ptklein.com.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top five for 1912!Films and resources mentioned:The Girl and Her Trust (1912) - D.W. GriffithThe Grit of the Girl Telegrapher (1912) - J.P. McGowanAlgie the Miner (1912) - Alice Guy-BlachéThe Invaders (1912) - Francis Ford and Thomas InceIn Night and Ice (1912) - Mime MisuSunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) - F.W. MurnauThe Lonedale Operator (1911) - D.W. GriffithThe Hazards of Helen (1914) - J.P McGowan and J. Gunnis DavisBrokeback Mountain (2005) - Ang LeeWild and Woolly (1917) - John EmersonThe Wild Bunch (1969) - Sam PeckinpahThe Searchers (1956) - John FordStagecoach (1939) - John FordRichard III (1912) - André Calmettes and James Keane<a href="https://youtu.be/BtseJII-sck?si=YQdHKqc4NKilAa4C" targe

Silent film accompanist and composer Stephen Horne has already composed for or accompanied a couple of his five multinational picks for 1912. But besides discussing the general aesthetic pleasures of his selections, he also ruminates on how he could approach playing for both these grounded features and short trick films (they were still hanging in there!).Stephen is a house musician at London’s BFI Southbank. He released Silent Sirens, an album of solo piano pieces based on his silent film compositions, and has scored Stella Dallas, The Manxman, and many more films.Films mentioned:The Gardener (1912) - Victor SjöströmHow a Mosquito Operates (1912) - Winsor McCayThe Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) - D.W. GriffithThe Cameraman’s Revenge (1912) - Wladyslaw StarewiczThe Conquest of the Pole (1912) - Georges MélièsThe Golem: How He Came into the World (1920) - Paul Wegener and Carl BoeseThe Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) - Carl Theodor DreyerL’Inferno (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe de Liguoro, and Adolfo PadovanOliver Twist (1912) - Thomas BentleyThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) - Robert WieneA Ruined Life (1912) - Victor SjöströmThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadThe Phantom Carriage (1921) - Vict

Marsha Gordon, Professor of Film Studies at North Carolina State University, mostly highlights two directors credited with advancing film narrative with four picks. But she also sings the praises of a certain work of stop-motion animation, one taking this season by storm for both guests’ and listeners’ submissions.Marsha is the author of Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life & Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott, Film, Form & Culture (with Robert Kolker), and Film is Like a Battleground: Sam Fuller’s War Films. She is currently writing a biography of the pioneering Hollywood director Dorothy Arzner.Films mentioned:Falling Leaves (1912) - Alice Guy-BlachéMaking an American Citizen (1912) - Alice Guy-BlachéThe Girl and Her Trust (1912) - D.W. GriffithThe Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) - D.W. GriffithThe Cameraman’s Revenge (1912) - Wladyslaw StarewiczThe Divorcee (1930) - Robert Z. LeonardNext Time We Love (1936) - Edward H. GriffithThe Immigrant (1917) - Charlie ChaplinThe Brutalist (2024) - Brady CorbetThe Consequences of Feminism (1906) - Alice Guy-BlachéThe

As Founding Director of HippFest, Scotland’s first and only silent film festival, Alison Strauss is especially knowledgeable about the history of Scottish filmmaking and -going, as represented by three of her picks. But the conversation, which concludes with outlandish animation, also addresses the preponderance of short films in an era of increasingly long ones.Alison works as Falkirk Council’s Arts Development Officer (Film and Media), programming the Hippodrome year-round. Alison is the ‘face of the Festival’ and leads on the artistic programme, commissioning, funding, research and development, and touring.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1912!Films and resources mentioned:Bo’ness Fair 1912 (1912) - Louis DicksonMairi: The Romance of a Highland Maiden (1912) - Andrew PatersonHerring Harvest at Yarmouth (1912) - unknownHow a Mosquito Operates (1912) - Winsor McCayThe Cameraman’s Revenge (1912) - Wladyslaw StarewiczAnnual Baby Parade, 1904, Asbury Park, N.J. (1904) - Alfred C. AbadieThe Herring Harvest (1925) - unknownDrifters (1929) - John GriersonPatriotic Porkers (1918) - unknownLittle Nemo (1911) - Winsor McCay and J. Stuart BlacktonGertie the Dinosaur (1914) - Winsor McCayWho Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) - Robe

Tanya Goldman, Assistant Professor of Film at Missouri State University, has a strong interest in what could variably be called “nontheatrical movies,” “minor cinema,” “useful films,” and other such phrases, reflected by her two concluding picks dealing with sponsored films, whether by social progress groups or farm equipment manufacturers. But much of the conversation concerns morbid humor, whether in live action or animation, and all of the shorts demonstrate the offbeat character of 1912.https://www.tanyagoldmanphd.com/ focuses on media access, considering how the distribution of documentary + nonfiction film is a political and cultural taste-making practice. She is currently completing a monograph on the career of labor activist-turned-film distributor Thomas J. Brandon.Films and resources mentioned:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMK_3-16FMs- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U424m8utJnA- https://youtu.be/QmwuL-98nYk?si=L9NTTfjUqEy2VVUm- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2rafjx1zoQ- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bow99bzHfiM- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd-IZvAUosc- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKbUgu8rItQ- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udr6wKr5tHk- https://letterboxd.com/film/we-carry-on/- https://youtu.be/-KtGFyd9WVQ?si=BbzziQ1h3DFx_4th- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1FvpEeUBQo- https://youtu.be/8tLXkKsYFgc?si=SK-rrL8AFQtEnyM3- https://youtu.be/gOHQOJaHTXo?si=mAXbMtUr5WSl4vCZ- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_F%C3%A9e_aux_Choux- https://youtu.be/X8K7I0Jczi0?si=hLEtnllyFpAGEB4i- https://youtu.be/ZPp_t8fcL4o?si=kTY-g57IKd-DEJT7- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watc

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

The introduction to this 1911 season made a big point (or did it?) that the features have begun, and although the majority of the five most selected films from guests and listeners indeed operate in that mode, the vast majority of selections in general still conform to the time’s global film industry norm of one or two reelers. They reflect, or foreshadow, how quickly the cinematic form was evolving throughout the early and middle years of the 1910s decade.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to see the most selected films and the list of every one submitted!Films mentioned:The Strange Bird (1911) - Urban GadAnimated Putty (1911) - Walter R. BoothTemptations of a Great City (1911) - August BlomL’Inferno (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe de Liguoro, and Adolfo PadovanLittle Nemo (1911) - Winsor McCay and J. Stuart BlacktonThe Automatic Motorist (1911) - Walter R. BoothThe Roman Orgy (1911) - Louis FeuilladeL’Odissea (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe de Liguoro, and Adolfo Padovan

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 Liguoro<a href="https://youtu.be/7s0SznaVL2k?si=FKfCuhCxq5nYyT92" target="_blank" rel="

Eva Hielscher, head of film-related collections at Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, selects a wholly international survey of 1911 films, jumping from country to country and genre to genre. This heterogeneous view of the year ranges from French comedy and animation experiment shorts to an Italian epic and German feature…and a document of a historic expedition!Eva is also co-artistic director of the Bonn International Silent Film Festival. She is co-editor of The City Symphony Phenomenon: Cinema, Art, and Urban Modernity between the Wars and Color Mania – The Material of Color in Photography and Film.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1911!Films and resource mentioned:Rosalie and Her Phonograph (1911) - Romeo BosettiThe Strange Bird (1911) - Urban GadThe Third Fram Expedition to the South Pole (1911) - Leon AmundsenL’Inferno (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe de Liguoro, and Adolfo PadovanLittle Nemo (1911) - Winsor McCay and J. Stuart BlacktonRosalie and Léontine Go to the Theatre (1911) - Romeo BosettiThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadThe Great White Silence (1924) - Herbert PontingAtlantis (1913) - August Blom<a href="https://youtu.be/aqVQpiot_Lw?si=M_lPG4vPgEWKslrl" target=

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 (

Patrick Friel, educator and programmer, is very interested in non-narrative and experimental film. Therefore, his five selections totally fit into those designations (well, with one semi-exception), but each of them offer totally different visual experiences and intentions.Patrick is currently an Adjunct Professor of Instruction at Columbia College Chicago and has previously taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was also the former Program Director at Chicago Filmmakers and the Festival Director and Programmer of the Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top five for 1911!Films and resources mentioned:Little Nemo (1911) - Winsor McCay and J. Stuart BlacktonI.P. Müller (1911) - Peter ElfeltThe Carrot Caterpillar (1911) - unknownThe Two Obadiahs (1911) - unknownTechnical Color Tests (1911) - Luca ComerioEureka (1979) - Ernie GehrQuo Vadis (1913) - Enrico QuazzoniCabiria (1914) - Giovanni PastroneL’Inferno (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe de Liguoro, and Adolfo PadovanGertie the Dinosaur (1914) - Winsor McCayThe Centaurs (1921) - Winsor McCayThe Municipal Hospital - A Boy with a Seizure (1907) - Peter ElfeltI.P. Müller. Mit System (1906) - Peter ElfeltSando

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

1911 really feels like the beginning of the feature film. Oh sure, it didn’t suddenly define the output of the global film industry, but ambitious experiments from Italy, Denmark, Russia, and only very tentatively, America, sat alongside narrative, as well as plenty of non-narrative, successes and intriguing failures in the short form.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top five for 1911!Films mentioned:L’Inferno (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, and Giuseppe De LiguoroL’Odissea (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, and Giuseppe De LiguoroThe Black Dream (1911) - Urban GadThe Girl Behind the Counter (1911) - August BlomDefence of Sevastopol (1911) - Aleksandr Khanzhonkov and Vasily GoncharovEnoch Arden (1911) - D.W. GriffithLittle Nemo (1911) - Winsor McCay and J. Stuart BlacktonDavid Copperfield (1911) - Theodore MarstonShe (1911) - George NicholsA Tale of Two Cities (1911) - Charles Kent and William J. HumphreyThe Hunchback of Notre Dame (1911) - Albert CapellaniA Heroine of ‘76 (1911) - Lois Weber, Phillips Smalley, and Edwin S. PorterBen Hur (1907) - Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes Rose

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

As Executive Director of San Francisco Film Preserve, Kathy Rose O’Regan works hard to highlight our shared film heritage. Her five picks certainly paint a picture of the international nuances of 1910 filmmaking, with each hailing from a different country and operating in a different narrative mode (or lack thereof).Kathy also served as the Senior Film Restorer for San Francisco Silent Film Festival, overseeing all operations of the preservation department and managing the restoration of dozens of silent era titles. Previously, she managed the preservation department of the Bay Area Video Coalition.Films and resources mentioned:The Aerial Submarine (1910) - Walter R. BoothThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadDutch Hairstyles and Types (1910) - Alfred MachinFrankenstein (1910) - J. Searle DawleyThe Youghal Clock Tower Animation (1910) - Philip, James, and Thomas HorganThe White Heather (1919) - Maurice TourneurThe Airship Destroyer (1909) - Walter R. BoothAvatar: The Way of Water (2022) - James CameronThe Abyss (1989) - James CameronThe Mill (1909) - Alfred MachinMad God (2021) - Phil TippettFrankenstein (2025) - Guillermo del ToroFrankenstein (1931) - James WhaleThe Irish Lumières: The Horgan Brothers (2024) - Darina ClancyHamnet (2025)

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 Luske<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avz9PSDPMSI" t

Laura Horak, Professor of Film Studies at Carleton University, is the author of Girls Will Be Boys: Cross-Dressing Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema. Therefore, most of the conversation addresses the transgression, or lack thereof, of films that depicted such changes in dress, a rich topic represented by four of her five picks.Laura is also the director of the Transgender Media Lab and Transgender Media Portal. She is co-curator of the 99-film Bluray set Cinema’s First Nasty Women and co-editor of Silent Cinema and the Politics of Space and Unwatchable.Films and resources mentioned:The Red Girl and the Child (1910) - James Young DeerThe Girl Spy Before Vicksburg (1910) - Sidney OlcottThe House with Closed Shutters (1910) - D.W. GriffithLe Rembrandt de la Rue Lepic (1910) - Jean DurandThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadWhite Fawn’s Devotion (1910) - James Young DeerThe Fabelmans (2022) - Steven SpielbergThe General (1926) - Buster Keaton and Clyde BruckmanThe Sealed Room (1909) - D.W. GriffithHamlet: The Drama of Vengeance (1921) - Svend Gade and Heinz SchallMotion Picture Paradise: A History of Florida’s Film and Tele

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 Cohn<a href="https://www

Ned Thanhouser is president of Thanhouser Company Film Preservation and grandson of film pioneers Gertrude and Edwin Thanhouser. It makes sense, then, that he and Tristan discuss the founding of his family’s studio, which released its first film in 1910, but they also move on to Ned’s picks of classic literature adaptations and controversy.Ned directed the 2014 documentary The Thanhouser Studio and the Birth of American Cinema. He has been active in film preservation since 1986, produced 17 DVDs containing over 120 surviving Thanhouser films, and published Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History by Q. David Bowers.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own picks for 1910!Films mentioned:Frankenstein (1910) - J. Searle DawleyRamona (1910) - D.W. GriffithAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1910) - Edwin S. PorterThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) - Otis TurnerThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadThe Actor’s Children (1910) - Barry O’NeilThe Winter’s Tale (1910) - Barry O’NeilArrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896) - Auguste and Louis LumièreRip Van Winkle (1910) - unknownWilling Wendy to Willie (1916) - unknownFrankenstein (2025) - Guillermo del Toro<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebtiJH3EOHo" target="_blank" rel=

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

One of the most diverse lists of films selected for any season so far defines this brief conclusion to 1909. The unique array of selections does ultimately lead into a universal appreciation for comedy, rising above some of the efforts to “legitimize” the cinematic medium as has been discussed at the tail end of the first decade of the 20th century.Films mentioned:The Mill (1909) - Alfred MachinMr. Flip (1909) - Gilbert M. “Broncho Billy” AndersonWhy Girls Leave Home (1909) - unknownFirst International Competition for Airplanes in Brescia (1909) - unknownThe Man in the Moon (1909) -  Étienne Arnaud and Émile CohlTo Demonstrate How Spiders Fly (1909) - F. Percy SmithPrincess Nicotine; or, the Smoke Fairy (1909) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe Spider and the Butterfly (1909) - Georges MélièsA Midsummer Night’s Dream (1909) - Charles Kent and J. Stuart BlacktonThe Airship Destroyer (1909) - Walter R. Booth

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 Coen<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0s4Smj

Yuki Irikura, Assistant Professor at Waseda University, mostly selects D.W. Griffith films for her 1909 list, reflecting the director’s growing powers and appeal. She concludes, however, with old-school tricks and the debut of Japan’s first film star.Yuki’s research focuses on Japanese and American silent film history. She earned her Ph.D. in February 2024 with a dissertation on Bluebird Photoplays, examining the company’s production of five-reel feature films, their popularity in Japan, and the contributions of the company’s female filmmakers and actresses.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1909!Films mentioned:Those Awful Hats (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe Country Doctor (1909) - D.W. GriffithLines of White on a Sullen Sea (1909) - D.W. GriffithWhimsical Illusions (1909) - Georges MélièsGoban Tadanobu (1909) - Shôzô MakinoA Corner in Wheat (1909) - D.W. GriffithTrue Heart Susie (1919) - D.W. GriffithThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsThe Wizard of Oz (1939) - Victor FlemingHugo (2011) - Martin ScorseseMetropolis (1927) - Fritz LangJiraiya the Hero (1921) - Shôzô MakinoOrochi (1925) - Buntarō Futagawa

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

Author and scholar Donald Crafton wrote Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898-1928, a defining work of early animation history. Yet with the exception of one example from a filmmaker much discussed in that book and especially his other Emile Cohl, Caricature, and Film, his picks range into the live action territory of editing innovations alongside the still-surviving tradition of trick films and actualities.Donald also wrote on the transition from silent cinema to sound production in The Talkies: American Cinema’s Transition to Sound, 1926-1931. Since retiring, he has written a play, Winsor and Gertie, that has been produced in Europe and the U.S, and which he has recently adapted as a feature-length screenplay.Films and resources mentioned:The Lonely Villa (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe Spider and the Butterfly (1909) - Georges MélièsA Trip to the White Seas Fisheries (1909) - Joe RosenthalDick Is Not Dead (1909) - unknownThe Man in the Moon (1909) -  Étienne Arnaud and Émile CohlThe Scarlet Drop (1918) - John FordThe Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithHugo (2011) - Martin ScorseseCyrano de Bergerac (1923) -  Augusto GeninaBaron Munchausen’s Dream (1911) - Georges MélièsSlippery Jim (1909) - Segundo de Chomón<a href="https://youtu.be/xaWn89-jWhA?si=ZiXF59LXMNtYv1mK" target="_blank" r

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. Porter<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9FSQewMHVyn0IOQDN9cFpL8m7pOyKtc" target="_b

The end of the first decade of the 20th century is a fitting time to reflect on the monumental changes facing the cinematic medium and the global industry that supported it in 1909. As this season will demonstrate, with an extremely diverse array of guest picks that features the least amount of overlap for the show so far, established genres and techniques, which are effective and pleasurable, coexist with the exciting refinement of composition, effects, narratives, and screen acting.Films mentioned:Hiawatha (1909) - William V. RanousDisinherited Son’s Loyalty (1909) - Fred J. BalshoferIn the Sultan’s Power (1909) - Francis BoggsThe Heart of a Race Tout (1909) - Francis BoggsPippa Passes; or, The Song of Conscience (1909) - D.W. Griffith

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

Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa, Associate Professor of Film and Media at Seattle University, focuses his research on the history of scientific filmmaking, nontheatrical film, and animal studies. But except for a couple of intriguing threads related to this work, his selections branch out and revel in spectacle and fantasy.Ben is the author of The Celluloid Specimen: Moving Image Research into Animal Life. He is currently working on two other book projects, tentatively titled Against Encounter: The Problem of Organicism in Animal Documentary and Beastly Futures: Rightwing Animal Aesthetics in the 21st Century.Films mentioned:The Grateful Mice (1908) - Giovanni VitrottiLegend of a Ghost (1908) - Segundo de ChomónThe Harvest (1908) - unknownThe Frog (1908) - Segundo de ChomónThe Electric Hotel (1908) - Segundo de ChomónSinners (2025) - Ryan CooglerGrandma’s Reading Glass (1900) - George Albert SmithThe Great Mouse Detective (1986) - John Musker, Ron Clements, Dave Michener, and Burny MattinsonMaximum Overdrive (1986) - Stephen KingExcursion to the Moon (1908) - Segundo de ChomónA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsUnder the Skin (2013) - Jonathan GlazerThe Dancing Pig (1907) - unknownThe War and the Dream of Momi (1917) - Segundo de Chomón

Donald Sosin has been composing and performing silent film music since 1971. His experience playing at major festivals all over the world, often with his wife, singer/percussionist Joanna Seaton, informs the milestone in film music that is one of his picks, in addition to the rhythm of fluid animation and classic tales.Donald and Joanna record for Criterion, Kino, Milestone, Flicker Alley and European labels. Their website is oldmoviemusic.com.Films mentioned:The Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithThe Taming of the Shrew (1908) - D.W. GriffithFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile CohlStenka Razin (1908) - Vladimir RomashkovThe Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) - Charles le Bargy and André CalmettesThe Phantom of the Opera (1925) - Rupert JulianThe Gold Rush (1925) - Charlie ChaplinThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithIntolerance (1916) - D.W. GriffithBroken Blossoms (1919) - D.W. GriffithThe General (1926) - Buster Keaton and Clyde BruckmanThe Great Train Robbery (1904) - Siegmund LubinThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterThe City without Jews (1924) - Hans Karl BreslauerA Night at the Opera (1935) - Sam Wood<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5KSCWDl

Ivo Blom, lecturer in Comparative Arts & Media Studies at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, connected, through the lens of an early film pioneer in the Netherlands, international aesthetics and film industry markets with his book Jean Desmet and the Early Dutch Film Trade. His five selections for 1908 similarly give a broad picture of filmic development in the year and period, from attempted artfulness to technological novelties.Ivo has frequently published on Italian silent film and its links to art and visual culture, resulting in his most recent monograph Quo vadis?, Cabiria and the ‘Archaeologists’: Early Italian Cinema's Appropriation of Art and Archaeology. He is also the author of Reframing Luchino Visconti and is currently involved in the research project Museum of Dream Worlds: Silent Antiquity Films in the British National Film Archive.Films and resources mentioned:The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) - Charles le Bargy and André CalmettesThe Last Days of Pompeii (1908) - Arturo Ambrosio and Luigi MaggiThe Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithLion Hunting (1908) - Viggo LarsenUnterm Paraplui Nr. 87 (1908) - unknownFantômas (1913) - Louis FeuilladeJudex (1916) - Louis FeuilladeQueen Elizabeth (1912) - Louis Mercanton and Henri DesfontainesLa dame aux camélias (1912) - André Calmettes, Louis Mercanton, and Henri Pouctal<a href="https://www.youtube.com/wa

Don McHoull is the creator of @silentmoviegifs, first on Twitter and now Bluesky. He has found viral success with striking images throughout silent film history, and with his picks, he similarly finds comedy, tricks, and drama that still resonate today.Don’s enthusiasm for silent movies led to his GIF creations over ten years ago. He has also been making long-form videos on film and comic strips on his YouTube channel.Films and resources mentioned:His First Cigar (1908) - Louis J. GasnierExcursion to the Moon (1908) - Segundo de ChomónThe Dog Outwits the Kidnapper (1908) - Lewin FitzhamonThe Last Days of Pompeii (1908) - Arturo Ambrosio and Luigi MaggiL'Arlésienne (1908) - Albert CapellaniWings (1927) - William A. WellmanWorkers Leaving Lumière Factory (1895) - Louis LumièreThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithRescued from an Eagle’s Nest (1908) - J. Searle DawleyA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterHumanity through the Ages (1908) - Georges MélièsIntolerance (1916) - D.W. GriffithTaxi Driver (1976) - Martin ScorseseRag

Author and preservationist Tracey Goessel is the founder of the Film Preservation Society and is in the thick of restoring all of the D.W. Griffith Biograph films. So it makes sense that she selects two films he made in his first year of directing, while also addressing comedy, morbidity, and the enduring appeal of dogs doing things.Tracey is the author of The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks. She is also on the board of directors of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, has published numerous articles on silent film history, and has lectured on Fairbanks widely.Films mentioned:The Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithTroubles of a Grass Widower (1908) - Max LinderThe Thieving Hand (1908) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe Dog and His Various Merits (1908) - unknownAn Awful Moment (1908) - D.W. GriffithThe Good Bad-Man (1916) - Allan DwanThe Half-Breed (1916) - Allan DwanThe Guerilla (1908) - D.W. GriffithThe Little Tease (1913) - D.W. GriffithGold and Glitter (1912) - D.W. GriffithThe White Rose of the Wilds (1911) - D.W. GriffithThe Scarlet Drop (1918) - John FordThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. Porter<a href="https://youtu.be/RXXQ1CxhN1A?si=jB6G79vYkpOdReRF" target="_blank" rel="norefe

The beginning of D.W. Griffith’s directorial career looms large for 1908, with past seasons referring to the upcoming “Griffith era” and behind-the-scenes conversations with potential guests featuring requests to reach back out around this period of narrative development, often attributed to or considered to be represented by the filmmaker. But the films selected this season certainly go beyond Griffith and this brief context-setting introduction addresses other artistic, technical, and business developments in film the world over.Films mentioned:The Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithThe Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) - Charles le Bargy and André CalmettesStenka Razin (1908) - Vladimir RomashkovFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile CohlNick Carter, le roi des détectives (1908) - Victorin-Hippolyte JassetA Visit to the Seaside (1908) - George Albert Smith

Some already old-school genres, from the chase film to the vaudeville recreation to the traveling actuality, made a good showing in the most selected films for this 1907 season. But the unique array of picks, among the most diverse list of films for the show so far, paints a better picture of how the cinematic medium was unfolding in new directions as much as it was holding on to established formulas.Films mentioned:The Policemen’s Little Run (1907) - Ferdinand ZeccaThe Irresistible Piano (1907) - Alice Guy-BlachéThe Haunted Hotel (1907) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe Dancing Pig (1907) - unknownVancouver (1907) - William HarbeckThe Red Spectre (1907) - Segundo de Chomón20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1907) - Georges MélièsThe Eclipse: A Courtship of the Sun and Moon (1907) - Georges MélièsBen Hur (1907) - Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes RoseBride of Frankenstein (1935) - James WhaleA Trip through British North Borneo (1907) - H.M. LomasThe Haunted House (1908) - Segundo de Chomón

Film historian Randy Haberkamp just recently retired as the Executive Vice President of the Library, Archive and Sci-Tech for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he held various positions for 23 years. With that experience in film preservation in mind, he highlights hard-to-find films as well as more famed stars and titles.Randy worked for CBS for 14 years, culminating as Director of Specials and Feature Films. He is also the founder of The Silent Society, a silent film preservation and appreciation group that has presented and preserved silent films in Los Angeles for nearly 40 years, and currently serves on the board of Hollywood Heritage.Films mentioned:Max Learns to Skate (1907) - Louis J. GasnierBen Hur (1907) - Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes RoseThe Haunted Hotel (1907) - J. Stuart BlacktonSmuggled into America (1907) - unknownThe Girl from Montana (1907) - Gilbert M. “Broncho Billy” AndersonModern Times (1936) - Charlie ChaplinThe Rink (1916) - Charlie ChaplinReefer Madness (1936) - Louis J. GasnierNapoleon (1927) - Abel GanceThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterThe Great Train Robbery (1904) - Siegmund LubinBen-Hur (1959) - William WylerThe Haunted House (1908) - Segundo de ChomónA Clockwork Orange (1971) - Stanley KubrickThe Count of Monte Cristo (1908) - Francis Boggs and Thom

Agata Frymus, Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Studies at Monash University Malaysia, selects mostly comic films to represent 1907. But by rounding out her selections with an (only maybe regrettably?) lost historical drama and the first Japanese selection of the whole show, she illustrates the multiplicity of film form at the time.Agata is the author of Damsels and Divas: European Stardom in Silent Hollywood. She was also a principal investigator on Black Cinema-Going in New York during the Interwar Period (2018-2020) and serves as a submissions editor for Early Popular Visual Culture.Films and resources mentioned:The Dancing Pig (1907) - unknownRace for the Sausage (1907) - Alice Guy-BlachéLaughing Gas (1907) - Edwin S. PorterPocahontas: A Child of the Forest (1907) - Edwin S. PorterKatsudō Shashin (1907) - unknownLaughing Gas (1907) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterMary Jane’s Mishap (1903) - George Albert SmithPocahontas (1995) - Mike Gabriel and Eric GoldbergThe New World (2005) - Terrence MalickHumorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) - J. Stuart BlacktonFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile CohlSomething Good/Negro Kiss (1898) - William

Filmmaker and musician Sean Guinan has an eye for the surreal, as exhibited by his TikTok channel Candy Town Follies. With that in mind, his selections cover a lot of topical and aesthetic ground, from eroticism and over-the-top comedy to social commentary and actuality footage of a major 20th century pop culture figure.Sean directed the 2000 feature film Flipping the Whale. He also led the musical group Candy Town from 2010 to 2016.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1907!Films and resources mentioned:Bridge Jump with Handcuff Escape (1907) - unknownDiana Bathing (1907) - Johann SchwarzerChildren’s Reformatory (1907) - Charles DecroixThe Policemen’s Little Run (1907) - Ferdinand ZeccaThe Irresistible Piano (1907) - Alice Guy-BlachéStar Wars (1977) - George LucasKing Kong (1976) - John GuillerminSuperman (1978) - Richard DonnerCabaret (1972) - Bob FosseBugsy Malone (1976) - Alan ParkerUn chien andalou (1929) - Luis BuñuelLittle Red Riding Hood (1997) - David KaplanEl Satario (1907) - unknownMan’s Castle (1933) - Frank BorzageThe World of Apu (1959) - Saty

Three of Associate Professor at Brock University Liz Clarke’s picks are defined by a sort of morbid delight. But with a cuddlier creature and the colonizing gaze represented in her other two selections, the conversation reveals more layers of the global film industry in 1907.Liz is the author of The American Girl Goes to War: Women and National Identity in US Film, 1908-1918. She also researches women writers in film and television from the silent period to contemporary female show-runners.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top five for 1907!Films and resources mentioned:Race for the Sausage (1907) - Alice Guy-BlachéThe “Teddy” Bears (1907) - Edwin S. PorterThe Doll’s Revenge (1907) - Cecil HepworthThe Dancing Pig (1907) - unknownVancouver (1907) - William HarbeckRescued by Rover (1905) - Cecil Hepworth and Lewin FitzhamonThe Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station (1896) - Auguste and Louis LumièreThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithExplosion of a Motor Car (1900) - Cecil HepworthHow It Feels to Be Run Over (1900) - Cecil HepworthA Trip through British North Borneo (1907) - H.M. LomasA Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire (1906) - Harry MilesFilms by the Year

Film historian Matt Page has been researching film adaptations of the Bible for over 20 years. And yet only one of his picks for 1907 stems from that source and this wide-ranging conversation also reaches chases, tricks, and more.Matt is the author of the BFI’s 100 Bible Films book and has contributed to a variety of books and journals. He also runs the Bible Films Blog.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1907!Films and resources mentioned:The Race for the Sausage (1907) - Alice Guy-BlachéLife and Passion of Jesus Christ (1907) - Ferdinand Zecca and Lucien NonguetCinderella (1907) - Albert CapellaniThe Red Spectre (1907) - Segundo de ChomónThe Blind Man of the Village (1907) - Antonio Cuesta and Ángel García CardonaBen-Hur (1959) - William WylerThe King of Kings (1927) - Cecil B. DeMilleThe Sign of the Cross (1932) - Cecil B. DeMilleGolgotha (1935) - Julien DuvivierL’exode (1910) - Louis FeuilladeRoundhay Garden Scene (1888) - Louis Le PrinceTraffic Crossing Leeds Bridge (1888) - Louis Le PrinceThe Butterflies (1906) - unknown<a href="https://youtu.be/_9KawLy64qY?si=U4cBAOWglk5ZOJPl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"

1907, somewhat unlike the past couple years covered on this show, is chock-full of historical developments with details that are fun to plumb. But exploring the legal battles, studio foundings, and trade journal publications of the year just sets up the spectacular film texts themselves, with guests’ selections ranging from chase film evolutions to horrifically bizarre gems to actualities as historical documents to an animation milestone.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top five for 1907!Films mentioned:Ben Hur (1907) - Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes RoseNosferatu (1922) - F.W. MurnauThe Prodigal Son (1907) - Michel CarréAn Exciting Honeymoon (1905) - unknownLife of a Cowboy (1906) - Edwin S. Porter

Maybe it’s just Tristan who is surprised by the film that topped this season’s collective list. But its inclusion at all, and its ubiquity in submitters' lists, reflects that the balance of narrative and actuality is not quite as heavily weighted in the former’s favor as one might expect, even for as early (or late, 11 years after the “birth of cinema” as many measure it) as 1906.Films mentioned:A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire (1906) - Harry MilesThe ? Motorist (1906) - Walter R. BoothHumorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe Merry Frolics of Satan (1906) - Georges MélièsThe Consequences of Feminism (1906) - Alice Guy-BlachéDream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906) - Edwin S. PorterThe Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) - Charles TaitFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile Cohl

Most of the picks from Coraline Refort, postdoc fellow at University of Sassari, offer exciting readings through the lens of feminism. But she also examines an animation milestone and a microcosm of film tricks up to 1906.At University of Sassari, Coraline works on the national project “WOW – Women Writing around the Camera,” which focuses on mapping the autobiographical writings of Italian actresses. She holds a PhD in Film History from the University of Florence, in cotutelle with Sorbonne Nouvelle University, where her dissertation explored the French career of Alice Guy-Blaché.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five of 1906!Films and resources mentioned:Madame’s Cravings (1906) - Alice Guy-BlachéThe Consequences of Feminism (1906) - Alice Guy-BlachéThe Maids’ Strike (1906) - Charles-Lucien LépineHumorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe ? Motorist (1906) - Walter R. BoothThe Birth, the Life and the Death of Christ (1906) - Alice Guy-BlachéEsméralda (1905) - Alice Guy-BlachéNurses’ Strike (1907) - André HeuzéThe Strike (1904) - Ferdinand ZeccaPauvre Pierrot (1892) - Émile ReynaudSteamboat Willie (1928) - Walt DisneyThe Wizard of Oz (1939) - Victor FlemingA Butterfly’s Metamorphosis (1904) - Gaston VelleThe Boxing Cat

Michigan State University professor Joshua Yumibe has spent much of his research career examining color in silent film (and beyond). Having that particular lens, it makes sense that all of his picks contain some aspect of color, most of them quite spectacular.Joshua is the author of Moving Color: Early Film, Mass Culture, Modernism and co-author of Fantasia of Color in Early Cinema and Chromatic Modernity: Color, Cinema, and Media of the 1920s. He is also an editor of Screen and of the Contemporary Film Directors at the University of Illinois Press.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1906!Films and resources mentioned:The Witch (1906) - Georges MélièsMiniature Theatre (1906) - Gaston VelleTit-for-Tat (1906) - Gaston VelleThe Butterflies (1906) - unknownLe chemineau (1906) - Albert CapellaniAnnabelle Serpentine Dance (1895) - William K.L. DicksonThe Merry Frolics of Satan (1906) - Georges MélièsThe Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship (1905) - Georges MélièsThe Legend of Rip Van Winkle (1906) - Georges MélièsBob’s Electric Theatre (1909) - unknownAn Adventurous Automobile Trip (1905) - Georges Méliès<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07c897Eeuyc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer n

Oliver Gaycken, Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, has a particular interest in early cinema and popular science. That perspective is brought to bear on most of his five picks, including both fiction and nonfiction films.Oliver is the author of Devices of Curiosity: Early Cinema and Popular Science. His articles have appeared in Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television, Science in Context, Journal of Visual Culture, Early Popular Visual Culture, Screen, and the collection Learning with the Lights Off.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1906!Films and resources mentioned:A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire (1906) - Harry MilesA Visit to Peek Frean and Co.’s Biscuit Works (1906) - unknownLa neuropatologia (1906) - Roberto OmegnaHumorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe Vacuum Cleaner (1906) - Segundo de Chomón[warning] Electrocuting an Elephant (1903) - Edwin S. PorterThe Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) - Charles TaitSan Francisco Earthquake & Fire: April 18, 1906 (1906) - unknownDream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906) - Edwin S. PorterEureka (1974) - Ernie GehrTom, Tom, the Piper’s Son (1969) - Ken JacobsDawson City: Frozen Time (2016

Mario Slugan, Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, has literally written the book on fiction in early cinema. With that background and research in mind, he selects four films that may fit into what we consider narrative before turning to a standout “nonfiction” film that looms large for 1906.Mario has written three other monographs, including the upcoming Taking Fiction Film Seriously. He is also co-editor of New Perspectives on Early Cinema History and the special double issue of Early Popular Visual Culture, "Early Cinema in the British Colonies.”Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1906!Films and resources mentioned:The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) - Charles TaitThe ? Motorist (1906) - Walter R. BoothThe Merry Frolics of Satan (1906) - Georges MélièsThe Consequences of Feminism (1906) - Alice Guy-BlachéA Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire (1906) - Harry MilesUncle Tom’s Cabin (1903) - Edwin S. PorterHamilton (2020) - Thomas KailAmerican Utopia (2020) - Spike LeeThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterHow It Feels to Be Run Over (1900) - Cecil Hepworth<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcOgjyHb_5Y" ta

Carl Bennett, publisher and editor of silentera.com, has run the crucial resource covering the first decades of film since 1999. He selects five films reflecting the growing trend of narrativization of cinema, with one notable exception in his conclusion.Carl’s site provides information about silent motion pictures, silent era people, the era’s theatres, documentation and reviews of home video editions of silent films, book reviews, and more.Films and resources mentioned:The Spring Fairy (1906) - Vincent Lorant-HeilbronnThe ? Motorist (1906) - Walter R. BoothDream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906) - Edwin S. PorterThe Merry Frolics of Satan (1906) - Georges MélièsA Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire (1906) - Harry MilesThe Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962) - Edward BerndsThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsSchindler’s List (1993) - Steven SpielbergAn Adventurous Automobile Trip (1905) - Georges MélièsThe Automatic Motorist (1911) - Walter R. BoothThe Impossible Voyage (1904) - Georges MélièsHugo (2011) - Martin ScorseseNosferatu (1922) - F.W. MurnauThe Phantom of the Opera (1925) - Rupert Julian<a href="https://www.you

From changes in distribution and exhibition to formal firsts (with caveats), 1906 carries just a few pieces of oft-cited film history. But this season, on a year that is still very much part of cinema's earliest growth spurts, illustrates the heterogenous landscape of global filmmaking at the time and the thrills it can still offer today.Films mentioned:The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) - Charles TaitHumorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) - J. Stuart Blackton

While the “nickelodeon boom” began in the United States and the global film industry was standardizing certain production elements, many of the conversations for this 1905 season turned to how wide the modes of moviemaking still were, resulting in strange yet beautiful experiments. As this year’s five guests have shown, cinema in even in an apparently obscure period such as the mid-1900s can still yield up riveting viewing experiences.Films mentioned:The Misadventure of a French Gentleman Without Pants at the Zandvoort Beach (1905) - Albert and Willy MullensConey Island at Night (1905) - Edwin S. PorterNew York Subway (1905) - Billy BitzerThe Night Before Christmas (1905) - Edwin S. PorterRescued by Rover (1905) - Cecil Hepworth and Lewin FitzhamonThe Miller’s Daughter (1905) - Edwin S. Porter and Wallace McCutcheonAn Adventurous Automobile Trip (1905) - Georges MélièsThe Palace of the Arabian Nights (1905) - Georges MélièsThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. Porter