What do you consider to be the top 5 greatest silent films?

Question

10 points to the best-supported, most knowledgeable answer.

Mine are:

1. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)-Carl Dreyer
2. Greed (1924)-Erich Von Stroheim
3. Battleship Potemkin (1925)-Sergei Eisenstein
4. The Man with the Movie Camera (1929)-Dziga Vertov
5. Napoleon (1927)-Abel Gance

Edit (to dukalink6000): Indeed, those are some great films, but it's hard to include so many in a top 5 list. Of course, I would have also liked to include Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Metropolis, Sunrise, Un Chien Andalou, The General, Modern Times and City Lights.

Oh, and I've never heard of Orphans in the Storm, which suprises me quite a bit, considering how much film research I've done. I'll check that one out as well.

Answer 1

Are we taking _greatest_ as in best crafted and most influential, or merely favorites?

In terms of greatness, I'd keep The Passion of Joan of Arc at the top.

and then.. uh...

2) The General (certainly it's art, but a filmmaking couldn't survive on art alone)
3) Birth of a Nation (painful to watch, but it had enormous influence throughout the world)
4) Metropolis (mesmerizing, and bears a powerful social commentary that I doubt will ever become irrelevant)
5) Battleship Potemkin

This was very, very difficult. I feel astonished with myself for leaving off City Lights or The Man With a Movie Camera or The Thief of Bagdad or... so many others.

I'm afraid I just can't agree with you on Greed or Napoleon. The main reason for that is... well.... I haven't seen them. Not a very good reason.

Thanks for asking this question! I've had fun with it.

--
LORD Z: I'd completely forgotten about the Fred Niblo Ben Hur. I was so happy when they released it on DVD with the _other_ Ben-Hur. I was surprised, since anyone who actually watched it can see it's far better than the "main feature."

Answer 2

The Gold Rush
Sherlock Jr.
Orphans of the Storm
Greed
Metropolis

I am surprised that you have no Chaplin up there. Despite negative feelings many hold for him, he was a master of his craft.

Greed is, well, Greed. If only we could find the missing footage of it.

Many people would choose "The General" as Buster's best. but "Sherlock, Jr." is a much more finely crafted film.

I see no D.W. Griffiths up there either. Even if you eschew "Birth of a Nation" or the overwrought "Intolerance", I found "Orphans" with the Gish sisters a better representation of his craft.

Metropolis is still ahead of its time.

The ones you have chosen are strong contenders as well and every one of these movies has something that we have seen elsewhere in later works by others. (The Odessa steps is recreated in de Palma's "The Untouchables", "Purple Rose of Cairo" is "Sherlock Jr.)

Answer 3

My Best Girl (1927) with Mary Pickford
Safety Last with Harold Lloyd
Show People (1928) starring Marion Davies
those are my faves so far...

I will be checking out Garbo and Gilbert, I have "Love" on tape and there is one with Chaplin that I really enjoyed, can't remember the title at the moment but it was about him taking care of a little orphan boy...

Answer 4

1. Metropolis--the gold standard. A silent film that evokes emotion; way ahead of its time.
2.The General-one of the funniest movies ever made.
3. Battleship Potemkin--the scene on the Odessa steps is still chilling.
4. Napoleon-the restored version of this is awesome. God bless Francis Coppolla a filmaker who makes money and then invests it back into film.
5. M--Fritz lang again way ahead of his time with mob mentality film at its apex.

Answer 5

The Great Dictator
Ben Hur
Birth of A Nation
The Sheik
Napoleon

Answer 6

sorry...i don't watch silent films!