

All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen nichts Neues) :: (R. Lewis Milestone - USA 1930 - 136 min - black&white) :: The war film based on the Erich Maria Remarque novel of the same name. It was directed by Lewis Milestone, and stars Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, John Wray, Arnold Lucy and Ben Alexander. All Quiet on the Western Front is considered a realistic and harrowing account of warfare in World War I, and was named #54 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies. Der Film gilt als einer der bekanntesten und beeindruckendsten Antikriegsfilme.
White Zombie (English title: White Zombie) :: (R. Victor Halperin - USA 1932 - 65 min - black&white) :: White Zombie stars a satanic-looking Bella Lugosi and was released in 1932. It is often described as being the first ever zombie film. Plantation owner, Charles Beaumont, convinces the soon to be married Neil and Madeleine to have their ceremony on his property. Beaumont's offer, though, has an ulterior motive: he wants madeleine for himself...
Häxan (English title: The Witches or Witchcraft Through The Ages) :: (R. Benjamin Christensen - Sweden 1922 - 104 min - black&white) :: is a 1922 Swedish/Danish silent film written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. Based partly on Christensen's study of the Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th century German guide for inquisitors, Häxan is a study of how superstition and the misunderstanding of diseases and mental illness could lead to the hysteria of the witch-hunts.[1] The film was made as a documentary but contains dramatized sequences that are comparable to horror films. With Christensen's meticulous recreation of medieval scenes and the lengthy production period, the film was the most expensive Scandinavian silent film ever made, costing nearly two million Swedish krona. Although it won acclaim in Denmark and Sweden, the film was banned in the United States and heavily censored in other countries for what were considered at that time graphic depictions of torture, nudity and sexual perversion.
The 39 Steps (R. Alfred Hitchcock - USA 1935 - 83 min - black&white) :: Also known as "The Thirty-Nine Steps". "One of Hitchcock's earliest hits, The 39 Steps sees The Master unravelling the soon-to-be-typical plot of an innocent man on the run, trying to prove his innocence." - A man in London tries to help a counterespionage agent, and is soon finding himself in one jam after another.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (R. Alfred Hitchcock - USA 1934 - 75 min - black&white) :: A man and his wife receive a clue to an imminent assassination attempt, only to learn that their daughter has been kidnapped to keep them quiet.
Hitler - Dead or Alive (R. Nick Grinde - USA 1942 - 71 min - black&white) :: :: :: A wealthy man offers a million dollars to whoever captures Adolf Hitler dead or alive. A group of gangsters take him up on this offer and after hijacking a Canadian Air Force plane are dropped into Germany. Their delusions about Hitler being just another cheap crook are shattered when they discover that knocking off Hitler wouldn't necessarily bring about the end of the war and they must decide what's more important: lining their pocketbooks or letting the military do their job.
All Quiet on the Western Front - Im Westen nichts Neues (R. Lewis Milestone - USA 1930 - 128 min - black&white) :: :: :: Adapted from a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque, the film follows a group of German schoolboys, talked into enlisting at the beginning of World War 1 by their jingoistic teacher. The story is told entirely through the experiences of the young German recruits and highlights the tragedy of war through the eyes of individuals. As the boys witness death and mutilation all around them, any preconceptions about "the enemy" and the "rights and wrongs" of the conflict disappear, leaving them angry and bewildered.
A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate (R. Charles Chaplin - USA 1923 - 78 min - black&white) :: :: :: Marie St. Clair believes she has been jilted by her artist fiance Jean when he fails to meet her at the railway station. She goes off to Paris alone. A year later, mistress of wealthy Pierre Revel, she meets Jean again. Misinterpreting events she bounces back and forth between apparent security and true love. Also misinterpreting, Jean commits suicide. Written by Ed Stephan (imdb.com)
Dressed to Kill - Sherlock Holmes (R. Roy William Neill - USA 1946 - 72 min) :: :: :: Aka 'Sherlock Holmes in Dressed To Kill' - features Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes.
Napoleon - Napoléon Bonaparte (R. Abel Gance - F 1927 - 234 Min! - black&white) :: :: :: Napoléon is an epic silent French film directed by Abel Gance that tells the story of the rise of Napoleon I of France, about the French Field Marshal's youth and early military career.
Freaks (R. Tod Browning - USA 1932 - 64 Min - black&white) :: :: :: also known as, "Forbidden Love", "The Monster Show", "Nature's Mistakes"
Die Nibelungen - Teil 1, Siegfried (R. Fritz Lang - Germany/D 1924 - 142 Min. - black&white)
Die Nibelungen - Teil 2, Kriemhilds Rache (R. Fritz Lang - Germany/D 1924 - 148 Min. - black&white)
The Phantom of the Opera (R. Rupert Julian - USA 1925 - 106 min - black&white) :: At the Opera of Paris, a mysterious phantom threatens a famous lyric singer, Carlotta and thus forces her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) for unknown Christine Daae. Christine meets this phantom (a masked man) in the catacombs, where he lives.
Charles Chaplin: The Gold Rush (R. Charles Chaplin - USA 1925/1942 - 72 min - black&white) :: The movie was originally released before the invention of sound film. For the 1942 re-release Chaplin composed and recorded a musical score, added a narration (his own voice) and tightened the editing.
Charles Chaplin: The Kid (R. Charles Chaplin - USA 1921 - 68 min - black&white) :: The Kid was Charlie Chaplin's first full-length movie. It, more than anything else to that date, made Chaplin a living legend. It took over a year to produce, and was an incredible success for Chaplin.
Charles Chaplin: "Shoulder Arms" (R. Charles Chaplin - USA 1918 - 45 min - black & white) :: Charlie Chaplin's 65th Film Released Oct. 20 1918. :: Shoulder Arms was Charlie Chaplin's second film for First National Pictures. Released in 1918, it was a silent comedy set in France during World War I. The main part of the film occurring in a dream. Co-starring Edna Purviance and Sydney Chaplin, Chaplin's brother.
M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Moerder (R. Fritz Lang - Germany/D 1931 - 110 min - black & white - english subtitles) - "This film is nothing less than a masterpiece. It is a highly structured and stylized film about a serial killer. It created the serial kill genre, which includes such entries as Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. Alfred Hitchcock (the director of Psycho) was a disciple of Lang as were Jacques Tourneur (The Leopard Man (1943)) and Michael Powell (Peeping Tom (1960)). M was not only the originator of the genre, but arguably remains it preeminent entry. Highly recommended for those in the mood for a Hitchcockian-style thriller with a great performance by Peter Lorre and great story-telling technique by Fritz Lang"
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens - A Symphony of Horror (R. F.W. Murnau - D 1922 - 84 min - black & white) :: Munarau's chilling and eerie adaption of Stoker's Dracula is a silent masterpiece of terror which to this day is the most striking and frightening portrayal of the legend. :: Ein expressionistischer deutscher Spielfilm aus dem Jahr 1922. Der Horrorfilm von Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau war eine seinerzeit nicht autorisierte Verfilmung des Romans Dracula von Bram Stoker.
Destiny - Der müde Tod (R. Fritz Lang - D 1921 - 99 min - black & white) :: "As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and is sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman finds a mystic entrance and is met by Death, who tells her three separate stories set in exotic locales, all involving circumstances similar to hers. In each story, a woman, trying to save her lover from his ultimate tragic fate, fails. The young lady realizes the meaning of the tales and takes the only step she can to reunite herself with her lover." Doug Sederberg :: Der müde Tod ist ein Stummfilm, mit dem Fritz Lang 1921 der internationale Durchbruch gelang. Das "deutsche Volkslied in sechs Versen", so der Untertitel, ist die romantisch-tragische Geschichte einer jungen Frau, die den Ehemann vom Tod zurückfordert. In diesem Film setzt Fritz Lang Licht und Raum in jener expressiven Weise ein, die viele seiner späteren Filme prägen soll.