The Best Movies of the 1920s
The 1920s ranked by our composite score across 20+ authoritative lists, awards and polls — not one critic's opinion, but the weight of the whole canon.
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) leads with a composite score of 3.77. Top 100 of 209 films in our library.
- 1Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans1927 · F. W. Murnau · United States · drama, silent, romance3.77
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1928 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #11 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #33
- 2The Passion of Joan of Arc1928 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · France · drama, silent2.62
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #21 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #30 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1929 #7
- 3The Gold Rush1925 · Charlie Chaplin · United States · silent, comedy, romance2.55
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1926 #1 · AFI 100 (2007) #58 · AFI 100 (1998) #74
- 4Metropolis1927 · Fritz Lang · Weimar Republic · silent, drama, sci-fi2.18
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #67 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1929 #4 · TIME All-TIME 100
- 5Man with a Movie Camera1929 · Dziga Vertov · Soviet Union · documentary, silent2.13
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #9 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #30 · TIME All-TIME 100
- 6Wings1927 · William A. Wellman, Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast · United States · war, romance, drama2.11
Oscar Best Picture winner 1928 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1928 #5 · National Film Registry (inducted 1997)
- 7Seventh Heaven1927 · Frank Borzage · United States · drama, silent, romance1.79
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1927 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1928 · National Film Registry (inducted 1995)
- 8A Woman of Paris1923 · Charlie Chaplin, A. Edward Sutherland · United States · drama, silent, romance1.66
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1924 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 1976 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #1253
- 9The General1926 · Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman · United States · comedy, romance, war1.51
AFI 100 (2007) #18 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #95 · National Film Registry (inducted 1989)
- 10The Broadway Melody1929 · Harry Beaumont · United States · musical, romance1.50
Oscar Best Picture winner 1929
- 11The Docks of New York1928 · Josef von Sternberg · United States · romance, silent, drama1.50
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1929 #1 · National Film Registry (inducted 1999) · Criterion Collection spine #531
- 12Sherlock, Jr.1924 · Buster Keaton, Roscoe Arbuckle · United States · comedy, action, romance1.46
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #54 · TIME All-TIME 100 · Letterboxd Top 250 #91
- 13Battleship Potemkin1925 · Sergei Eisenstein · Soviet Union · silent, drama1.40
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #54 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #93 · Empire 500 (2008) #313
- 14The Thief of Bagdad1924 · Raoul Walsh · United States · fantasy, silent, drama1.34
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #1 · National Film Registry (inducted 1996) · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 15The Last Laugh1924 · F. W. Murnau · Germany / Weimar Republic · silent, drama1.25
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1926 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #243 · Roger Ebert's Great Movies
- 16Nosferatu1922 · F. W. Murnau · Germany · silent, horror, drama1.20
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #196 · Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films · Vatican film list
- 17The Love Parade1929 · Ernst Lubitsch · United States · musical, comedy, drama1.19
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1930 #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1929 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 18Safety Last!1923 · Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor · United States · comedy, romance, silent1.13
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1924 #3 · National Film Registry (inducted 1994) · Criterion Collection spine #662
- 19Un Chien Andalou1929 · Luis Buñuel · France · silent, horror, fantasy1.11
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #169 · Empire 500 (2008) #354 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films
- 20The Covered Wagon1923 · James Cruze · United States · romance, western, silent1.11
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1924 #1 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 21Greed1924 · Erich von Stroheim · United States · drama, silent1.04
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #185 · National Film Registry (inducted 1991) · Empire 500 (2008) #399
- 22Napoléon1927 · Abel Gance · France / Germany / Italy · biography, drama, silent1.01
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #225 · Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films · Vatican film list
- 23La Galerie des monstres1924 · Jaque Catelain · France · silent, drama1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #1
- 24The Woman Who Touched The Legs1926 · Yutaka Abe · Japan · silent1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1926 #1
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- 27The Crowd1928 · King Vidor · United States · drama, silent0.98
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #225 · TIME All-TIME 100 · National Film Registry (inducted 1989)
- 28Pandora's Box1929 · Georg Wilhelm Pabst · Germany · silent, drama, crime0.86
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #243 · Empire 500 (2008) #248 · Criterion Collection spine #358
- 29Peter Pan1924 · Herbert Brenon · United States · fantasy, silent, adventure0.84
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #3 · National Film Registry (inducted 2000) · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 30The Big Parade1925 · King Vidor, George W. Hill · United States · drama, silent, war0.84
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1927 #3 · National Film Registry (inducted 1992) · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 31The Circus1928 · Charlie Chaplin · United States · comedy, silent, drama0.79
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1928 #3 · Criterion Collection spine #996 · Roger Ebert's Great Movies
- 32Underworld1927 · Josef von Sternberg · United States · crime, silent, drama0.79
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1928 #2 · Criterion Collection spine #529
- 33The Phantom of the Opera1925 · Rupert Julian, Lon Chaney, Edward Sedgwick · United States · horror, drama, silent0.71
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #6 · National Film Registry (inducted 1998) · Roger Ebert's Great Movies
- 34The Freshman1925 · Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor · United States · comedy, silent0.69
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1926 #9 · National Film Registry (inducted 1990) · Criterion Collection spine #703
- 35Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ1925 · Fred Niblo · United States · drama, silent, action0.66
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1928 #4 · National Film Registry (inducted 1997)
- 36The Last Command1928 · Josef von Sternberg · United States · romance, war, silent0.65
TIME All-TIME 100 · National Film Registry (inducted 2006) · Criterion Collection spine #530
- 37Nanook of the North1922 · Robert J. Flaherty · United States / France · documentary, drama, silent0.63
National Film Registry (inducted 1989) · Criterion Collection spine #33 · Roger Ebert's Great Movies
- 38Kean ou Désordre et génie1924 · Alexandre Volkoff · France · silent, drama0.63
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #2
- 39The Marriage Circle1924 · Ernst Lubitsch, James Flood · United States · drama, silent0.63
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1924 #2
- 40Variety1925 · Ewald André Dupont, Nicolas Farkas · Germany · drama, silent0.63
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1927 #2
- 41
- 42Storm over Asia1928 · Vsevolod Pudovkin · Soviet Union · silent, drama, war0.63
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1930 #2
- 43The Jazz Singer1927 · Alan Crosland · United States · romance, musical, drama0.62
AFI 100 (1998) #90 · National Film Registry (inducted 1996) · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
- 44Disraeli1929 · Alfred Edward Green · United States · drama, biography0.62
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1929 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
- 45Trifling Women1922 · Rex Ingram · United States · romance, silent0.60
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1924 #8 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1924 #10
- 46The Black Pirate1926 · Albert Parker · United States · action, adventure, silent0.56
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1926 #7 · National Film Registry (inducted 1993)
- 47A Page of Madness1926 · Teinosuke Kinugasa · Japan · silent, drama0.54
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1926 #4 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 48The Son of the Sheik1926 · George Fitzmaurice · United States · drama, silent, adventure0.54
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1926 #8 · National Film Registry (inducted 2003)
- 49The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari1920 · Robert Wiene · Germany · silent, horror, crime0.53
Kurosawa's 100 favorite films · Roger Ebert's Great Movies · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies
- 50The Wedding March1926 · Erich von Stroheim · United States · drama, romance, silent0.53
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1928 #9 · National Film Registry (inducted 2003)
- 51Dr. Mabuse the Gambler1922 · Fritz Lang · Germany · silent, thriller, crime0.52
Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 52Camille1921 · Ray C. Smallwood · United States · silent, drama, romance0.50
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1924 #3
- 53Stella Dallas1925 · Henry King · United States · drama, silent0.50
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1926 #3
- 54The Salvation Hunters1925 · Josef von Sternberg · United States · drama, silent0.50
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #3
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- 58The Kid1921 · Charlie Chaplin · United States · comedy, drama, silent0.50
National Film Registry (inducted 2011) · Criterion Collection spine #799 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 59Lonesome1928 · Paul Fejos · United States · romance0.50
National Film Registry (inducted 2010) · Criterion Collection spine #623 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 60The Cameraman1928 · Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton · United States · comedy, romance, drama0.50
National Film Registry (inducted 2005) · Criterion Collection spine #1033 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 61The General Line1929 · Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori Aleksandrov · Soviet Union · silent, drama0.47
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1931 #6 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 62In Old Arizona1928 · Raoul Walsh, Irving Cummings · United States · western0.45
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1929
- 63The Patriot1928 · Ernst Lubitsch · United States · biography, drama, silent0.45
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1929
- 64The Racket1928 · Lewis Milestone · United States · drama, crime, silent0.45
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1928
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- 66The Hollywood Revue of 19291929 · Charles Reisner · United States · comedy, musical0.45
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1929
- 67Beau Geste1926 · Herbert Brenon · United States · silent, drama, action0.43
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1927 #4
- 68The Sea Beast1926 · Millard Webb · United States · silent, drama0.43
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1926 #4
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- 71Body and Soul1925 · Oscar Micheaux · United States · drama, silent0.39
National Film Registry (inducted 2019) · Criterion Collection spine #371
- 72
- 73Sherlock Holmes1922 · Albert Parker · United States / United Kingdom · crime, mystery, drama0.39
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1924 #5
- 74Girl Shy1924 · Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor · United States · comedy, romance, silent0.39
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #5
- 75The Way of All Flesh1927 · Victor Fleming · United States · drama, silent0.39
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1927 #5
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- 77The Living Corpse1929 · Fedor Ozep · Germany / Soviet Union · silent, drama0.39
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1929 #5
- 78The Hunchback of Notre Dame1923 · Wallace Worsley · United States · romance, horror, silent0.36
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1924 #6
- 79Smouldering Fires1925 · Clarence Brown, Charles Dorian · United States · drama, silent0.36
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #6
- 80Street Angel1928 · Frank Borzage · United States · drama, romance, silent0.36
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1928 #6
- 81The Village Bride1928 · Heinosuke Gosho · Japan · drama, silent0.36
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1928 #6
- 82Man-Slashing Horse-Piercing Sword1929 · Daisuke Itō · Japan0.36
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1929 #6
- 83The Four Feathers1929 · Merian C. Cooper, Lothar Mendes, Ernest B. Schoedsack · United States · silent, war0.36
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1929 #6
- 84Faust1926 · F. W. Murnau · Germany / Weimar Republic · silent, drama, fantasy0.36
Roger Ebert's Great Movies · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 85The Last of the Mohicans1920 · Maurice Tourneur, Clarence Brown · United States · silent, drama, adventure0.34
National Film Registry (inducted 1995) · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 86Cops1922 · Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton · United States · comedy, silent0.34
National Film Registry (inducted 1997) · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 87Foolish Wives1922 · Erich von Stroheim, Gustav Machatý · United States · drama, silent0.34
National Film Registry (inducted 2008) · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 88It1927 · Clarence G. Badger, Josef von Sternberg · United States · comedy, romance, silent0.34
National Film Registry (inducted 2001) · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 89Steamboat Bill Jr.1928 · Charles Reisner · United States · comedy, action, silent0.34
National Film Registry (inducted 2016) · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies
- 90Black and Tan1929 · Dudley Murphy · United States · musical0.34
National Film Registry (inducted 2015) · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 91Hallelujah!1929 · King Vidor · United States · musical, drama0.34
National Film Registry (inducted 2008) · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
- 92Paper Doll's Whisper of Spring1926 · Kenji Mizoguchi · Japan · silent0.33
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1926 #7
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- 96Le Chant de l'amour triomphant1923 · Victor Tourjansky · France · silent, drama0.32
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #8
- 97Our Hospitality1923 · Buster Keaton, John G. Blystone · United States · comedy, romance, silent0.32
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1925 #8
- 98The Case of Lena Smith1929 · Josef von Sternberg · United States · drama, silent0.32
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1929 #8
- 99
- 100The Fall of the House of Usher1928 · Jean Epstein · France · horror, drama, silent0.31
Kurosawa's 100 favorite films · Roger Ebert's Great Movies
The 1920s were the decade the silent film stopped being a novelty and became an art form at its own summit — a summit it would abandon almost the moment it was reached. Within a few years the medium produced German Expressionism, Soviet montage, and the great American clowns, then heard synchronised dialogue and reinvented itself from scratch. Every film below fell in a release year between 1920 and 1929; the order is ours, re-ranked by composite score rather than by fame. The argument the list makes is that the peak and the ending arrived almost together.
A decade cut in half by sound
The clean line through the 1920s runs through 1927. Sound-on-film technology matured across 1926 and 1927, and The Jazz Singer (1927) turned a novelty into an industry-wide panic; within two years the silent picture was commercially finished. That timing is why our upper ranks skew so heavily toward the decade's last three years. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), F. W. Murnau's fusion of German shadow-craft and Hollywood money, tops the entire decade on our list — a silent film released the same season that killed the silent film. Behind it sit two Academy anointments: Wings (1927), the first film to win Best Picture, and The Broadway Melody (1929), the first sound film to do so. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences itself was founded in 1927, so the decade also invented the machinery that would later canonise it.
Where reputation and score part ways
The interesting friction is between what the textbooks revere and what the composite score rewards. The score aggregates appearances across polls, canons and awards, and awards weight tilts it toward the sound-era films the Academy could still honour. So the acknowledged monuments of silent form sit lower than a casual history would predict: Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (1925), whose Odessa Steps sequence is taught as the origin of montage, ranks well below Sunrise; Buster Keaton's The General (1926), now routinely called the finest silent comedy, and Murnau's own Nosferatu (1922) sit lower still. Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) and Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925) fare better, closing some of that gap. Read the ranking, then, as a record of accumulated institutional weight rather than a verdict on which frames are most beautiful.
How to read our list
Membership here is mechanical: a film qualifies by release year, nothing else, and the 1920s field runs past two hundred titles. What the score sorts them by is breadth of recognition, which is why an oddity like Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) — restored, re-released, endlessly cited — outranks Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera (1929) by only a hair, and why both trail the Oscar winners despite carrying more influence per foot of film. Start at the top for the consensus canon; read downward for the decade's stranger, wilder second half of the list, where the score thins out and the silent era's real range begins to show.