1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari)
Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.
It has an average vote of 7.946 on TMDB.
2. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.
It has an average vote of 7.86 on TMDB.
3. Frankenstein
Tampering with life and death, Henry Frankenstein pieces together salvaged body parts to bring a human monster to life; the mad scientist's dreams are shattered by his creation's violent rage as the monster awakens to a world in which he is unwelcome.
It has an average vote of 7.477 on TMDB.
4. Battleship Potemkin (Броненосец Потёмкин)
A dramatized account of a great Russian naval mutiny and a resultant public demonstration, showing support, which brought on a police massacre. The film had an incredible impact on the development of cinema and is a masterful example of montage editing.
It has an average vote of 7.628 on TMDB.
5. Nosferatu the Vampyre (Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht)
Jonathan Harker, a real estate agent, goes to Transylvania to visit the mysterious Count Dracula and formalize the purchase of a property in Wismar. Once Jonathan is caught under his evil spell, Dracula travels to Wismar where he meets the beautiful Lucy, Jonathan's wife, while a plague spreads through the town, now ruled by death.
It has an average vote of 7.307 on TMDB.
6. Pandora's Box (Die Büchse der Pandora)
Lulu is a young woman so beautiful and alluring that few can resist her siren charms. The men drawn into her web include respectable newspaper publisher Dr. Ludwig Schön, his musical producer son Alwa, circus performer Rodrigo Quast, and seedy old Schigolch. When Lulu's charms inevitably lead to tragedy, the downward spiral encompasses them all.
It has an average vote of 7.491 on TMDB.
7. The Smiling Madame Beudet (La souriante Madame Beudet)
An unhappily married woman devises a scheme to get rid of her husband.
It has an average vote of 5.844 on TMDB.
8. Scarface
In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio "Tony" Camonte, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to protect his sister from the criminal life.
It has an average vote of 7.454 on TMDB.
9. Un Chien Andalou (Un chien andalou)
Un Chien Andalou is an European avant-garde surrealist film, a collaboration between director Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.
It has an average vote of 7.446 on TMDB.
10. Nanook of the North
This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.
It has an average vote of 7.108 on TMDB.
11. Faust (Faust – Eine deutsche Volkssage)
God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist.
It has an average vote of 7.876 on TMDB.
12. Safety Last!
When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.
It has an average vote of 7.768 on TMDB.
13. Dracula
After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle, the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker's fiancée. The only one who may be able to protect them is Dr. van Helsing, Harker's friend and fellow-student of vampires, who is determined to destroy Dracula, whatever the cost.
It has an average vote of 7.248 on TMDB.
14. Metropolis (Metropolis)
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
It has an average vote of 8.1 on TMDB.
15. M (M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder)
In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.
It has an average vote of 8.087 on TMDB.
16. The Kid
A tramp cares for a boy after he's abandoned as a newborn by his mother. Later the mother has a change of heart and aches to be reunited with her son.
It has an average vote of 8.181 on TMDB.
17. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed)
Based on stories from "The Arabian Nights". A wicked sorcerer tricks Prince Achmed into riding a magical flying horse. The heroic prince is able to subdue the magical horse, which he uses to fly off to many adventures. While travelling, he falls in love with the beautiful Princess Peri Banu, and must defeat an army of demons to win her heart. The film is animated using the silhouette technique.
It has an average vote of 7.513 on TMDB.
18. Cannibal Ferox (Cannibal Ferox)
Three friends out to disprove cannibalism meet two men on the run who tortured and enslaved a cannibal tribe to find emeralds, and now the tribe is out for revenge.
It has an average vote of 5.395 on TMDB.
19. Be Sick… It's Free (Il medico della mutua)
Comedy about the flawed Italian healthcare system of the time and a doctor's expeirence with it.
It has an average vote of 7.045 on TMDB.
20. October (Ten Days that Shook the World) (Октябрь)
Sergei M. Eisenstein's docu-drama about the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. Made ten years after the events and edited in Eisenstein's 'Soviet Montage' style, it re-enacts in celebratory terms several key scenes from the revolution.
It has an average vote of 6.865 on TMDB.
