Le Voyage dans la lune
(Georges Méliès, 1902)
Fantômas
(Louis Feuillade, 1913)
Les Vampires
(Louis Feuillade, 1915)
This early science-fiction fantasy shows some extraordinarily imaginative use of early filmmaking technique. [More...] The first great thriller series in cinema followed the dastardly exploits of master criminal Fantômas. [More...] This legendary crime thriller series shocked audiences and made Musidora a star in her role as villainous Irma Vep. [More...]
L'Atlantide
(Jacques Feyder, 1921)
Crainquebille
(Jacques Feyder, 1922)
La Roue
(Abel Gance, 1923)
Feyder's first notable film was this adaptation of Pierre Benoît’s novel, a lavish production famous for its stunning location shots of the Sahara desert and sumptuous interiors. [More...] This poignant realist comedy-drama featuring a Chaplinesque street pedler is one of Feyder's early achievements, a film of great charm and humanity. [More...] This epic romantic drama is sustained by Abel Gance's imaginative cinematic technique and an extraordinary performance from Severin-Mars. [More...]
Eldorado
(Marcel L'Herbier, 1921)
Les Trois mousquetaires
(Henri Diamant-Berger, 1921)
La Fille de l'eau
(Jean Renoir, 1925)
L’Herbier takes a plain melodrama and transforms it into an enthralling dream-like fantasy, heaving with emotional turmoil. [More...] This ambitious historical adventure series is arguably the best film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' swashbuckling novel. [More...] Not Renoir's best film, but certainly one of his most inspired, a stunningly realised romantic fantasy. [More...]
Les Misèrables
(Henri Fescourt, 1925)
Paris qui dort
(René Clair, 1925)
Visages d'enfants
(Jacques Feyder, 1925)
One of the greatest film versions of Victor Hugo's great novel, capturing the humanity, pathos and scale of the literary classic. [More...] The Eiffel Tower is the star of this early sci-fi classic, one of René Clair's weirder films. [More...] A remarkably poignant realist melodrama, in which a young boy comes to terms with the death of his beloved mother. [More...]
Nana
(Jean Renoir, 1926)
Le Joueur d'échecs
(Raymond Bernard, 1927)
Napoléon
(Abel Gance, 1927)
This lavish adaptation of an Emile Zola novel virtually ruined its director but is now regarded as one of his early masterpieces. [More...] This spectacular historical drama is one of the triumphs of early French cinema, and makes some powerful statements on the futility of war. [More...] Often cited as the greatest film ever made in France, this epic portrayal of the early career of Napoleon Bonaparte is a paean to French nationalism. [More...]
L'Argent
(Marcel L'Herbier, 1928)
Chute de la maison Usher
(Jean Epstein, 1928)
Coquille et le clergyman
(Germaine Dulac, 1928)
With its lavish Art Deco sets, this monumental adaptation of Emile Zola's novel provides cinema's most powerful condemnation of the sin of speculation. [More...] Edgar Allen Poe’s famous ghost story is brought to life in this haunting surreal horror film, the crowning glory of Jean Epstein's career. [More...] A bizarrely surreal conjuration of a holy man's unholy thoughts, one of cinema's most baffling works. [More...]
Passion de Jeanne d'Arc
(Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)
Chapeau de paille d'Italie
(René Clair, 1928)
Le Capitaine Fracasse
(Alberto Cavalcanti, 1929)
This definitive account of Joan of Arc's trial is a film with a rare emotional intensity and searing humanity. [More...] Arguably the greatest French comic film of the silent era is this hilarious adaptation of Labiche’s celebrated play. [More...] Perhaps the best film adaptation of Théophile Gautier's well-known novel is this stylish early work from Cavalcanti. [More...]
Monte Cristo
(Henri Fescourt, 1929)
Mystères du château Dé
(Man Ray, 1929)
Un chien andalou
(Luis Buñuel, 1929)
This epic adaptation of Dumas' classic novel is a work of breathtaking ambition realised with immense skill and humanity. [More...] A bizarre but utterly fascinating surreal short whose meaning seems to change drastically with every viewing. [More...] This perplexing mélange of unrelated images, which include a novel approach to eye surgery, launched the career of cinema's greatest surrealist filmmaker. [More...]
       

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