Advertise on podcast: The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever

Laura Horak, Professor of Film Studies at Carleton University, is the author of Girls Will Be Boys: Cross-Dressing Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema. Therefore, most of the conversation addresses the transgression, or lack thereof, of films that depicted such changes in dress, a rich topic represented by four of her five picks. Laura is also the director of the Transgender Media Lab and Transgender Media Portal. She is co-curator of the 99-film Bluray set Cinema’s First Nasty Women and co-editor of Silent Cinema and the Politics of Space and Unwatchable. Films and resources mentioned: The Red Girl and the Child (1910) - James Young DeerThe Girl Spy Before Vicksburg (1910) - Sidney OlcottThe House with Closed Shutters (1910) - D.W. GriffithLe Rembrandt de la Rue Lepic (1910) - Jean DurandThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadWhite Fawn’s Devotion (1910) - James Young DeerThe Fabelmans (2022) - Steven SpielbergThe General (1926) - Buster Keaton and Clyde BruckmanThe Sealed Room (1909) - D.W. GriffithHamlet: The Drama of Vengeance (1921) - Svend Gade and Heinz SchallMotion Picture Paradise: A History of Florida’s Film and Television Industry - David MortonThe American Girl Goes to War: Women and National Identity in U.S. Silent Film - Liz ClarkeDanish Silent Film

David Morton, Lecturer at the University of Central Florida, is the author of Motion Picture Paradise: A History of Florida’s Film and Television Industry. With this expertise in mind, the opening of the conversation covers the American film industry’s halting migration to the southern state, but moves on to American migrations to other locations and censored films. David received his Ph.D. in Texts and Technology in 2019 from University of Central Florida in 2019. He was a 2017-18 recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship and served as a visiting scholar at the Centre for Cinema and Media Studies at Ghent University. Films and resources mentioned: Ramona (1910) - D.W. GriffithJeffries-Johnson World’s Championship Boxing Contest (1910) - unknownThe Lad from Old Ireland (1910) - Sidney OlcottThe White Slave Trade (1910) - August BlomFrankenstein (1910) - J. Searle DawleyIn Old California (1910) - D.W. GriffithCreature from the Black Lagoon (1954) - Jack ArnoldMank (2020) - David FincherBroken Blossoms (1919) - D.W. GriffithBen Hur (1907) - Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes RoseAn Irish Honeymoon (1911) - Sidney OlcottMississippi Burning (1988) - Alan ParkerPsycho (1998) - Gus Van SantThe White Slave Trade (1910) - Alfred CohnThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadTaken (2008) - Pierre MorelFrankenstein (2025) - Guillermo del ToroFrankenstein (1931) - James WhaleDracula (1931) - Tod BrowningThe Crowd (1928) - King VidorSunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) - F.W. MurnauEarly American Cinema in Transition: Story, Style and Filmmaking - Charlie KeilA Century of Dishonor: A Sketch of the United States Government’s Dealings with Some of the Indian Tribes - Helen Hunt JacksonAt the Picture Show: Small-town Audiences and the Creation of Movie Fan Culture - Kathy Fuller-SeeleyThe O’Kalem Collection: Two Views - Michael Patrick GillespieMovie-Struck Girls: Women and Motion Picture Culture after the Nickelodeon - Shelley StampDanish, But Not Lutheran: The Impact of Mormonism on Danish Cultural Identity, 1850–1920 - Julie Allen

Ned Thanhouser is president of Thanhouser Company Film Preservation and grandson of film pioneers Gertrude and Edwin Thanhouser. It makes sense, then, that he and Tristan discuss the founding of his family’s studio, which released its first film in 1910, but they also move on to Ned’s picks of classic literature adaptations and controversy. Ned directed the 2014 documentary The Thanhouser Studio and the Birth of American Cinema. He has been active in film preservation since 1986, produced 17 DVDs containing over 120 surviving Thanhouser films, and published Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History by Q. David Bowers. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own picks for 1910! Films mentioned: Frankenstein (1910) - J. Searle DawleyRamona (1910) - D.W. GriffithAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1910) - Edwin S. PorterThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) - Otis TurnerThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadThe Actor’s Children (1910) - Barry O’NeilThe Winter’s Tale (1910) - Barry O’NeilArrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896) - Auguste and Louis LumièreRip Van Winkle (1910) - unknownWilling Wendy to Willie (1916) - unknownFrankenstein (2025) - Guillermo del ToroThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithIntolerance (1916) - D.W. GriffithThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterAlice in Wonderland (1903) - Cecil Hepworth and Percy StowA Dog’s Love (1912) - Jack HarveyWicked (2024) - Jon M. ChuThe Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908) - Francis Boggs and Otis TurnerCinderella (1911) - George NicholsThe Cry of the Children (1912) - George NicholsThe Evidence of the Film (1913) - Lawrence Marston and Edwin Thanhouser

The start of the 1910s doesn’t quite immediately usher in the cinematic measurement that would come to rule the decade: the feature film. But proto-forms of what would become the narrative standard arise in 1910, and otherwise, exciting images, narrative experiences, and affecting displays of historical milieu can be found in the productions of the year. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top five picks for 1910! Films mentioned: The Broken Oath (1910) - Harry SolterThe Railroad Porter (1912) - William D. FosterThe Birth of a Race (1918) - John W. NobleThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithThe Actor’s Children (1910) - Barry O’NeillIn Old California (1910) - D.W. GriffithRamona (1910) - D.W. GriffithIn the Sultan’s Power (1909) - Francis BoggsThe Heart of a Race Tout (1909) - Francis BoggsThe Lad from Old Ireland (1910) - Sidney OlcottThe White Slave Trade (1910) - August BlomJeffries-Johnson World’s Championship Boxing Contest (1910) - unknownFrankenstein (1910) - J. Searle DawleyA Christmas Carol (1910) - J. Searle DawleyAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1910) - Edwin S. Porter

One of the most diverse lists of films selected for any season so far defines this brief conclusion to 1909. The unique array of selections does ultimately lead into a universal appreciation for comedy, rising above some of the efforts to “legitimize” the cinematic medium as has been discussed at the tail end of the first decade of the 20th century. Films mentioned: The Mill (1909) - Alfred MachinMr. Flip (1909) - Gilbert M. “Broncho Billy” AndersonWhy Girls Leave Home (1909) - unknownFirst International Competition for Airplanes in Brescia (1909) - unknownThe Man in the Moon (1909) -  Étienne Arnaud and Émile CohlTo Demonstrate How Spiders Fly (1909) - F. Percy SmithPrincess Nicotine; or, the Smoke Fairy (1909) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe Spider and the Butterfly (1909) - Georges MélièsA Midsummer Night’s Dream (1909) - Charles Kent and J. Stuart BlacktonThe Airship Destroyer (1909) - Walter R. Booth

Paul Flaig, Lecturer in Film Studies at University of St Andrews, wrote a stellar synthesis of disciplines with his new book Weimar Slapstick and Hollywood Comedy Transformed. While it clearly deals with a later period than 1909, he still works German and American (and French!) comedy into his picks, in addition to a sound novelty and an actuality with a connection to Franz Kafka. Paul is also the co-editor, with Katherine Groo, of New Silent Cinema and co-director, with Dora Osborne, of the German Screen Studies Network (GSSN). His writing has appeared in many journals and edited collections, including Cinema Journal, Screen, Camera Obscura, animation, and Journal of Cinema and Media Studies (JCMS). Films and resources mentioned: Klebolin Sticks to Everything (1909) - Heinrich Bolten-BaeckersThose Awful Hats (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe Happy Microbes (1909) - Émile CohlWhat Is a Flag (1909) - Alice Guy-BlachéFirst International Competition for Airplanes in Brescia (1909) - unknownRain (1929) - Mannus Franken and Joris IvensGood Glue Sticks (1907) - Georges MélièsA Sticky Woman (1906) - Alice Guy-BlachéL'Arroseur Arrosé (1895) - Louis LumièreAt the Crossroads of Life (1908) - D.W. GriffithMiller’s Crossing (1990) - Joel and Ethan CoenFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile CohlBrains Repaired (1911) - Émile CohlThe Yawner (1907) - Segundo de ChomónPrincess Nicotine; or, the Smoke Fairy (1909) - J. Stuart BlacktonDaddy-Long-Legs (1919) - Marshall NeilanOriginal Films of Frank B. Gilbreth (1910-1924) - Frank B. GilbrethBad Film Histories: Ethnography and the Early Archive - Katherine Groo“Women's Hats and Silent Film Spectatorship: Between Ostrich Plume and Moving Image” - Maggie HennefeldEmile Cohl, Caricature, and Film - Donald CraftonKafka Goes to the Movies DVD setKafka Goes to the Movies - Hanns ZischlerMotion Study: A Method for Increasing the Efficiency of the Workman - Frank Gilbreth

Yuki Irikura, Assistant Professor at Waseda University, mostly selects D.W. Griffith films for her 1909 list, reflecting the director’s growing powers and appeal. She concludes, however, with old-school tricks and the debut of Japan’s first film star. Yuki’s research focuses on Japanese and American silent film history. She earned her Ph.D. in February 2024 with a dissertation on Bluebird Photoplays, examining the company’s production of five-reel feature films, their popularity in Japan, and the contributions of the company’s female filmmakers and actresses. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1909! Films mentioned: Those Awful Hats (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe Country Doctor (1909) - D.W. GriffithLines of White on a Sullen Sea (1909) - D.W. GriffithWhimsical Illusions (1909) - Georges MélièsGoban Tadanobu (1909) - Shôzô MakinoA Corner in Wheat (1909) - D.W. GriffithTrue Heart Susie (1919) - D.W. GriffithThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsThe Wizard of Oz (1939) - Victor FlemingHugo (2011) - Martin ScorseseMetropolis (1927) - Fritz LangJiraiya the Hero (1921) - Shôzô MakinoOrochi (1925) - Buntarō Futagawa

Kathy Fuller-Seeley, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, studied early cinema audiences with her book At the Picture Show: Small Town Audiences and the Creation of Movie Fan Culture. Since then, her research interests have ranged to radio and back again to mid-1910s film history, and her interests similarly weave back and forth from morbid drama and eye-popping tricks. Kathy also produced the Blu-ray release Francis Ford: The Craving plus Three Shorts. She is co-author, with Frank Thompson, of the upcoming book The First Movie Studio in Texas: Gaston Méliès’ Star Film Ranch. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top picks for 1909! Films and resources mentioned: The Sealed Room (1909) - D.W. GriffithA Corner in Wheat (1909) - D.W. GriffithPrincess Nicotine; or, the Smoke Fairy (1909) - J. Stuart BlacktonA Trip to Jupiter (1909) - Segundo de ChomónThe Mill (1909) - Alfred MachinThe Cry of the Children (1912) - George NicholsThe Fabelmans (2022) - Steven SpielbergThe Haunted Hotel (1907) - J. Stuart BlacktonThe Haunted House (1907) - Segundo de ChomónThe Movie Orgy (1968) - Joe DanteThe Craving (1918) - Francis FordThe Phantom Carriage (1921) - Victor SjöströmSherlock Jr. (1924) - Buster KeatonThe One Man Band (1900) - Georges MélièsThe Devilish Tenant (1909) - Georges MélièsA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsExcursion to the Moon (1908) - Segundo de ChomónThe Cowboy Millionaire (1909) - Francis Boggs and Otis TurnerScreening Out the Past: The Birth of Mass Culture and the Motion Picture Industry - Lary MayThe Red Rooster Scare: Making Cinema American, 1900-1910 - Richard AbelFulton HistoryBefore Mickey: The Animated Film 1898-1928 - Donald Crafton

Author and scholar Donald Crafton wrote Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898-1928, a defining work of early animation history. Yet with the exception of one example from a filmmaker much discussed in that book and especially his other Emile Cohl, Caricature, and Film, his picks range into the live action territory of editing innovations alongside the still-surviving tradition of trick films and actualities. Donald also wrote on the transition from silent cinema to sound production in The Talkies: American Cinema’s Transition to Sound, 1926-1931. Since retiring, he has written a play, Winsor and Gertie, that has been produced in Europe and the U.S, and which he has recently adapted as a feature-length screenplay. Films and resources mentioned: The Lonely Villa (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe Spider and the Butterfly (1909) - Georges MélièsA Trip to the White Seas Fisheries (1909) - Joe RosenthalDick Is Not Dead (1909) - unknownThe Man in the Moon (1909) -  Étienne Arnaud and Émile CohlThe Scarlet Drop (1918) - John FordThe Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithHugo (2011) - Martin ScorseseCyrano de Bergerac (1923) -  Augusto GeninaBaron Munchausen’s Dream (1911) - Georges MélièsSlippery Jim (1909) - Segundo de ChomónWild and Woolly (1917) - John EmersonUn Chien Andalou (1929) - Luis BuñuelFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile CohlWomen Film Pioneers Project

Paddy Adamson, Associate Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of St Andrews, recently published his monograph Projecting America: The Epic Western and National Mythmaking in 1920s Hollywood. While this particular research interest is represented by one pick, albeit through a Danish interpretation of the genre, the rest of his picks showcase film comedy as it was interpreted in France, Italy, America, and beyond. Paddy is also editor of Open Screens and Film Journal. His research on 1920s Westerns has appeared in journals including Film History. Films mentioned: Slippery Jim (1909) - Segundo de ChomónThe Curtain Pole (1909) - D.W. GriffithHappy New Year! (1909) - Arrigo FrustaThe Two Gold Diggers (1909) - Viggo LarsenWhy Girls Leave Home (1909) - unknownA Corner in Wheat (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe Lonely Villa (1909) - D.W. GriffithA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsThe Cowboy Millionaire (1909) - Francis Boggs and Otis TurnerThe Millionaire Cowboy (1913) - unknownThe Red Man’s View (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe House of Cards (1909) - Edwin S. PorterThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterThe Hazards of Helen (1914-1917) - J.P. McGowan and J. Gunnis DavisThe Kiss (1929) - Jacques FeyderThe Goddess (1934) - Wu YonggangNew Women (1935) - Cai CushengWhy Girls Leave Home (1913) - C.J. Williams

The end of the first decade of the 20th century is a fitting time to reflect on the monumental changes facing the cinematic medium and the global industry that supported it in 1909. As this season will demonstrate, with an extremely diverse array of guest picks that features the least amount of overlap for the show so far, established genres and techniques, which are effective and pleasurable, coexist with the exciting refinement of composition, effects, narratives, and screen acting. Films mentioned: Hiawatha (1909) - William V. RanousDisinherited Son’s Loyalty (1909) - Fred J. BalshoferIn the Sultan’s Power (1909) - Francis BoggsThe Heart of a Race Tout (1909) - Francis BoggsPippa Passes; or, The Song of Conscience (1909) - D.W. Griffith

The introduction to this 1908 season addressed the elephant in the room: D.W. Grififth’s directorial debut. However, even though he came up quite a bit in the five conversations, his films didn’t dominate the selections (yet), and the heterogeneity of the picks makes for an eclectic viewing experience to represent 1908. Films mentioned: Get Me a Stepladder (1908) - unknownUnterm Paraplui Nr. 87 (1908) - unknownThe Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithThe Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) - Charles le Bargy and André CalmettesThe Last Days of Pompeii (1908) - Arturo Ambrosio and Luigi MaggiRescued from an Eagle’s Nest (1908) - J. Searle DawleyThe Electric Hotel (1908) - Segundo de ChomónThe Haunted House (1908) - Segundo de ChomónFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile Cohl

Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa, Associate Professor of Film and Media at Seattle University, focuses his research on the history of scientific filmmaking, nontheatrical film, and animal studies. But except for a couple of intriguing threads related to this work, his selections branch out and revel in spectacle and fantasy. Ben is the author of The Celluloid Specimen: Moving Image Research into Animal Life. He is currently working on two other book projects, tentatively titled Against Encounter: The Problem of Organicism in Animal Documentary and Beastly Futures: Rightwing Animal Aesthetics in the 21st Century. Films mentioned: The Grateful Mice (1908) - Giovanni VitrottiLegend of a Ghost (1908) - Segundo de ChomónThe Harvest (1908) - unknownThe Frog (1908) - Segundo de ChomónThe Electric Hotel (1908) - Segundo de ChomónSinners (2025) - Ryan CooglerGrandma’s Reading Glass (1900) - George Albert SmithThe Great Mouse Detective (1986) - John Musker, Ron Clements, Dave Michener, and Burny MattinsonMaximum Overdrive (1986) - Stephen KingExcursion to the Moon (1908) - Segundo de ChomónA Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges MélièsUnder the Skin (2013) - Jonathan GlazerThe Dancing Pig (1907) - unknownThe War and the Dream of Momi (1917) - Segundo de Chomón

Donald Sosin has been composing and performing silent film music since 1971. His experience playing at major festivals all over the world, often with his wife, singer/percussionist Joanna Seaton, informs the milestone in film music that is one of his picks, in addition to the rhythm of fluid animation and classic tales. Donald and Joanna record for Criterion, Kino, Milestone, Flicker Alley and European labels. Their website is oldmoviemusic.com. Films mentioned:The Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithThe Taming of the Shrew (1908) - D.W. GriffithFantasmagorie (1908) - Émile CohlStenka Razin (1908) - Vladimir RomashkovThe Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) - Charles le Bargy and André CalmettesThe Phantom of the Opera (1925) - Rupert JulianThe Gold Rush (1925) - Charlie ChaplinThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithIntolerance (1916) - D.W. GriffithBroken Blossoms (1919) - D.W. GriffithThe General (1926) - Buster Keaton and Clyde BruckmanThe Great Train Robbery (1904) - Siegmund LubinThe Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. PorterThe City without Jews (1924) - Hans Karl BreslauerA Night at the Opera (1935) - Sam WoodJaws (1975) - Steven SpielbergMetropolis (1927) - Fritz LangSunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) - F.W. MurnauPass the Gravy (1928) - Fred GuiolThe Diabolical Pickpocket (1908) - Segundo de ChomónHugo (2011) - Martin ScorseseRain (1929) - Mannus Franken and Joris IvensParsifal (1912) - Mario CaseriniIngomar, the Barbarian (1908) - D.W. GriffithAlexander Nevsky (1938) - Sergei EisensteinIvan the Terrible (1945) - Sergei EisensteinThe Last Days of Pompeii (1908) - Arturo Ambrosio and Luigi MaggiThe Night Before the Christmas (1913) - Ladislas StarevichThe Origin of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata (1909) - unknown

Ivo Blom, lecturer in Comparative Arts & Media Studies at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, connected, through the lens of an early film pioneer in the Netherlands, international aesthetics and film industry markets with his book Jean Desmet and the Early Dutch Film Trade. His five selections for 1908 similarly give a broad picture of filmic development in the year and period, from attempted artfulness to technological novelties. Ivo has frequently published on Italian silent film and its links to art and visual culture, resulting in his most recent monograph Quo vadis?, Cabiria and the ‘Archaeologists’: Early Italian Cinema's Appropriation of Art and Archaeology. He is also the author of Reframing Luchino Visconti and is currently involved in the research project Museum of Dream Worlds: Silent Antiquity Films in the British National Film Archive. Films and resources mentioned:The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) - Charles le Bargy and André CalmettesThe Last Days of Pompeii (1908) - Arturo Ambrosio and Luigi MaggiThe Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. GriffithLion Hunting (1908) - Viggo LarsenUnterm Paraplui Nr. 87 (1908) - unknownFantômas (1913) - Louis FeuilladeJudex (1916) - Louis FeuilladeQueen Elizabeth (1912) - Louis Mercanton and Henri DesfontainesLa dame aux camélias (1912) - André Calmettes, Louis Mercanton, and Henri PouctalThe Fall of Troy (1911) - Giovanni Pastrone and Luigi Romano BorgnettoL’Inferno (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, and Giuseppe De LiguoroFabiola (1918) - Enrico GuazzoniQuo Vadis (1913) - Enrico GuazzoniBen Hur (1907) - Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes RoseThe Last Days of Pompeii (1913) - Eleuterio RodolfiJone or the Last Days of Pompeii (1913) - Ubaldo Maria Del Colle and Giovanni Enrico VidaliWay Down East (1920) - D.W. GriffithElectrocuting an Elephant (1903) - Edwin S. Porter or Jacob Blair SmithThe Adventures of Milo and Otis (1986) - Masanori Hata and Kon IchikawaAtlantis (1913) - August BlomThe Red Rooster Scare: Making Cinema American, 1900-1910 - Richard Abel