The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever

Tristan Ettleman

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever features experts and enthusiasts and, well, their favorite films of every year ever. Host Tristan Ettleman sits down with a new guest every week to dive into the history and beauty of some of the best movies to ever come out of the cinematic medium.

  1. 12/31/2025

    1909 E6 - Paul Flaig

    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

    58 min
  2. 12/17/2025

    1909 E4 - Kathy Fuller-Seeley

    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

    48 min
5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever features experts and enthusiasts and, well, their favorite films of every year ever. Host Tristan Ettleman sits down with a new guest every week to dive into the history and beauty of some of the best movies to ever come out of the cinematic medium.

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