The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever

Tristan Ettleman
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Film History
  • Updated Weekly

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. 6d ago

    1913 E6 - Charlie Keil

    Charlie Keil, Professor in the Cinema Studies Institute and the Department of History at the University of Toronto, is the author of Early American Cinema in Transition. His periodization of the transitional era, as explored in that book, ends with 1913 and his take on the traits of the time and how it shifts from the beginning of the period in 1907 defines the conversation. Charlie has also published seven other books, the most recent being The Oxford Handbook of Silent Cinema, coedited with Rob King. His next book will be Observing Film Art: Themes from the Work of David Bordwell, co-edited with Murray Smith, and due December 2026. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1913! Films and resource mentioned: Traffic in Souls (1913) - George Loane TuckerSuspense (1913) - Lois Weber and Phillips SmalleyDeath’s Marathon (1913) - D.W. GriffithThe Mothering Heart (1913) - D.W. GriffithThe Evidence of the Film (1913) - Lawrence Marston and Edward ThanhouserThe Story the Biograph Told (1904) - Wallace McCutcheon, Sr.Judith of Bethulia (1914) - D.W. GriffithThe Lonely Villa (1909) - D.W. GriffithThe Physician of the Castle (1908) - unknownMad Max: Fury Road (2015) - George MillerThelma and Louise (1991) - Ridley ScottCitizen Kane (1941) - Orson WellesIngeborg Holm (1913) - Victor SjöströmFantômas (1913) - Louis FeuilladeFalling Leaves (1912) - Alice Guy-BlachéAmerican Cinema’s Transitional Era: Audiences, Institutions, Practices - Charlie Keil and Shelley Stamp, eds.

  2. Jul 8

    1913 E5 - Paul Gagliardi

    Paul Gagliardi, Teaching Associate Professor of English at Marquette University, selects almost entirely comedy shorts for his 1913 highlights, although they connect with his proto-expressionist feature pick in that they all contain morbid underbellies. And diving into the comic commentary of these works, intended or not, reflects a few things about audience reception to movies and politics of the time. Paul is the author of All Play and No Work: The Comic Plays of the Federal Theatre Project. His website is paul-gagliardi.com. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1913! Films and resources mentioned: A House Divided (1913) - Alice Guy-BlachéThe Student of Prague (1913) - Stellan RyeFatty Joins the Force (1913) - George NicholsCohen Saves the Flag (1913) - Mack SennettMabel’s Dramatic Career (1913) - Mack SennettThe Brutalist (2024) - Brady CorbetThe Jazz Singer (1927) - Alan CroslandSherlock Jr. (1924) - Buster KeatonThe Battle of Gettysburg (1913) - Charles Giblyn and Thomas InceMy Dinner with Andre (1981) - Louis MalleBy the Sea (1915) - Charlie ChaplinThe Cook (1918) - Roscoe ArbuckleMabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco (1915) - Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel NormandThe Round-Up (1920) - George MelfordNosferatu (1922) - F.W. MurnauFaust (1926) - F.W. MurnauGrease (1978) - Randal KleiserThe Power and the Glory: The History of the World Cup - Jonathan Wilson

  3. Jul 1

    1913 E4 - Michael Gebert

    Michael Gebert is the founder and co-moderator of NitrateVille, the online discussion site about vintage films of the silent era through the 1950s. Looking ahead to the advancements soon to come, his selections of almost all features demonstrate editing and performance style shifts, which branched off in slightly different ways in countries like America, France, and Sweden. Michael is host of the NitrateVille Radio podcast, which talks to people doing "cool stuff" in the world of vintage film, from authors and filmmakers to the curators of retrospectives and festivals. He is also a food journalist in Chicago and the author of The Chicago Way: An Oral History of Chicago Dining. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1913! Films and resources mentioned: Ingeborg Holm (1913) - Victor SjöströmGerminal (1913) - Albert CapellaniThe Child of Paris (1913) - Léonce PerretTraffic in Souls (1913) - George Loane TuckerMabel’s Dramatic Career (1913) - Mack SennettThe Squaw Man (1914) - Cecil B. DeMilleThe Cheat (1915) - Cecil B. DeMilleThe Conquest of the Pole (1912) - Georges MélièsThe Searchers (1956) - John FordSammy’s Scandalous Scheme (1915) - Gilbert P. HamiltonThe Extra Girl (1923) - F. Richard JonesUncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show (1902) - Edwin S. PorterAlias Jimmy Valentine (1915) - Maurice TourneurThe Blue Bird (1918) - Maurice TourneurThe Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England (1914) - Maurice TourneurThe Miracle Man (1919) - George Loane TuckerMetropolis (1927) - Fritz LangSuspense (1913) - Lois Weber and Phillips SmalleyThe Lonely Villa (1909) - D.W. GriffithWeapons (2025) - Zach CreggerBreathless (1960) - Jean-Luc GodardThe Mystery of the Rocks of Kador (1912) - Léonce PerretLes Vampires (1915) - Louis FeuilladeTih Minh (1918) - Louis FeuilladeFantômas (1913) - Louis FeuilladeThe Strike (1904) - Ferdinand ZeccaLes misérables (1912) - Albert CapellaniLes misérables (1925) - Henri FescourtLes misérables (1934) - Raymond BernardA Man There Was (1917) - Victor SjöströmThe Gardener (1912) - Victor SjöströmThe Phantom Carriage (1921) - Victor SjöströmGirl with Hyacinths (1950) - Hasse EkmanThe Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. GriffithThe Magician (1926) - Rex IngramThe Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) - Rex IngramCecil B. DeMille’s Hollywood - Robert S. BirchardCinema’s First Nasty WomenPordenone 2025 Report - Michael GebertThe Origins of FilmMaurice Tourneur: Weaver of Dreams - Christine LeteuxGeorge Loane Tucker: The First of the Immortals - Frank Thompson

  4. Jun 24

    1913 E3 - Julie K Allen

    Julie K. Allen, professor of Comparative Arts and Letters at Brigham Young University, is the author of Screening Europe in Australasia. So it makes sense that her selections, each from a different country, would embody the transnational dynamic of silent film just before the outbreak of World War I. Julie is also the author of Icons of Danish Modernity, Danish but Not Lutheran, and The Silent Muse: The Memoirs of Asta Nielsen. She is currently working on a book about the Danish cinema license system with the tentative title The Cultural Politics of Film Exhibition. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1913! Films and resources mentioned: Quo Vadis (1913) - Enrico GuazzoniAtlantis (1913) - August BlomFantômas (1913) - Louis FeuilladeTraffic in Souls (1913) - George Loane TuckerThe Suffragette (1913) - Urban GadThe Abyss (1910) - Urban GadWhat 80 Million Women Want (1913) - Will LouisLes misérables (1912) - Albert CapellaniNick Carter, le roi des détectives (1908) - Victorin-Hippolyte JassetLes Vampires (1915) - Louis FeuilladeJudex (1916) - Louis FeuilladeSaved from the Titanic (1912) - Étienne ArnaudDestiny (1921) - Fritz LangThe Phantom Carriage (1921) - Victor SjöströmBlind Justice (1916) - Benjamin ChristensenSealed Orders (1914) - Benjamin ChristensenHäxan (1922) - Benjamin ChristensenTitanic (1997) - James CameronNero (1909) - Luigi Maggi and Arturo AmbrosioL’Inferno (1911) - Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, and Giuseppe De LiguoroPink-Slipped: What Happened to Women in the Silent Film Industries? - Jane Gaines

  5. Jun 17

    1913 E2 - Shelley Stamp

    This is the 100th episode and just two weeks past the second anniversary of The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever! It’s a special episode made even more so by Shelley Stamp, Distinguished Professor of Film & Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She literally wrote the book on Lois Weber so it makes sense that pioneering filmmaker’s landmark 1913 film factors into the conversation, but all of Shelley's picks reflect the rapid development of American film grammar and stand in for women’s representation in front of and behind the camera, as well as their fights for equality in “real life.” Shelley is also the author of Movie-Struck Girls: Women and Motion Picture Culture after the Nickelodeon. She curated the award-winning box set Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1913! Films mentioned: What 80 Million Women Want (1913) - Will LouisTraffic in Souls (1913) - George Loane TuckerA House Divided (1913) - Alice Guy-BlachéSuspense (1913) - Lois Weber and Phillips SmalleyThe Adventures of Kathlyn (1913) - Francis J. GrandonHypocrites (1915) - Lois WeberThe Perils of Pauline (1914) - Louis J. Gasnier and Donald MacKenzieThe Hazards of Helen (1914) - J.P. McGowan and J. Gunnis DavisThe Exploits of Elaine (1914) - Louis J. Gasnier, George B. Seitz, Leopold Wharton, and Theodore WhartonWhat Happened to Mary (1912) - Ashley Miller and Charles BrabinFantômas (1913) - Louis FeuilladeThe Lonely Villa (1909) - D.W. GriffithShoes (1916) - Lois WeberThe Merchant of Venice (1914) - Lois Weber and Phillips SmalleyThe Consequences of Feminism (1906) - Alice Guy-BlachéMaking an American Citizen (1912) - Alice Guy-BlachéMatrimony’s Speed Limit (1913) - Alice Guy-BlachéFalling Leaves (1912) - Alice Guy-BlachéIn the Hands of Impostors (1911) - August BlomA Busy Day (1914) - Charlie ChaplinYour Girl and Mine (1914) - Giles R. Warren

  6. Jun 10

    1913 E1 - A Milestone Year?

    1913 is considered by many to be a milestone year in the development of film grammar and industry. And it perhaps is, as is set up by this context-setting introduction and the conversations with guests to come for this season! Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1913! Films mentioned: The Adventures of Kathlyn (1913) - Francis J. GrandonWhat Happened to Mary (1912) - Ashley Miller and Charles BrabinFantômas (1913) - Louis FeuilladeTraffic in Souls (1913) - George Loane TuckerThe Artist’s Dream (1913) - John Randolph BrayThe Evidence of the Film (1913) - Lawrence Marston and Edwin ThanhouserSuspense (1913) - Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley

  7. Jun 3

    1912 E7 - The Ol' Power Players Hang in There

    Although the 1912 season introduction asserted that “Hollywood was incoming,” the top picks for the year (fueled by a record number of submissions from guests!) is mostly made up of old power players, even if that power would recede in short order. Indeed, both that dynamic and the fact that all of the most popular selections are shorts may change in the near future! Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to see the list of every film submitted for 1912! Films mentioned: The Cameraman’s Revenge (1912) - Wladyslaw StarewiczThe Land Beyond the Sunset (1912) - Harold M. ShawHow a Mosquito Operates (1912) - Winsor McCayThe Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) - D.W. GriffithThe Conquest of the Pole (1912) - Georges MélièsCleopatra (1912) - Charles L. GaskillFrom the Manger to the Cross (1912) - Sidney OlcottDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912) - Lucius Henderson

  8. May 27

    1912 E6 - Paul (PT) Klein

    Film historian and cultural critic Paul (PT) Klein’s work focuses on American filmgoing cultures. So even when discussing his sole foreign pick, the conversation dives into audience reception to his selections, then and now, in addition to the various aesthetic strengths of each of his movies. PT’s writing has appeared in Film Atlas, Film Matters, Foglifter, Metro Weekly, and more. His work can be found at ptklein.com. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your top five for 1912! Films and resources mentioned: The Girl and Her Trust (1912) - D.W. GriffithThe Grit of the Girl Telegrapher (1912) - J.P. McGowanAlgie the Miner (1912) - Alice Guy-BlachéThe Invaders (1912) - Francis Ford and Thomas InceIn Night and Ice (1912) - Mime MisuSunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) - F.W. MurnauThe Lonedale Operator (1911) - D.W. GriffithThe Hazards of Helen (1914) - J.P McGowan and J. Gunnis DavisBrokeback Mountain (2005) - Ang LeeWild and Woolly (1917) - John EmersonThe Wild Bunch (1969) - Sam PeckinpahThe Searchers (1956) - John FordStagecoach (1939) - John FordRichard III (1912) - André Calmettes and James KeaneCleopatra (1912) - Charles L. GaskillQueen Elizabeth (1912) - Louis Mercanton and Henri DesfontainesSaved from the Titanic (1912) - Étienne ArnaudTitanic (1997) - James CameronHollywood Remaking: How Film Remakes, Sequels, and Franchises Shape Industry and Culture - Kathleen LoockGirls Will Boys: Cross-Dressed Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema, 1908-1934 - Laura Horak

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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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