Best Silent French Films

Le Voyage dans la lune (1902)

This early science-fiction fantasy shows some extraordinarily imaginative use of early filmmaking technique.

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Fantômas (1913)

The first great thriller series in cinema followed the dastardly exploits of master criminal Fantômas.

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Les Vampires (1915)

This legendary crime thriller series shocked audiences and made Musidora a star in her role as villainous Irma Vep.

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L'Atlantide (1921)

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.

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Crainquebille (1922)

This poignant realist comedy-drama featuring a Chaplinesque street pedler is one of Feyder's early achievements, a film of great charm and humanity.

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La Roue (1923)

This epic romantic drama is sustained by Abel Gance's imaginative cinematic technique and an extraordinary performance from Severin-Mars.

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Eldorado (1921)

L'Herbier takes a plain melodrama and transforms it into an enthralling dream-like fantasy, heaving with emotional turmoil.

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Les Trois mousquetaires (1921)

This ambitious historical adventure series is arguably the best film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' swashbuckling novel.

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La Fille de l'eau (1925)

Not Renoir's best film, but certainly one of his most inspired, a stunningly realised romantic fantasy.

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Nana (1926)

This lavish adaptation of an Emile Zola novel virtually ruined its director but is now regarded as one of his early masterpieces.

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Le Joueur d'échecs (1927)

This spectacular historical drama is one of the triumphs of early French cinema, and makes some powerful statements on the futility of war.

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Napoléon (1927)

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.

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Monte Cristo (1929)

This epic adaptation of Dumas' classic novel is a work of breathtaking ambition realised with immense skill and humanity.

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Mystères du château Dé (1929)

A bizarre but utterly fascinating surreal short whose meaning seems to change drastically with every viewing.

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Un chien andalou (1929)

This perplexing mélange of unrelated images, which include a novel approach to eye surgery, launched the career of cinema's greatest surrealist filmmaker.

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