not sure where to start? i’ve got you covered!
1) filibus (1915) — The mysterious air pirate Filibus steals from the rich and then retreats to the safety of her airship, which is manned by a staff of mask-wearing lackeys who instantly obey her every command. When an esteemed detective sets out to investigate the thefts, Filibus attempts to frame him as the burglar, while also slipping between male and female disguises to romance the detective's sister.
2) die puppe (1919) — The misadventures of an effete young man who must get married in order to inherit a fortune. He opts to purchase a remarkably lifelike doll and marry it instead, not realizing that the doll is actually the dollmaker’s flesh-and-blood daughter in disguise.
3) das cabinet des dr caligari (1920) — Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.
4) nosferatu (1922) — The mysterious Count Orlok summons a happily married real estate agent to his castle, located up in the Transylvanian mountains, to finalise a terrifying deal.
5) sherlock jr (1924) — A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meager skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.
6) he who gets slapped (1924) — After a baron steals his scientific discoveries, runs away with his wife, and slaps him in public, a man joins a Parisian circus sideshow as a clown whose act consists of being slapped repeatedly and becomes infatuated with a showgirl colleague whose father intends to marry her off to the baron.
7) flesh and the devil (1926) — When lifelong best friends Leo and Ulrich return home after completing their military training, Leo meets the stunning Felicitas at a railway station and is mesmerized by her beauty. A scandal follows, for which Leo is sent away. Returning home three years later, he discovers that much has changed.
8) sparrows (1926) —Molly, the eldest child of a group of orphans being used as slaves on a farm hidden deep in a swamp, must rescue the others when their cruel master decides that one of them will be disposed of.
9) sunrise: a song of two humans (1927) — A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.
10) children of divorce (1927) — A young flapper tricks her childhood sweetheart into marrying her. He really loves another woman, but didn't marry her for fear the marriage would end in divorce, like his parents'. Complications ensue.
11) metropolis (1927) — In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
12) the mysterious lady (1928) — A beautiful Russian spy seduces an Austrian military officer in order to obtain secret plans. When she falls in love with him, both are placed in danger.
13) the circus (1928) — Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.
14) la passion de jeanne d’arc (1928) — A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.
15) our dancing daughters (1928) — A flapper who's secretly a good girl and a gold-digging floozy masquerading as an ingénue both vie for the hand of a millionaire.
NB: the links take you to the respective youtube videos
the synopses are taken from letterboxd
those in bold are of particular cultural significance
