A personal favorite of mine, Destiny (1921) directed by Fritz Lang.
Fritz Lang is usually considered the most prominent director to come out of the of the Weimar era, not only because he was a leader on the forefront of German expressionism, but because he was also able to transistion smoothly into talkies and specifically noirs of the 1940s/1950s such as The Big Heat (1953). This in turn also lead to him being one of the most notable directors of all time, especially for people who may just be starting out in exploring the origins of film as an art form.
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Lang emigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1933 to flee the growing Nazi regime, leaving behind his wife who had begun to sympathize with the group. Lang was of Jewish descent. Towards the end of 1932 and before his departure, he had started the filming of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse which was subsequently banned by Adolf Hitler ( whom came to power in January of β33 ) for being βan incitement to public disorderβ.
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His most notable work is Metropolis (1927), which along with the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, directed by Robert Wiene) stand as landmarks of Weimar film. While these are both very captivating films and encapture a movement in its prime, I first watched Destiny maybe about a year ago. The visuals of the film are incredibly haunting and beautiful, and Iβve found myself very surprised that as far as Iβm aware, it hadnβt received much recognition. In all honesty, the only reason I stumbled upon it was because it is one of two silent movies left on Netflix ( they used to have tons? ) but it is also available on YouTube! I can say that this movie is perhaps my favorite Weimar and is a strong contender for my favorite silent as a whole, 10/10 recommend.
