Best 1910s Movies
Ranked by how strongly each film carries the visual signature of 1910s cinema — measured across 1,458 indexed frames from 21 films, against a 408,752-frame catalogue baseline. Not by box office, and not by vote.
1910s films over-index on military cap, soldiers and soldier — the objects that make the genre recognisable before a line is spoken.
- 1
Paths of Glory (1957)
Stanley KubrickDP Georg KrauseIMDb 8.4TMDB 8.3See in full on FrameThrower →
The futility and irony of the war in the trenches in WWI is shown as a unit commander in the French army must deal with the mutiny of his men and a glory-seeking general after part of his force falls back under fire in an impossible attack.
- 2
Edward BergerDP James FriendIMDb 7.8TMDB 7.7See in full on FrameThrower →
Felix Kammereras Paul Bäumer
Albrecht Schuchas Stanislaus 'Kat' Katczinsky
Aaron Hilmeras Albert Kropp
The story follows teenagers Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, who voluntarily enlist in the German army, riding a wave of patriotic fervour that quickly dissipates once they face the brutal realities of life on the front. Paul's preconceptions about the enemy and the rights and wrongs of the conflict soon crumble. However, amid the countdown to Armistice, Paul must carry on fighting until the end, with no purpose other than to satisfy the top brass' desire to end the war on a German offensive.
- 3
Sam MendesDP Roger DeakinsIMDb 8.2TMDB 8.0See in full on FrameThrower →
George MacKayas Lance Corporal Schofield
Dean-Charles Chapmanas Lance Corporal Blake
Mark Strongas Captain Smith
April 1917, the Western Front. Two British soldiers are sent to deliver an urgent message to an isolated regiment. If the message is not received in time the regiment will walk into a trap and be massacred. To get to the regiment they will need to cross through enemy territory. Time is of the essence and the journey will be fraught with danger.
- 4
Dersu Uzala (1975)
Akira KurosawaDP Asakazu NakaiIMDb 8.2TMDB 7.9See in full on FrameThrower →
A Russian army explorer who is rescued in Siberia by a rugged Asian hunter renews his friendship with the woodsman years later when he returns as the head of a larger expedition. The hunter finds that all of his nature lore is of no help when he accompanies the explorer back to civilization.
- 5
Legends of the Fall (1994)
Edward ZwickDP John TollIMDb 7.5TMDB 7.4See in full on FrameThrower →
In early twentieth century Montana, Colonel William Ludlow (Sir Anthony Hopkins) lives in the wilderness with his sons, Tristan (Brad Pitt), Alfred (Aidan Quinn), and Samuel (Henry Thomas). Eventually, the unconventional, but close-knit, family encounters tragedy when Samuel is killed in World War I. Tristan and Alfred survive their tours of duty, but, soon after they return home, both men fall for Samuel's gorgeous fiancée, Susannah (Julia Ormond), and their intense rivalry begins to destroy the family.
- 6
The Last Emperor (1987)
Bernardo BertolucciDP Vittorio StoraroIMDb 7.7TMDB 7.6See in full on FrameThrower →
This sweeping account of the life of Pu-Yi, the last emperor of China, follows the leader's tumultuous reign. After being captured by the Red Army as a war criminal in 1950, Pu-Yi recalls his childhood from prison. He remembers his lavish youth in the Forbidden City, where he was afforded every luxury but unfortunately sheltered from the outside world and complex political situation surrounding him. As revolution sweeps through China, the world Pu-Yi knew is dramatically upended.
- 7
Wonder Woman (2017)
Patty JenkinsDP Matthew JensenIMDb 7.3TMDB 7.2See in full on FrameThrower →
Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when a pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers and her true destiny.
- 8
Mary Poppins (1964)
Robert StevensonDP Edward ColmanIMDb 7.8TMDB 7.5See in full on FrameThrower →
When Jane and Michael Banks are faced with the prospect of a new nanny, they are pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the magical Mary Poppins. Embarking on a series of fantastical adventures with he and her Cockney performer friend, Bert, they try to pass on some of her sunny attitude to their preoccupied parents.
- 9
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
David LeanDP Freddie YoungIMDb 7.9TMDB 7.5See in full on FrameThrower →
During the Russian Revolution, Dr. Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif) is a young doctor who has been raised by his aunt and uncle following his father's suicide. Yuri falls in love with beautiful Lara Guishar (Julie Christie), who has been having an affair with her mother's lover, Victor Komarovsky (Rod Steiger), an unscrupulous businessman. Yuri, however, ends up marrying his cousin, Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin). But when he and Lara meet again years later, the spark of love reignites.
- 10
Jules and Jim (1962)
François TruffautDP Raoul CoutardIMDb 7.7TMDB 7.5See in full on FrameThrower →
In pre-WWI Paris, two friends, Jules (Austrian) and Jim (French), fall in love with the same woman, Catherine. But Catherine loves and marries Jules. When they meet again in Germany after the war, Catherine starts to love Jim - This is the story of three people in love, a love that doesn't affect their friendship, and about how their relationship evolves with the years.
What 1910s films are made of
How much more often each element appears in a 1910s frame than in an average frame from the catalogue. A ratio, not a share — military cap is not in most frames, it is simply far more common here than anywhere else.
- military cap11.0×
- soldiers10.7×
- soldier10.3×
- mud9.8×
- peaked cap9.5×
- military uniform7.5×
- straw hat6.6×
- rifle4.4×
How 1910s films are shot
Weaker signals than the objects above, and worth saying so: most dramatic genres skew dark and night-heavy, so these numbers separate 1910s from the catalogue far more than they separate it from its neighbours.
- 29%widevs 20% baseline
- 15%closeupvs 21% baseline
- 53%dayvs 42% baseline
- 85%eye levelvs 69% baseline
What breaks the pattern
The Phantom of the Opera (2004) is the least typical film here — it carries the least of what the rest of this list is made of. Which is either a failure of the genre label, or the most interesting film on the page.
Method
Every frame in the FrameThrower catalogue is tagged for shot size, lighting, time of day, camera angle, colour and the objects visible in it. This page aggregates those tags across 1,458 frames from 21 films carrying the 1910s label, and compares each figure to the same measurement across the whole catalogue (408,752 frames). Films are ranked by how closely they match the theme’s over-indexed elements, weighted by how distinctive each element is; one film per series. Only films with at least 20 indexed frames and 500 TMDB votes are listed.
Machine-readable: /api/list/1910s
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