L’uomo meccanico
NO RATING: PARTIALLY LOST FILM Partially lost Italian silent sci-fi action comedy from 1921, notable for being the first feature film to revolve around a robot. Comedy superstar André Deed […]
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Janne Wass
Algol
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (6/10) Sci-fi inspired melodrama with political undertones, this 1920 film is an early, but slightly clumsy, example of German expressionism. Occasionally stunning visuals and camera work are hampered by […]
Melchiad Koloman
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (2/10) Czechoslovakia’s first science fiction film, and one of its earliest domestically produced feature-length films, this 1920 production brings together a mad scientist, a spiritualist and a Japanese businessman […]
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (8/10) In a career-defining role as Jekyll/Hyde screen legend John Barrymore elevates this 1920 adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel from a run-of-the-mill potboiler to a minor masterpiece. Barrymore’s […]
The Master Mystery
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (4/10) In a nutshell: This 1919 serial starring Harry Houdini is fast-paced, action-packed and well filmed, and features the first robot in a lengthy American feature. A thin, repetitive […]
The Ghost of Slumber Mountain
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (6/10) This 1918 short by stop-motion wizard Willis O’Brien and Herbert M. Dawley is probably the first film to describe time travel, and is a showcase for their marvellous […]
A Trip to Mars
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (7/10) Himmelskibet, released in 1918, is he first serious movie to deal with a trip to a distant planet. Poetically filmed and featuring lavish Martian designs, this Danish space […]
