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 […]
Homunculus
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (8/10) A huge success upon its release, this German 1916 6-part epic film series follows the exploits of the soulless supervillain Homunculus, a creature created by science, as he […]
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (5/10) The first actual adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic novel is in fact two novels in one. This American 1916 film has impressive early underwater photography and great props […]
