10. Greed (1924)
Erich von Stroheim's 1924 epic is often considered the greatest "lost" film ever made. Although several versions of Greed still exist, the original cut has been lost and it is often referred to as the Holy Grail for film historians. The two hour cut that remains is still considered one of the greatest silent films and has had a huge impact on later filmmaking. Taking the form of a Greek tragedy, Greed tells the story of a dentist named McTeague whose wife wins the lottery. Consumed by envy, he kills her, steals the money, and goes on the run with the climactic scene taking place in Death Valley. Von Stroheim was obsessed with making the film as realistic as possible, McTeague's dentist office is an actual dentist office that allowed them to film there, a scene that takes place in a mineshaft takes place in an actual mineshaft, and Stroheim's overbearing insistence on shooting in Death Valley almost lead to mutiny from his filmcrew. Although it was not appreciated by his crew, or understood by contemporary critics, Von Stoheim's strategy brought out a feeling of intensity in the actors that few other silent films reached. Despite flopping upon its release and receiving putrid reviews, the legacy of the film has grown over the years. It broke ground in technological areas such as deep-focus and montage editing but its most lasting influence might be on the directors who watched it; Jean Renoir called it the "film of all films" and directors as wide ranging as Sergie Eisenstein and Christopher Nolan have expressed their admiration for it.