47. The Jazz Singer (1927)
Not the first 'talkie' but the first feature length Hollywood talkie with spoken word sequences. Jazz legend, Al Jolson is the star of the film, bursting into song and the audiences loved it. Its legacy is well-known and it has been remade numerous times including one such time in 1980 by Neil Diamond and Laurence Olivier. The film is exceptionally well structured and the central character played by Al Jonson is intriguing and complex and the film expresses some interesting themes. The Jazz Singer is one purely for cinephiles as much of it has not aged well, and it may not be the greatest or most entertaining film of all time but it changed cinema forever.
46. Metropolis (1927)
Metropolis' humongous shadow peers over everything from Blade Runner to the work of David Fincher. It's a riveting watch and despite being made in 1927 is still up there with the greatest sci-fi movies of all time such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Silent Running and Twelve Monkeys. Fritz Lang created something extraordinary and all of it without the perks of modern technology. An epic sci-fi movie would have been unheard of in the 1920's and the directors' skill here cannot be overstated enough. Because of its age, not enough people have seen it and large portions of the film are lost because of the German censors. It was misunderstood at its time of release and even panned by HG Wells. Joseph Goebbles, on the other hand, loved it. Not just one of the greatest achievements of the silent era, one of the greatest cinematic achievements in history.
45. Steamboat Willie (1928)
It may have only been 8 minutes long, but Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie was a groundbreaking and innovative work. It is an early glimpse into Disney's ingenuity and the debut of the most well-known cartoon character of all time. To this day, Steamboat Willie is one of the greatest animated shorts of all time, standing the all-important test of time. As sound had arrived to cinema by 1928, Steamboat Willie was loved by audiences who were astounded by the expert synchronisation of screen and music. It is a simplistic film and there is no real story of note, just a series of random happenings, but it works and is incredibly engaging to this day.