Every Decade Of Cinema - Ranked

Notable films: Metropolis; The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; The General; The Phantom of the Opera; Nosferatu; Battleship Potemkin; The Gold Rush; The Man Who Laughs; Nanook of the North.

This was the era of horror, rom-coms, and swashbuckling adventure. This was the era of Charlie Chaplin, Lon Chaney, Buster Keaton, Greta Garbo, and Joan Crawford.

In the twenties, Hollywood was still in its infancy, but had started branching out, trying to attract an international audience. Hollywood films had gone from short "two-reelers" to full-length features, a style - as previously mentioned - that was pioneered by D.W. Griffith.

It was during this era that the Studio System emerged, with MGM and Paramount leading the pack, financially. Other notable studios were 20th Century Fox, United Artists, Warner Bros, and Universal. The twenties also saw the rise of Picture Palaces, large urban theaters complete with orchestras.

Talkies were developed between 1926 and 1927, allowing filmmakers to focus more on dialogue and less on physicality. Of course, the addition of sound gave rise to musicals.

Another touchstone: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was formed in 1927.