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PODCAST

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever

Tristan Ettleman

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever features experts and enthusiasts and, well, their favorite films of every year ever. Host Tristan Ettleman sits down with a new guest every week to dive into the history and beauty of some of the best movies to ever come out of the cinematic medium.

tv & film film history

All Episodes

41:59

1905 E6 - Mary Mallory

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/06/11

Film historian and author Mary Mallory has written five books about cinematic yesteryear. With her research of past traditions and underappreciated figures in mind, Mary selects some films that reflect the intermediality of early film and its basis in stage tricks, poetry, and even postcards, while others demonstrate new cinematic inventions.Mary’s most recent book is First Women of Hollywood: Female Pioneers in the Early Motion Picture Business. She is also a lecturer for the Osher Lifelong

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47:01

1905 E5 - Chris O'Rourke

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/06/04

Chris O’Rourke, Associate Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Warwick, explores the early history of film acting, stardom and fandom in Britain up to the end of the silent era in his book Acting for the Silent Screen: Film Actors and Aspiration between the Wars. While film acting wasn’t quite a specific discipline in 1905, that distinction would arise sooner than one might think, and in the meantime, Chris’ picks explore UK innovations in editing, pace, and length, French

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62:04

1905 E4 - Scott Curtis

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/05/28

Scott Curtis, associate professor of radio/film/television and communication at Northwestern University, has published extensively on the use of moving images in scientific and medical research, education, and communication. That particular interest certainly informs most of his picks, but the conversation also includes the spectacle of sound and fantasy.Scott is the author of The Shape of Spectatorship: Art, Science, and Early Cinema in Germany. He is the former president of Domitor, the

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54:52

1905 E3 - Shawn Hall

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/05/21

Shawn Hall brings his love of silent films to new audiences through his Shawn Toks Silents TikTok account, where he is currently working his way through reviewing each movie on Silent Era’s Top 100 Silent Movies List. He stretches back a little bit further than most silent film enthusiasts, however, by exploring 1905 through films of “serious” topics and advancing forms of comedy and feel-good stories.Shawn also writes his long-form thoughts on silent cinema and early Hollywood at his blog The

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31:38

1905 E2 - Dan Willard

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/05/14

Dan Willard’s interest in film was fostered by a viewing of Eraserhead in 1977 and a number of UCLA film classes. In more recent years and reflecting the depths of his cinephilia, that has manifested in his extensive Films by the Year site and YouTube channel, which have been linked to many times in this very show’s notes (in this case, ranging from comedy and the féerie to “message films” and naturalism).Dan is also a professional musician, composer, producer, and teacher and is currently working

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3:58

1905 E1 - The Nickelodeon Boom

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/05/07

The year 1905 pops up early in many film histories to address the start of the "nickelodeon era." As past seasons have shown, the Harris brothers' Pittsburgh storefront wasn't truly the first space dedicated to showing movies, but it and others shifted the needle in forming the activity of moviegoing. This season and its guests address the unification of the global "trade" of filmmaking and the changing aesthetics that supported that.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top

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6:05

1904 E7 - An Awkward Year

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/04/23

This season’s conversations about film in 1904 often turned to the “awkwardness” of finding standout titles and defining the most representative developments in the art, business, and reception of cinema. Nevertheless, this year’s five guests presented exciting threads of potential futures that, in many ways, were resolved into the narrative model one expects a few years later.Films mentioned:Court Ladies Bathing (1904) - unknownHow a French Nobleman Got a Wife through the New York Herald Personal

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44:31

1904 E6 - Céline Ruivo

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/04/16

Film preservationist Céline Ruivo brings an eye for color and pre-cinema to her five early cinema picks for 1904. From scientific intent to fantasy, and industrialism and modernity in between, she demonstrates how an apparently unmemorable year like 1904 can still provide great insight into the art and technology of cinema at the time.Céline holds a doctorate in cinema and teaches film preservation at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). She is currently in charge of film restoration projects

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42:31

1904 E5 - Martin L Johnson

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/04/09

Martin L. Johnson, film historian and Associate Professor in English and Comparative Literature at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has literally written the book on local films in the United States. While most of his picks fit into that definition, he also brings comic chases and early filmic nudity into the conversation.Martin is also co-president of Domitor, the international society for the study of early cinema. He is currently completing a monograph on the history of the

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49:07

1904 E4 - Dimitrios Latsis

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/04/02

Dimitrios Latsis, Associate Professor in Digital and Audiovisual Preservation at the University of Alabama, has worked extensively in the fields of American visual culture, early cinema, archival studies, and digital humanities. These interests are brought into the conversation about his five eclectic picks, in addition to some “runner-ups” that paint a fuller picture of cinema in 1904.Dimitrios is the author of How the Movies Got a Past: A Historiography of American Cinema, 1894-1930. He has also

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50:07

1904 E3 - George Willeman

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/03/26

George Willeman has been the Nitrate Film Vault Leader at the Library of Congress for 41 years. Having been in love with movies as far back as he can remember, George is still constantly amazed at the discoveries found within the Library’s nitrate film collection, and his picks reflect the enthusiasm and intrigue that occur at least weekly in his role.At a young age, George got hooked on 8mm releases from the renowned Blackhawk Films company. He brought this lifelong passion to his degree in film

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42:22

1904 Ep 2 - Steve Massa

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/03/19

Film historian Steve Massa is a particular expert on silent film comedy. His five choices for 1904 certainly reflect that interest, as they feature premises and gags that can still rouse surprise, chuckles, and laughs today.Steve is the author of Lames Brains and Lunatics: The Good, the Bad, and the Forgotten of Silent Comedy and its sequel as well as many other books. He also co-hosts Silent Comedy Watch Party with Ben Model, has curated comedy film programs for institutions and festivals, and has

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3:58

1904 E1 - The Story of Narrative Continues

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/03/12

While 1904 doesn't have an iconic film like the past two seasons have each featured, that doesn't mean it doesn't have its share of worthwhile films and intriguing aspects of film history to explore. From the eve of the nickelodeon boom to expanding narrative ambitions, this season will explore both returning and new threads of the cinematic discourse of the early cinema period, from its time to now.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own picks for 1904!Films mentioned:A Trip

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6:49

1903 E7 - Editing and Otherwise

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/02/26

While one particular film was explored in-depth this season, every guest (whether they selected The Great Train Robbery or not) explored lesser known or at least lesser appreciated arenas of cinema in 1903. The myth busting, amateur spotlighting, and spectacle showcasing elements of this season's conversations make the case for the expansion of the art form in this calendar year, which may indeed deserve its special attention.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to view the full list of films

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58:37

1903 E6 - Colin Williamson

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/02/19

Colin Williamson, Assistant Professor in Cinema Studies at University of Oregon, has wide-ranging interests, including animation, special effects, and media archaeology. With these angles and more in mind, he brings a unique perspective and some myth busting to his standout films of 1903.Colin is the author of Hidden in Plain Sight: An Archaeology of Magic and the Cinema and the forthcoming Drawn to Nature: American Animation in the Age of Science. He is also currently Associate Editor at Animation:

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42:58

1903 E5 - Rob Stone

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/02/12

Film archivist and historian Rob Stone has always been interested in silent film. With his five picks, he charts evolving storytelling capabilities in the medium’s earliest days and the darker side of the fading actuality, mostly as represented by one filmmaker!Rob’s publishing company Split Reel specializes in books and other media highlighting lesser-known aspects of the entertainment industry, especially the silent era. He was also Moving Image Curator at the Library of Congress for over 15

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71:10

1903 E4 - Jay Weissberg

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/02/05

Pordenone Silent Film Festival director Jay Weissberg has facilitated an array of programs that expand the canonical ideas about what was made in the silent era and what can be appreciated now. With his picks (which he stretches a bit past five with two more must-sees), he showcases international, amateur, and aesthetic ambitions in 1903.Jay also worked as a film critic for 18 years with Variety and contributes essays for a host of festivals, retrospective catalogues, and international publications

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42:14

1903 E3 - Bruce Calvert

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/01/29

Silent film historian Bruce Calvert has been collecting silent film memorabilia for 30 years, showcased on his site The Silent Film Still Archive. He shares his story of how he came to develop this interest and addresses how supporting materials can help us understand how incomplete, missing, and even fully surviving movies were made, seen, and received.Bruce is also a moderator of the classic film discussion site NitrateVille.Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five

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72:46

1903 E2 - Neil Brand

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/01/22

Neil Brand has been a silent film accompanist for nearly 40 years. He shares his musical expertise, which also includes composing new scores for silent film re-releases, while exploring exciting threads of fantasy, comedy, and violence in his five picks.Neil regularly plays at the Barbican and BFI National Film Theatres in London and film festivals around the world. His scores include Blackmail (1929), Underground (1928), Easy Street (1917), Robin Hood (1922), and The Lodger (1927) and he is also a

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4:33

1903 E1 - The Great Film Robberies

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever ·

2025/01/15

The law (at least in America) had a significant effect on the development of film genres, aesthetics, production, and viewing practices from 1903 on. The world over, tightly run studios were becoming more and more prevalent, shifting story films further and further into the spotlight, and dedicated filmviewing spaces were cropping up. It's difficult to define any one calendar year as fundamentally shifting the development of cinema, but as guests will demonstrate, new techniques, technologies, and

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68 results

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