One of the earliest titles on the list, from a year that also saw The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Penalty. While Caligari’s visuals are surreal, this film uses its wild set design for a more classical storytelling. Paul Wegener directs and stars in an enduring example of German Expressionist horror, based on an ancient Jewish myth. A mystical rabbi brings a monster to life in a bid to save Prague’s Jews from the Holy Roman Empire. The sometimes wild special effects are strange and unnerving. Like F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Wegener’s film is a darkly toned fantasy that exerted a powerful influence over cinema going forward. James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) the most obvious example of Der Golem’s visual and thematic legacy.
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