In order to better my film knowledge and gain a better handle on how different techniques have progressed throughout history, I’ve decided to start watching the essential films from every decade, starting with the silent films of the 1900’s and moving forward. From this day forward, I’ll only be watching films in chronological order based on the decade in which they came out (with the exception of movies that come out in theaters, of course).

I don’t know how long this will take me to get through, but I’m incredibly excited to learn about the history of cinema and how much it has changed throughout the ages. It is my hope that, by the time I finish this list, I will have a better understanding of film history, technical and narrative techniques, and the many other facets that go into creating movies.

I’ll try to keep some sort of a running diary on this, though I don’t know how thorough I’ll be (maybe break it down by decade?). 

If you have any suggestions for films I should watch, please feel free to share. The whole point of this is to learn as much about film and how it has changed and effected people through the years as possible and I’d love to hear your suggestions and stories as to what film films have effected you and why.

So, without further ado…

Here goes nothing!