The Best German Expressionism Movies Ever Made
“What are the best German Expressionism Movies?” We looked at 81 of the top German Expressionism films, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 21 films, all appearing on 3 or more “Best German Expressionism” movie lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 50+ movies, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Happy Scrolling!
Top 21 Best German Expressionism Movies Ever Made
21 .) Genuine: The Tragedy of a Vampire (1920) directed by Robert Wiene
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- MUBI
- Wikipedia
Genuine (original German title: Genuine, die Tragödie eines seltsamen Hauses; literally: Genuine, the tragedy of a strange house) is a 1920 silent horror film from director by Robert Wiene (the same year he directed Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari). It was also released as Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire. The film’s sets were designed by the Expressionist painter César Klein.
20 .) Pandora’s Box (1929) directed by G. W. Pabst
Lists It Appears On:
- List Challenges
- Sporcle
- Taste Of Cinema
Lulu is a young woman so beautiful and alluring that few can resist her siren charms. The men drawn into her web include respectable newspaper publisher Dr. Ludwig Schön, his musical producer son Alwa, circus performer Rodrigo Quast and Lulu’s seedy old friend, Schigolch. When Lulu’s charms inevitably lead to tragedy, the downward spiral encompasses them all.
19 .) The Man Who Laughs (1928) directed by Paul Leni
Lists It Appears On:
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Wikipedia
Gwynplaine, son of Lord Clancharlie, has a permanent smile carved on his face by the King, in revenge for Gwynplaine’s father’s treachery. Gwynplaine is adopted by a travelling showman and becomes a popular idol. He falls in love with the blind Dea. The king dies, and his evil jester tries to destroy or corrupt Gwynplaine.
18 .) The Student of Prague (1935) directed by Arthur Robison
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- Sporcle
Prague in the 1860s: Balduin is a popular, handsome student, the best fencer in town, in amicable rivalry with his friend Dahl for the affections of Lydia, the innkeeper’s niece. While the students are celebrating Lydia’s birthday, the opera singer Julia Stella arrives at the inn – and Balduin’s life begins to unravel. He is immediately infatuated with the glamorous singer – but she is already kept by an admirer, the wealthy and foppish Baron Waldis. How can a poor student hope to compete? The mysterious Dr. Carpis, who also has ties to Julia and is jealous of the Baron, intervenes. But the price will be higher than Balduin can ever imagine. He risks his sanity and his life – perhaps his very soul – haunted by his own reflection. ×
17 .) Destiny (1921) directed by Fritz Lang
Lists It Appears On:
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Taste Of Cinema
- Wikipedia
As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and is sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman finds a mystic entrance and is met by Death, who tells her three separate stories set in exotic locales, all involving circumstances similar to hers. In each story, a woman, trying to save her lover from his ultimate tragic fate, fails. The young lady realizes the meaning of the tales and takes the only step she can to reunite herself with her lover. ×
16 .) From Morn to Midnight (1920) directed by Karl Heinz Martin
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- MUBI
- Wikipedia
A cashier in a bank in a small German town is alerted to the power of money by the visit of a rich Italian lady. He embezzles 60, 000 Marks and leaves for the capital city, where he attempts to find satisfaction in politics, sport, love and religion.
15 .) Nerves (1919) directed by Robert Reinert
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- Wikipedia
“In Nerven, writer-director-producer Robert Reinert tried to capture the “nervous epidemic” caused by war and misery which “drives people mad”. This unique portrait of the life in 1919 Germany, filmed on location in Munich, describes the cases of different people from all levels of society: Factory owner Roloff who looses his mind in view of catastrophies and social disturbances, teacher John who is the hero of the masses and Marja who turns into a radical revolutionary. Using different fragments the Munich Film Museum could reconstruct this forgotten German classic which is a historic document and anticipates already elements of the Expressionist cinema of the 1920s. …Nerves” ×
14 .) The Hands of Orlac (1924) directed by Robert Wiene
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- MUBI
- Wikipedia
A world-famous pianist loses both hands in an accident. When new hands are grafted on, he is horrified to learn they once belonged to a murderer.
13 .) Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) directed by Fritz Lang
Lists It Appears On:
- CineCollage
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- Mooky Chick
- MUBI
Arch-criminal Dr. Mabuse, who is a master of disguise and has been hypnotising people into doing his bidding, sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him.
12 .) Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) directed by F. W. Murnau
Lists It Appears On:
- CineCollage
- Mooky Chick
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- What Culture
A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.
11 .) Waxworks (1924) directed by Leo Birinsky
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Wikipedia
A poet is hired by the owner of a wax museum in a circus to write tales about Harun al Raschid, Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper. While writing, the poet and the daughter of the owner, Eva, fantasize the fantastic stories and fall in love for each other.
10 .) Phantom (1922) directed by F.W. Murnau
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Sporcle
- Wikipedia
Lorenz Lubota is a city clerk with no direction in life. One day on his way to work he is run over by a woman driving a chariot and he is immediately infatuated with her.
9 .) The Student of Prague (1913) directed by Paul Wegener
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- MUBI
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- Taste Of Cinema
- Wikipedia
A poor student rescues a beautiful countess and soon becomes obsessed with her. A sorcerer makes a deal with the young man to give him fabulous wealth and anything he wants, if he will sign his name to a contract. The student hurriedly signs the contract, but doesn’t know what he’s in for.
8 .) Warning Shadows (1923) directed by Arthur Robison
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Taste Of Cinema
During a dinner given by a wealthy baron and his wife, attended by four of her suitors in a 19th century German manor, a shadow-player rescues the marriage by giving all the guests a vision what might happen tonight if the baron stays jealous and the suitors do not reduce their advances towards his beautiful wife. Or was it a vision?
7 .) The Last Laugh (1924) directed by F.W. Murnau
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- Taste Of Cinema
- Wikipedia
An aging doorman, after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious Hotel is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbours and society.
6 .) Faust (1926) directed by F.W. Murnau
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- Mooky Chick
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- Sporcle
- What Culture
- Wikipedia
God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist.
5 .) The Golem: How He Came Into the World (1920) directed by Carl Boese
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- Taste Of Cinema
- The Culture Trip
- Wikipedia
In the 16th century, the Jews of Prague face persecution. Rabbi Loew creates a giant golem out of clay, to protect the people. This film should not be confused with director Paul Wegener’s with Henrik Galeen 1915 mostly lost film The Golem (Der Golem) which was his first film to explore the myth.
4 .) M (1931) directed by Fritz Lang
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- Mooky Chick
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- Taste Of Cinema
- The Cinemaholic
- The Culture Trip
- What Culture
- Wikipedia
In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert’s heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.
3 .) Nosferatu (1922) directed by F.W. Murnau
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- Mooky Chick
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- Sporcle
- Taste Of Cinema
- The Culture Trip
- What Culture
- Wikipedia
Vampire Count Orlok is interested in a new residence and in his real estate agent’s young wife. F. W. Murnau’s unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”
2 .) Metropolis (1927) directed by Fritz Lang
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- Mooky Chick
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- Sporcle
- Taste Of Cinema
- The Cinemaholic
- The Culture Trip
- What Culture
- Wikipedia
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
1 .) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) directed by Robert Wiene
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- Mooky Chick
- MUBI
- Open Culture
- Sporcle
- Taste Of Cinema
- The Cinemaholic
- The Culture Trip
- What Culture
- Wikipedia
Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. It is the annual fair in Holstenwall. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep. When Alan asks Cesare about his future, Cesare answers that he will die before dawn. The next morning Alan is found dead. Francis suspects Cesare of being the murderer, and starts spying on him and Dr. Caligari. ×
The 50+ Additional Best German Expressionism Films
| # | Movies | Directors | Lists |
| 22 | Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924) | Yakov Protazanov | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 23 | Algol | MUBI | |
| – | – | – | Wikipedia |
| 24 | Crime and Punishment (1923) | Robert Wiene | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 25 | Schatten (Warning Shadows) | Sporcle | |
| – | – | – | Wikipedia |
| 26 | The Cat and the Canary | MUBI | |
| – | – | – | Wikipedia |
| 27 | The Chronicles of the Gray House (1925) | Arthur von Gerlach | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 28 | The City Without Jews (1924) | H.K. Breslauer | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 29 | The Student of Prague (1926) | BFI | |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 30 | The Three Lights (1921) | Fritz Lang | IMDB |
| – | – | – | IMDB 2 |
| 31 | The Wildcat (1921) | Ernst Lubitsch | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 32 | Vampyr | MUBI | |
| – | – | – | Wikipedia |
| 33 | Aguirre | The Cinemaholic | |
| 34 | Ali: Fear Eats the Soul | R. W. Fassbinder | The Cinemaholic |
| 35 | Asphalt | Wikipedia | |
| 36 | Das Boot | Wolfgang Peterson | The Cinemaholic |
| 37 | Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari | CineCollage | |
| 38 |
Das Wachsfigurenkabinett (Wax Works)
|
Sporcle | |
| 39 |
Der Golem, How He Came into the World
|
Sporcle | |
| 40 | Der Letzte Mann (The Last Laugh) | Sporcle | |
| 41 | Der Mude Tod | Sporcle | |
| 42 | Der Schatz | CineCollage | |
| 43 | Die Libenlungen (Siegfried) | Sporcle | |
| 44 | Die Nibelungen | Wikipedia | |
| 45 | Die Straße (1923) | Karl Grune | IMDB |
| 46 | Downfall | Oliver Hirschbiegel | The Cinemaholic |
| 47 | Dr. Mabuse der Spieler | CineCollage | |
| 48 |
Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler – Part 2: Inferno – A Game of People of Our Time (1922)
|
List Challenges | |
| 49 | Earth Spirit | MUBI | |
| 50 | F. W. Murnau | CineCollage | |
| 51 | Head-On | Fatih Akin | The Cinemaholic |
| 52 | Last Laugh (1924) | What Culture | |
| 53 | New Year’s Eve | Wikipedia | |
| 54 | Orlacs Hände | CineCollage | |
| 55 | Panic in the House of Ardon | Wikipedia | |
| 56 | Pappa ante Portas | Vicco von Bulow | The Cinemaholic |
| 57 | Power (1920) | Hans Werckmeister | IMDB |
| 58 | Raskolnikow | Wikipedia | |
| 59 | Run Lola Run | Tom Tykwer | The Cinemaholic |
| 60 | Secrets of a Soul | MUBI | |
| 61 | Shattered | Wikipedia | |
| 62 | Spione | CineCollage | |
| 63 | Tartuffe | Wikipedia | |
| 64 | The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) | What Culture | |
| 65 | The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser | Werner Herzog | The Cinemaholic |
| 66 | The Lives of Others | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | The Cinemaholic |
| 67 | The Man Who Cheated Life (1926) | Henrik Galeen | IMDB |
| 68 | The Mandarin | MUBI | |
| 69 | The Overcoat | MUBI | |
| 70 | The Phantom Hour | Wikipedia | |
| 71 | The Street | MUBI | |
| 72 | The Testament of Dr. Mabuse | MUBI | |
| 73 | The Treasure | Wikipedia | |
| 74 | The White Ribbon | Michael Haneke | The Cinemaholic |
| 75 | Toni Erdmann | Maren Ade | The Cinemaholic |
| 76 | Torgus | MUBI | |
| 77 | Unheimliche Geschichten | MUBI | |
| 78 | Vanina | MUBI | |
| 79 | Vanina oder Die Galgenhochzeit (1922) | Arthur von Gerlach | IMDB |
| 80 | Variety (1925) | BFI | |
| 81 | Wings of Desire | Wim Wenders | The Cinemaholic |
14 Best German Expressionism Film Sources/Lists
| Source | Article |
| BFI | 10 great German Expressionist films |
| CineCollage | cineCollage :: German Expressionism |
| IMDB | Best German Expressionism Movies |
| IMDB 2 | BEST WORKS OF GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST CINEMA |
| List Challenges | German Expressionism |
| Mooky Chick | German expressionist cinema – a beginner’s guide |
| MUBI | German Expressionism: The World of Light and Shadow |
| Open Culture | 10 Great German Expressionist Films: From Nosferatu to The Cabinet |
| Sporcle | Famous German Expressionism Films 1919-1930 Quiz Stats |
| Taste Of Cinema | 10 Essential Films For An Introduction To German Expressionist Cinema |
| The Cinemaholic | 15 Best German Movies of All Time |
| The Culture Trip | Top 5 German Expressionist Films |
| What Culture | 8 Essential German Expressionism Films You Must See |
| Wikipedia | Category:German Expressionist films |
