My top 10 for every year.
Will be including more if I refuse to cut certain films.
All screencaps were done by me.
Pre-1910
10. The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ [Ferdinand Zecca Lucien Nonguet, 1903] France
09. The Witch [Georges Méliès, 1906] France
08. The ‘Teddy’ Bears [Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter, 1907] USA
07. The Dancing Pig [?, 1907] France
06. The Pearl Fisherman [Ferdinand Zecca, 1907] France
05. Corner in Wheat [D.W. Griffith, 1909] USA
04. The House of Ghosts [Segundo de Chomón, 1907] France
03. The Impossible Voyage [Georges Méliès, 1904] France
02. Legend of a Ghost [Segundo de Chomón, 1908] France, Spain
01. A Trip to the Moon [Georges Méliès, 1902] France
1910-1911
10. White Fawn’s Devotion: A Play Acted by a Tribe of Red Indians in America [James Young Deer, 1910] USA
09. Frankenstein [J. Searle Dawley, 1910] USA
08. Hasher’s Delirium [Émile Cohl, 1910] France
07. The Unchanging Sea [D. W. Griffith, 1910] USA
06. Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics [Winsor McCay, J. Stuart Blackton, 1911] USA
05. The Last Drop of Water [D. W. Griffith, 1911] USA
04. The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen [Georges Méliès, 1911] France
03. Banks of the Nile [Charles Urban, 1911] UK
02. The Abyss [Urban Gad, 1910] Denmark
01. L’Inferno [Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, 1911] Italy
1912-1913
10. The Film Primadonna [Urban Gad, 1913] Germany, Denmark
09. The Mystery of the Kador Cliffs [Léonce Perret, 1912] France
08. The Land Beyond the Sunset [Harold M. Shaw, 1912] USA
07. The Conquest of the Pole [Georges Méliès, 1912] France
06. The Cameraman’s Revenge [Wladyslaw Starewicz, 1912] Russian Empire
05. The Mothering Heart [D.W. Griffith, 1913] USA
04. Atlantis [August Blom, 1913] Denmark
03. Suspense. [Lois Weber, 1913] USA
02. Superstition Andalouse [Segundo de Chomón, 1912] France, Spain
01. L’Enfant de Paris [Léonce Perret, 1913] France
1914
10. A Florida Enchantment [Sidney Drew] USA
09. The Avenging Conscience: or “Thou Shalt Not Kill” [D.W. Griffith] USA
08. Kid Auto Races at Venice [Henry Lehrman] USA
07. Mabel’s Strange Predicament [Mabel Normand] USA
06. Laughing Gas [Charles Chaplin] USA
05. His Prehistoric Past [Charles Chaplin] USA
04. Tillie’s Punctured Romance [Mack Sennett, Charles Bennett] USA
03. Cabiria [Giovanni Pastrone] Italy
02. The Mysterious X [Benjamin Christensen] Denmark
01. Blue Blood [Nino Oxilia] Italy
1915
10. The Cheat [Cecil B. DeMille] USA
09. The Bank [Charlie Chaplin] USA
08. Hypocrites [Lois Weber] USA
07. Assunta Spina [Francesca Bertini, Gustavo Serena] Italy
06. After Death [Yevgeni Bauer] Russia
05. A Night in the Show [Charles Chaplin] USA
04. The Tramp [Charles Chaplin] USA
03. Regeneration [Raoul Walsh] USA
02. The Italian [Reginald Barker] USA
01. The Birth of a Nation [D.W. Griffith] USA
1916
10. Fatty and Mabel Adrift [Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle] USA
09. The End of the World [August Blom] Denmark
08. The Floorwalker [Charlie Chaplin] USA
07. The Fire [Giovanni Pastrone] Italy
06. The Dumb Girl of Portici [Phillips Smalley, Lois Weber] USA
05. The Fireman [Charlie Chaplin] USA
04. Behind the Screen [Charles Chaplin] USA
03. Tigre Reale [Giovanni Pastrone] Italy
02. Shoes [Lois Weber] USA
01. Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages [D.W. Griffith] USA
1917
10. The Torture of Silence [Abel Gance] France
09. Coney Island [Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle] USA
08. The War and the Dream of Momi [Segundo de Chomón, Giovanni Pastrone] Italy
07. The Dying Swan [Yevgeni Bauer] Russia
06. Rapsodia Satanica [Nino Oxilia] Italy
05. The Adventurer [Charles Chaplin] USA
04. The Cure [Charles Chaplin] USA
03. The Immigrant [Charles Chaplin] USA
02. Easy Street [Charles Chaplin] USA
01. A Man There Was [Victor Sjöström] Sweden
1918
10. The Cook [Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle] USA
09. Les enfants de France et de la guerre [Henri Desfontaines] France
08. The Blue Bird [Maurice Tourneur] USA
07. How to Make Movies [Charles Chaplin] USA
06. Shoulder Arms [Charles Chaplin] USA
05. I Don’t Want to Be a Man [Ernst Lubitsch] Weimar Republic
04. The Rose of Rhodesia [Harold M. Shaw] South Africa
03. A Trip to Mars [Holger-Madsen] Denmark
02. The Outlaw and His Wife [Victor Sjöström] Sweden
01. A Dog’s Life [Charles Chaplin] USA
1919
10. Behind the Door [Irvin Willat] USA
09. Back Stage [Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle] USA
08. Sir Arnes Treasure [Mauritz Stiller] Sweden
07. The Doll [Ernst Lubitsch] Weimar Republic
06. Different from the Others [Richard Oswald] Weimar Republic
05. Broken Blossoms [D.W. Griffith] USA
04. South [Frank Hurley] Australia, UK
03. Nerves [Robert Reinert] Weimar Republic
02. The Grey Automobile [Enrique Rosas] Mexico
01. J’Accuse! [Abel Gance] France
