As we enter 2026, film enthusiasts can celebrate an exciting milestone. Some of the finest films of the silent era turn 100 this year. Just before the talkie revolution, masters like Buster Keaton, F.W. Murnau, and others gave us phenomenal, envelope-pushing cinema that is studied even today.
Through their works, these filmmakers invented techniques that involved breathtaking stunts, thrilling visuals, and animation. Sound and certain visual limitations did not stop them from making movies across genres, including horror, thrillers, comedy, and drama.
With their exceptional and pathbreaking movies, filmmaking as a medium evolved and entered the talkie era with numerous captivating voices ready to tell their stories.
Let’s take a look at seven of the finest films from the year 1926, which turn 100 years old this year.
Seven Great Films Turning 100 In 2026
Here is a list of seven incredible films from the year 1926. The list is not in order of preference.
1. The General
Directed by Buster Keaton
‘The General’ (1926)Credit: United Artists
Often considered Keaton’s boldest feature, The General is set during the American Civil War. It follows a railroad engineer who loves his locomotive called ‘The General’. After the engineer’s fiancée is kidnapped by Union spies, he chases the stolen train and hunts for her beyond enemy lines. The movie features jaw-dropping stunts that can make us wonder, even today, how Keaton and his crew must have pulled them off. It blends action, comedy, and drama without losing sight of the historical details.
2. A Page of Madness
Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa
‘A Page of Madness’ (1926)Credit: New Line Cinema
This film is set inside a mental asylum where a retired sailor turned janitor tends to his institutionalized wife, who had drowned their children. The janitor plots her escape. The movie features bold depictions of visions, hallucinations, and riots. It’s frequently surrealistic imagery creates a world of psychological dread and terror. The film is a masterclass in experimentation during the silent era.
3. Mother
Directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin
‘Mother’ (1926)Credit: Amkino Corporation
Based on Maxim Gorky’s novel, Mother is set during the 1905 Russian Revolution. It creates a brilliant portrait of the motherhood of a woman who is torn between her abusive husband and her son, who joins the striking workers. Eventually, the mother gets politicized by revolutionary ideals.
With this film, Pudovkin blends ideological questioning with the emotional fragility of human relations. It is considered a landmark film in Soviet cinema history.
4. 3 Bad Men
Directed by John Ford
‘3 Bad Men’ (1926)Credit: Fox Film Corporation
Directed by the revered filmmaker who made Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), and many other great films, 3 Bad Men is a film set during the Dakota Black Hills gold rush. It is a story of three outlaws who rescue a young woman. The film features stunning landscapes and spectacular action scenes that grew even more popular with Ford’s later films. While the movie is a visual treat, its story isn’t short of deep character observations and moral complexity.
5. Ménilmontant
Directed by Dimitri Kirsanoff
‘Ménilmontant’ (1926)Credit: Sélections Maurice Roumier (original distribution)
This film is set in Paris’s working-class district called Ménilmontant. It follows two sisters who lose their parents to a brutal murder and grow up having to fend for themselves. The film observes themes of betrayal, tragedy, and separation. It has a strong emotional core that doesn’t diminish even when the story enters a more haunting phase. The ending is surprisingly violent, tragic, and powerful. In retrospect, the lack of words makes it even more terrifying.
6. Faust
Directed by F.W. Murnau
‘Faust ‘(1926)Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Made by one of the finest directors of the era, Faust is a film about a scholar’s pact with the demonic Mephisto. It’s a stunning visual fantasy that blends horror, romance, and tragedy with the use of pathbreaking visual effects. It daringly explores themes of temptation and salvation. Many consider this film to be F.W. Murnau’s masterpiece.
7. The Adventures of Prince Achmed
Directed by Lotte Reiniger
‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’ (1926)Credit: University Arts Foundation
In this cut-out animation film, a sorcerer tricks Prince Achmed and sends him into distant lands. Achmed battles demons and teams up with Aladdin to rescue a beautiful princess. The duo overcame multiple obstacles to return home triumphantly. The film is renowned for its visual mastery. It is a lesser-known fact that this film predates Disney’s first feature animation film by more than a decade.
Summing It Up
A hundred years on, we look back on these phenomenal works of art for their relentlessly bold explorations that pushed the medium of film to what it is today. Every generation of filmmakers has benefited from the boundaries pushed by those before them. Each one of these films never allowed its lack of resources to hinder its craft.
Which is your favorite film from the silent era? Tell us in the comments.