‘Best film of the 20th century’ is a 1924 ‘masterpiece’ | Films | Entertainment

Deciding what the greatest film of the 20th century is will always cause arguments among movie fans. Every generation seems to have its own favourites. And even today, film lovers still debate which older movies deserve to be called true masterpieces.

And while many people would point towards films like Citizen Kane, Casablanca or The Godfather, one silent movie from more than 100 years ago continues to receive huge praise from critics and viewers. The film has been described as one of the greatest achievements in cinema history despite originally being released back in 1924.

And for many movie fans, Greed remains the best film of the 20th century.

The silent psychological drama currently holds a 96% critics score and a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film was written and directed by Erich von Stroheim and was based on Frank Norris’s 1899 novel McTeague.

It stars Gibson Gowland as dentist Dr John McTeague alongside ZaSu Pitts and Jean Hersholt.

One person said in a review: “I loved this film and am so very impressed by its engaging story and brilliant storytelling through the skills of director van Stroheim. This is a must see for any true film buff. It’s a masterpiece.”

Another added: “Best film of the 20th century and nothing comes close.”

A third wrote: “The best, GREATEST movie ever made! With the best movie character ever portrayed: Gibson Gowland as Dr. John McTeague!”

Someone else commented: “Truly a masterpiece! It’s an unforgettable cinematic experience.”

The story follows McTeague, a San Francisco dentist whose life slowly falls apart after greed, jealousy and obsession begin to destroy his marriage and friendships.

The movie became famous for its realism and the extreme lengths taken during production.

Unlike many films from the 1920s, Greed was filmed almost entirely on location rather than on studio sets.

Scenes were shot across San Francisco, the Sierra Nevada mountains and Death Valley.

The final sequences filmed in Death Valley became particularly difficult for the cast and crew, with many becoming ill because of the extreme heat.

Von Stroheim originally filmed around 85 hours of footage and created a version of the movie which reportedly lasted more than nine hours.

But the studio later cut the film down heavily against the director’s wishes, leaving the final released version at around two-and-a-half hours long.

Only a handful of people are believed to have ever seen the full original version before it was lost.

Despite struggling at the box office when it first came out, the film’s reputation grew over the following decades.

By the 1950s, many critics and filmmakers were calling it one of the greatest movies ever made.

In 1991, Greed was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry because of its cultural and historical importance.

Greed can be rented or bought on Prime Video.