68 Historical Photographs That Help Us Understand What Life Was Like in the 1920s

#12: The Era of German Silent Cinema

In the 1920s, Germany set the standard for cinematic excellence with silent film masterpieces like Nosferatu and Metropolis, showcasing the nation’s formidable influence in film a century ago. This was a time when the magic of cinema was captured without a single word spoken, a testament to the era’s innovative spirit.

Back then, creating a feature film in Germany cost approximately $60,000, equivalent to $920,238 today, far less than the astronomical budgets of modern Marvel or Warner Bros. Discovery films. By the decade’s end, this figure soared to $130,000, or $2.4 million, when adjusted for inflation, reflecting the rapidly escalating expenses involved in movie production.