The Essential Watchlist Similar Cinematic Experiences to The Barber...

Dir: Viking Eggeling

A tilted figure, consisting largely of right angles at the beginning, grows by accretion, with the addition of short straight lines and curves which sprout from the existing design. The figure vanishes and the process begins again with a new pattern, each cycle lasting one or two seconds. The complete figures are drawn in a vaguely Art Deco style and could be said to resemble any number of things, an ear, a harp, panpipes, a grand piano with trombones, and so on, only highly stylized. The tone is playful and hypnotic.

Dir: Unknown Director

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Lest We Forget perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Edwin J. Collins

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Lotte Reiniger

A handsome prince rides a flying horse to faraway lands and embarks on magical adventures, which include befriending a witch, meeting Aladdin, battling demons and falling in love with a princess.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Samson and Delilah perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Unknown Director

Blake plays the neoclassical piece on the piano. The highest notes failed to record in this seminal experiment with synchronized sound.

Dir: Lee De Forest

The Ben Bernie and All the Lads band, featuring pianist Oscar Levant, perform songs by Vincent Youmans and George Gershwin in a short film produced in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Adventures of Prince Achmed perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Unknown Director

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Unknown Director

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Eubie Blake Plays His Fantasy on Swanee River perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Dudley Murphy

In Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre visual symphony, the desperate young lovers, Youth and Love try to evade Death's cold grip, as the terrible Black Plague devastates Spain.

Dir: Dave Fleischer

Ko-Ko the clown and Fitz the Dog lead the audience in an early follow-the-bouncing-ball sing-along.