FilmsBy the LawLike this

Films like By the Law.

By the Law (1926) reads as Heavy, measured, extreme drama / silent, inventive in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

Arsenal (1929) poster
1. Arsenal1929

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Joyless Street (1925) poster
2. The Joyless Street1925

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Wind (Sjöström) (1928) poster
3. The Wind (Sjöström)1928

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) poster
4. Diary of a Lost Girl1929

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

M (1931) poster
5. M1931

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Monastery of Sendomir (1920) poster
6. The Monastery of Sendomir1920

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Woman of the Port (1934) poster
7. The Woman of the Port1934

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Greed (1924) poster
8. Greed1924

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922) poster
9. Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler1922

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Pandora's Box (1929) poster
10. Pandora's Box1929

Keeps the patient, unhurried pace and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

A Cottage on Dartmoor (1929) poster
11. A Cottage on Dartmoor1929

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

La Chienne (1931) poster
12. La Chienne1931

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the heightened unreality; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

These are By the Law’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

Find my film for tonight — 60 sec →