Der Müde Tod, Fritz Lang (1921)

The English translation of the title is "Destiny." Isn't that sad? "Weary Death" would have been so much better. Here a young bride is robbed by Death of her vibrant young husband, and rather than capitulate to grief, she gets all up in Death's face and demands a chance to bring her man back to life. Death is weary of being constantly seen as the bad guy--hey, he says, I'm just doing my job!--and consents to give the young woman a chance to win her husband back from the dead. Three chances, actually, the classical number of tries given by genies and folk tales the world over, and indeed this is a thoroughly bewitching and enchanting tale from the young master Lang, made when he was barely thirty years old. Featuring lots of wonderful cutting-edge special effects, my favorite among them the ghostly parade of the dead.