All Films

Carnaval, [VIII]

1897 • 1 min • France

Several shots of the carnival in Nice, floats and parade costumes, passing along the crowded streets.

Douche après le bain

1897 • 1 min • France

Four young people throwing buckets of water at each other.

Petit frère et petite sœur

1897 • 1 min • France

In a grove, a small boy and a small girl are dancing together.

Le goûter des bébés

1897 • 1 min • France

Baths in the Sea

1897 • 1 min • France

Swimmers jump into the water from the docks, as a small boat passes by.

Bath Scene

1897 • 1 min • Netherlands

"This view was made at the Scheveningen Baths. It shows a number of bathers enjoying themselves in the surf. Several picturesque Holland boats are moored in the background."

Boxers in Barrels

1897 • 1 min • France

Two boxers climb into barrels and proceed to pummel each other in this novelty film from the Lumières.

Hiram Maxim and His Quick-firing Gun

1897 • 1 min • United Kingdom

Hiram Maxim shows off his machine gun.

The Fraudulent Beggar

1897 • 1 min • France

A legless beggar sits in front of a church. Some people pass him by, others give him some money. Finally a flic demands his permit. The beggar hands it to hi and while it is being examined, gets up on his legs and flees.

Washerwomen on the River

1897 • 1 min • France

Women wash clothes in a washhouse on the edge of a river.

Train Entering Hove Station

1897 • 1 min • United Kingdom

Most movie fans know that the first filmmakers liked to shoot trains entering stations. This example by Sussex film pioneer George Albert Smith illustrates why. The train's rush towards the audience brings movement and visual drama. The flurry of human activity offers plenty for the audience to engage with - who are these people and where are they going? And the time pressure exerted by the fact that the train must soon depart adds narrative tension - will everyone get on and off in time?

Bocal aux poissons rouges

1897 • 1 min • France

[…] by shooting the fish in a globular bowl, the Lumières effectively use a fisheye lens, which offers distortions. The history of cinema has witnessed a struggle between the objective and subjective camera and the optically distorting lenses like the fisheye lens has been a powerful tool for the subjective camera. Here it is at the start.

Burla al marito

1897 • 1 min • Italy

The Pyramids (Overview)

1897 • 1 min • France

A view of the Great Sphinx with two of Giza's pyramids in the background. A caravan passes the scene.

D. Devant, Conjurer

1897 • 1 min • France

A man pulls a rabbit out of a hat. Available in a fragment in flipbook version only.

The Lover in the Bag

1897 • 1 min • France

A balcony courting scene turns into a man being beaten in a sack.

An Irritable Model

1897 • 1 min • France

An artist attempts to touch his model who is playing Venus. Later remade in 1900. While the film is lost, there is a new digital version based on re-creation from a flipbook produced by Léon Beaulieu around the same time.

Fencing at the Joinville School

1897 • 1 min

A fencing match. While the film is lost, there is a new digital version based on re-creation from a flipbook produced by Léon Beaulieu around the same time.

Hanging Out the Clothes

1897 • 1 min • United Kingdom

Lovers are comically interrupted

Boxing Match

1897 • 1 min • France

A kickboxing movie. While the film is lost, there is a new digital version based on re-creation from a flipbook produced by Léon Beaulieu around the same time.

A Terrible Night (Remake)

1897 • 1 min • France

Making Sausages

1897 • 1 min • United Kingdom

A butcher's crew make sausages from dogs and cats and old boots...

Snowball Fight

1897 • 1 min • France

Wintertime in Lyon. About a dozen people, men and women, are having a snowball fight in the middle of a tree-lined street. The cyclist coming along the road becomes the target of opportunity. He falls off his bicycle. He's not hurt, but he rides back the way he came, as the fight continues.

Colleurs d'affiches

1897 • 1 min • France

A bill poster comes upon a blank wall, and immediately puts up a poster advertising a movie show at one location.