Louis Lumière

Lumière! L'aventure commence

Thierry Frémaux

Thierry Frémaux, Martin Scorsese

A collection of restored prints from the Lumière Brothers.

L'arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat

Louis Lumière, Auguste Lumière

Madeleine Koehler, Marcel Koehler

Likely in June 1897, a group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Arroseur et arrosé

Louis Lumière

François Clerc, Benoît Duval

A gardener is watering his flowers, when a mischievous boy sneaks up behind his back, and puts a foot on the water hose. The gardener is surprised and looks into the nozzle to find out why the water has stopped coming. The boy then lifts his foot from the hose, whereby the water squirts up in the gardener's face. The gardener chases the boy, grips his ear and slaps him in his buttocks. The boy then runs away and the gardener continues his watering. Three separate versions of this film exist, this is the original, filmed by Louis Lumière.

Danse serpentine

Louis Lumière

Loïe Fuller

Angelic and demonic serpentine dance from dawn of cinema. Hand-colored frame by frame.

La Sortie de l'Usine Lumière à Lyon

Louis Lumière

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

Bataille de neige

Louis Lumière

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.

Wienfilm 1896-1976

Ernst Schmidt Jr.

Friedrich Achleitner, Marc Adrian

This film is a kind of anthology about Vienna, from the invention of film to the present day. The aim is to break down the usual clichéd "image of Vienna" such as that found in the traditional "Vienna Film" by juxtaposing documentary footage, newly shot material and subjective sequences created by various artists. Individual, self-contained sections of the film gain new meaning within the context of historical material. Familiar sites appear estranged when edited together with historical scenes. Other scenes appear like a persiflage or satirical. The film does not incorporate any commentary whatsoever. It is a collage of diverse materials aimed at conveying a distanced image of Vienna to the viewer

Le squelette joyeux

Louis Lumière

A skeleton dances joyously, often collapsing into a heap of bones and quickly putting itself back together.

Démolition d'un mur

Louis Lumière

Auguste Lumière

Auguste Lumière directs four workers in the demolition of an old wall at the Lumière factory. One worker is pressing the wall inwards with a jackscrew, while another is pushing it with a pick. When the wall hits the ground, a cloud of white dust whirls up. Three workers continue the demolition of the wall with picks.

Chapeaux à transformation

Louis Lumière

Félicien Trewey

Félicien Trewey uses a basic prop to create comical hats and their accompanying caricatures.

Lancement d'un navire

Louis Lumière

At the launch of a ship, of which we can only see the hull, the audience moves aside.

La petite fille et son chat

Louis Lumière

Madeleine Koehler

A little girl sits at a table, holding a container of what appears to be some sort of food. Suddenly there's a flash of movement: a tortoiseshell cat, with long hair and a very furry tail, has leapt onto the table.

Panorama de l'arrivée en gare de Perrache pris du train

Louis Lumière

A train arrives at Perrache station. We see the view from aboard the train.

Repas de bébé

Louis Lumière

Auguste Lumière, Andrée Lumière

A father, a mother and a baby are sitting at a table, on a patio outside. Dad is feeding baby his lunch, while mum is serving tea.

Querelle enfantine

Louis Lumière

Suzanne Lumière, Andrée Lumière

Two babies are shown seated next to each other, in high chairs, apparently enjoying themselves. Suddenly one snatches a toy from the other and they indulge in hair-pulling.

Bicycliste

Louis Lumière

Francis Doublier

Francis Doublier does bicycle tricks in the street.