Film History
Films that tell the history of cinema. This collection follows the language of film from its first years: silent movies and early cinema, when directors were inventing how to tell a story with images alone, black and white movies that shaped the great national schools, and landmark works that opened the way to the modern screen. Films from different countries and decades show how styles, genres and ideas travelled and changed, from the experiments of the pioneers to the maturity of the golden decades. Watching them is a way to understand where today’s cinema comes from, and to rediscover works that still feel surprising, funny or moving.
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MovieThe conquest of the Pole
Movie
Short film, adventure, fantasy, adventure, by Georges Méliès, France, 1912.
Perhaps the best film made by Méliès, full of extravagant special effects. Professor Maboul, played by steeso Méliès and six other people try to reach the North Pole. While the man uses a plane and crosses the constellati... -
The kingdom of fairies star
Movie
Short film, fantasy, by Georges Méliès, France, 1903.
Freely adapted from La Biche au Bois, a popular tale by the Goignard brothers, and from "Sleeping Beauty". Georges Méliès plays Prince Bel-Azor. Most of the film was shot indoors, while the final scene of the wedding procession was shot outdoo... -
The merry frolics of Satan
Movie
Short film, fantasy, by Georges Méliès, France, 1906.
Adaptation of the Faust legend, with elements borrowed from magic shows. In addition to directing and acting in it, Méliès personally takes care of all the technical and artistic aspects of the film, at a time when the French film industry was... -
The legend of Rip Van Winkle
Movie
Short film, fantasy, by Georges Méliès, France, 1905.
Georges Melies makes one of his most narrative films inspired by the story of Washington Irving, who takes a nap and wakes up 20 years later. When he wakes up and returns home, he discovers that his wife is gone and that his friends have died ...
