a-cinema-history.blogspot.com 20 first years of cinema
by a-cinema-history | created - 10 Sep 2013 | updated - 10 Sep 2013 | PublicThe 40 best films of the 20 first years of cinema (1895-1914) a-cinema-history.blogspot.com
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895)
Not Rated | 1 min | Short, History
This short film, one of the first to use camera tricks, depicts the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Director: Alfred Clark | Stars: Robert Thomae, Mrs. Robert L. Thomas
Votes: 2,549
2. Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894)
Not Rated | 1 min | Short, Music
The earliest extant sound film. William K.L. Dickson stands in the background next to a huge sound pickup horn connected to a Thomas Edison phonograph recorder. As he plays a violin, two ... See full summary »
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: William K.L. Dickson
Votes: 2,560
3. Leaving the Factory (1895)
Not Rated | 1 min | Documentary, Short
Workers leaving the Lumière factory for lunch in Lyon, France in 1895; a place of great photographic innovation and one of the birth places of cinema.
Director: Louis Lumière
Votes: 7,542
4. The Waterer Watered (1895)
Not Rated | 1 min | Short, Comedy
An impudent child plays a prank on a gardener innocently watering his plants.
Director: Louis Lumière | Stars: François Clerc, Benoît Duval
Votes: 5,833
5. The Arrival of a Train (1896)
Not Rated | 1 min | Documentary, Short
A train arrives at La Ciotat station.
Directors: Auguste Lumière, Louis Lumière | Stars: Madeleine Koehler, Marcel Koehler, Mrs. Auguste Lumiere, Jeanne-Joséphine Lumière
Votes: 12,858
6. La fée aux choux (1896)
1 min | Short, Family, Fantasy
The first film directed by a female director, "The Cabbage Fairy" presents a brief fantasy tale involving a strange fairy who can produce and deliver babies coming out of cabbages. Gently ... See full summary »
Director: Alice Guy | Stars: Alice Guy, Germaine Serand, Yvonne Serand
Votes: 1,394
7. The House of the Devil (1896)
Not Rated | 3 min | Short, Horror
With the help of a magic cauldron, Mephistopheles conjures up a variety of supernatural characters.
Director: Georges Méliès | Stars: Jehanne d'Alcy, Jules-Eugène Legris, Georges Méliès
Votes: 3,973
8. Entre Calais et Douvres (1897)
Not Rated | 1 min | Short, Comedy
Using the same rocking effect previously employed in "Combat naval en Grèce (1897)", the director Georges Méliès recreates the illusion of a small ship in a tempest.
Director: Georges Méliès | Stars: Joseph Grapinet, Georges Méliès, Georgette Méliès
Votes: 608
9. Four Heads Are Better Than One (1898)
TV-PG | 1 min | Short, Comedy
Much to our amazement, an elegant and masterful illusionist detaches his own head effortlessly from his shoulders for a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
Director: Georges Méliès | Star: Georges Méliès
Votes: 4,009
10. The Kiss (1896)
Not Rated | 1 min | Short, Romance
In a medium close-up shot of the first kiss ever recorded on screen, two fervent lovers cuddle and talk passionately at hair's breadth, just before the love-smitten gentleman decides to give his chosen one an innocent peck.
Director: William Heise | Stars: May Irwin, John C. Rice
Votes: 3,670
11. A Kiss in the Tunnel (I) (1899)
1 min | Short, Comedy, Romance
A humorous subject intended to be run as a part of a railroad scene during the period in which the train is passing through a tunnel.
Director: George Albert Smith | Stars: Laura Bayley, George Albert Smith
Votes: 1,694
12. L'affaire Dreyfus (1899)
13 min | Short, Biography, Drama
Dramatized re-enactments of the events of the Dreyfus-affair from 1894 to 1899.
Director: Georges Méliès | Star: Georges Méliès
Votes: 704
13. Joan of Arc (1900)
Not Rated | 10 min | Short, Drama, History
A divinely inspired peasant woman becomes an army captain for France and then is martyred after she is captured.
Director: Georges Méliès | Stars: Bleuette Bernon, Jeanne Calvière, Jehanne d'Alcy, Georges Méliès
Votes: 1,432
14. Grandma's Reading Glass (1900)
2 min | Short, Family
A boy looks through glasses at various objects, seen magnified.
Director: George Albert Smith | Star: Harold Smith
Votes: 1,367
15. As Seen Through a Telescope (1900)
1 min | Short, Comedy
An elderly gentleman in a silk hat sits on a stool in front of a store on the main street of town. He has a telescope that he focuses on the ankle of a young woman who is a short distance ... See full summary »
Director: George Albert Smith
Votes: 899
16. History of a Crime (1901)
5 min | Short, Crime, Drama
A burglar is arrested for a murder. He is condemned to death. Before his execution the murderer dreams of his past, of how he was a bank clerk, then turned to crime. The criminal is then ... See full summary »
Director: Ferdinand Zecca | Stars: Jean Liézer, Bretteau, Ferdinand Zecca
Votes: 780
17. A Trip to the Moon (1902)
TV-G | 13 min | Short, Action, Adventure
A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon.
Director: Georges Méliès | Stars: Georges Méliès, Victor André, Bleuette Bernon, Brunnet
Votes: 55,677
18. The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ (1903)
45 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Jesus Christ from the proclamation of his Nativity to his crucifixion. Impressive scenes and dynamism of the actors prelude to the Italian colossal movies of the silent period.
Directors: Lucien Nonguet, Ferdinand Zecca | Stars: Madame Moreau, Monsieur Moreau
Votes: 671
19. Life of an American Fireman (1903)
Not Rated | 6 min | Short, Action
A fireman rushes into a carriage to rescue a woman from a house fire. He breaks the windowpanes and carries the woman to safety; after dangerous and uncertain moments he also saves the woman's son.
Directors: George S. Fleming, Edwin S. Porter | Stars: Edwin S. Porter, Vivian Vaughan, Arthur White, James H. White
Votes: 2,702
20. The Great Train Robbery (1903)
TV-G | 11 min | Short, Action, Adventure
A group of bandits stage a brazen train hold-up, only to find a determined posse hot on their heels.
Director: Edwin S. Porter | Stars: Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, A.C. Abadie, George Barnes, Justus D. Barnes
Votes: 20,976
21. An Impossible Voyage (1904)
Not Rated | 24 min | Short, Action, Adventure
Using every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a journey through the Alps to the Sun which finishes under the sea.
Director: Georges Méliès | Stars: Georges Méliès, Fernande Albany, Jehanne d'Alcy, May de Lavergne
Votes: 3,993
22. The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)
Not Rated | 70 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
Originally 70 minutes in running time, only 17 minutes of the world's first full-length narrative feature film survived in stills and other fragments and tell the story of Ned Kelly, an infamous 19th-century Australian outlaw.
Director: Charles Tait | Stars: Elizabeth Tait, John Tait, Nicholas Brierley, Norman Campbell
Votes: 886
23. The Talisman or Sheep's Foot (1907)
15 min | Short
A man is helped by a good fairy to conquer his beloved. Thanks to the talisman she gives him, a sheep's foot, he will triumph from all obstacles.
Director: Albert Capellani
Votes: 182
24. The Adventures of Dollie (1908)
Not Rated | 12 min | Short, Action
On a warm and sunny summer's day, a mother and father take their young daughter Dollie on a riverside outing. A gypsy basket peddler happens along, and is angered when the mother refuses to... See full summary »
Directors: D.W. Griffith, G.W. Bitzer | Stars: Arthur V. Johnson, Linda Arvidson, Gladys Egan, Charles Inslee
Votes: 925
25. Long Distance Wireless Photography (1908)
Not Rated | 6 min | Short, Sci-Fi
An eccentric photographer demonstrates the wonders of technology to a couple who want to be photographed by his innovative wireless procedure that accents one's inner personality. Are they prepared for the harsh truth of the camera's eye?
Director: Georges Méliès | Stars: Fernande Albany, Georges Méliès
Votes: 568
26. The Assassination of the Duke de Guise (1908)
15 min | Short, History, Drama
France, at the end of the sixteenth century. Henry III decided to eliminate his rival, the Duke of Guise, and, therefore, calls him in the castle of Blois. The mistress of the duke, warned ... See full summary »
Directors: André Calmettes, Charles Le Bargy | Stars: Charles Le Bargy, Albert Lambert, Gabrielle Robinne, Berthe Bovy
Votes: 780
27. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)
12 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
In ancient Athens, four young lovers escape into the woods. Meanwhile, tradesmen rehearse a play. All of them suffer from the shenanigans of mischievous fairies.
Directors: Charles Kent, J. Stuart Blackton | Stars: Walter Ackerman, Charles Chapman, Dolores Costello, Helene Costello
Votes: 367
28. Max's First Job (1910)
7 min | Short, Comedy
Max Linder's behavior when he applied for a job as a Pathé Frères moving picture actor, was such a good joke on him that it was decided to make a film of the event, and accordingly. Max was... See full summary »
Directors: Louis J. Gasnier, Max Linder | Stars: Max Linder, Georges Monca, Lucien Nonguet, Charles Pathé
Votes: 198
29. Dante's Inferno (1911)
71 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Loosely adapted from Dante's Divine Comedy and inspired by the illustrations of Gustav Doré the original silent film has been restored and has a new score by Tangerine Dream.
Directors: Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, Giuseppe de Liguoro | Stars: Salvatore Papa, Arturo Pirovano, Giuseppe de Liguoro, Pier Delle Vigne
Votes: 3,445
30. The Independence of Romania (1912)
120 min | History, War
The movie depicts the Romanian War of Independence (1877-1878).
Directors: Aristide Demetriade, Grigore Brezeanu | Stars: Aristide Demetriade, Constanta Demetriade, Constantin Nottara, Pepi Machauer
Votes: 271
31. Cleopatra (1912)
Unrated | 100 min | Drama, History
The fabled queen of Egypt's affair with Roman general Marc Antony is ultimately disastrous for both of them.
Director: Charles L. Gaskill | Stars: Helen Gardner, Pearl Sindelar, Miss Fielding, Miss Robson
Votes: 620
32. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (I) (1913)
26 min | Short, Drama, Horror
Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.
Director: Herbert Brenon | Stars: King Baggot, Jane Gail, Matt Snyder, Howard Crampton
Votes: 400
33. The Student of Prague (1913)
Approved | 85 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Balduin, a student of Prague, leaves his roystering companions in the beer garden, when he finds he has reached the end of his resources. He is scarcely seated in a quiet corner when a ... See full summary »
Directors: Hanns Heinz Ewers, Stellan Rye | Stars: Paul Wegener, Grete Berger, Lyda Salmonova, John Gottowt
Votes: 2,392
34. The Last Days of Pompeii (1913)
88 min | Adventure, Drama
Two love triangles intersect in ancient Pompei.
Directors: Mario Caserini, Eleuterio Rodolfi | Stars: Fernanda Negri Pouget, Eugenia Tettoni Fior, Ubaldo Stefani, Antonio Grisanti
Votes: 618
35. Cabiria (1914)
Not Rated | 148 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Cabiria is a Roman child when her home is destroyed by a volcano. Sold in Carthage to be sacrificed in a temple, she is saved by Fulvio, a Roman spy. But danger lurks, and hatred between Rome and Carthage can only lead to war.
Director: Giovanni Pastrone | Stars: Italia Almirante-Manzini, Lidia Quaranta, Bartolomeo Pagano, Carolina Catena
Votes: 3,952
36. Judith of Bethulia (1914)
Not Rated | 61 min | Drama
A religious woman seeks to save her people from destruction by seducing and murdering the enemy leader, but her plans get complicated once she falls for him.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Blanche Sweet, Henry B. Walthall, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron
Votes: 1,447
37. Making a Living (1914)
G | 11 min | Short, Comedy
An out-of-work swindler takes a job as a reporter. After witnessing a car go over cliff, he grabs a rival reporter's camera and races to the newspaper office to enter the photo as his own. ... See full summary »
Director: Henry Lehrman | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Emma Clifton, Chester Conklin, Alice Davenport
Votes: 2,291
38. Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)
Not Rated | 11 min | Short, Comedy
The Tramp wanders into and disrupts the filming of a go-kart race.
Director: Henry Lehrman | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Henry Lehrman, Gordon Griffith
Votes: 3,298
39. Mabel's Strange Predicament (1914)
Not Rated | 17 min | Short, Comedy
In a hotel lobby, an inebriated Charlie runs into an elegant lady, gets tied up in her dog's leash, and falls down. He later runs into her in the hotel corridor, locked out of her room. ... See full summary »
Director: Mabel Normand | Stars: Mabel Normand, Charles Chaplin, Chester Conklin, Alice Davenport
Votes: 1,994
40. Fantômas: The False Magistrate (1914)
Not Rated | 70 min | Crime, Drama
Having committed murder in Belgium, Fantomas is sentenced to life imprisonment. Two crimes committed in France suggest to inspector Juve that the Fantomas gang is still at work. He ... See full summary »
Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Georges Melchior, Mesnery
Votes: 1,197
Tell Your Friends