Fantasmagorie

Fantasmagorie 1908

6.50

An animated film by French auteur Émile Cohl, one of the earliest examples of hand-drawn film animation. Drawing inspiration from J. Stuart Blackton and the Incoherents of club Hydropathes, the film, with all its wild transformations, sees our protagonist materialize a movie theatre, meet an elephant and escape from jail; A morphing, stream-of-consciousness delight.

1908

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest 1908

5.50

A woodsman leaves a hut followed by a woman with their baby. Nearby some men chop down a tree. The baby is left outside the hut, but an eagle flies away with it.

1908

The Electric Hotel

The Electric Hotel 1908

6.07

An enthusiastic young couple is astounded with modern technology's giant leaps in the fascinating field of electricity.

1908

The Dream of an Opium Fiend

The Dream of an Opium Fiend 1908

5.40

The opium fiend is seen in a den, puffing on this terrible narcotic. He then falls fast asleep and dreams that he is at home with his wife. He asks for something to drink and he is given wine, which he does not care for, and he is finally given some bottled beer and a glass, but he complains that the glass is too small and he gets a very large sized glass receptacle, into which his wife and maid servant pour the contents of the bottle. As he is about to drink the glass passes from his hand mysteriously, sailing through the room and out of the window to the moon…

1908

A Visit to the Seaside

A Visit to the Seaside 1908

6.30

The first successful motion picture in natural color, filmed with Kinemacolor. It is an 8 minute short film directed by George Albert Smith of Brighton, showing people doing everyday activities. It is ranked of high historical importance. Kinemacolor later influenced and replaced by Technicolor, which was used from 1916 to 1952.

1908

The Bandit’s Waterloo (The Outwitting of an Andalusian Brigand by a Pretty Senora)

The Bandit’s Waterloo (The Outwitting of an Andalusian Brigand by a Pretty Senora) 1908

2.50

A gang of lawless freebooters who terrorized the country and made travel in the mountains a hazardous pastime hold up a stylish landau in which are seated an old gentleman, a duenna, and a pretty young Senora. The inevitable happens; all are relieved of their valuables, and while the gentleman and duenna are sent on their way, the girl is held a prisoner.

1908

The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew 1908

4.92

Based on Shakespeare's play. Petruchio courts the bad-tempered Katharina, and tries to change her aggressive behavior.

1908

The Sculptor's Nightmare

The Sculptor's Nightmare 1908

4.30

At a political club, the members debate whose bust will replace that of Theodore Roosevelt. Unable to agree, each goes to a sculptor's studio and bribes him to sculpt a bust of the individual favorite. Instead, the sculptor spends their fees on a dinner with his model during which he becomes so inebriated that he is taken to jail. There he has a nightmare, wherein three busts are created and animated from clay (through stop-motion photography) in the likenesses of Democrat William Jennings Bryan and Republicans Charles W. Fairbanks and William Howard Taft. Finally an animated bust of Roosevelt appears.

1908

Pharmaceutical Hallucinations

Pharmaceutical Hallucinations 1908

5.20

There's a chemistry lab, in which one or two people ingest the wrong drug -- apparently -- and have a seriously bad trip. Then there's this wizard in his cave, and a fairy appears -- then there's this massive feast with about a dozen people. Then it ends.

1908

Long Distance Wireless Photography

Long Distance Wireless Photography 1908

5.25

Into a photography studio full of large fantastic machines steps an elderly couple. The bearded proprietor explains the equipment and gives them a demonstration: he starts machines whirring, and projects a painting of three women onto a large screen; suddenly the women begin to move. The customers are impressed. First the women sits in the special seat: she's projected onto the screen, and her good nature comes out in the laughing image. Then it's the man's turn, but the machine discloses a vastly different nature in him. Will his reaction threaten our proprietor's inventions?

1908

The Good Luck of a 'Souse'

The Good Luck of a 'Souse' 1908

4.30

This film from George Melies is sadly one that's only available in fragments. The film starts off with a title card stating that a drunk man has just thrown his family out a window. We see a couple of them landing on the ground and then we go back to the room where the drunk is now trying to kill himself.

1908

The Thieving Hand

The Thieving Hand 1908

6.44

A one-armed street peddler notices that a well-to-do man has dropped his ring. He returns it to him. The wealthy man is very grateful and, to show his appreciation, takes the peddler to a 'Limb Store', where he buys him a new arm. The recipient soon discovers that this new arm has a will of its own - causing him considerable embarrassment.

1908

The Feud and the Turkey

The Feud and the Turkey 1908

2.00

Mack Sennett appears as a member of the Wilkenson clan in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

1908

The Boy Detective, or The Abductors Foiled

The Boy Detective, or The Abductors Foiled 1908

2.80

As a newsboy is playing a game on the sidewalk with a friend, two men come near to them, and then stand in a position where they cannot be seen from the sidewalk. When an attractive woman walks past them, the two men follow her. Sensing that they have bad intentions, the newsboy follows them to see what they are up to. When his suspicions are confirmed, he tries to come up with a plan to protect the woman.

1908

Humanity Through the Ages

Humanity Through the Ages 1908

2.00

An episodic narrative displaying examples of humankind's brutality, from the story of Cain and Abel through the Hague Convention of 1907.

1908

The New Lord of the Village

The New Lord of the Village 1908

5.00

There's a scene in a village, then there's a scene out in the wilderness with what appear to be gods, and a giant crab, and a giant frog... then there's another scene in the village... and that's it.

1908

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty 1908

4.40

Based on the story of "Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault. Titles read: The Christening of the Princess; The Good Fairies Fatal Prediction; The Royal Edict; The Princess is Sixteen Years Old; Searching for the Princess; The Prediction Comes True; Thou Shalt Sleep for a Hundred Years; A Hundred Years later the Prince Charming Goes Hunting; Prince Charming Dismisses His Escort; The Castle of Sleep; The Guard's Hall; You Have Been a Long Time Coming, prince; The Wedding of the Sleeping Beauty to Prince Charming.

1908