Movies & TV Shows from 1895

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.

Down the gangway, photographers leave the deck of a riverboat in large numbers.

An early Kinora demonstration film.

A short film depicting the execution of Mary, Queen of the Scots. Mary is brought to the execution block and made to kneel down with her neck over it. The executioner lifts his axe ready to bring it down. After that frame Mary has been replaced by a dummy. The axe comes down and severs the head of the dummy from the body. The executioner picks up the head and shows it around for everyone else to see. One of the first camera tricks to be used in a movie.

A stationary camera, looking diagonally across a racetrack toward the infield, records the horses as they race past. Once they are out of view and the race is over, police officers run onto the infield. The crowd moves around.

Directed by Birt Acres.

A western short depicting the execution of a horse thief by a group of enraged cowboys. This film is considered to be lost.

Four men stand holding what appears to be a blanket, while one wearing a hat stands watching. A sixth man then runs towards them and attempts to jump into the blanket.

Pedestrian and horse-drawn vehicles traffic, across the Place des Cordeliers, in Lyon.

A tiny fragment of an actuality film of Tom Merry (William Mechem), a 'lightning sketch' caricaturist performing his act for the camera and producing a large profile caricature of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The loss of the rest of the film has bequeathed us 6 seconds that are of Mechem standing next to the completed portrait and sadly, that is all there is. An early film made by Birt Acres for R.W. Paul. (see release information for further detail).

Incident at Clovelly Cottage, also known as Incident Outside Clovelly Cottage, Barnet, shot by Birt Acres and produced by Acres and his collaborator Robert W. Paul in March 1895, was the "first successful motion picture film made in Britain" Considered lost since only a few frames have survived.

A man, holding a baby up in his hands, is standing next to a fishbowl. The baby is trying, in vain, to catch a goldfish with her bare hands.

The opening of the Kiel Canal in Germany by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 20 June 1895.

Former lightweight boxer Billy Edwards, now a trainer and writer of the sport, takes on a challenger named Warwick in an exhibition match. The match is scheduled for five rounds of 20 seconds each. A large crowd has gathered behind the ring to watch the fight.

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.

A butcher puts a full-grown live pig into his large box-like machine. Moments later, he draws out a full range of pork products, many already packaged for sale.

A man strolling in a city street is attacked by three assailants. A policeman comes to the rescue and the men struggle with each other.

A policeman catches a pickpocket with the assistance of a passing a sailor.

While his aide continuously turns the handle of the bellows, keeping hot a small furnace in front of him, a farrier prepares a horse's hoof to receive a new shoe.

The Leigh Sisters perform a risqué Trilby-inspired dance with an umbrella. Scene from David Henderson's Aladdin, Jr. burlesque. Lost.