1900s

Footage from the dawn of film taken in Belle Époque-era Paris, France from 1896-1900.

Indochine française (aujourd'hui Vietnam), village de Namo, Annam : panorama de la rue d’un village et de ses habitants pris d’une chaise à porteur.

Vietnamese children collect coins that are thrown them by two aristocratic ladies.

The plot follows King Edward VII and President Armand Fallières dreaming of building a tunnel under the English Channel.

The Impossible Voyage (Voyage à travers l'impossible) is a 1904 silent film (produced by Star Film, France) by pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès. The film's time is about 20 minutes (nearly five times the length of the average film at that time), and probably was inspired by Melies' successful earlier film Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon). It is loosely based on Jules Verne's play Voyage à travers l'impossible. Like most of Méliès' films at this time, it made use of narrative, models, and trick photography.

A magician is surprised when he attempts to transform a beetle.

A vaudeville song catches on and becomes so popular that everybody knows it. At first, those who hear it can't help but sing and dance to it. People have their limits, however, and reception to the tune begins to cool.

A greedy tycoon decides, on a whim, to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing the grain's producers into charity lines and further into poverty. The film continues to contrast the ironic differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit. Summary written by James Meek {james@oz.net}

Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the mysterious planet.

Georges Méliès' adaptation of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" is most distinguished, today, for being a color film of the classic story. Color was rare in 1902 (and many years after) as non-tinted color has to be hand painted on the film; this was an arduous task. Also notable is the film's short running time of approximately five minutes. Much of the original work is not covered, but viewers were expected to be familiar with the story, and enjoy the filmed highlights. There are a couple of scenes missing; according to contemporary reports, Gulliver's shipwreck was certainly included. You can do a lot in a few minutes, as Mr. Méliès includes a re-make of his own "Une partie de cartes" (1896), which already looked like something previously covered by the Lumière Brothers.

An early hand-tinted adaptation of Ali Baba.

Nymphs and cupids dance in celebration of the arrival of Spring.

Three men go out on the ocean in a row boat. There, they see dancing fairies. Then manage to catch one and take her aboard the boat--taking her back to the castle with them. Then, one of the men asks the fairy to marry him and they do so--though something strange occurs right after the ceremony.

At the royal court, a prince is presenting the princess whom he is pledged to marry when a witch suddenly appears. Though driven off, the witch soon returns, summons some of her servants, and carries off the princess. A rescue party is quickly organized, but the unfortunate captive has been taken to a strange, forbidding realm, from where it will be impossible to rescue her without some special help.

The Palace of the Arabian Nights (French: Le Palais des mille et une nuits) is a 1905 silent fantasy film directed by Georges Méliès. The film, inspired by the One Thousand and One Nights, follows the adventures of a prince whose bravery and devotion are tested in a magical quest to win the hand of his beloved.

1903 film by Georges Méliès

A peddler of "the best glue" sets up his outdoor stall. A crowd gathers for a demonstration. As he gives his pitch, two observant cops decide drive off his customers and close him down, much to his fury. He seeks revenge as they sit on a park bench.

A pregnant woman steals things from others on account of her cravings.

A young woman becomes the eighth wife of the wealthy Bluebeard, whose first seven wives have died under mysterious circumstances.

An alcoholic is inadvertently sewn into a mattress.