Departure of Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition from Lyttelton, NZ, 1st Jan, 1908(1908)

Laurel & Hardy: Their Lives and Magic(de)

The lives of Stan Laurel (1890-1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892-1957), on the screen and behind the curtain. The joy and the sadness, the success and the failure. The story of one of the best comic duos of all time: a lesson on how to make people laugh.

One Second in Montreal(en)

A silent succession of black-and-white photographs of the city of Montreal.

Choice Bouquets(en)

A display of flower bouquets, rotating to show the Kinemacolour process.

In the Land of Giants and Pygmies(en)

IN THE LAND OF GIANT PYGMIES, a diary of Aurelio Rossi's 1925 trek into the immense Belgian Congo, preserves a long-gone-Colonial-era wonder at natural resources, "primitive" tribes, customs and costumes in Europe's cast African possessions, and implies that the "dark continent" could benefit from the "civilizing" influences of home.

Carmencita(xx)

The first woman to appear in front of an Edison motion picture camera and possibly the first woman to appear in a motion picture within the United States. In the film, Carmencita is recorded going through a routine she had been performing at Koster & Bial's in New York since February 1890.

In den dierentuin van Antwerpen(nl)

The Antwerp Zoo covers a fair extent of ground, and was already in 1910 generally considered as an important one. A large number of views of birds and animals were taken and hand coloured. In those days, the monkey house was in for much attention. People found that the various comic incidents added a touch of whimsicality.

How the Telephone Talks(en)

"All sounds travel in waves much the same as ripples in water." Educational film produced by Bray Studios New York, which was the dominant animation studio based in the United States in the years surrounding World War I.

Las Hurdes, país de leyenda(es)

An account of the journey that King Alfonso XIII of Spain made to the impoverished shire of Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in the region of Extremadura, in 1922.

Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge(xx)

A film by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, shot in late October 1888, showing pedestrians and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge.

Sons of the Surf(en)

Surfing at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Most surfers are human, one is a dog. The educational documentary is part of the Bruce Scenic Novelties series.

From 3 to 22(sh)

A movie follows a regular working day of a woman who works in a factory. She wakes up at 3am and goes to sleep at 10pm.

Extreme der Tiefsee - Abysses(fr)

Serpentine Dance(fr)

"Danse serpentine" (Gaumont #588) is part of the "Miss Lina Esbrard. Danseuse cosmopolite et serpentine" series of 4 films, and should not be confused with "Danse excentrique" (Gaumont #587), "Danse fantaisiste" (Gaumont #589) or "La Gigue" (Gaumont #590).

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City(de)

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Nanook of the North(en)

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

How Animated Cartoons Are Made(en)

Wallace Carlson walks viewers through the production of an animated short at Bray Studios.

Les Outils du Jeu(en)

This non-narrative short film examines one of the great American icons: the Louisville Slugger baseball bat. The film was conceived by its co-directors, Marlon Johnson and Dennis Scholl, along with the Louisville Orchestra's conductor, Teddy Abrams, to be screened set to a live performance by the orchestra of Claude Debussy's "Jeux".

Admiral Cigarette(en)

Late 1800s cigarette advertisement produced by Thomas Edison Manufacturing.

Days of Thrills and Laughter(en)

An appreciative, uncritical look at silent film comedies and thrillers from early in the century through the 1920s.

A Sociedade Anonyma Fábrica Votorantim(pt)

Produced in 1922, this 9-part silent documentary is an important document of the beginnings of industrialization in Brazil and the conditions of workers at the time.