The Kiss(1896)

Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory(fr)

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.

The Great Train Robbery(en)

After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train and its passengers robbed, a posse goes in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits.

Annabelle Serpentine Dance(xx)

In a long, diaphanous skirt, held out by her hands with arms extended, Broadway dancer Annabelle Moore performs. Her dance emphasizes the movement of the flowing cloth. She moves to her right and left across an unadorned stage. Many of the prints were distributed in hand-tinted color.

The Dancing Pig(fr)

A pig dressed in fancy clothes flirts with a pretty girl, but she humiliates him and tears off his suit; she then makes him dance for her affections.

The Abyss(da)

Magda, a piano teacher, meets Knud, a parson’s son, who invites her to spend the summer at his parents’ parsonage. When a travelling circus stops in the village, Magda leaves the meek Knud for the dashing circus rider Rudolf. But circus life with Rudolf quickly turns out to be anything but happy, and Magda comes to a tragic end. (Stumfilm.dk)

Sandow(en)

Strong-man Eugene Sandow flexes his muscles and strikes a few poses in front of a black background. This was a short film shot by William K.L. Dickson for the American Mutoscope Company and is not the 1894 Edison film shot at the Black Maria.

Demolition of a Wall(fr)

Auguste Lumière directs four workers in the demolition of an old wall at the Lumière factory. One worker is pressing the wall inwards with a jackscrew, while another is pushing it with a pick. When the wall hits the ground, a cloud of white dust whirls up. Three workers continue the demolition of the wall with picks.

After the Ball(fr)

A woman arrives home after the ball. Her servant helps her undress and bathe.

The Kiss(en)

"Nothing new, but an old thing done over again and done well. Some one has attempted to describe a kiss as "something made of nothing," but this is not one of that kind, but one of those old fashioned "home made" kind that sets the whole audience into merriment and motion, and has always proven a popular subject. It is very fine photographically and an exhibit is not complete without it." -Edison film catalog.

Workers Leaving the Factory(de)

Using one of the Lumière Brothers' first films of workers leaving the Factory as his starting point, Farocki provides an insight to changes in industrial production, workers' strikes and motion pictures-- via images of workers leaving factories throughout the years.

Something Good — Negro Kiss(en)

Earliest known example of African American intimacy on screen.

The Ghost Train(en)

Special effects film with a train double exposed on the negative, creating a ghostly image.

Singin' in the Rain(en)

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

Parasite(ko)

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

Marriage Story(en)

A stage director and an actress struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal extremes.

Rear Window(en)

A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

Oppenheimer(en)

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

Old(en)

A group of families on a tropical holiday discover that the secluded beach where they are staying is somehow causing them to age rapidly – reducing their entire lives into a single day.

No Way Up(en)

Characters from different backgrounds are thrown together when the plane they're travelling on crashes into the Pacific Ocean. A nightmare fight for survival ensues with the air supply running out and dangers creeping in from all sides.

Alien(en)

During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.

The Woman in the Room(el)

A man must face his inner demons when he is confronted with the decision to euthanize his mother, who suffers from an incurable disease.

The Riddle: Woman(en)

Lilla Gravert falls into the clutches of a master blackmailer, Eric Helsingor.

The Super-Sex(en)

The Super-Sex is a 1922 American silent comedy film directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Robert Gordon, Charlotte Pierce and Tully Marshall.

The Man Who Loved Flowers(en)

An idealistic young man plans the perfect marriage proposal for the love of his life. Based upon a short story by Stephen King.

Artemide’s Knee(fr)

Mourning the death of his partner and collaborator Danièle Huillet, Straub finds tender mercy in music and nature. Out of the abyss, Kathleen Ferrier sings “The Farewell” from Gustav Mahler’s “The Song of the Earth”, (which the composer wrote in 1909 after the death of his daughter) and Heinrich Schütz’s Lament on the Death of His Wife. The landscape also provides solace: the mountain grove where Endymion pines for his beloved Artemis, “a wild thing, untouchable, mortal,” appears to embody the Japanese concept of ‘mono no aware’ — a wistful acceptance of the fleeting beauty of things.

Mamma(no)

On new years eve Amanda (24) gets an ultimatum from her mother: "Either you'll look after Lana (6) or you can move out!" Can Amanda combine the responsibility for Lana and satisfy her own need for partying and freedom?

Iris(de)

Chasing Two Hares(ru)

Tonya Korovyak dreams of being a superstar. Dreams of fame, fans, applause and a white limousine became her obsession. If at one time ambitious girl mastered the basics of noble manners at the guest house, now to achieve this goal Tonya's going to go to study on "Factory of stars." Her father Korovyak - the owner of a large supermarket chain - he is crazy about the "creative ideas" of his little daughter, that will not tell about the aunt.

Driving Miss Daisy(en)

The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew in 25 years a strong friendship between the two very different characters, in a time when those types of relationships were shunned.

Romeo + Juliet(en)

In director Baz Luhrmann's contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.

October (Ten Days that Shook the World)(ru)

Sergei M. Eisenstein's docu-drama about the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. Made ten years after the events and edited in Eisenstein's 'Soviet Montage' style, it re-enacts in celebratory terms several key scenes from the revolution.

Common Causes for a Clinical Condition(es)

María rehearses Antigone the same way as she criticizes the government's actions; Ismene listens fearfully just as Irving reluctantly accepts the official version of a lie. Love only has consciousness in its disappearance; in the end the causes will be known, and only the memory of those who refuse to forget will be left with no consequence.

DS-70 nevyjíždí(cs)

Porch(en)

Andrew 'Dew' Schofield has spent his entire life taking care of others; his children, his granddaughter, and even his wife after she got sick. Now that his kids are grown and his wife has passed, Dew finds himself living alone in his familiar little suburb, with only his memories. When his granddaughter comes to visit inbetween apartments, they will both face the deeprooted loneliness they've spent so long trying to bury.

Adam in aeternum(es)

The Passion of Joan of Arc(fr)

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

Little Wings(en)

The dramatic short, Little Wings, explores the trauma of child abuse through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy named Thomas. In this emotional tale, Thomas learns about the Legend of the Butterfly from his mother, Emily. The Legend states that if you whisper a wish to a butterfly and then set it free, the butterfly will carry the wish off to the heavens to be granted. Thomas loves butterflies and seeks the escape he needs in the pages of his favorite butterfly book. Butterflies are his only true happiness while growing up on a farm with his abusive father. After Thomas saves a butterfly from a spider's web, a stranger arrives at the farmhouse. As the tale continues, Thomas ultimately finds his freedom and steps into the unknown world of "Joy".

Battleship Potemkin(ru)

A dramatized account of a great Russian naval mutiny and a resultant public demonstration, showing support, which brought on a police massacre. The film had an incredible impact on the development of cinema and is a masterful example of montage editing.

La Jetée(fr)

A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.

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.