The Lumière Brothers' First Films (1996)

A collection of short films made by the Lumiere brothers, a team of pioneering filmmakers in turn-of-the-century France.

Stars:

Mrs. Auguste Lumiere, Antoine Lumière, Auguste Lumière

Cast

Credited cast:
Mrs. Auguste Lumiere	...	Herself (from 'Repas de bébé (1895)') (as Mrs. Margaret Lumière)
Antoine Lumière	...	Himself - Lumières' Father, Playing Cards (from 'Partie d'écarte (1895)')
Auguste Lumière	...	Himself (from 'Repas de bébé (1895)')
Bertrand Tavernier	...	Narrator
Félicien Trewey	...	Himself - Playing Cards (from 'Partie d'écarte (1895)')
M. Winckler	...	Himself - Playing Cards (from 'Partie d'écarte (1895)')

Storyline

A collection of short films made by the Lumiere brothers, a team of pioneering filmmakers in turn-of-the-century France.

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Plot Keywords:

chicago illinois | horse | jerusalem | belfast | london england | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Association Frères Lumière, Institut Lumière

Technical Specs

Runtime:

61 min

Color:

Black and White Color

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits

Narrator Bernard Tavernier credits all others orally when they appear in the movie.

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Connections

Edited from Nègres Ashantis: Danse du sabre II (1897)

User Reviews

Very important historically but probably not to everyone's taste

I enjoyed this film but I really doubt if the average viewer would be all that thrilled by this documentary about the earliest films of the Lumière Brothers. The reasons I liked it were probably because I am a history teacher and am also a real fan of early cinema--having watched quite a few films by Edison and Méliès. I understand that early "movies" weren't actually anything like the films we see today, as they just showed everyday people doing very mundane activities for only about a minute or less! Some, such as THE KISS, have endured but most have practically disappeared--mostly due to lack of interest. The Lumière films each lasted 50 seconds and give small snippets of information about life in the 1890s and early 1900s.

The narration by director Bernard Tavernier is just fine and the clips are interesting. However, he mostly just describes the action in the clips and only gives a little bit of background information or comments about the camera-work. I really wanted more--such as biographical information and innovations. So, although very interesting, the movie seemed just a bit superficial and incomplete.