Documentary (Sorted by Year Ascending)
1. Passage de Venus (1874)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Series of photographs of the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun in 1874.
Director: P.J.C. Janssen
Votes: 1,180
2. Sallie Gardner at a Gallop (1878)
G | 1 min | Documentary, Short
The clip shows a jockey, Domm, riding a horse, Sally Gardner. The clip is not filmed but instead consists of 24 individual photographs shot in rapid succession, making a moving picture when using a zoopraxiscope.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge | Stars: Gilbert Domm, Sallie Gardner
Votes: 2,321
3. Athlete Swinging a Pick (1881)
1 min | Documentary, Short
In this brief photographic sequence, Eadweard Muybridge himself poses nude and swings a miner's pick, in 18 different photographs.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge | Star: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 228
4. Buffalo Running (1883)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Individual photographs of the running of a buffalo shot in rapid succession.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 702
5. Man Walking Around the Corner (1887)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A frame sequence featuring a man walking around a corner.
Director: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince
Votes: 1,081
6. Woman Walking Downstairs (1887)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A series a photographs, depicting a nude model coming down a staircase and towards the viewer.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 142
7. Woman Setting Down Jug (1887)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A nude model poses for a series of photographs, which depict her setting down a jug on the floor.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 48
8. Woman Throwing Baseball (1887)
Documentary, Short
A series of photographic images by photographer Eadweard Muybridge, showing a nude woman picking up a baseball and throwing it.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 92
9. Woman Picking Up Child (1887)
Documentary, Short
This series of photographs depict two nude models: a woman and a young child, as the woman picks up the child.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 37
10. Elephant Walking (1887)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A series of photographs picturing an elephant walking.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 57
11. Cockatoo Flying (1887)
Documentary, Short
This series of images by Muybridge pictures a cockatoo in flight.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 86
12. Ostrich Walking (1887)
Documentary, Short
Two series of images by Eadweard Muybridge of an ostrich walking: one taken from the side, the other from the back.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 61
13. Chickens Scared by Torpedo (1887)
Documentary, Short
A locomotion study by Muybridge, made up of still photographs and featuring some chickens frightened at the explosion of several torpedoes.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 66
14. Antelope Trotting (1887)
Documentary, Short
A series of photographs of an antelope in motion, photographed by Eadweard Muybridge.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 34
15. Adjutant Walking (1887)
Documentary, Short
A series of photographs shot by Eadweard Muybridge, depicting an adjutant walking.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 30
16. Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge (1888)
Documentary, Short
A shot of people walking on The Leeds Bridge.
Director: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince
Votes: 2,708
17. Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)
1 min | Documentary, Short
In the garden, a man asks his friends to do something silly for him to record on film.
Director: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince | Stars: Annie Hartley, Adolphe Le Prince, Joseph Whitley, Sarah Whitley
Votes: 5,342
18. Accordion Player (1888)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A very brief film of a man playing the accordion.
Director: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince | Star: Adolphe Le Prince
Votes: 1,082
19. Brighton Street Scene (1888)
Documentary, Short
Lost film from 1888, directed by William Friese-Greene.
Director: William Friese-Greene
Votes: 100
20. Leisurely Pedestrians, Open Topped Buses and Hansom Cabs with Trotting Horses (1889)
Documentary, Short
Alleged silent black-and-white short film shot at Apsley Gate, Hyde Park, London.
Director: William Friese-Greene
Votes: 310
21. Monkeyshines, No. 1 (1890)
1 min | Documentary, Short
One of W.K.L. Dickson's laboratory workers horses around for the camera.
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise | Star: Giuseppe Sacco Albanese
Votes: 1,233
22. London's Trafalgar Square (1890)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A shot of Trafalgar Square.
Directors: William Carr Crofts, Wordsworth Donisthorpe
Votes: 683
23. Men Boxing (1891)
1 min | Documentary, Short, Action
Two men wearing boxing gloves prepare to spar in the Edison Company studio.
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise
Votes: 808
24. Monkey and Another, Boxing (1891)
Documentary, Short
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise
Votes: 84
25. Newark Athlete (1891)
1 min | Documentary, Short
An athlete swings Indian clubs.
Director: William K.L. Dickson
Votes: 1,421
26. Le prince de Galles (1892)
Documentary, Short
This short documentary is a mini-biography of Edward VII, then Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the throne of England. Because his mother, Queen Victoria, reigned for such an unusually ... See full summary »
Director: Louis Lumière | Star: King Edward VII
Votes: 105
27. Horse Shoeing (1893)
Documentary, Short
One of the pictures to be seen in the machine, for example, was that of a blacksmith shop in which two men were working, one shoeing a horse, the other heating iron at the forge. One would ... See full summary »
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: William K.L. Dickson
Votes: 116
28. Rabbits (1893)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Rabbits jump, play and interact with each other in multiple different sequences.
Director: Étienne-Jules Marey
Votes: 36
29. Carmencita (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Performing on what looks like a small wooden stage, wearing a dress with a hoop skirt and white high-heeled pumps, Carmencita does a dance with kicks and twirls, a smile always on her face.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: Carmencita
Votes: 1,628
30. Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A man (Thomas Edison's assistant) takes a pinch of snuff and sneezes. This is one of the earliest Thomas Edison films and was the first motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: Fred Ott
Votes: 1,790
31. Leonard-Cushing Fight (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short, Sport
In the background, five fans lean on the ropes looking into the ring. The referee is to the left; like the fans, he hardly moves as two fighters swing roundhouse blows at each other. Mike ... See full summary »
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Stars: Jack Cushing, Mike Leonard
Votes: 359
32. Souvenir Strip of the Edison Kinetoscope (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Eugen Sandow, who claims to be the strongest man in the world, appears in the Edison Company's film studio.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: Eugen Sandow
Votes: 1,030
33. Amateur Gymnast, No. 2 (1894)
Documentary, Short, Sport
An athlete does a backwards somersault.
Director: William K.L. Dickson
Votes: 36
34. Annabelle Butterfly Dance (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Annabelle (Whitford) Moore performs one of her popular dances. For this performance, her costume has a pair of wings attached to her back, to suggest a butterfly. As she dances, she uses her long, flowing skirts to create visual patterns.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: Annabelle Moore
Votes: 773
35. Annie Oakley (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
The 'Little Sure Shot' of the 'Wild West.' Exhibition of Rifle Shooting at Glass Balls, etc. (from the Edison Catalog)
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Stars: Francis E. Butler, Annie Oakley
Votes: 1,084
36. The Barbershop (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Customer gets a lightning-fast shave.
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise
Votes: 960
38. The Wrestling Dog (1894)
Documentary, Short
"Wrestles with his trainer."
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: Henry Welton
Votes: 22
39. Armand D'Ary (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
"French danseuse and chanteuse. Pantomine, song, etc."
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: Armand D'Ary
Votes: 31
41. The Cock Fight (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Two gamecocks fight in the Edison Company film studio. This feature was remade later in the same year, with additional detail added.
Director: William K.L. Dickson
Votes: 493
45. Rat Killing (1894)
Documentary, Short
"'Dick the Rat' and his rat-terrier. The dog is turned loose among a lot of big, live rats, and kills them in lightning order."
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: Dick the Rat
Votes: 23
46. Glenroy Brothers (Comic Boxing) (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short, Sport
The Glenroy Brothers perform a portion of their vaudeville act, "The Comic View of Boxing: The Tramp & the Athlete", which depicts a boxer with a classic style trying to contend with an opponent who uses a very unorthodox approach.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: The Glenroy Brothers
Votes: 698
47. The Pickaninny Dance, from the 'Passing Show' (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A scene representing Southern plantation life before the war. A jig and a breakdown by three colored boys.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Stars: Joe Rastus, Denny Tolliver, Walter Wilkins
Votes: 171
48. Bucking Broncho (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A fine exhibition of horsemanship by Lee Martin, a genuine cowboy. This particular broncho is an unusually wicked one. (from Edison Films)
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise | Stars: Frank Hammitt, Lee Martin, Sunfish
Votes: 578
49. Buffalo Dance (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Three Sioux Indians perform a 'buffalo dance', while two others use drums to supply a rhythm. The three dancers move around in a circle as they perform the various actions that are part of the dance.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Stars: Hair Coat, Parts His Hair, Last Horse
Votes: 805