Charles Pathé

Produced for television by Claude-Jean Philippe, the « Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma », recounts the history of French cinema from its birth to the beginning of the 1960s. With commentary read by Jean Rochefort.

Sisif, a railwayman, saves a young girl named Norma orphaned by a train crash and raises her as his own daughter alongside his son, Elie. As she becomes an adult, Sisif grapples with whether to tell Norma the truth about her parentage.

Nicole Védrès' chronicle of Paris from 1900 to 1914 is brought to life through the use of original material, all authentic, secured from more then 700 films belonging to public and private collections. A few of the celebrities of the time shown are Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maurice Chevalier.

The story of two men, one married, the other the lover of the other's wife, who meet in the trenches of the First World War, and how their tale becomes a microcosm for the horrors of war.

15 chapter adventure serial starring Doris Kenyon. Episode titles: 1. The Gauntlet of Death 2. Counterfeit Faces 3. The Island of Dread 4. The False Locket 5. The Air-Lock 6. The Flower of Death 7. The Fire Trap 8. Slide for Life 9. Jets of Flame 10. Cogs of Death 11. Trapped by Treachery 12. Eyes in the Wall 13. Jaws of the Tiger 14. The Unmasking 15. The Girl of the Prophecy.

With family connections to some famous French artists, writers, and musicians of the time, Sacha Guitry decided to film the individuals in action, to celebrate the greatness of his culture, threatened by Germany in the ongoing Great War.

Georges Méliès's first attempt at Cinderella was in 1899. That film was extraordinary then for having multiple scenes and a semblance of a narrative; additionally, the use of dissolves as transitions in it influenced other filmmakers for years to do the same. Méliès was the cinema world's preeminent leader then. By 1912, however, that was no longer the case; frankly, as evidenced by this feature, his style had become dated. Moreover, Méliès had begun to adopt techniques from other filmmakers, such as direct cuts instead of dissolves, and there's even a match on action shot during the slipper trying-on scene.

A demonstration of sport and fitness by members of the Indian Army.

A science fantasy film that deals with an extraordinary race to the north pole by rival parties of balloonists. Based on the novel "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras" by Jules Verne.

Fernand Pradier (Gabriel Signoret) is an honest merchant and a simple person at heart who tries to make her daughter Germaine (Gabrielle Robinne) happy. She is engaged to a rich banker St-Bris (René Alexandre). However, the fiance once belonged to a criminal organization and, despite his efforts of rehabilitation, one of his ancient accomplices makes their engagement impossible. Eventually imprisoned, she escapes with the help of a beautiful typist (Stacia Napierkowska)...

The carrot caterpillar hides among and feeds on the leafy foliage in carrot fields. A man demonstrates how difficult it is to detect and remove them from the carrot plants. They propel themselves with their six feet and twelve suction cups. To ward off enemies, they display two horns which secrete a malodorous liquid. Before the chrysalis stage of their development, they attach themselves to a surface and two days later burst from their shell. After spending the winter as a chrysalis, they emerge as swallowtail butterflies. Once they have bathed their wings in dew and dried off, they are ready to fly. (Library of Congress)

Recommended by a friend of the Ambigu Theatre, Max is summoned to Joinville studios. His first role is that of a husband who comes home late.

Two lovers perform a fandango dance. A jealous quarrel follows and the heart-broken swain decides to end it all. He throws himself from the window of his room, but instead of falling to his death, the anchor of a passing balloon intercepts his flight and he is taken high into the clouds. Laughing at his plight, the moon arouses the anger of the desperate lover and a battle between the two ensues.

Attractive travelogue filmed in and around Delhi's Qutb complex.

The extraordinary life of cinema pioneer Segundo de Chomón.

Early short film adapted from the Bible (Judges 4-5)

A magician and some assistants put up a series of posters of music hall acts in a frame. Then the magician brings each poster to life.

Jean Comandon, pioneer of microcinematography, recorded this time-lapse film in c. 1910, using a ultramicroscope. The film show living spiral shaped syphilis bacteria moving among red blood cells of frog. Notice the back-and-forth movement, characterizing the disease-causing form. (Wikipedia)

Tribute to Segundo de Chomón. Semi-documentary featuring short films and appearances by actors who explain his works, such as Inma de Santis, Jesús Gúzman, and Ana Mariscal.

No description available.