The Electric Hotel

The Electric Hotel 1908

6.10

An enthusiastic young couple is astounded with modern technology's giant leaps in the fascinating field of electricity.

1908

Fantasmagorie

Fantasmagorie 1908

6.61

An animated film by French auteur Émile Cohl, one of the earliest examples of hand-drawn film animation. Drawing inspiration from J. Stuart Blackton and the Incoherents of club Hydropathes, the film, with all its wild transformations, sees our protagonist materialize a movie theatre, meet an elephant and escape from jail; A morphing, stream-of-consciousness delight.

1908

The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew 1908

5.40

Based on Shakespeare's play. Petruchio courts the bad-tempered Katharina, and tries to change her aggressive behavior.

1908

Stenka Razin

Stenka Razin 1908

4.40

Stenka Razin is the leader of a group of outlaws who live a life of revelry and carousing along the Volga River and in the nearby forests. When Razin becomes distracted by a captured foreign princess and starts to dote on her, his men are displeased, feeling that he is neglecting them and their usual activities. Soon they come up with a plot, in the hopes of turning Razin against the princess.

1908

Female Conscripts

Female Conscripts 1908

5.40

A man in civil clothes, and three men in army uniforms are inspecting seven women to be recruited.

1908

The Dream of an Opium Fiend

The Dream of an Opium Fiend 1908

5.50

The opium fiend is seen in a den, puffing on this terrible narcotic. He then falls fast asleep and dreams that he is at home with his wife. He asks for something to drink and he is given wine, which he does not care for, and he is finally given some bottled beer and a glass, but he complains that the glass is too small and he gets a very large sized glass receptacle, into which his wife and maid servant pour the contents of the bottle. As he is about to drink the glass passes from his hand mysteriously, sailing through the room and out of the window to the moon…

1908

The Good Luck of a 'Souse'

The Good Luck of a 'Souse' 1908

4.30

This film from George Melies is sadly one that's only available in fragments. The film starts off with a title card stating that a drunk man has just thrown his family out a window. We see a couple of them landing on the ground and then we go back to the room where the drunk is now trying to kill himself.

1908

Magic Bricks

Magic Bricks 1908

5.40

Experimental color film that shows a magician and his assistant making objects and people appear and disappear. Then they stack up some blocks and a moving picture of a little girl appears on them.

1908

The New Lord of the Village

The New Lord of the Village 1908

5.10

There's a scene in a village, then there's a scene out in the wilderness with what appear to be gods, and a giant crab, and a giant frog... then there's another scene in the village... and that's it.

1908

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest 1908

5.60

A woodsman leaves a hut followed by a woman with their baby. Nearby some men chop down a tree. The baby is left outside the hut, but an eagle flies away with it.

1908

A Visit to the Seaside

A Visit to the Seaside 1908

6.50

The first successful motion picture in natural color, filmed with Kinemacolor. It is an 8 minute short film directed by George Albert Smith of Brighton, showing people doing everyday activities. It is ranked of high historical importance. Kinemacolor later influenced and replaced by Technicolor, which was used from 1916 to 1952.

1908

The Adventures of Dollie

The Adventures of Dollie 1908

5.35

On a warm and sunny summer's day, a mother and father take their young daughter Dollie on a riverside outing.

1908

Pharmaceutical Hallucinations

Pharmaceutical Hallucinations 1908

5.20

There's a chemistry lab, in which one or two people ingest the wrong drug -- apparently -- and have a seriously bad trip. Then there's this wizard in his cave, and a fairy appears -- then there's this massive feast with about a dozen people. Then it ends.

1908

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty 1908

4.40

Based on the story of "Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault. Titles read: The Christening of the Princess; The Good Fairies Fatal Prediction; The Royal Edict; The Princess is Sixteen Years Old; Searching for the Princess; The Prediction Comes True; Thou Shalt Sleep for a Hundred Years; A Hundred Years later the Prince Charming Goes Hunting; Prince Charming Dismisses His Escort; The Castle of Sleep; The Guard's Hall; You Have Been a Long Time Coming, prince; The Wedding of the Sleeping Beauty to Prince Charming.

1908

The Devil

The Devil 1908

1

Mack Sennett appears as a waiter in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

1908

Excursion to the Moon

Excursion to the Moon 1908

5.40

Segundo de Chomón's remake of Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon.

1908

The Mischance of a Photographer

The Mischance of a Photographer 1908

4.50

A family goes to a photographer. The photographer pushes the boy around, and no one seems to care. The boy gets his revenge.

1908