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 Fox Spirit and The Little Priest(zh)

She has waited 300 years for the other to be born again. Can their relationship find a new start when one is a fox spirit, and the other a priestess?

The Caged Canary(zh)

Years of trying to fit in with the high society as the Gu family's foster daughter, Gu Shuyi meets headstrong & charming, Bai Yuwei. These two women grow fond of each other. With their new found trust and support, they try to break free from the constraints of patriarchy and embrace modernity.

I Am the Doorway(en)

After Saturn XVI crashes back to Earth, ex-astronaut Arthur struggles with an infection. Richard and his friends are blind to it's origin but his victims won't be. The Doorway is open.

A Tale of Yearning(zh)

This is a sad tale of a noble lady who is entranced by an opera singer. Hoping to get closer to the singer, the lady takes up lessons with her. Despite their affection, they must face obstacles.

A Search Through Nine Lifetimes(zh)

For love to travel for thousands of years, they will eventually meet.

Carne(fr)

After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.

Chicago(en)

Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

Rope(en)

Two young men attempt to prove they committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party for the family of a classmate they just strangled to death.

Kismet(en)

Stephanie is a young woman who just turned thirty, and has everything a girl wants in life -- beauty, intelligence, and a handsome, successful fiance who seems to be madly in love with her. Frank pushes her to set a date for the wedding after a long engagement, but Stephanie is not sure about making a commitment to marriage; something is holding her back. Does another man just exist in her imagination or is he out there somewhere? When Frank finally announces the wedding date in front of her family and friends, Stephanie has to face reality. In the moment of truth, Stephanie has to decide whether to follow her head or her heart.

Soft(en)

A teenager struggles with his identity after an unresolved family relationship.

Behind the Door(en)

Oscar Krug is looked upon with suspicion by his neighbors because of his German name. When the US is drawn into the war with Germany, he enlists and travels the seas with his wife, Alice Morse. During a submarine attack Alice is snatched from Krug's side by a German officer. Krug now lives to have his revenge, and when the opportunity presents itself, he will have it.

The Bright Shawl(en)

Charles Abbott is implicated in the death of his friend Escobar, brother to the woman he loves.

Hotel Chevalier(en)

In a Paris hotel room, Jack Whitman lies on a bed. His phone rings; it's a woman on her way to see him, a surprise. She arrives and the complications of their relationship emerge in bits and pieces. Will they make love? Is their relationship over? (A prequel to The Darjeeling Limited, 2007.)

The Migration Act(zh)

This partially-extant silent film focuses on the lives of people in rural China during the early twentieth century. Wang Guisheng (played by Wang Yuanlong) is an orphan who grew up at his uncle's, working as a farmhand. Since childhood, he has been close with his female cousin, Li Ah Zhen (played by Li Minghui), and they expect to marry. But when her mother dies of illness and overwork, Ah Zhen's father re-marries, and the evil stepmother connives to marry Ah Zhen off to the stepmother's nephew. Then a government representative comes to the village recruiting peasants to establish a new settlement on the borderlands, she persuades the despondent Guisheng to sign up. Guisheng leaves his love behind, only to find hardship on the frontier. Ah Zhen, who has fallen ill, is set upon by her groom on her wedding night...BUT the next morning his stabbed corpse is found in the bridal chamber and a body in a bridal gown is found down a well. WHAT HAS HAPPENED?!?!?!?!!

Dreams Come True(zh)

The Desert Song(en)

French General Birabeau has been sent to Morocco to root out and destroy the Riffs, a band of Arab rebels, who threaten the safety of the French outpost in the Moroccan desert. Their dashing, daredevil leader is the mysterious "Red Shadow". Margot Bonvalet, a lovely, sassy French girl, is soon to be married at the fort to Birabeau's right-hand man, Captain Fontaine. Birabeau's son Pierre, in reality the Red Shadow, loves Margot, but pretends to be a milksop to preserve his secret identity. Margot tells Pierre that she secretly yearns to be swept into the arms of some bold, dashing sheik, perhaps even the Red Shadow himself. Pierre, as the Red Shadow, kidnaps Margot and declares his love for her.

The Inner Voice(en)

Mark Reid, a young prospector, discovers gold in the Sierra foothills. He meets an old man known as "The Good Samaritan," who counsels him and welcomes him into his home. While he is away registering his claim, another prospector, Mike O'Hara, comes along, and, seeing no one around, takes possession of the gold mine. When Reid returns, the two engage in a struggle. As Reid is about to be overcome, an Indian slips a dagger into his hand. Reid is about to stab O'Hara when The Good Samaritan appears and stops the fight. Reid and the O'Hara set aside their differences and decide to become partners.

Fickle Women(en)

Fast and Loose(en)

A wealthy family is thrown into turmoil when the daughter falls for the family chauffeur and the son begins to keep company with a chorus girl.

Aftermath(en)

Two characters try to getaway from an unescapable murder