The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ

The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ 1903

6.32

The story of Jesus Christ, from the proclamation of His Nativity to His Ascension into heaven. Impressive staging and beautiful hand-coloring distinguish the film from its Passion-play counterparts; Its scale and dynamic crowds prelude the Italian epics to come.

1903

J'accuse

J'accuse 1919

7.42

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.

1919

The Bewitched House

The Bewitched House 1907

6.50

A group of travellers go into a house for protection. Little do they know, it is filled with ghosts who make unusual things happen to them.

1907

What Is Seen Through a Keyhole

What Is Seen Through a Keyhole 1901

5.34

Pathé film number 380, also known as "What Happened to the Inquisitive Janitor" (US) and "Peeping Tom" (UK). It should not be confused with its remake from 1905 also titled What is Seen Through a Keyhole, a film now considered lost. As a janitor is cleaning a hotel, he decides to peek through the keyholes to observe some of the guests in their rooms. In room 8, a woman is busy making herself look more attractive, and the janitor enjoys watching her. There are also some interesting things going on in the other rooms on the floor.

1901

The Red Spectre

The Red Spectre 1907

5.97

A demonic magician attempts to perform his act in a strange grotto, but is confronted by a Good Spirit who opposes him.

1907

Aladdin and His Wonder Lamp

Aladdin and His Wonder Lamp 1906

6.10

The legend of Aladdin and his magic lamp: Aladdin finds a magic lamp which brings him wealth, luxury, and marriage to a princess. But his rival, an evil magician, steals the lamp for himself. Aladdin must regain the lamp or lose everything.

1906

The Electric Hotel

The Electric Hotel 1908

6.08

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

1908

The Dancing Pig

The Dancing Pig 1907

6.13

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.

1907

Satan at Play

Satan at Play 1907

5.60

The Devil is bored. He goes back to Earth with a magic elevator. He surprises two sewer workers, disguises himself as a city man, and spreads improbable events: quarrel with a coachman, altercation with a city sergeant, mystification of a barman, quiproquo with couples… He's trapped in a cage with a young woman, and goes down to hell. Surprise, the young woman is Madame Devil who was disguised by jealousy.

1907

Vendetta

Vendetta 1905

3.00

Two men get into a knife fight, in a Corsican tavern, and one of them kills another and escapes. He takes refuge in his house but escapes when the guard arrives, starting a persecution to the death.

1905

A Funny Shave

A Funny Shave 1906

5.60

A man is trying to shave, but grotesque faces keep appearing in his mirror.

1906

History of a Crime

History of a Crime 1901

5.79

A convicted criminal dreams about his past the night before his execution.

1901

Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut 1912

1

Seventeen-year-old Des Grieux, studying philosophy at Amiens, comes from a noble and landed family, but forfeits his hereditary wealth and incurs the disappointment of his father by running away with Manon on her way to a convent. In Paris, the young lovers enjoy a blissful cohabitation, while Des Grieux struggles to satisfy Manon's taste for luxury. He acquires money by borrowing from his unwaveringly loyal friend Tiberge and by cheating gamblers.

1912

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

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

Loïe Fuller

Loïe Fuller 1905

4.60

This is another short, simple dance number. It’s quite stunning and unusual though with a bat turning into a woman who proceeds to give us a skirt dance before disappearing into thin air. The dance is mesmerising with the skirt stunningly changing colour throughout the film.

1905

L'Assommoir

L'Assommoir 1908

5.50

Everyman Coupeau's attempts to stop drinking are routinely thwarted by the wicked and vengeful Virginie. Based on Zola's novel, Capellani's film is about the free fall of a group of working-class French folk into degradation and tragedy due to carelessness, jealousy, and alcohol abuse. At the time of its release, L'Assommoir was hugely successful.

1908

Max Sets the Fashion

Max Sets the Fashion 1912

5.20

Max, awakening on his wedding morning, discovers that it is close on the hour when he should be at the church. He dresses hastily, and in struggling with a refractory collar, allows his boots to be burnt by the fire. There is no time to change them, and he hastens off to the bride's house. On the way his soles part company with their uppers, and poor Max enters into negotiations with a passing labourer for the purchase of his footgear.

1912