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 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

History of a Crime

History of a Crime 1901

5.79

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

1901

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

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

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

Le Voleur invisible

Le Voleur invisible 1909

6.40

A man in a suit and cap stops in front of the display of a bookseller, finds and flips… "Invisible Man" by H. G. Wells! Fascinated by the subject, he buys the book and goes home with the intention to test the invisibility formula described by the author…

1909

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

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

Whimsical People

Whimsical People 1908

5.50

A moon-woman shakes a Pierot costume and manifests a Pierot clown. She does this four more until there are five Pierots crowded on the ledge of the moon. They fall to the earth and dance like tops turning one by one into Columbine maidens.

1908

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

The Taint

The Taint 1914

1

Vera Knight is hired to assist a biologist, Madame Bartlett. Since Vera is a naive girl from the country, she falls prey to the charms of Madame Bartlett's secretary and bookkeeper, Paul Chilton. The inevitable happens, and she goes home to give birth to a little boy while Chilton makes excuses for not marrying her.

1914

Max's First Job

Max's First Job 1910

5.10

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.

1910

La Tosca

La Tosca 1909

1

Rome, June 1800. Floria Tosca is a celebrated opera singer, better known as La Tosca. Her lover is Mario Cavaradossi, a young artist and Bomapartist sympathizer. When the latter helps Angelotti, the leader of the opposition, to escape from prison and hides him in La Tosca's home, he antagonizes Baron Scarpia, the ruthless chief of police, all the more as his love for Tosca is unrequited. Scarpia has Mario arrested and condemned to death. Upset, Floria begs the Baron for her lover's life. He accepts to have the bullets of the firing squad replaced by blanks if... she sleeps with him. She agrees nominally but when she finds herself with Scarpia, she stabs him to death. She then goes to see Mario in his cell and lets him know about his phony execution. But Scarpia had had time to get the order reversed and in the early hours of the morning, Mario is executed in the proper manner. In despair, Tosca throws herself into the void...

1909

Max Takes a Bath

Max Takes a Bath 1911

6.10

On doctor's orders Max buys a new bathtub, but Max struggles to fill it, and when he does, he can't bathe in peace!

1911

Captain Kiddo

Captain Kiddo 1917

1

Marie and her friend Billy are playing pirates and Marie is the pirate and Billy is her assistant. Marie's widowed mother becomes engaged to Mr. Cross , whom Marie doesn't like -- she much prefers Jack Laird, a secret service man. Laird's investigation of opium smugglers leads him to suspect that Cross is involved, but Marie's mother refuses to let him be searched.

1917

Attempted Suicide

Attempted Suicide 1906

6.00

Suffering from unrequited love, Max hangs himself from a tree, and ends up hanging for hours while local townspeople squabble over whose responsibility it is to rescue him.

1906