Favorite Films of 1890-1899
Last Updated: 08/16/2022
These are all of the films I have watched with a release date between 1890 & 1899. I have listed them here ranked from best to worst (in my opinion). The one dated 2016 on here is a 1896, but some dumbass changed the date.
These are all of the films I have watched with a release date between 1890 & 1899. I have listed them here ranked from best to worst (in my opinion). The one dated 2016 on here is a 1896, but some dumbass changed the date.
List activity
50 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
42 titles
- DirectorAlfred ClarkStarsRobert ThomaeMrs. Robert L. ThomasThis short film, one of the first to use camera tricks, depicts the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.
- DirectorLouis LumièreWorkers leaving the Lumière factory for lunch in Lyon, France in 1895; a place of great photographic innovation and one of the birth places of cinema.
- DirectorAuguste LumièreLouis LumièreStarsMadeleine KoehlerMarcel KoehlerMrs. Auguste LumiereA train arrives at La Ciotat station.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyJules-Eugène LegrisGeorges MélièsWith the help of a magic cauldron, Mephistopheles conjures up a variety of supernatural characters.
- DirectorAlexandre PromioShort film depicting New York's Broadway and Union Square that gives an insight of everyday life and traffic at that time.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsGiuseppe Sacco AlbaneseOne of W.K.L. Dickson's laboratory workers horses around for the camera.
- DirectorWilliam HeiseStarsMay IrwinJohn C. RiceIn a medium close-up shot of the first kiss ever recorded on screen, two fervent lovers cuddle and talk passionately at hair's breadth, just before the love-smitten gentleman decides to give his chosen one an innocent peck.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsCharles KayserJohn OttThree men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsAnnabelle MooreAnnabelle (Whitford) Moore performs one of her popular dance routines. She uses her dance steps and her long, flowing skirts to create a variety of visual patterns.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAndrée LumièreSuzanne Lumière"Two babies are shown seated in high chairs and apparently enjoying themselves. Suddenly one snatches a toy from the other, and they indulge in hair-pulling."
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsGiuseppe Sacco AlbaneseIn an experiment that follows up on the results of 'Monkeyshines, No. 1', an Edison company worker again moves around in front of the motion picture camera.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseTwo men wearing boxing gloves prepare to spar in the Edison Company studio.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsWilliam K.L. DicksonThe very first American film shown to public audiences and the press. It depicts William K.L. Dickson taking off his hat and greeting the audience.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAuguste LumièreMrs. Auguste LumiereAndrée LumièreAs part of a maiden public film screening at the Salon Indien, on December 28, in Paris, Auguste Lumière pivots the centre of attention around his baby daughter, as he tries to feed her from a spoon.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonAn athlete swings Indian clubs.
- A line of giddy, possibly drunk men, dressed in Scottish highland outfits, perform a disorderly dance routine in front of a sign advertising the product of the title. This film is often described as the first filmed advertisement.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsSatan appears in a convent and takes the guise of a priest. Before long he is causing all manner of perturbation and despair.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsIn this fantastic scene, a man who is eager to retire has a difficult time finding peace, as his nocturnal illusions come to life out of thin air.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsMisidentified as The Mysterious Retort (1906), sadly, this film is currently presumed lost; however, according to Wikipedia, an anthropomorphous star with five female heads and a giant face has people coming out of its mouth.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsAn astronomer falls asleep and has a strange dream involving a fairy queen and the Moon.
- DirectorAlexandre PromioA male lion, right next to bars that are about 6 or 8 inches apart, keenly watches a uniformed zoo attendant toss small morsels of food into the cage. The lion alternates between finding the food on the cage floor and reaching through the bars to swipe at the man, who stays alarmingly close to the beast. In the background are the large rocks and brick wall at the back of the lion's habitat.
- StarsWilliam McKinleyGeorge B. CortelyouIda McKinley"This view was taken upon Mr. McKinley's lawn at his home in Canton, Ohio. Mr. McKinley appears walking across the lawn in company with his Secretary, who hands him a telegram, which he reads with apparent satisfaction. The characteristic walk and gestures of Mr. McKinley will be noted with interest by his friends."
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsFrançois ClercBenoît DuvalAn impudent child plays a prank on a gardener innocently watering his plants.
- DirectorJames H. White"A number of young ladies, in their night robes, are having a frolic, and are interrupted by a teacher. One girl makes herself *very* conspicuous by crawling under a bed."
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsEugen SandowEugen Sandow, who claims to be the strongest man in the world, appears in the Edison Company's film studio.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsMuch to our amazement, an elegant and masterful illusionist detaches his own head effortlessly from his shoulders for a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
- DirectorThomas CrahanDuring the Alaska gold rush, one way to reach the Klondike was over the Chilkoot Pass. A stationary camera is placed to see a ways down the curving trail. A pack train comes into view and passes in front of us, led by a man on horseback. Eight loaded mules follow, then another cowboy on horseback and a man walking, then eight more laden mules, another cowboy, then nine more mules, a cowboy, and still the pack train stretches as far as the eye can see. A solitary man watches from atop a hillock.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsThe Glenroy BrothersThe Glenroy Brothers perform a portion of their vaudeville act, "The Comic View of Boxing: The Tramp & the Athlete", which depicts a boxer with a classic style trying to contend with an opponent who uses a very unorthodox approach.
- A stationary camera looks across Burgundy's River Sâone toward a small military encampment. Four horsemen enter the water in the foreground, each riding his horse as it swims across toward camp or leading it by the bridle as they swim. The men are shirtless. When they reach the middle of the river, seven more shirtless young men, each with a horse, start the crossing. Most begin astride their mount, but end up swimming alongside. Across the river, men stand in front of a large tent to watch and talk. Three officers on a makeshift pier talk to each other and ignore the young men's crossing.
- DirectorJames H. WhiteStarsThomas A. Edison"This film is remarkable in several respects. In the first place, it is full life-size. Secondly, it is the only accurate recent portrait of the great inventor. The scene is an actual one, showing Mr. Edison in working dress engaged in an interesting chemical experiment in his great Laboratory. There is sufficient movement to lead the spectator through the several processes of mixing, pouring, testing, etc. as if he were side by side with the principal. The lights and shadows are vivid, and the apparatus and other accessories complete a startling picture that will appeal to every beholder."
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsJuan A. Caicedo"King of the slack wire. His daring feats of balancing as he performs his thrilling feats in midair show that he is perfectly at home." (from Edison Films)
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseCustomer gets a lightning-fast shave.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsLuis MartinettiLuis Martinetti, a contortionist suspended from acrobatic flying rings, contorts himself for about thirty seconds. This is one of the first films made for Edison's kinetoscopes.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsFélicien TreweyThe transformation of the same character in six different characters. A vision of the act of transformation.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAntoine FéraudAntoine LumièreFélicien TreweyTwo men play cards, as a third watches and a waiter brings drinks. The third man pours drinks as the waiter laughs.
- DirectorJames H. WhiteA woman and a young girl each carry containers of bird feed, and they toss occasional handfuls to the chickens and doves in the farmyard. Most of the chickens stay nearby, but the doves occasionally fly off and then return to eat more.
- Two roosters fight while two men make bets in the background. No (onscreen) deaths of the animals involved.
- DirectorLouis LumièreFin de siécle elegance. A parade of sorts passes in front of a stationary camera. An ostrich pulls a cart in which two well-dressed girls sit, two mules pull a large cart full of children, two horses pass with children astride, a camel follows with two children atop; last comes a large elephant with children on top and a small elephant alongside. Each animal, except the baby elephant, is decked out and each is attended by at least one man. The children are all in hats and frills. After the animals pass, we see adults out for a walk, the women with parasols and the men with silk hats.
- DirectorLouis LumièreTwo young girls feed a flock of domesticated ducks while an adult woman walks by and watches them.
- Dancer in a skeleton costume.
- DirectorLouis LumièreCarmaux is in south-central France, near the Tarn River. As a brick of coke, about four feet high and three feet wide, is gradually pushed out of a smelter into a yard, one worker sprays it with water from a hose while two workers with long metal rakes wait to spread it out. Other workers buzz in and out of the foreground of the stationary camera. Atop the first level of the brick smelter, workers push full carts of coal along a track.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsJoseph JeffersonThe fourth of eight short black and white films from director William K.L. Dickson in which he chronicles the story of Rip Van Winkle. In this film, Rip encounters several other dwarf-like mountain-dwellers.