The IMAX of the 1890s | HOW TO SEE the First Movies

“We live in an environment where there are moving images constantly around us. But in 1897, this was startling and new and completely revolutionary. It was a different way of looking at the world.”
In 1939, MoMA acquired a treasure of thirty-six reels of 68mm nitrate prints and negatives made in cinema’s first years. Everything that survived of the Biograph film company lives on those reels, including a rare bit of moving image footage of Queen Victoria.
For the latest edition of How to See, we visited MoMA’s film archives in Hamlin, Pennsylvania to learn more about the incredible quality and clarity of this newly discovered nineteenth-century movie, and the efforts archivists make to preserve such irreplaceable snapshots of history. Curator Dave Kehr joins the discussion to help us look at the early film with the same awe-inspired, expanded view of the world of its first audiences.
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Credits
Director: Sean Yetter
Editor: Dustin Waldman
Cinematographer: Nathan Lynch
Colorist: Daniel Orentlicher
Original music: Brock Chart
Audio Engineer: Brock Babcock
Bill Morrison. Decasia. 2002. Courtesy the artist
Archival photo of "Biograph Studio, The Bronx" courtesy of Marc Wanamaker/Bison Archives
Additional archival footage courtesy of Getty Images and British Pathé
Additional music by The Musicbed and De Wolfe Music
Special thanks to James Layton, Courtney Holschuh, Nancy Lukacinsky, and Theo Harrison of the Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center
The comments and opinions expressed in this video are those of the speaker alone, and do not represent the views of The Museum of Modern Art, its personnel, or any artist.
#film #queenvictoria #cinema #davekehr #history #art #museumofmodernart #moma #museum #modernart

[@kloakovalimonada]

Incredible. The ride along a river at 7:30 is completely mind-blowing.

[@themuseumofmodernart]

We just released the full film "The Flying Train" (1902). Hope you enjoy! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIbHYpSQe6pjnLc

[@poemesymphonique]

Breathtaking. The entire collection _needs_ to be released to the general public in a digital format, either on Blu-ray or streamed online at 4k. They are a cultural heritage that _must_ be preserved. It is usually difficult for the general public to access such early films in high quality (especially after the media sensation of a new discovery calms down). That's what happened with the 1902 Turner color film. I know that a selection of the Lumière brothers' films, Méliès' "A Trip to the Moon," and the 1903 version of "Alice in Wonderland" are among some early films released on Blu-ray. These films have even more of a reason to be released on a high quality format because of the 68mm gauge.

[@SilentLocationsbyJohnBengtson]

About 10 years ago Kevin Brownlow screened The London United Electric Tramways Opening Ceremony 1901 footage (starting at 8:04) at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. Watching this was the most emotionally powerful movie experience of my life. The images were so huge, vivid, and detailed that I nearly gasped. It felt as if you could call out to the people on the sidewalk and they would turn to answer you. Somehow these people from more than a century ago and I were directly connected, sharing a common experience, seeing the same things. The sense of time travel was so overpowering that my eyes welled with tears, and when the film ended I felt shaken and torn. How wonderful that such films are being preserved and shared - bravo, and thank you.

[@jimwojton7369]

The old films provide a glimpse into a world that sadly no longer exists. Thank you for this.

[@jimwilson4370]

Brought tears to my eyes. I had no idea this format existed. We've lost so many nitrate prints over the years; it's great to see a concerted effort to save/restore those that are left.

[@AbbieOates]

Absolutely gorgeous. As someone with a lifelong interest in early film, seeing the restored pictures at their correct speed, even momentarily, was astonishing. Thank you for all the work you do.

[@thecinematicmind]

Watching all this footage at the BFI IMAX is one of the ultimate cinematic experiences you’ll ever have.

[@leonjones12]

What is the showing called?

[@thecinematicmind]

leonjones12 It was called The Great Victorian Moving Picture Show

[@PieStudios]

It’s amazing that such old footage has held up to this day

[@historyarmyproductions]

This is why I love history. It Grounds us, It shows us what no longer is here, it shows us what we used to be, It shows us the Beauty of times past, Its Beautiful, Yet Harrowing, Gauche, yet Elegant, Its Alive.

[@lddevo88]

The melted faces on the destroyed nitrate film from 9:18 on are genuinely terrifying

[@superarrowcollarman]

It's almost as if we are literally looking directly into the past at these people and places, watching them on this film. Incredible!

[@Nataloff]

Dave Kerr has a warm and wise screen and soundtrack presence.

[@DhairyaJoshi]

Thank you so much MOMA For uploading such fascinating and insightful information of late 1900's moving pictures. Please release all the movies in digital format so people can learn more about 1900's concept of movie making and about culture as whole and thanks again for the hardwork that goes into preservation of those bygone era.

[@ianpeddle6818]

Wow just wow. I’m currently reading the series of books from the 1990s called The Emergence of Cinema volume one by Charles Musser covering the origins to 1907. Absolutely fascinating but to see how incredibly sharp and the incredible high quality of these moving images so early in the film era is a revelation. What’s wonderful is to actually see some of the films referred to in the book. As other people have said these hugely important items need to be preserved forever and made available on disc. Some years back a huge collection of early films by Mitchell and Kenyan were found in barrels in the cellar of a shop being refurbished. They cover films of England at the end if the 19th and early 20th centuries. These were filmed during the day and shown that evening so people who had been filmed could see themselves. They were shown at travelling fairs. The beauty of these films are they aren’t the rich they are working and middle class ordinary people. Watching them brings a lump to the throat as you connect with children, youngsters old people long dead seeing them alive, responding to the camera etc. it really connects through time to ancestors. They have even found ancestors of these people who can see their great grandparents as children. I find the whole thing magical, incredible and poignant. Little did they realise what they were bequeathing to the future ❤

[@BlaBla-jj6sh]

The depth perception you get from this large format frame is beautiful to see.

[@jeenkzk5919]

Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated with film and movie projectors.

[@MrDumbeldore1000]

incredible quality! it gives a completely different feeling of whats portraited i could watch them the whole day

[@AustinNewman]

To see an original print of The Great Train Robbery is a bucket list item for sure - so cool!

[@RonRicho]

Aside from anything else (and there's a lot) the QUALITY of the film is stunning. I'll be watching this over and over. Thank you so much.

[@whomanbeing]

Wonderful. It amazes me that fairly mundane footage becomes priceless with the dilation of time.

[@gregrumpff5392]

RUNDOWN OF SELECT SCENES (with added info as I had it) 0:13 Buffalo, New York fire department races to a fire (1899) 0:23 Whirlpool Rapids, Niagara Falls (1900) 0:32 Passenger steamer S.S. St. Louis departs from Southampton, England. This footage was shot just a year after the boat took part in the Spanish-American War. (1899) 0:35 Grand Canal, Venice, Italy (1898) 0:37 Prince of Wales at the Aldershot Review (1899) 0:39 Lord and Lady Corzon and Duke and Duchess of Connaught state entry into Delhi, India by elephant (1903) 0:53 King Edward VIII, his successor King George VI (subject of the movie "The King's Speech") and Princess Mary (later the Countess of Harewood) at play as children (1900) 1:47 Queen Victoria's final visit to Ireland (1900) 4:25 Explosions to create a new harbor at Eastwich, South Wales (1902) 4:27 Launch of the S.S. Oceanic (2nd vessel by that name) Sept. 6, 1899 First ship built using hydraulic rivets and the largest ship in existence at the time. In May 1912, this ship would aid in recovery of corpses from the sinking of the S.S. Titanic. 7:59 London United Electric Trainways opening ceremony (1901) 10:25 Panoramic view from Great Western Railway (1902) 10:24 Crossing the Oberbaum bridge on the Berlin-U-Bahn underground railway, Berlin, Germany. The bridge links two sections of Berlin that were separated by the Berlin Wall at the time. 10:32 Bullfight for the coronation of Alfonso XIII of Spain (1902)

[@Drunkenmaster2000]

Beautiful! Perhaps someday the moving image will be considered one of the greatest achievements of the 20th Century. Maybe it already has been. It is marvellous to watch these old moving images; some of your restorations make it look like it was shot yesterday. Thank you!

[@PhillipJames100]

Truly fantastic footage of a bygone era, so beautifully restored....thank you.

[@oberon79]

please make all those footage available on youtube.

[@kwemo4276]

Amazing! Thank you for your preservation work and helping all of us gain a deeper sense and respect for film history.

[@orlando1a1]

Fantastic video. Thank you MOMA for uploading such a fascinating and insightful video of a bygone, analogue world.

[@00cozy00]

This video brings me nameless emotion...

[@steffen5121]

Especially the last sentence touches me deeply.

[@bestbry1]

This was truly heartwarming to watch 👏🏻👏🏻

[@lorichart4226]

AMAZING MUSIC!!!! LOVED

[@jonathanfurtado6880]

Great work! It's really important that the MoMA preserve the moving image going forward. Todays generations are loosing the importance of what's come before them with the way technology is advancing at a breakneck pace!

[@ToycatsCat]

Why not release these films in 4k on Blu-ray? I'm sure many people would want to see these at the full resolution scanned, they're amazing!

[@liberte5847]

INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, OUTSTANDING PRIMARY MOVING LIVING PICTURES EVER IN WIDE SCREEN! BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO! MERCI BEAUCOUP FOR THIS RENDERING EVER! Emmanuel from Paris

[@gbeaudette]

It's kinda crazy how much of our public perception of old silent films are colored by decades of seeing bad prints shown at the wrong frame rate. Even my film history professor offhandedly remarked that Charlie Chaplin tottering along at 150% speed must have been for comedic effect rather than him showing us a cheap public domain copy that carelessly showed a film at 24 fps that was actually shot at 16.

[@janetcarbone4213]

You so eloquently said my exact feelings about this art form. This is great stuff. Please please continue your restoration effort! I feel the loss of those great films. A window into an important past. Thank you.

[@dadautube]

beauty makes me want to cray involuntarily ... and these 'ancient' footage are so beautiful ... very nicely done little documentary as well btw ... and such a great piano music in the background as well ...

[@tholmes572]

All those people in this movie are no longer with us, be nice if some one watching this is seeing an ancestor on the screen, amazing a part of history on moving film.

[@ososkid]

These have a stunning depth to them you don’t get today. Almost 3D I bet you could make them 3D or more 3D appearing

[@mycompasstv]

Fantastic narration!

[@ianoneill5905]

Incredible! Thank you for this and for the preservation work you are doing!

[@waltersanders3254]

Spectacular! And the compositions are very well seen.

[@ExcelsiorSince1984]

Real life in action! Amazing!!!

[@sirtoasty1]

Where can I find the full version of the clip "panoramic view of the Berlin u bahn crossing oberbaum bridge" from 1902 (timestamp 10:29). I live in Berlin and this really interests me, its just so surreal to see such clear pictures from an area I know so far back in history.

[@minkstole977]

these are in amazing condition wow

[@epsospremium6088]

Everybody was wearing hats :-) 🎩🎩🎩

[@Brookspirit]

7:58 is the Uxbridge Road, Ealing Broadway in West London traveling east.

[@asbury29]

Loved this piece - it was like time travel!

[@NikkiLovesYouLotsx]

Amazing! Beautiful and fantastic!

[@Silencebound]

Well, I badly wants to see ALL the complete released 68mm films in one slot.

[@Teleportcamera]

Thank you for sharing this! Is it possible to see "The flying train" film somewhere?

[@jeffreysantner3717]

All of them would look great in 3D!

[@snugbug5067]

Amazing. We're seeing video of the granddaughter of King George 111.

[@taymur0804]

Wow, such a great interesting video and this is the first time watch queen victoria in HD and smiling with such kindness. :)

[@bilbobarpkins8966]

completely amazing

[@roseliu7465]

What a beautiful video!

[@darrienscott3361]

Really nicely put together video !

[@dianeo]

Fascinating! Thank you.

[@jazziered142]

Thank you so much for sharing this. This is amazing.

[@MKeithMoore]

This is so splendid! Thank you.

[@coolmanjack1995]

For the love of all that is sacred I just wish people would play old film at the proper speed so it doesn't look like you should be playing the benny hill theme over top. It was very nice to see this

[@davegreenlaw5654]

@6:27 - "The Kiss", one of the earliest pieces of film...also probably the first instance of a Canadian actor going to the US to become a film star. (Seriously, the woman in that short clip was Canadian.)

[@dougg1075]

Fascinating

[@alsatch]

What a superb film, thank you!

[@janetcarbone4213]

Amazing❤❤❤. Thank you

[@calfreisen]

Highly interesting! Sylvana

[@Carl17H]

would be nice if moma would upload these full films online

[@DavinciWhite]

Wonderful video

[@iamalandstander]

Since the film is 30 frames/sec, it would have been nice if the video here was as well. It's still mind blowing.

[@electricmaster23]

random thing: I guessed this guy's age to be 67. According to his wiki and when this was uploaded, I was bang on the mark. Nevertheless, a very sharp-looking 67. Can see this man reaching 100.

[@ronevry2664]

Truly amazing.

[@northwindkey]

Another thing often lost in modern viewings of these films? Color. Yes, most silent films were presented in color. On hand-painted prints, or tinted and toned. But they were more often than not, presented in some form of color. Surviving prints were often only B&W, and so we've created a narrative that that was the "original" version, and that any attempt to restore the color is akin to the colorization scandals of the 80s.

[@nixonmanuel6459]

Wow! Thank you.

[@charlesandhisworld]

This is incredible stuff

[@masifoto]

Wonderful

[@farmbrough]

There's a very high resolution in silver nitrate at 2.75 inches. But I do note that a lot of them are overexposed.

[@oceanicstarline1899]

4:27 does anyone know where I could find more of the film at this time stamp?

[@hollismccray3297]

Will this footage be available for viewing separately? I'm interested in the footage of Queen Victoria.

[@shadow2010shadow2010]

fascinating very informative

[@JimAllder11]

Edison wasn't the inventor of motion picture photography. It was Louis Le Prince. Edison invented the exploitation of motion picture photography.

[@FVDaudio]

Excelente, Thanks!.

[@salvatore_dali]

Could you name the music pieces used in the background of this video?

[@mjones410]

fantastic

[@haroldellis9721]

Wow.

[@ososkid]

At 8:05 a woman under the London County Bank sign in a dark dress holding a matching dark parasol and pulling a baby buggy (pram) appears to be going in reverse, while everyone else is going forward. I guess she’s, for some reason, pulling the pram (buggy) along in reverse, but it looks very odd

[@cashoyboy]

you cant talk about film preservation without mentioning martin scorsese. the man has done more for the art of cinema than any other director.

[@mintaka57]

Wow ♥ ♥ ♥

[@jinchoung]

nah... film artifice existed at the very birth of cinema - georges melies was every bit the illusionist as those we have now with digital tech. and stuff like matte paintings were like just months behind the starting gun. from its inception, film was thought of as a medium for visual trickery.

[@icc1091]

wowwowowoowowowowowowow!

[@notnek202]

Victoria’s daughter Princess Beatrice is in the carriage with her mother.

[@user-qk4nt7em1q]

Seeing Victorian Era footage restored in the same way as 'They shall not grow old' is going to be beyond incredible. Put AI on the job, pronto.

[@swrobel]

Too bad this wasn't made available in 4K

[@Holymolypatoly]

What song was that piano at the beginning?

[@keysersoze_6]

Lizzie - A criminal queen who killed millions and stole trillions through colonization.

[@davidseslar5798]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHOxqJyGnNChpJo Old Faithful Geyser is in Yellowstone NP in Wyoming, not Yosemite NP in California.

[@Silencebound]

Please come and see my special film-related project called "Lost 35mm Nitrate Film FOUND !" ( Just type 'Lost 35mm' in the Search Box here ), and see all my thirty lost 35mm films that I discovered it from around the world since 2014. Go and see it with your thrilling pleasure. Robert.

[@michaelmcgee8543]

Why hasn't it been transferred into safety film.nitrate won't wait.

[@michaelmcgee8543]

Why didn't they persuade jack Warner to make two color technicolor print of their early color films from 29 to 30 , by 35 and had them donated to moma in the past? On with the show and gold digger of Broadway and sally would have still existed in their color form today.It's frustrating that time Warner deiced not to remaster the 1929 mysterious island form the restored color print in 2020 ,just because they possibly felt there wasn't enough interest that they cheaply put the black white version on DVD instead.This is how bad film restoration has become lately ,due to greed and selfishness.I'm glad that William wade decide to finally release the 3 color print version of dancing pirate and now kino lorber is to release mamba in may.

[@danbaylon]

0:17 😂😂😂😂

[@CanalGentalica]

I'm here, directly from Brasil, i like much this channel. Please, make a video about restouration of Star Wars classic saga. Thank you for attention.

[@LaurentiuTodiePixP]

Nice work, but there's nothing wrong with things that never existed. Just look inside the museum's galleries.

[@thecinematicmind]

or the Bible.