An excellent primer on the Lumière brothers

I am an amateur student of film history and had heard the Lumière brothers (Louis and Auguste) mentioned as film pioneers. They even get a shout-out in director Martin Scorsese's recent ode to film history HUGO (2011). Yet I had never had the opportunity to see any of their films or learn much about them. Thanks to TCM and its programming tie-in to the STORY OF FILM: AN ODYSSEY (2010) documentary series, I was finally able to sample dozens of the Lumières' films in this half-hour compilation.

LUMIERE'S FIRST PICTURE SHOWS compiles over twenty very short films from the dawn of cinema, only covering about three years' time (1895-1897). Included are a variety of films, mostly documenting real-life in short snippets. Parades, firefighters, trains, pedestrians, etc. There are also some more staged films, including a water hose prank.

In the earliest days of filmmaking, the novelty was the motion captured in the image. So early films were created of mundane subjects like a crowd of people leaving work, parents feeding their child, or a train pulling into a station. Anything that could capture "life", when projected onto a wall, would wow the audience. The film used in the Lumières' patented cinematograph camera only took about a minute of footage, so the Lumière films are quick snippets of life, without room for elaborate storytelling.

The compilation presented here includes several famous Lumière Bros. shorts that are must-see films for film history buffs ("La sortie des usines Lumière", "L'arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat", etc.) as well as more rare or obscure films from the Lumière catalogue. The shorts are presented more or less chronologically and are accompanied by informative intertitle cards that provide historical context. Through the text, the program basically tells the story of the Lumières' early years of filmmaking, with the films serving as relevant examples of their work. The start of the program includes footage (of unidentified origin) that demonstrates the use of the cinematograph, an early motion picture camera that could also copy film and project it.

The works of the Lumière brothers (and their associates) are fascinating looks back in time. Each minute-long film is like a window into history, a glimpse of the world over a hundred years ago. I particularly like the "actuality" films that show, for instance, the streets of New York City circa 1896. Or the footage of old trains or street cars or policemen marching in formation. The film of President McKinley's 1897 inauguration at the Capitol is neat to see.

Other favorites of mine are "La bataille de neige", a snowball fight that captures a sense of joy that is timeless, and "Querelle enfantine", a clip of two young children in high chairs fighting over toys that shows the full spectrum of human emotions. In only about forty-five seconds, the Lumière Bros. are able to capture humanity on a film strip. That's what makes moving pictures so engaging and so fascinating. Life, bottled up.

One frustrating thing about this program is that the titles of the films are not always clearly presented. The text sometimes alludes to certain films or series of films and then shows two or three back-to-back. Sometimes it's not clear what is being shown, for any viewers keeping score.

This is further complicated by the lack of readily available information on such old films. Viewers can't always cross-reference clips they've seen with descriptions online. Some films presented in this lineup didn't even exist on IMDb. Not everyone has a definitive Lumière Bros. reference tome, and I'd wish the experts out there would make it a little easier for the rest of us.

Toward the end there are three films of American soldiers marching in formation in camp-like settings. The films appear after a card that reads "Washington - Review of the National Guard, Review of the Artillery of the District of Columbia". What little information I could scrape up online shows two Lumière films with corresponding titles, though the content does not appear to match the films featured here. Are the clips misidentified in this compilation? If so, which films are these? And what of the third film?

Taken from the Blackhawk Films archive and presented by Turner Classic Movies, this 2013 program also features music by ubiquitous silent film composer Robert Israel. I'm not sure if this is an all-new compilation of archived shorts or a re-packaged presentation of an older program (this "edition" has copyrights for both 1975 and 2013, and the contextual intertitles don't seem "new"). Either way, LUMIERE'S FIRST PICTURE SHOWS is a quick yet informative introduction to the early days of motion pictures. If it turns up on TCM again, it's worth checking out for anyone even casually interested in the history of filmmaking.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

The history genre features recounting and analyzing past events, societies, cultures, and historical figures. This genre aims to provide insights into the development of civilizations, the causes and consequences of historical events, and the impact of individuals and ideas on the course of history.

An overview of the works of French film pioneers Louis and Auguste Lumière from 1895 to 1897.

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Lumiere's First Picture Shows

Photos6

User reviews1

Related interests

Storyline

Did you know

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed