French films: 1892-1909
Encyclopedia
A list of the earliest films produced in the Cinema of France
between 1892 and 1909 ordered by year of release. For an A-Z list of French films see :Category:French films
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
between 1892 and 1909 ordered by year of release. For an A-Z list of French films see :Category:French films
1890s
| Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 | ||||
| Le Clown et ses chiens Le Clown et ses chiens Le Clown et ses chiens is an 1892 French short animated film directed by Émile Reynaud. It consists of 300 individually painted images and lasts about 15 minutes... |
Émile Reynaud | Animation | One of the first animated films in the world | |
| Pauvre Pierrot Pauvre Pierrot Pauvre Pierrot is an 1892 French short animated film directed by Charles-Émile Reynaud. It consists of 500 individually painted images and lasts about 15 minutes.... |
Émile Reynaud | Animation | One of the first animated films in the world | |
| Un bon bock Un bon bock Un bon bock is an 1892 French short animated film directed by Émile Reynaud. It consists of 700 individually painted images and lasts about 15 minutes.... |
Émile Reynaud | Animation | The first film to be screened using Reynaud's optical theatre | |
| 1895 | ||||
| L'Arrivée d'un Train en Gare de la Ciotat L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de la Ciotat L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed... |
Lumière brothers | Pioneer film | ||
| L'Arroseur Arrosé L'Arroseur Arrosé L'Arroseur arrosé is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent comedy film directed and produced by Louis Lumière and starring François Clerc and Benoît Duval... |
Louis Lumière | First film comedy | ||
| Autour d'une cabine Autour d'une cabine Autour d'une cabine, original full title , is an 1894 French short animated film directed by Émile Reynaud. It is an animated movie made of 636 individually images hand painted in 1893. The film showed off Emile's invention, the Theatre Optique... |
Émile Reynaud | Animation | ||
| Barque sortant du port Barque sortant du port Barque sortant du port is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent film directed and produced by Louis Lumière.... |
Louis Lumière | Documentary | ||
| Les Forgerons Les Forgerons Les Forgerons is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière... |
Louis Lumière | Documentary | ||
| La Mer La Mer (film) La Mer is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière... |
Louis Lumière | Documentary | ||
| Neuville-sur-Saône: Débarquement du congrès des photographes à Lyon The Photographical Congress Arrives in Lyon The Photographical Congress Arrives in Lyon is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière and starring P.J.C. Janssen as himself... |
Louis Lumière | P.J.C. Janssen (himself) | Documentary | |
| Partie de cartes Partie de cartes Partie de cartes is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent film directed and produced by Louis Lumière and starring Antoine Féraud.... |
Louis Lumière | Antoine Féraud | Documentary | |
| La Pêche aux poissons rouges La Pêche aux poissons rouges Pêche aux poissons rouges is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière. It was filmed in Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France... |
Louis Lumière | Documentary | ||
| Place des Cordeliers à Lyon Place des Cordeliers à Lyon Place des Cordeliers à Lyon is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière.... |
Louis Lumière | Documentary | ||
| Repas de bébé Repas de bébé Repas de bébé is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière and starring Andrée Lumière.... |
Louis Lumière | Documentary | ||
| Le Saut à la couverture Le Saut à la couverture Le Saut à la couverture is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière.... |
Louis Lumière | Documentary | ||
| La Voltige La Voltige La Voltige is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière. It was filmed in Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France... |
Louis Lumière | Documentary | ||
| Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory Workers Leaving The Lumière Factory in Lyon Workers Leaving The Lumière Factory in Lyon Workers Leaving The Lumière Factory in Lyon (also known as La Sortie des usines Lumière à Lyon (original title), Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory and Exiting the Factory (US titles) is an 1895 French short... |
Louis Lumière | |||
| 1896 | ||||
| Arrivée d'un train gare de Vincennes Arrivée d'un train gare de Vincennes Arrivée d'un train gare de Vincennes is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by French magician Georges Méliès. It was a Théâtre Robert-Houdin production. No surviving footage of this film is known to exist and it is therefore presumed to be lost.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| L'Arroseur L'Arroseur L'Arroseur is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent comedy film directed and produced by French magician Georges Méliès.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Baignade en mer Baignade en mer Baignade en mer is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent film directed and produced by French magician Georges Méliès.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Bataille de boules de neige Bataille de boules de neige Bataille de boules de neige is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière.-Plot:... |
Louis Lumière | Documentary | ||
| Bateau-mouche sur la Seine Bateau-mouche sur la Seine Bateau-mouche sur la Seine is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed by French magician Georges Méliès. No surviving footage of this film is known to exist and it is therefore presumed to be lost.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Batteuse à vapeur Batteuse à vapeur Batteuse à vapeur is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed by French magician Georges Méliès. No surviving footage of this film is known to exist and it is therefore presumed to be lost.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Bébé et fillettes Bébé et fillettes Bébé et fillettes is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed by French magician Georges Méliès. This film is now classified as lost and no surviving footage is known to exist.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Le Bivouac Le Bivouac Le Bivouac is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed by French magician Georges Méliès.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Les Blanchisseuses Les Blanchisseuses Les Blanchisseuses is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed by French magician Georges Méliès.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Bois de Boulogne Bois de Boulogne (film) Bois de Boulogne is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed by French magician Georges Méliès.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Boulevard des Italiens Boulevard des Italiens (film) Boulevard des Italiens is an 1896 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed by French magician Georges Méliès. The film consists of a short sequence recording life on the streets of Paris.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| La Fée aux Choux La Fée aux Choux La Fée aux Choux is one of the earliest narrative fiction films ever made. It was probably made before the first Méliès fiction film, but after the Lumière brothers' L'Arroseur Arrosé. The confusion stems from the uncertainty in the dating of these three films... |
Alice Guy Blaché | Pioneer film | ||
| Le Manoir du diable Le Manoir du diable The Haunted Castle is a 1896 three-minute-long French film and directorial debut of Georges Méliès and number 78-80 on the Star Films catalog. The film contained many traditional pantomime elements and was intentionally meant to amuse people, rather than frighten them... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
Jeanne d'Alcy Jeanne d'Alcy Jeanne d'Alcy was the earliest French film actress. She was the wife of French cinema pioneer Georges Méliès from 1926 until his death in 1938.... Georges Méliès |
Horror | The first horror film ever made |
| 1898 | ||||
| Un homme de têtes Un homme de têtes Un homme de têtes is a short film directed by Georges Méliès in 1898. It was probably made with stop motion cameras and/or super imposing . The film features George Méliès with two tables next to him. He puts a head on a table and it starts talking and looking around on the table... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
Georges Méliès | IMDb | |
| 1899 | ||||
| Illusioniste fin de siècle | Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Jeanne d'Arc Jeanne d'Arc (1899 film) Jeanne d'Arc is a short silent film about Joan of Arc. The medieval film, released in 1900, was written and directed by Georges Méliès.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
Jeanne d'Alcy Jeanne d'Alcy Jeanne d'Alcy was the earliest French film actress. She was the wife of French cinema pioneer Georges Méliès from 1926 until his death in 1938.... Georges Méliès |
1900s
| Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | ||||
| The Two Blind Men The Two Blind Men The Two Blind Men was a short silent film created and released in 1900 and directed by Georges Méliès.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| Duel d'Hamlet Le Hamlet (1900 film) Hamlet, also known as Le Duel d'Hamlet, is a 1900 French film adaptation of an excerpt from the William Shakespeare play Hamlet. It is believed to have been the earliest film adaptation of the play, and starred actress Sarah Bernhardt in the lead role. It was directed by Clément Maurice. The film... |
Clément Maurice | Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas... |
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| 1901 | ||||
| Barbe-bleue | Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
Jeanne d'Alcy Jeanne d'Alcy Jeanne d'Alcy was the earliest French film actress. She was the wife of French cinema pioneer Georges Méliès from 1926 until his death in 1938.... , Georges Méliès |
Crime / Drama | IMDb |
| 1902 | ||||
| The Man With The Rubber Head The Man with the Rubber Head L'homme à la tête de caoutchouc is a 1902 silent French fantasy film directed by Georges Méliès. It was filmed in 1901 and released in 1902.-Synopsis:... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
Georges Méliès | Comedy / Fantasy | |
| Le Voyage de Gulliver à Lilliput et chez les géants | Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| A Trip to the Moon | Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
Fantasy / Sci-fi | ||
| 1903 | ||||
| L'Auberge du Bon Repos L'Auberge du Bon Repos L'Auberge du Bon Repos is a 1903 silent French comedy film directed by Georges Méliès set in an inn. The film addresses the state of the drunken mind with light heartedness.-Synopsis:... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
English:The Inn Where no Man Rests | ||
| The Infernal Boiling Pot The Infernal Boiling Pot The Infernal Boiling Pot is a 1903 silent French fantasy film directed by Georges Méliès.The film shows a green-skinned demon who places a woman and then two courtiers into a burning cauldron. He performs an incantation and three spirits suddenly appear from the flames, before dancing above his head... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
Short, Fantasy Fantasy film Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap... , Horror Horror film Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres... |
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| 1904 | ||||
| The Impossible Voyage The Impossible Voyage The Impossible Voyage is a 1904 silent film by pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès. The film's runtime is about 24 minutes , and was probably inspired by Melies' successful earlier film Le Voyage dans la Lune... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
Fantasy | Pioneer in special effects | |
| 1905 | ||||
| Vie et Passion du Christ Vie et Passion du Christ Vie et Passion du Christ is a 44-minute French silent film that was produced and released in 1903. As such, it is one of the earliest feature-length narrative films.... |
Lucien Nonguet Ferdinand Zecca Ferdinand Zecca Ferdinand Zecca was an early French film director.Zecca was a cafe entertainer, playing the cornet, before switching to film in his mid-30s... |
Hand painted color | ||
| 1907 | ||||
| 20,000 Lieues Sous les Mers 20,000 lieues sous les mers (film) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a silent film made in 1907 by French director Georges Méliès, based loosely on the novel by Jules Verne of the same title. This became one of the first color films when it was hand tinted, frame by frame, by female factory workers.... |
Georges Méliès Georges Méliès Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects... |
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| L'Enfant prodigue | Michel Carré | First European feature film |
External links
- French film at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...