Thursday 20 December 2012

Unheimliche Geschichten


Director: Richard Oswald
Year: 1919
Country: Germany
Runtime: 112 minutes

Also known as Eerie Tales or Tales of the Uncanny. May just be the first horror anthology movie ever made!

Full film on YouTube (split into 9 parts).

Monday 10 December 2012

Broken Blossoms


Director: D.W. Griffith
Year: 1919
Country: USA
Runtime: 90 minutes

Also known as The Yellow Man and the Girl. Check out the clip - now we know where Kubrick got "Here's Johnny"!!

Full film on YouTube - definitely recommended, this one.

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Die Augen der Mumie Ma


Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Year: 1918
Country: Germany
Runtime: 63 minutes

Also known as Eyes of the Mummy Ma. Often classified as a horror film but actually a melodramatic tragedy - and a pretty hammy one at that.

Full film on YouTube.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Der Golem


Director: Paul Wegener / Henrik Galeen
Year: 1915
Country: Germany
Runtime: 60 minutes (4 minutes)

Also known as The Golem. The original runtime was 60 minutes, but the film is lost. The extant fragments, shown in the video above, total just under 4 minutes.

Monday 19 November 2012

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde


Director: Herbert Brenon
Year: 1913
Country: USA
Runtime: 27 minutes

Another version of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, starring the improbably named King Baggot in both roles.

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Der Student von Prag


Director: Paul Wegener / Stellan Rye
Year: 1913
Country: Germany
Runtime: 41 minutes

Also known as The Student of Prague. Often considered to be the first ever feature-length horror film and a forerunner of German Expressionist cinema.

Fan-made trailer by DutchWestIndianCo. The full movie is available on YouTube here.

Monday 29 October 2012

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde


Director: Lucius Henderson
Year: 1912
Country: USA
Runtime: 12 minutes

First film version of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel. Produced by Thanhouser Film Corporation.

Saturday 27 October 2012

Frankenstein


Director: J. Searle Dawley
Year: 1910
Country: USA
Runtime: 13 minutes

The earliest surviving adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel. Presumed lost until its rediscovery in the mid-70s.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Le Papillon Fantastique


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1909
Country: France
Runtime: 2 minutes

Hand-coloured film. Also known as The Spider and the Butterfly.

Monday 22 October 2012

La Maison Ensorcelée


Director: Segundo de Chomón
Year: 1908
Country: France
Runtime: 6 minutes

Also known as The Haunted House.

Saturday 20 October 2012

Les Quatre Cents Farces du Diable


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1906
Country: France
Runtime: 17 minutes

Also known as The 400 Tricks of the Devil. Watch the end for the spit roast from hell...

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Le Revenant


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1903
Country: France
Runtime: 3 minutes

Also known as The Apparition. A funny old man is harassed by ghosts.

Monday 15 October 2012

Le Chaudron Infernal


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1903
Country: France
Runtime: 2 minutes

Also known as The Infernal Caldron. Nice hand-colouring and some new tricks on show in this one.

Friday 12 October 2012

Le Monstre


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1903
Country: France
Runtime: 2 minutes

Also known as The Monster. A prince gets a conjuror to resurrect his dead wife.

Thursday 11 October 2012

L'Homme Mouche


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1902
Country: France
Runtime: 2 minutes

Hand-coloured film. Also known as The Human Fly. Brundlefly's earliest ancestor?

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Les Trésors de Satan



Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1902
Country: France
Runtime: 3 minutes

Also known as The Treasures of Satan or Mephistopheles' School of Magic.

Monday 8 October 2012

Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison


Director: Edwin S. Porter
Year: 1901
Country: USA
Runtime: 4 minutes

Produced by Thomas Edison. The electrocution of Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated President McKinley. Footage of Auburn Prison shot on the day of the actual execution.

Sunday 7 October 2012

Chez la Sorcière


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1901
Country: France
Runtime: 2 minutes

Also known as At the Sorcerer's or The Bachelor's Paradise. Never trust a witch...

Saturday 6 October 2012

Le Diable Géant ou Le Miracle de la Madonne


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1901
Country: France
Runtime: 2 minutes

Also known as The Devil and the Statue or The Miracle of the Madonna.

Thursday 4 October 2012

Barbe-Bleue


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1901
Country: France
Runtime: 10 minutes

Also known as Bluebeard. A cinematic realization of the old folk tale.

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Le Château Hantée


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1897
Country: France
Runtime: 1 minute

Hand-coloured film. Also known as The Haunted Castle.

Monday 1 October 2012

Le Manoir du Diable


Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1896
Country: France
Runtime: 3 minutes

Also known as Manor of the Devil. Early example of 'special fx' with camera tricks.

Sunday 30 September 2012

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots


Director: Alfred Clark
Year: 1895
Country: USA
Runtime: 1 minute

Produced by Thomas Edison. One of the first 'camera tricks' to be used in a movie.