The First Known Motion Picture

December 3, 2005 1:59 PM

The first known motion picture (Quicktime movie, somewhat slow to download) was produced by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince at Roundhay House, Leeds, UK some time before October of 1888. Its date can be verified, as the elderly lady in the film, Mrs. Sarah Whitley, died in that month. The two-second-long film was shot on paper or celluloid photographic film through a custom-made camera. Although the original paper film appears to have been lost, two photographic copies of the film dating from the 1930s remain in existence. Le Prince's second film, Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge, was shot shortly afterwards.

Le Prince is generally not well-known outside the film historical community, partly because he did not publicize his works, but also because he disappeared in 1890 during a journey to Paris, France. It's thought that Le Prince committed suicide over money worries, but his body was never found.
posted by watsondog (29 comments total)

Thanks! This is great!
posted by brundlefly at 2:02 PM on December 3, 2005

Very interesting, thanks.
posted by interrobang at 2:06 PM on December 3, 2005

Obviously, he must have died at the hands of the dastardly devious Lumiere Brothers!
posted by blackvectrex at 2:06 PM on December 3, 2005

cool...runs like a flipbook.
posted by amberglow at 2:08 PM on December 3, 2005

!... Quote character messed up that one...

Lumiere Brothers!
posted by blackvectrex at 2:09 PM on December 3, 2005

Death to the Lumiere Bros.! Long live Méliès!
posted by brundlefly at 2:13 PM on December 3, 2005

After the hype and build up i am dissapointed! Where is the acting? The pathos? The script? It is no Citizen Kane, is it?!

But seriously... films in 1888 may have been short, but they got the period details perfect.
posted by Meccabilly at 2:23 PM on December 3, 2005

blackvectrex,
Obviously, he must have died at the hands of the dastardly devious Lumiere Brothers!

I hear they ran him over with a train.
posted by Opposite George at 2:39 PM on December 3, 2005

Amazing. Birth of the Motion Picture says Le Prince "managed to shoot several sequences," but I never thought I'd see any of them. (It goes on to speculate: "If the inventor hadn't mysteriously disappeared, might the cinema have been born five years earlier?") Great story, great post. Thanks.

Now, now, no fighting—we can enjoy both the Lumiere brothers and Méliès!
posted by languagehat at 2:44 PM on December 3, 2005

Opposite George, I heard it was cyanide in his garden hose!
posted by blackvectrex at 2:47 PM on December 3, 2005

>> Obviously, he must have died at the hands of the dastardly devious Lumiere Brothers!

> I hear they ran him over with a train.

heh !

and great post watsondog, thanks.
posted by Substrata at 2:59 PM on December 3, 2005

Great, watsondog! Thank you.
posted by vacapinta at 3:03 PM on December 3, 2005

blackvectrex,
Hmmm... the mystery deepens... but apropos of nothing do you know what ever happened to that sneezing guy? I never got to see him live but I've heard his performance described as "a dramatic explosion."

/Got zilcho.
posted by Opposite George at 3:20 PM on December 3, 2005

That's amazing.
Thank you.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 3:21 PM on December 3, 2005

BTW, watsondog, these movies are incredibly awesome in a very spooky kind of way. They will be bookmarked and forwarded. Thanks!
posted by Opposite George at 3:24 PM on December 3, 2005

Wow. Just the idea that we have moving pictures of people who lived 117 years ago, is quite overwhelming. Thanks to Louis Prince, I am now watching this particular family dance around on my computer screen, in the 21st century. Good thinking, old chap!

The National Museum of Photography, Film and Television has other interesting links as well, including a Quicktime of the Leeds bridge scene, which, IMO, is even more amazing. It really shows a few seconds of casual life in the 1880s. Just seeing those people go about their daily business almost 200 years ago, it fascinates me.

I remember a BBC documentary from earlier this year, focussing on a recently recovered collection of early film, which showed a lot of everyday life in early 20th century England. Does anyone remember what the filmmakers were called?
posted by Harry at 3:27 PM on December 3, 2005

Oh, and is there any of the Lumieres' work online?
posted by Harry at 3:30 PM on December 3, 2005

Harry: Mitchell & Kenyon. Fantastic programs.

Great post.
posted by fire&wings at 3:32 PM on December 3, 2005

FWIW, the best part of the whole Mitchell & Kenyon thing is that it was discovered by someone who realised it's significance. The amount of stuff that must be thrown in skips and discarded across Britain every day is mind boggling.
posted by fire&wings at 3:33 PM on December 3, 2005

Very good. Thank you.
posted by luckypozzo at 4:07 PM on December 3, 2005

Prochaine Arrêt: Monplaisir Lumeire! (warning: embedded french! mefiez-vous!)
posted by blue_beetle at 4:29 PM on December 3, 2005

watsondog I agree with everyone that these links are great. It's amazing that a person can go through film school, or any film history class, and not hear about Le Prince.

harry I searched for the Lumiere films online and couldn't find any. Maybe someone still has the rights to them?
posted by blackvectrex at 4:34 PM on December 3, 2005

This was obviously a very early beta of QuickTime.
posted by ab'd al'Hazred at 6:27 PM on December 3, 2005

Is it wrong that I kept expecting domo-kun or some similar random thing to stride through the middle of both films? Man, I been doin' this too long.

Thanks.
posted by yhbc at 6:43 PM on December 3, 2005

Some Lumiere films. (via)

Okay, so I've got to know -- Lumiere couldn't have possibly been their REAL name, could it? And were they really brothers or was it more like a Ramones thing?

*Sits back and waits for someone to sic Occam on him like the last time he expressed disbelief at somebody's unusually well-fitting name*

And just 'cause this thread needs a Moon Dude:


posted by Opposite George at 7:14 PM on December 3, 2005

This is fantastic.
Cheers.

I find it interesting how Le Prince has indeed been primarily ignored in film education and the Lumiere brothers are idolised...
posted by slimepuppy at 2:32 AM on December 4, 2005

Well, that's pretty understandable, isn't it?
posted by languagehat at 6:24 AM on December 4, 2005

slimepuppy, what's also interesting is that the Lumiere Brothers weren't even in second place; at best, they would reach fourth. Second prize goes to Briton William Friese-Greene, third to Dickson & Heise of New Jersey, USA, and fourth possibly to Frenchman Emile Reynaud. Reynaud and the Lumieres were competitors, and from what I can find out there's no definite proof of who set their cameras in motion first.
posted by watsondog at 8:31 AM on December 4, 2005

Opposite George, not only was Lumiere their real name, not only were Auguste and Louis really brothers (and look-alikes for that matter, despite being born two years apart), their father was a photographer.
posted by watsondog at 8:35 AM on December 4, 2005