Lumière

This film introduces and elaborates upon the history of the Lumière Brothers and their films. This the filmmaker does in a way that the film becomes an exciting introduction, not only to the history of World Cinema, but also to the art and craft of cinema. It shows several films Lumière Brothers had made on the same topic, while varying visual composition or the mise en scene. They obsessively film movement and locomotion of all kinds and experiment with the new medium of the moving images. At one point in the film, we them discovering for themselves, the magic of the mobile camera; and thereafter, many films are about the relationship between the mobile camera and a static world or the moving camera and a moving world. They then, combine the topics of two films in order to make one film with more complex structure. They make actuality films, newsreels, home movies, fiction, and canned plays. They made impressionistic films, as well as closed end narratives. The Lumière Brothers traveled widely and filmed many historical events and ordinary everyday events in many countries of the world. This film is an excellent teaching tool. Young and old, lay, film scholars, and students—all enjoy this film. This film is a masterpiece and should be revived.

Is there anyone more important in the history of cinema than the Lumière bros?If there is ,I want to know his name right now!Without them....

The pictures are all by Louis Lumière ,the editing by Marc Allégret who made pleasant films ,although not as exciting as those of his brother Yves.Marc Allégret was born in 1900 at a time when the cinema was still a new born child....or a marvelous toy, a magic eye ,or should I say a time machine..

A time machine is the right word: thanks to Louis Lumière we can see Paris as it was at the end of the nineteenth century.Although the cinema was reportedly born in 1895,some of their movies were made the year before.

The film begins with a biography of the Lumière family,but from 1894-5 onwards,their life (actually Louis's)and their work merge.

The first shorts ("Le Dejeuner de Bébé" ) revolved around family life.Louis Lumière did not think that his invention would last and he wanted to capitalize on it.It's often said that it took Melies to make the cinema a show ,but Lumiere had already felt that it could "tell stories" : "L'Arroseur Arrosé" and "La Concierge" (a female part played by a man)..

But more than these anecdotes , the real meat lies in Louis's news movies.At a time people did not travel ,this was a fantastic new way to see the world:Lumière began to film everywhere :in England,in Austria ,in America (where he was carried in triumph),in Russia.

One must remember that at the time,Russia was France's ally;some may call these films propaganda but we are taken to the coronation of Nicholas the Second and we attend his visit to president Emile Loubet at the beginning of his reign.

The voice over insists on the quality of the pictures ,which were influenced by the painters:there are "colors" in the blacksmiths segment and there is plenty of relief everywhere.Lumiere was capable,for a period of years ,of ceaseless change:moving from his garden to the whole world,taking his movie camera everywhere ,on a moving train or in the elevator of the Eiffel tower (which predates Clair's technique in "Paris Qui Dort") .He invented the tracking and the editing.

This movie is really a time machine!It's well worth your time!