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On 22 March 1895 in Paris, at the Society for the Development of the National Industry, in front of a small audience, one of whom was said to be Léon Gaumont, then director of the company Comptoir Géneral de la Photographie, the Lumières privately screened a single film, Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory.
- The Lumière Brothers’ Beginnings
- The Cinématographe
- Making Early Films
- The Public Launch of The Cinématographe
- The Cinématographe in Britain
- The Cinématographe Goes Global
- The Lumière Brothers Move Away from Cinema
- Further Reading
Auguste and Louis Lumière were born in Lyon, France, where their father, Antoine Lumière, had a photographic business. At the age of 17, Louis invented a highly sensitive photographic plate which the Lumière family began manufacturing. It was so successful commercially that the Lumières built a factory in the Monplaisir suburb of Lyon. By 1894, the...
Compared with other attempts at producing a movie camera, the Cinématographe was remarkably compact and, unlike the Edison Kinetograph, it did not rely on electrical power, which few premises had at that time. The Cinématographe could be taken anywhere, either to shoot film or to use as a projector—all that was required was a magic lantern lamphous...
The Lumière brothers’ first film (in fact, they made three versions) was shot outside their factory as the workers left at the end of the day. It was shown to the Société d’Encouragement à l’Industrie Nationale in Paris on 22 March 1895: this was probably the first public screening of moving pictures (the Lathams’ first public demonstration in New ...
Against his sons’ wishes (they thought it premature), Antoine Lumière decided to launch the Cinématographe publicly in Paris on 28 December 1895. The screening was organised by Antoine and Clément Maurice, with three members of the Lumière staff in charge of projection. The Lumière brothers and Carpentier were not there. The first show was given to...
The first public screening of the Cinématographe in Britain took place at the Malborough Hall of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in Regent Street, London on 21 February 1896. There had been a press show the previous day when, coincidentally, the British cinema pioneer Robert Paulhad demonstrated his Theatrograph projector at Finsbury Technical Co...
In the first years of the Lumière film operation, cameramen were sent all over the world to record scenes in locations such as Russia, Japan and the Holy Land. In America, the first Cinématographe show took place to great acclaim at Keith’s Union Square Theater, New York on 29 June 1896. In November the Lumière brothers established their own agency...
Auguste and Louis continued to work on technical developments, and in 1900 devised a camera which took large-format 75mm films. By 1905, however, the Lumière brothers withdrew from the cinema business. They worked instead on inventing the first successful photographic colour process—the Lumière Autochrome—in 1907. Louis also worked on a process of ...
Richard Abel, The Ciné Goes to Town: French Cinema 1896–1914(University of California Press, USA, 1994)Oct 3, 2014 · After a number of other private screenings, the Lumière brothers unveiled the Cinématographe in their first public screening on December 28, 1895, at the Grand Cafe on Paris’ Boulevard de ...
- Sarah Pruitt
Lumiere brothers, French inventors and pioneer manufacturers of photographic equipment who devised an early motion-picture camera and projector called the Cinematographe (‘cinema’ is derived from this name).
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Feb 22, 2019 · The Lumières held the world’s first public movie screening on December 28, 1895, at the Grand Café in Paris. Their directorial debut was La sortie des ouvriers de l’usine Lumière (Workers ...
- Pedro García Martín
- 2 min
Nov 12, 2023 · The Lumière Brothers held their first commercial screening on December 28, 1895, at the Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris. They showcased ten short films, including 'The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station,' a simple yet powerful display of moving images that, legend has it, had the audience ducking for cover as the train approached.
On December 28, 1895, we witnessed a pivotal moment in the birth of cinema – the Lumière brothers hosted the first commercial film screening at the Grand Café in Paris. This groundbreaking event showcased a series of short films, each revealing a glimpse into everyday life through the revolutionary lens of the Cinématographe.
