Early and Pioneering Cinema

You are drawn to the classics, rule-breaking experiments and a good laugh.

The first generation of filmmakers invented the basic techniques of cinema: trick effects, editing, the feature film and the epic. (1890s – 1920s)

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Directors you will like

Louis LumièreFranceGeorges MélièsFranceAlice Guy-BlachéFrance / USAEdwin S. PorterUSAD.W. GriffithUSALouis FeuilladeFranceAbel GanceFranceCecil B. DeMilleUSA

Start with these films

1. Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory 1895 · Louis Lumière
2. A Trip to the Moon 1902 · Georges Méliès · IMDb 8.1
3. The Cabbage Fairy 1896 · Alice Guy-Blaché
4. The Great Train Robbery 1903 · Edwin S. Porter · IMDb 7.2
5. Intolerance 1916 · D.W. Griffith · IMDb 7.6
6. Les Vampires 1915 · Louis Feuillade · IMDb 7.3
7. J'accuse 1919 · Abel Gance · IMDb 7.7
8. Napoléon 1927 · Abel Gance · IMDb 8.2
9. The Ten Commandments 1956 · Cecil B. DeMille · IMDb 7.9
10. The Birth of a Nation 1915 · D.W. Griffith · IMDb 6.0

Your learning path

Early and Pioneering Cinema · 8 filmsEarly and Pioneering Cinema in 8 filmsIn thirty years cinema went from a one-minute street scene to the feature-length epic.START