Anno 1900 - 2

Possibly the first film to utilize the technique of focus pulling. A man kisses a beautiful and lively woman, then the image blurs and dissolves into a clear image of the man waking up to his nagging wife.

A magician steps upon the stage carrying a hoop covered with white paper. Then in quick succession the flags of Germany, Russia, Ireland, England and China are brought forth, and from each a soldier is produced corresponding with the flag of each nation. The magician adds a bit of comedy to the scene by producing a decidedly Hibernian policeman from the flag of Erin's Isle. The magician then waves his hand and the flags of all nations slowly dissolve and blend into one huge American flag.

A man misses his train due to his clothes turning into other types of clothes.

Marquesas in their sedan chairs.

A turn-of-the-last-century hand-tinted short, which features two women, Miss Lally and Miss Julyett, dancing at a ball. By the legendary French filmmaker Alice Guy (attributed only, but not confirmed in any primary sources).

A machine churns out sausages on one side and spits out hats on the other. The director of this film is not credited in any contemporary catalogues or trade publications, or attributed to anyone by scholars or primary sources.

Butterfly dance.

A divinely inspired peasant woman becomes an army captain for France and then is martyred after she is captured.

Christine Kerf as the Greek muse Terpsichore, in 1900.

George Mélies made a version of this a few years later, often titled Une Indigestion, but Guy-Blaché’s earlier film Chirurgie Fin de Siecle (1900) is more widely available. And it’s not one to watch the night before an operation. In this clinic, a sign pleads “On est prie de ne pas crier/Please do not cry”, and the doctors set about the patient with saws, cheerily hacking off limbs, and then slopping them into a bucket, all the while arguing ferociously with each other. They then reattach arms and legs from a bucket of “exchange pieces” (using glue) before re-animating their victim, I mean patient, with bellows. (from http://silentlondon.co.uk/2015/01/23/10-disgusting-moments-in-silent-cinema/)

An antisemitic comedy in which two Jewish clothiers cut prices until one buys the other's stock.

Uncle Josh checks into a hotel, presumably to get a better nights rest than he gets at home. Of course the way bad luck follows Josh around we know this is a forlorn hope. Sure enough, quicker than you can say "Georges Méliès" a ghost pops up to make sure Uncle Josh is denied a good nights rest.

As the camera looks down an open road, a horse and carriage approaches, and passes by to one side of the field of view. Soon afterwards, an automobile comes up the road, straight towards the camera. As it gets nearer, the occupants start to wave frantically, but can a collision be avoided?

"Nothing new, but an old thing done over again and done well. Some one has attempted to describe a kiss as "something made of nothing," but this is not one of that kind, but one of those old fashioned "home made" kind that sets the whole audience into merriment and motion, and has always proven a popular subject. It is very fine photographically and an exhibit is not complete without it." -Edison film catalog.

While our photographers were crossing the Atlantic Ocean a most wonderful and sensational picture was secured, showing a storm at sea. The picture was secured by lashing the camera to the after bridge of the Kaiserine Maria Theresa, of the North German Lloyd Line, during one of its roughest voyages. The most wonderful storm picture ever photographed. Taken at great risk. (Edison Films, 1901)

A band-leader has arranged seven chairs for the members of his band. When he sits down in the first chair, a cymbal player appears in the same chair, then rises and sits in the next chair. As the cymbal player sits down, a drummer appears in the second chair, and then likewise moves on to the third chair. In this way, an entire band is soon formed, and is then ready to perform.

An early trick film where a car explodes and body parts fall from the sky. A policeman witnesses and attempts to piece the remains back together.

An elderly gentleman in a silk hat sits on a stool in front of a store on the main street of town. He has a telescope that focuses on the ankle of a young woman who is a short distance away. Her husband catches the gent looking. What will the two men do now?

Using photographs and films shot by a French Consul, Auguste François, in turn-of-the-century China, documents the historic events and everyday life he saw around him. Narration uses his letters, diaries, and notes.

A shot of a busy street in Paris is shown in reverse.