About
Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour • Presented by Archives on Screen
The Brilliant Biograph
Introduction by Maggie Hennefeld
Friday, February 14 • 6:30pm • Tickets: FREE
Overview
This compilation features beautiful fragments of silent films from the earliest years of cinema. The Mutoscope and Biograph Collection includes over 200 films, most of which were made in Europe between 1897 and 1902. Filmed on 68mm stock, they have been digitized in 8k to preserve their vivid quality and luminous brilliance, which rival today’s IMAX projection. The program you will see has been arranged into five thematic sections. As an abstract collage, it evokes vital aspects of turn-of-the-century life, such as urban hustle, technological innovation, industrial labor, interspecies horseplay, and vaudeville theatre and performances. The special piano score, composed and recorded by Daan van den Hurk, brings these visions from the past back to life for today.
Eye Program notes
A marvelous compilation film of rare high resolution images from Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Venice from 120 years ago.
The Mutoscope and Biograph Collection is the oldest film collection held at Eye Filmmuseum. It includes over 200 films, most of which were made in Europe between 1897 and 1902. This collection constitutes the largest existing archive of surviving Mutoscope and Biograph films in the world.
These films are all photographed with the unique large-format 68mm Mutograph camera, which provided extraordinarily high-resolution images. These one-minute time capsules from 120 years ago still convey some of the richest and sharpest images that film can achieve.
Let yourself be carried away in the mesmerizing events and celebrities of the time, and feel the enthusiasm of early cinema that overcame the challenge of capturing life-like movement.