Parade prankster outruns LAPD in slapstick chase. Romance, stunts, chaos ensue. Silent comedy gold!

While audiences today might recognize Buster Keaton from his slapstick comedies, his short, Cops (1925), holds a surprising place in cinematic history. This silent film pushes the boundaries of t...

1897 boxing bout filmed live, considered 1st feature film despite missing footage.

While audiences today are accustomed to feature-length films, the Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (1897) was a revelation for its time in film history. Capturing the entirety of a heavyweight boxing championship, this ...

Kiowa chief's daughter Dawn loves warrior White Eagle, but father pressures for powerful suitor.

Unlike Hollywood productions of the era, Daughter of Dawn (1920) featured an entirely Native American cast, filmed "in Indian Country" with the participation of over 300 Comanche and Kiowa people. ...

NYC theatre vanishes in stunning time-lapse. Walls fall, beams lift, then magically rebuild.

This short film, a silent marvel from 1901, captures the demolition of New York City's Star Theatre using a groundbreaking technique: time-lapse photography.

Director F.S. Armitage, taking advantage of ...

Violinist plays, 2 men dance, sound unsynced! History's 1st sound film experiment

Though a simple 17 second scene of two men dancing to a violin, The Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894) holds immense weight as the earliest known film with synchronized sound. This short experiment by William ...

1908 film shows Crow life. Valuable footage, but colonial lens raises questions.

Led by Joseph K. Dixon and sponsored by department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker, The Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition to Crow Agency (1909) aimed to capture a vanishing Native American way of life on Montana's Crow Rese...

Rarebit binge = wild dream. Imps, flight, spider scare. Lesson learned: cheese in moderation.

Adapted from a comic strip, Edwin S. Porter's Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906) follows a man's bizarre dream after indulging in Welsh rarebit (cheese toast). This seemingly simple premise becomes a platf...

Bert the Turtle teaches kids to duck & cover, offering simplistic hope in face of nuclear threat.

Produced by the U.S. government at the height of the Cold War, Duck and Cover (1951) employed animation and catchy music to teach children nuclear bomb safety protocols.

The film's instructional pu...

Moonlight & water. Woman in gown dances in Italian gardens. Merges with fountain. Vivaldi whispers.

Kenneth Anger's film, Eaux D'Artifice (1953), departs from traditional narratives, instead focusing on a visual and sonic exploration of water, light, and movement.

Filmed at the elaborate water ...

Fred Ott, Edison's assistant, pinches snuff & sneezes in history's 1st copyrighted film.

Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (1894), also known as "Fred Ott's Sneeze," is among the earliest surviving copyrighted motion pictures. While seemingly simple, this work by William K.L. Dickson for th...

Cinderella wins contest, discovers lies, stays in Hollywood, becomes star through talent & love.

Not just a familiar Cinderella story, Ella Cinders (1926) has comedic energy driven by innovative visual gags. Director Alfred E. Green employs split-screens, rapid cuts, and distorted perspectives t...

Henpecked hubby escapes, photo sparks jealous rage, chaos ensues to clear name.

Directed by and starring the legendary Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Fatty's Tintype Tangle (1915) breaks away from simple slapstick with a narrative structure.

Fatty, a harried husband, escapes his overbearing wife and...

Childhood friends love same woman. Marriage, passion, betrayal. Fate intervenes, leaving scars.

Clarence Brown's silent drama, Flesh and the Devil (1926), is an exploration of unspoken desire. Greta Garbo's character, femme fatale Fédora, uses her captivating gaze and subtle gestures to convey a...

Monte Carlo conman seduces wives, but his web of lies traps him leading to his demise.

Erich von Stroheim's Foolish Wives (1922) stands as a monument to both ambition and struggle in the early days of Hollywood. While the finished film clocks in at a still-respectable length, it was originally ...

This 1912 silent film chronicles Jesus' life, birth to crucifixion.

Sidney Olcott's From the Manger to the Cross (1912) tells the familiar story of Jesus' life. Its ambition lies in the film's scale. Shot on location in Egypt and Palestine, it was one of the longest films produced at the time, u...

Charms with playful dinosaur & animator's act. Fluid animation & character spark future cartoons.

While short and seemingly simple, Winsor McCay's Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) embodies the spirit of experimental cinema through its innovative techniques and playful approach to storytelling.

Gertie...

Breathtaking visuals showcase river crossings, mountain climbs, and a nomadic tribe's resilience.

Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925) stands out not only as a captivating documentary but also as an early experiment in ethnographic filmmaking. Unlike staged travelogues of the era, directors...

A San Francisco dentist's life spirals out of control after his wife, Trina, wins the lottery.

Erich von Stroheim's silent masterpiece, Greed (1924), stands as a testament to both ambition and the struggle against Hollywood constraints.

Originally clocking in at nearly ten hours, the film expl...

Cinepoem explores water's beauty & diversity: calm lakes, raging rivers, & ice's transformation.

Ralph Steiner's silent film, H2O (1929) abandons traditional narrative structure in favor of a poetic and impressionistic exploration of water in all its forms. Steiner's camera captures the flow of...

Confederate spy seeks Union gold, finds love & more gold instead. Comedy chaos ensues.

Hands Up (1926), a romp involving a Confederate spy and a stolen Union gold shipment, takes liberties with historical accuracy. Characters like Abraham Lincoln and Sitting Bull make caricatured appearances, cr...

Reverend & sister bring faith to Hell's Hinges. Gunman falls for her, battles saloon owner.

Hell's Hinges (1916) grapples with complex themes of morality and redemption in the lawless town of Hell's Hinges. This gritty portrayal stands in stark contrast to the typical white-hatted heroism of ma...

Betrayal. Clown seeks solace, loves anew. Past haunts, vengeance sought. Tragedy unfolds.

He Who Gets Slapped (1924) stands as a testament to the artistic audacity of silent cinema's twilight years. This psychological thriller, directed by Victor Sjöström and starring the enigmatic Lon Chaney, ...

Young violinist escapes poverty through music but war shatters his dreams.

Humouresque, a 1920 silent drama, might seem like a typical Hollywood tearjerker on the surface. However, it holds a unique place in cinematic history for its innovative techniques.

Director Frank Borzage employed expre...

Witness the early days of this revolutionary transit system, a glimpse into 1905 New York life.

Filmed by G.W. Bitzer just seven months after the New York City subway's inauguration, Interior New York Subway, 14th Street to 42nd Street (1905) takes viewers on a novel journey beneath Manhattan's ...