Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Lumière films
Inscribed 2005
What is it
All the 1405 original negative and positive films still in
existence, which were produced at the factory of brothers
Louis and Auguste Lumière.
Why was it inscribed
The Lumière brothers were among the world’s first
filmmakers and their films were the first example
of a phenomenon that has now spread across the
world – the public showing of film. Now an accepted
part of modern culture, it was sparked by works of the
Lumière cameramen of the late 19th and early 20th
centuries.
The films themselves provide a unique and accessible
record of the people, places and customs of the times.
Where is it
Archives françaises du film, Bois-d’Arcy, France
The invention which made possible the widespread
dissemination of the Lumière films was their patented
cinématographe – a camera, developer and film projector
combined within one device. They made their first film
using the cinématographe in 1894: La Sortie des Usines
Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory
in Lyon). The 46-second film was among several they
showed publicly the following year.
The Lumière films are on average between 15 and
17 metres in length and each contains approximately
800 photograms. A particular characteristic of the films
is the round perforation in the bottom third of the
image; these perforations were a means of spooling
the film through the camera.
Although most of the Lumière films are static shots
from a single angle, the cameramen’s inventiveness
was such that they devised the earliest cinematographic
effects, escaping the shackles imposed by the static shot
in creating the first travelling platforms, panoramic shots,
zoom, editing by stopping the camera and special effects.
More than two-thirds of the Lumière films were
made between 1896 and 1900. The films show a range
of spectacles and commonplace events: military
manoeuvres and parades, everyday scenes of busy streets
398 Lumière films
and markets and official events and ceremonies. The films
provide the earliest cinematographic footage of leading
personalities, such as presidents and monarchs, some
of whom died at the start of the 20th century – these
included Queen Victoria, King Humbert I of Italy and
President Félix Faure of France.
Some of the subject matter is fiction, either comical or
historical, and there are films of circus and music-hall
entertainment, and the Lumière family themselves. A few