Fall 2
1970
6
An actuality film of traffic and pedestrian movement at the end of a bridge. In the distance on the other side of the bridge, the tops of some large buildings are visible, including a domed building. The location is unconfirmed.
Fall 2
1970
6
Behind the iconic Eiffel Tower lies the story of an incredible challenge to erect a thousand-foot tower that went far beyond a design competition, and marked a major turning point in engineering history. It was the beginning of radical transformation where iron was pitted against stone, engineering against architecture, and modern design against ancients. Press campaigns, lobbying, public conferences, denigration of opposing projects, bragging about big names - all participants engaged in a fierce battle without concession. Using 3D recreations, official sources (reports, letters, drawings...) and intimate archives obtained from their descendants, this film will bring to life this vertical race through a fresh and visual way to mark the centenary of Eiffel death.
Eiffel, la guerre des tours
2023
7
Starting in 1881 this film shows the personal battle between Lenin's Ulyanov family and the royal Romanovs that eventually led to the Russian revolution.
The Russian Revolution
2017
6
May 5, 1821. Napoleon Bonaparte, deposed emperor exiled on the island of St. Helena, is about to take his last breath. The son of a Corsican family, he has been close to death on many occasions since, as a young captain in the revolutionary army, he seized Toulon from the royalists in 1793.
Napoléon : la destinée et la mort
2021
7
With a divine answer to a humble prayer at age 14, Joseph Smith began to fulfill his inspired mission. He translated the ancient Book of Mormon and restored the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. Many flocked to the American frontier to worship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, led by the Prophet Joseph's dynamic and courageous example. Unstopped by his martyrdom at age 38, Joseph's legacy continues today in the dedicated lives of Saints throughout the world who still sing; "Praise to the Man who Communed with Jehovah!"
Praise to the Man
2005
10
Recounts the 40-year history of building the Salt Lake Temple, shown as if recounted by Wilford Woodruff to a young reporter. It portrays the pioneers' dedication to temple worship.
The Mountain of the Lord
1993
7
The Impressionists are the most popular group in art history – millions flock every year to marvel at their masterpieces. But, to begin with, they were scorned, penniless outsiders. 1874 was the year that changed everything; the first Impressionists, “hungry for independence”, broke the mould by holding their own exhibition outside official channels. Impressionism was born and the art world was changed forever. What led to that first groundbreaking show 150 years ago? Who were the maverick personalities that wielded their brushes in such a radical and provocative way? The spectacular Musée d’Orsay exhibition brings fresh eyes to this extraordinary tale of passion and rebellion. The story is told not by historians and curators but in the words of those who witnessed the dawn of Impressionism: the artists, press and people of Paris, 1874.
Dawn of Impressionism: Paris 1874
2025
5
Inspired by the book of the same name, film-maker James Marsh relays a tale of tragedy, murder and mayhem that erupted behind the respectable facade of Black River Falls, Wisconsin in the 19th century.
Wisconsin Death Trip
1999
5
Ken Russell revisits the life of Elgar, with musical background provided by the composer's works.
Elgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle
2002
7
Photo sequence of the rare transit of Venus over the face of the Sun, one of the first chronophotographic sequences. In 1873, P.J.C. Janssen, or Pierre Jules César Janssen, invented the Photographic Revolver, which captured a series of images in a row. The device, automatic, produced images in a row without human intervention, being used to serve as photographic evidence of the passage of Venus before the Sun, in 1874.
Passage de Venus
1874
6
In the 19th century, China held the monopoly on tea, which was dear and fashionable in the West, and the British Empire exchanged poppies, produced in its Indian colonies and transformed into opium, for Chinese tea. Inundated by the drugs, China was forced to open up its market, and the British consolidated their commercial dominance. In 1839, the Middle Empire introduced prohibition. The Opium War was declared… Great Britain emerged as the winner, but the warning was heeded: it could no longer depend on Chinese tea. The only alternative possible was to produce its own tea. The East India Company therefore entrusted one man with finding the secrets of the precious beverage. His mission was to develop the first plantations in Britain’s Indian colonies. This latter-day James Bond was called Robert Fortune – a botanist. After overcoming innumerable ordeals in the heart of imperial China, he brought back the plants and techniques that gave rise to Darjeeling tea.
Les aventures de Robert Fortune ou comment le thé fut vole aux Chinois
2016
0
They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us a new and unusually moving way to understand the Shakers.
The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God
1984
6
From the BFI Collection, this film is actually two films spliced together into one. The first is Birt Acres' work 'A Corner of Barnet Fair' which is the first film seen . This shows a merry-go-round and some people sitting in a doorway while street traffic goes by. The second film is a fragment of unknown origin of a street outside a very large building of what looks like a possible theatre, with a large Victorian awning. the shop next door appears to be selling wines and spirits. A horse drawn charabanc goes past, followed by a male bicyclist. This is closely followed by a male and female couple in an open carriage and two carts with workmen staring at the camera as they pass. Both films are believed to be from Barnet, given they have been spliced together. The film is in a deteriorated state with some rippling.
A Corner of Barnet Fair
1896
6
A film by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, shot in late October 1888, showing pedestrians and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge.
Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge
1888
5
The life and struggles of Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph Maria of Habsburg-Lorraine (1832-1867), emperor of the Second Mexican Empire as Maximilian I of Mexico from 1864 to 1867 (under the wing of Emperor Napoleon III and the French Empire), his tragic confrontation with Mexican leader Benito Juárez, the defeat of the will and the end of a dream.
Maximilian von Mexiko: Der Traum vom Herrschen
2015
0
The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché
2018
7
In 1810, 20 year old Sara Baartman got on a boat from Cape Town to London, unaware that she would never see her home again, or that she would become the icon of racial inferiority and black female sexuality for the next 100 years. Four years later, she became the object of scientific research that formed the bedrock of European ideas about BFS. She died the next year, but even after her death, Sara remained an object of imperialist scientific investigation. In the name of Science, her sexual organs and brain were preserved and displayed in the Musee de l'Homme in Paris until as recently as 1985. Using historical drawings, cartoons, legal documents, and interviews with noted cultural historians and anthropologists, this documentary deconstructs the social, political, scientific, and philosophical assumptions that transformed one young woman into a representation of savage sexuality and racial inferiority.
The Life and Times of Sara Baartman
1998
0
In 1818, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, a powerful and timelessness novel which eternal theme is nothing other than man's quest for the secret of life. Since then, the Creature became a pop culture icon, overshadowing the novel and Doctor Frankenstein himself.
Le Funeste Destin du docteur Frankenstein
2018
8
This movie is a docudrama relating the early history of the Eiffel Tower: From the planning to its first military use.
La Légende vraie de la tour Eiffel
2005
4
A stationary camera, looking diagonally across a racetrack toward the infield, records the horses as they race past. Once they are out of view and the race is over, police officers run onto the infield. The crowd moves around.
The Derby 1895
1895
4