Originally produced as 54 short films between 1896-1944

"A unique and wonderful collection of 54 rare and restored short films from the inflammable years of cinema. Movies were once made on nitrate film stock, which has a chemical composition similar to gunpowder and is highly vulnerable to fire and decay. This remarkable seven-hour anthology, organized in eight thematic groups over three DVDs, presents amazing treasures from the vaults of Lobster Films in Paris and from the Blackhawk Films Collection, rescued during half a century of gathering movies from the nitrate era."--Container

Collective title from container, individual titles, credits, and durations from booklet

Booklet includes program notes for each film by Serge Bromberg and David Shepard

DVD, all regions, stereo

Mostly silent with musical accompaniment, or in English or French, with English subtitles in yellow

Disc 1.

New beginnings. Exiting the factory / Lumiere (France, 1896, 1:13) ; Arrival of a train / Gaumont ( France, 1897, 0:48) ; Card party / Lumiere (France, 1896, hand-colored, 1:26) ; Kobelkoff (France, 1900, 1:24); Danse Serpentine (In a lion's cage) (France, 1900, hand-colored, 2:08) ; Cyrano de Bergerac / Phono-Cinema-Theatre (France, 1900, hand-colored, sound on cylinder, 1:55) ; La Marseillaise / Georges Mendel (France, 1907, sound on disc, 2:41) -- Magical movies. Excelsior! Prince of Magicians / Georges Méliès (France, 1901, 2:06) ; Talion punishment / Gaston Velle, Pathé frères (France, 1906, stencil-colored, 4:13) ; Kiriki, Japanese acrobats / Segundo de Chomon, Pathé frères (France, 1907, hand-colored, 2:38) ; An excursion to the moon / Segundo de Chomon, Pathé frères (France, 1908, stencil-colored, 6:47) ; Automatic Moving Company / Romeo Bosetti, Pathé frères (France, 1911, 4:23) -- Seeing the world. Seine flood / Eclipse Company ; music, Eric Beheim (France, 1910, 4:16) ; Over the top (A battle with the elements) / Earle Films ; music, Eric Beheim (USA, 1915, 11:22) ; A visit to Los Angeles / Ford Motor Company ; music, Frederick Hodges (USA, 1916, 10:25) ; Montmartre's kids / music, Eric le Guen (France, 1916, 3:51) ; Dirigible Los Angeles / Blackhawk Films ; music, Eric Beheim (USA, 1924, 19:24) ; In the land of giants and pygmies / Aurelio Rossi ; music, Eric le Guen (Belgian Congo, 1925, stencil-colored, English intertitles, 8:33) ; Technicolor fashion parade / Fashion Features, Inc ; music, Frederick Hodges (USA, 1927, 5:53) ; Charles A. Lindbergh, hero of the air / Fox-Case Movietone (USA, 1927, 11:50) ; Fireman of the Follies-Bergère / with Josephine Baker ; music, Eric le Guen (France, 1928, 7:38) ; Meet me down at Coney Isle / Fox Magic Carpet of Movietone (USA, 1932, 8:13)

Disc 2.

Laughing like we used to. Dancing pig / Pathé frères ; music, Frederick Hodges (France, 1907, 2:24) ; Monkey race / Italia Film ; music, Eric Beheim (Italy, 1909, 4:03) ; I fetch the bread / Pathé frères ; music, Eric Beheim (France, 1907, 5:10) ; Artheme swallows his clarinet / Eclipse Company ; music, Eric Beheim (France, 1912, 3:54) ; Kid's auto race / Keystone Film Co. ; producer, Mack Sennett ; with Charlie Chaplin ; music, Eric Beheim (USA, 1914, 6:20) ; Pest / Amalgamated Productions ; producer/director, G. M. Anderson ; with Stan Laurel ; music, Frederick Hodges (USA, 1922, 22:26) ; Lizzies of the field / producer, Mack Sennett ; director, Del Lord ; music, Eric Beheim (USA, 1924, 14:04) -- Drawings and models. Fantasmagorie / Gaumont Company ; by Emile Cohl ; music, Frederick Hodges (France, 1908, 1:30) ; Cartoon factory / Fleischer Studios ; by Max Fleischer (USA, 1924, 7:53) ; In the orient : Tony Sarg's Marionettes / Columbia Pictures ; by Tony Sarg (USA, 1929, 9:52) ; Ain't she sweet / Fleischer Studios ; with Lillian Roth (USA, 1932, 7:11) ; Balloonland (aka The Pincushion man) / Ub Iwerks (USA, Cinecolor, 1935, 6:41) ; Play safe / Fleischer Studios (USA, Technicolor, 1936, 7:05) -- Grace notes. Radi-Ators / Columbia Pictures ; Utica Jubilee Singers (USA, 1929, 9:18) ; Black and tan / RCA ; director, Dudley Murphy with Fernand Léger ; Duke Ellington and the Cotton Club Orchestra (USA, 1929, 18:10) ; Louis Armstrong in Copenhagen (Denmark, 1934, 9:05) ; Jazz hot / with Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grapelli and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France (France, 1939, 6:20)

Disc 3.

Persuade me. California election news #2 / produced by MGM (USA, 1934, 6:52) ; 3 advertisements for theaters produced in France: Week-end / with Fernandel ; produced by Virginia Week-End Tobacco (France, 1938, 2:17) ; Cette nuit-la / with Jacques Tati ; produced by Levitan and Co. (France, 1935, 1:31) ; Clo-cloche / with Michel Simon ; produced by Caporal (France, 1935, 2:08) ; MGM promo reel / MGM ; with Laurel & Hardy (France, 1936, 8:30) ; Master hands / Chevrolet Motor Co. ; producer, Jam Handy Organization (USA, 1936, 31:48) ; Philips Broadcast of 1938 / Philips Radio A/S ; animator, George Pal (Holland, 1938, 4:57) ; Three "Soundies" made for coin-operated jukebox devices: Yankee Doodler / Soundies Dist. Corp (USA, 1942, 2:54) ; Rosie the riveter / Soundies Dist. Corp. (USA, 1943, 2:38) ; Dear Arabella / Soundies Dist. Corp. (USA, 1942, 2:38) ; Hell bent for election / UPA Pictures ; animation, Chuck Jones (USA, 1944, 12:30) -- Tell me a story. For his son / Biograph Co. ; producer/director, D.W. Griffith ; with Charles Hill Mailes, Blanche Sweet (USA, 1912, 14:52) ; Suspense / Rex Films ; producers/directors, Lois Weber & Phillips Smalley ; with Lois Weber, Val Paul (USA, 1913, 10:10) ; Heart of an Indian (aka. The Indian massacre) / Bison Motion Pictures ; director, Thomas Ince ; with Francis Ford, Ann Little (USA, 1912, 32:20) -- One for the road. Stolen kisses [compilation] (ca. 1920s, 3:30)