96
1896
1896 · Lumière Brothers · France
L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat
Documentary 1 min Landmark Silent Era
A 50-second actualities film of a train arriving at a station — legend holds that audiences fled the theatre in terror.
Why It Matters
The beginning of cinema. First public demonstration of the moving image as spectacle.
Historical Context
Shot one year after the Lumières patented the Cinématographe — at the dawn of the automobile age.