Greatest Films by Year 1800s

The Birth of Motion Pictures

film scene stills for Cinderella and L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat
Criteria: Lists of the Greatest Films of each year 1899, 1898, 1897, 1896, 1895, plus pre-1895 films, Chronophotographies and proto-films. These films are ranked according to their initial and lasting acclaim, influence as well as initial and lasting popularity.

10 Greatest Films of 1899

Cinderella film scene still
Cinderella
  #. Movie Title - (Directors Name)

1. Cinderella
(Georges Méliès)
2. The Kiss in the Tunnel
(George Albert Smith)
3. The Devil in a Convent
(Georges Méliès)
4. Kidnapping by Indians
(Sagar Mitchell & James Kenyon)
5. King John
(Walter Pfeffer Dando, William K. L. Dickson & Herbert Beerbohm Tree)
6. Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb
(Georges Méliès)
7. Upside Down; or, the Human Flies
(Walter R. Booth)
8. An Up-to-Date Conjuror
(Georges Méliès)
9. The Pillar of Fire
(Georges Méliès)
10. The Jeffries-Sharkey Contest
(unknown)

10 Greatest Films of 1898

The Four Troublesome Heads film scene stills
The Four
Troublesome Heads
1. The Four Troublesome Heads
(Georges Méliès)
2. Santa Claus
(George Albert Smith)
3. The Astronomer's Dream
(Georges Méliès)
4. Come Along, Do!
(Robert W. Paul)
5. The Temptation of Saint Anthony
(Georges Méliès)
6. Something Good, Negro Kiss
(William Selig)
7. The Famous Box Trick
(Georges Méliès)
8. Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine"
(Georges Méliès)
9. The Miller and the Sweep
(George Albert Smith)
10. The Humpty Dumpty Circus
(J. Stuart Blackton)

10 Greatest Films of 1897

Départ de Jérusalem en chemin de fer film scene still
Départ de Jérusalem en chemin de fer
1. Départ de Jérusalem en chemin de fer
(Alexandre Promio)
2. Bataille de neige
(Louis Lumière)
3. The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight
(Enoch J. Rector)
4. After the Ball
(Georges Méliès)
5. The Haunted Castle
(Georges Méliès)
6. The X-Rays
(George Albert Smith)
7. The Haverstraw Tunnel
(unknown)
8. The Bewitched Inn
(Georges Méliès)
9. Admiral Cigarette
(William Heise)
10. Sea Fighting in Greece
(Georges Méliès)

10 Greatest Films of 1896

L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat film scene still
L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat
1. L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat
(Louis & Auguste Lumière)
2. La fée aux choux
(Alice Guy-Blaché)
3. The Kiss
(William Heise)
4. The House of the Devil
(Georges Méliès)
5. Démolition d'un mur
(Louis Lumière)
6. The Vanishing Lady
(Georges Méliès)
7. Barque sortant du port
(Louis Lumière)
8. Panorama du grand Canal pris d'un bateau
(Alexandre Promio)
9. Awakening of Rip
(William K. L. Dickson)
10. A Nightmare
(Georges Méliès)

10 Greatest Films of 1895

Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory film scene still
Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory
1. Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory
(Louis Lumière)
2. L'Arroseur Arrosé
(Louis Lumière)
3. The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
(Alfred Clark)
4. Repas de bébé
(Louis Lumière)
5. Annabelle Serpentine Dance
(William K. L. Dickson & William Heise)
6. The Photographical Congress Arrives in Lyon
(Louis Lumière)
7. Boxing Kangaroo
(Max Skladanowsky)
8. La charcuterie mécanique
(Louis Lumière)
9. Rough Sea at Dover
(Birt Acres & Robert W. Paul)
10. Baignade en mer
(Louis Lumière)

20 Greatest Films pre-1895

Roundhay Garden Scene film scene still
Roundhay Garden Scene
Blacksmith Scene film still
Blacksmith Scene
The Dickson Experimental Sound Film, still image
The Dickson Experimental Sound Film
1. Roundhay Garden Scene
(Louis Le Prince) (1888)
2. Blacksmith Scene
(William K. L. Dickson) (1893)
3. The Dickson Experimental Sound Film
(William K. L. Dickson) (1894)
4. Fred Ott's Sneeze
(William K. L. Dickson) (1894)
5. Monkeyshines, No. 1
(William K. L. Dickson & William Heise) (1890)
6. Pauvre Pierrot
(Émile Reynaud) (1892)
7. Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge
(Louis Le Prince) (1888)
8. Newark Athlete
(William K. L. Dickson) (1891)
9. Dickson Greeting
(William K. L. Dickson) (1891)
10. Carmencita
(William K. L. Dickson) (1894)
11. Man Walking Around a Corner
(Louis Le Prince) (1887)
12. The Boxing Cats (Prof. Welton's)
(William K. L. Dickson & William Heise) (1894)
13. Leisurely Pedestrians, Open Topped Buses and Hansom Cabs with Trotting Horses
(William Friese-Greene) (1889)
14. Annabelle Butterfly Dance
(William K. L. Dickson) (1894)
15. Annie Oakley
(William K. L. Dickson) (1894)
16. Autour d'une cabine
(Émile Reynaud) (1894)
17. Un bon bock
(Émile Reynaud) (1892)
18. Falling Cat
(Étienne-Jules Marey) (1894)
19. The Barbershop
(William K. L. Dickson & William Heise) (1894)
20. Monkeyshines, No. 2
(William K. L. Dickson & William Heise) (1890)

Chronophotographies/proto-films

The Horse in Motion film scene stills

The Horse in Motion film
The Horse in Motion
1. The Horse in Motion
(Eadweard Muybridge) (1878)
2. Passage de Vénus
(Jules Janssen) (1874)
3. Le rosace magique
(Émile Reynaud) (1877)
4. Buffalo Running
(Eadweard Muybridge) (1883)
5. Bullet Piercing a Soap Bubble
(Lucien Bull) (1904)
6. The Kiss
(Eadweard Muybridge) (1882)
7. Athlete Swinging a Pick
(Eadweard Muybridge) (1881)
8. Déplacement des globules de sang dans un vaisseau capillaire
(Étienne-Jules Marey) (1892)
9. Pferd und Reiter Springen über ein Hindernis
(Ottomar Anschütz) (1888)
10. L'homme machine
(Étienne-Jules Marey) (1885)

Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès

Louis Lumière
Louis Lumière

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Edited By: Tim, pauldrach, Bruno, Luuk, ManPerson, Dubrow
List Begun: 2023-09-19

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