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Churned Waters

1 Jan 1899
Silent

A hypnotic study of the wake of a ship at sea

This hypnotic study of the churning wake of a ship in open sea stands in a line between impressionist painting and the preoccupations of later artist filmmakers with capturing natural movement. Projected on a large screen, the effect is quite mesmerising, although the comparatively gentle lilting of the boat - and thus the camera - may have induced nausea in some less sea-seasoned members of the original audiences.

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Victorian Film

Celebrating the birth of film: the last great invention of the Victorian era.

Queen Victoria's long reign famously saw extraordinary advances: in industry, transport, science, culture... But one late but great innovation is too often missed from the list: the moving image. Yet film forever changed the way we see the world. And even before the French Lumière brothers presented their first demonstrations in London in 1895, British filmmakers were beginning to make their mark.

Here you'll find the most comprehensive gallery of Victorian films ever assembled. Hundreds of films made over the last six years of Victoria's reign, during which film was transformed from the pursuit of a handful of showmen, chemists and amateur enthusiasts into a dynamic industry, from fairground novelty into the greatest entertainment of the age.