The Brilliant Biograph

Eye Filmmuseum and the British Film Institute present a compilation of newly-restored rare images from the first years of filmmaking. Immerse yourself in enchanting images of Venice, Berlin, Amsterdam and London from 120 years ago. The films reflect the essence of early cinema, capturing the first-ever moving images of important events, famous locations and personalities, as well as spectacular moments such as performances and natural phenomena that only work when seen in motion.

The Mutoscope and Biograph Collection is the oldest film collection held at Eye Filmmuseum. It includes over 200 films, most of which were made in Europe between 1897 and 1902. This constitutes the largest existing collection of Mutoscope and Biograph films surviving in the world. These films are all photographed with the unique large-format 68mm Mutograph camera, which provided extraordinarily high-resolution images. These one-minute time capsules from 120 years ago still convey some of the richest and sharpest images that film can achieve. Funding from the European Commission’s ‘European Tribute to Film Heritage’ program allowed for the high quality 8k digitisation of 50 selected films from the Eye and BFI collections. Produced by Frank Roumen of EYE Filmmuseum in cooperation with the BFI National Archive and with the support of the European Commission.