The IMAX of the 1890s | HOW TO SEE the First Movies

“We live in an environment where there are moving images constantly around us. But in 1897, this was startling and new and completely revolutionary. It was a different way of looking at the world.” In 1939, MoMA acquired a treasure of thirty-six reels of 68mm nitrate prints and negatives made in cinema’s first years. Everything that survived of the Biograph film company lives on those reels, including a rare bit of moving image footage of Queen Victoria. For the latest edition of How to See, we visited MoMA’s film archives in Hamlin, Pennsylvania to learn more about the incredible quality and clarity of this newly discovered nineteenth-century movie, and the efforts archivists make to preserve such irreplaceable snapshots of history. Curator Dave Kehr joins the discussion to help us look at the early film with the same awe-inspired, expanded view of the world of its first audiences. Subscribe for our latest videos, and invitations to live events: http://mo.ma/subscribe Explore our collection online: http://mo.ma/art Plan your visit in-person: http://mo.ma/visit Commit to art and ideas. Support MoMA by becoming a member today: https://moma.org/join Credits Director: Sean Yetter Editor: Dustin Waldman Cinematographer: Nathan Lynch Colorist: Daniel Orentlicher Original music: Brock Chart Audio Engineer: Brock Babcock Bill Morrison. Decasia. 2002. Courtesy the artist Archival photo of "Biograph Studio, The Bronx" courtesy of Marc Wanamaker/Bison Archives Additional archival footage courtesy of Getty Images and British Pathé Additional music by The Musicbed and De Wolfe Music Special thanks to James Layton, Courtney Holschuh, Nancy Lukacinsky, and Theo Harrison of the Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center The comments and opinions expressed in this video are those of the speaker alone, and do not represent the views of The Museum of Modern Art, its personnel, or any artist.  #film #queenvictoria #cinema #davekehr #history #art #museumofmodernart #moma #museum #modernart