Gaumont Treasures AGB 1897-1905

Few individual artists have exerted as profound an influence upon the evolution of cinema as Alice Guy (later known as Guy-Blaché). With this collection of more than 60 films, culled from the world’s leading archives and carefully mastered, Guy may no longer be seen as a “woman filmmaker.” These films, produced by Guy for Gaumont before she moved to the US, reveal her to be an unqualified pioneer whose work stands alongside that of the Lumière Brothers, Georges Méliès, and Edwin S. Porter, in cinema’s rapid growth from an optical illusion to a storytelling medium to an art form. Among the highlights are a 19th-century serpentine dance, early “trick” films, experiments with hand-coloring and synchronized sound, comedies, social commentaries, and (as the collection’s centerpiece) a 33-minute religious epic: The Birth, the Life and the Death of Christ (1906). 1897 The Fisherman at the Stream Bathing in a Stream Serpentine Dance by Mme. Bob Walter 1898 The Turn-of-the-Century Blind Man At the Hypnotist's The Burglars Disappearing Act Surprise Attack on a House at Daybreak 1899 At the Club Wonderful Absinthe 1900 Avenue de l’Opéra Automated Hat-Maker and Sausage-Grinder At the Photographer's Dance of the Seasons: Winter, Snow Dance The Landlady Turn-of-the-Century Surgery Pierrette’s Escapades* At the Floral Ball* The Cabbage-Patch Fairy 1902 Serpentine Dance by Lina Esbrard Midwife to the Upper Class An Untimely Intrusion Miss Dundee and Her Performing Dogs 1903 How Monsieur Takes His Bath Faust and Mephistopheles 1905 The O’Mers in “The Bricklayers” The Statue The Magician’s Alms Clown, Dog and Balloon Spain The Tango The Malagueña and the Bullfighter Cook & Rilly’s Trained Rooster Cake Walk, Performed by Nouveau Cirque Alice Guy Films a “Phonoscène” Saharet Performs the Bolero* Polin Performs “The Anatomy of a Draftee”† Dranem Performs “The True Jiu-Jitsu”† Dranem Performs “Five O’Clock Tea”† Félix Mayol Performs “Indiscreet Questions”* † Félix Mayol Performs “The Trottins’ Polka”† Félix Mayol Performs “White Lilacs”† * In the original hand-tinted color † A synchronized-sound “Phonoscène” Curated by Pierre Philippe Total running time: 225 Min. Full-frame (1.33:1) Music by Sorties d’Artistes, except The Birth, the Life and the Death of Christ: Music by Patrick Laviosa American Edition produced by Bret Wood hosted by YiFeng, Lily, Bob Recorded on March 31, 2020