Now with films online (April 2008)

The Who's Who of Victorian Cinema website now includes links to freely (and legitimately) available moving image files of Victorian films which can be found online on sites such as YouTube and American Memory. The links appears at the top of the left-hand column of the pages for individuals. A further addition is a page of sample clips, Films Online, which has been added to the site's Resources section. The films come from the Victorian era (pre-1901) only, so films made later in an individual's career are not featured. More links and clips will be added in due course.

Méliès, magicien du cinéma (April 2008)

A major exhibition on Georges Méliès opens on 16 April at the Cinémathèque française in Paris. Entitled Méliès, magicien du cinéma, the exhibition looks at his life, background, work and influence, and features many exhibits not seen in public before. A lavish 360-page catalogue has been produced, L'oeuvre de Georges Méliès, edited by Jacques Malthete and Laurent Mannoni, and there are screenings and DVD releases to accompany the exhibition. Further details are available (in French) from the exhibition website.

What Happens Next? (February 2008)

The PM Gallery in West London, in association with Thames Valley University, is hosting an exhibition on the photographic sequence, entitled What Happens Next?, looking at its evolution from the work of Eadweard Muybridge to the present day. The exhibition, which runs 8 February-15 March, takes in the work of artists John Blakemore, Julie Cassels, Matt Finn, Steffi Klenz, Mari Mahr, Edweard Muybridge, James Newton, Nanna Saarhelo, Andrew Warstat, Sally Waterman and Cary Welling. Coinciding with the exhibition, there is an article on Muybridge in the 9 February 2008 edition of The New Scientist on Muybridge's work and the enduring legacy of chronophotography, which includes an interview with co-editor of this site, Stephen Herbert. For further information, visit the exhibition site.

Georges Méliès: The First Wizard of Cinema (January 2008)

Flicker Alley, the American producer of specialist silent DVDs, has announced the release in March of Georges Méliès: The First Wizard of Cinema 1896-1913). This is a five-disc DVD set, comprising over 170 of the films of Georges Méliès (most of his extant output), plus the renowned Georges Franju documentary, Le Grand Méliès (1953). It ranges from his first film Une partie de cartes (1896) to his last, Le voyage de la famille Bourrichon (1913), and includes such classics as Voyage dans la lune, Les quatres cent farces du diable and A la conquète du pôle. In total it comprises some thirteen hours of material, taken from archives and private collections in eight countries. This prestigious release has been put together by Eric Lange and David Shepard, and includes fifteen films reproduced from partial or complete hand-colored original prints, and thirteen accompanied with the original English narration. More details from the Flicker Alley site.