The following is an overview of the events of 1895 in film, including a list of films released and notable births.
The following is an overview of the events of 1896 in film, including a list of films released and notable births.
Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first Kentucky Derby, a Thoroughbred sweepstakes and part of today's horse racing Triple Crown, and the first Kentucky Oaks were held in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup on nine occasions, most recently on November 2 and 3, 2018.
Birt Acres was an American and British photographer and film pioneer. Among his contributions to the early film industry are the first working 35 mm camera in Britain (Wales), and Birtac, the first daylight loading home movie camera and projector. He also directed a number of early silent films.
Actuality film is a non-fiction film genre that uses footage of real events, places, and things, a predecessor to documentary film. Unlike documentaries, actuality films are not structured into a larger narrative or coherent whole. During the era of early cinema, actualities—usually lasting no more than a minute or two and usually assembled together into a program by an exhibitor—were just as popular and prominent as their fictional counterparts. The line between "fact" and "fiction" was not as prominent in early cinema as it would become once documentaries became the predominant non-fiction filmmaking form. Actuality as a film genre is related to still photography.
A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finish line may be used for a more accurate check. Photo finishes make it less likely that officials will declare a race a dead heat.
Bay Meadows was a horse racing track in San Mateo, California from 1934 until 2008, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.
Robert William Paul was an English pioneer of film and scientific instrument maker.
Arthur Melbourne Cooper was a British photographer and early filmmaker best known for his pioneering work in stop-motion animation. He produced over three hundred films between 1896 and 1915, of which an estimated 36 were all or in part animated. These include Dreams of Toyland (1908) and according to some sources Dolly’s Toys (1901), as well as Matches: An Appeal, which Dutch independent researcher Tjitte de Vries has claimed may have been the first animated film to be shown in public.
Opening of the Kiel Canal is an 1895 British short black-and-white silent documentary news film directed and produced by Birt Acres which documents the opening of the Kiel Canal in Germany by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 20 June 1895. It was filmed between June 1895 and July 1895.
The Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race is an 1895 British short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Birt Acres. It was filmed on 30 March 1895.
Rough Sea at Dover is an 1895 British short black-and-white silent film, shot by Birt Acres.
Barnet Fair is an 1896 British short black-and-white silent actuality film produced by Birt Acres. The surviving portion shows roundabouts at the fair and can be viewed on the BFI Player. This was the first moving picture record of the event. Birt Acres would go on to make five further films of the fair in 1897.
William Mecham was a British cartoonist and performer, taking the stage and pen name Tom Merry.
Persimmon (1893–1908) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a racing career that lasted from June 1895 to July 1897 he ran nine times and won seven races. His victories included the 1896 Epsom Derby, one of the first horse races ever filmed, by Robert W. Paul. His other important victories included the St Leger Stakes, the Ascot Gold Cup and the Eclipse Stakes. He was also notable for his rivalry with another English colt St Frusquin, who inflicted his only two defeats.
Yarmouth Fishing Boats Leaving Harbour is an 1896 British short black-and-white silent documentary film, directed by Birt Acres, featuring a fleet of fishing smacks leaving the harbour at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, UK.
Crude Set Drama is an 1895 British short black-and-white silent comedy film, produced and directed by Birt Acres for exhibition on Robert W. Paul's peep show Kinetoscopes, featuring two drunken men and a boy squabbling in a small bar. The film was long considered lost but footage discovered in the Henville collection in 1995 has been identified by the BFI as being from this film.
The Arrest of a Pickpocket is an 1895 British short black-and-white silent crime film, produced and directed by Birt Acres for exhibition on Robert W. Paul's peep show Kinetoscopes, featuring a policeman catching a pickpocket with the assistance of a passing sailor. The film was considered lost until footage from an 1896 Fairground Programme, originally shown in a portable booth at Hull Fair by Midlands photographer George Williams, donated to the National Fairground Archive was identified as being from this film.
Performing Animals; or, Skipping Dogs is an 1895 British short black-and-white silent documentary film, produced and directed by Birt Acres for exhibition on Robert W. Paul's peep show Kinetoscopes, featuring one dog jumping through hoops and another dancing in a costume. The film was considered lost until footage from an 1896 Fairground Programme, originally shown in a portable booth at Hull Fair by Midlands photographer George Williams, donated to the National Fairground Archive was identified as being from this film.
Incident at Clovelly Cottage, also known as Incident Outside Clovelly Cottage, Barnet, shot by Birt Acres and produced by Acres and his collaborator Robert W. Paul in March 1895, was the "first successful motion picture film made in Britain".
