Top 20 Films of the 1890s POLL

[Kevin Holly]

Previous Polls (all from 1920s onwards run by Abdrewes and mjbethancourt; I have borrowed both their idea and their formatting, so full acknowledgement and respect to them)

The 1900's Poll
The 1910's Poll
The 1920's Poll
The 1930's Poll
The 1940's Poll
The 1950's Poll
The 1960's Poll
The 1970's Poll
The 1980's Poll
The 1990's Poll

List your Top 20 Movies of the 1890s!

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Results



1. Le manoir du diable (The Haunted Castle) (1896, Georges Méliès) (44 points)
2. L'arroseur arrosé (The Waterer Watered) (1896, Louis Lumière) (38 points)
3. Santa Claus (1898, George Albert Smith) (20 points)
4. Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895, William K.L. Dickson and William Heise) (20 points)
5. The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895, Alfred Clark) (20 points)
6. Les jouers de cartes arrosés (The Card Players Watered) (1897, Louis Lumière) (19 points)
7. Cinderella (1899, Georges Méliès) (18 points)
8. L’hallucination de l’alchemiste (The Hallucinated Alchemist) (1897, Georges Méliès) (17 points)
=. King John (1899, Walter Pfeffer Dando and William K. L. Dickson) (17 points)
10. La lune à un mètre ([I]The Astronomer's Dream) (1898, Georges Méliès) (16 points)
11. Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894, William K. L. Dickson) (16 points)
12. The Temptation of St. Anthony (1898, Georges Méliès) (16 points)
13. Escamotage d'une dame au théâtre Robert Houdin (The Conjuring of a Woman at the House of Robert Houdin) (1896, Georges Méliès) (15 points)
14. The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (only fragments remain) (1897, Enoch J. Rector) (14 points)
15. Fatima, Muscle Dancer (1896, James H. White) (13 points)
=. Partie d'écarté (The Messers. Lumière at Cards) (1896, Louis Lumière) (13 points)
17. Après le bal (After the Ball) (1897, Georges Méliès) (12 points)
=. John C. Rice/May Irwin Kiss (1896, William Heise) (12 points)
19. Neuville-sur-Saône: Débarquement du congrès des photographes à Lyon (The Photographical Cogress Arrives in Lyon) (1895, Louis Lumière) (11 points)
=. Workers Leaving the Factory (1895, Louis Lumière) (11 points)

The Rest

[Show spoiler]21. Egypt: The Pyramids (1897, Lumières) (10 points)
22. The Vanishing Lady (1897, ?) (10 points)
23. Blacksmith Scene (1893, William K. L. Dickson) (9 points)
=. Princess Ali, Egyptian dance (1895, William Heise) (9 points)
25. Défense d’afficher (Post no Bills) (1896, Georges Méliès) (9 points)
26. A Kiss in the Tunnel (1899, George Albert Smith) (8 points)
=. L'arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat (Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat) (1896, Auguste Lumière and Louis Lumière) (8 points)
28. A Wringing Good Joke (1899, James H. White) (7 points)
=. Démolition d'un mur (Demolition of a Wall) (1896, Louis Lumière) (7 points)
30. The Devil in a Convent (1899, Georges Méliès) (5 points)
31. At the Hypnotist’s (1898, Alice Guy-Blaché) (4 points)
32. Monkeyshines, No. 1 (1890, William K. L. Dickson and William Heise) (3 points)
=. Surprise Attack on a House at Daybreak (1898, Alice Guy-Blaché) (3 points)
34. Le spectre (Murder Will Out) (1899, Georges Méliès) (2 points)
=. Wonderful Absinthe (1899, Alice Guy-Blaché) (2 points)
36. L’Affaire Dreyfus (The Dreyfus Affair) (1899, Georges Méliès) (1 point)
=. London's Trafalgar Square (1890, William Carr Crofts and Wordsworth Donisthorp) (1 point)

The Math

[Show spoiler]First Tiebreak: Number of Lists appeared on (this is why, say, Santa Claus is above The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots)
Second Tiebreak: Highest Single Number of Points From One Rating (this is why, say, Santa Claus is above Annabelle Serpentine Dance, as 15 > 14)
Third Tiebreak: Longest List Appeared on (this is why, say, Egypt: The Pyramids is above The Vanishing Lady).

Le manoir du diable: 11 + 16 + 19 = 46
L'arroseur arrosé: 18 + 20 = 38
Santa Claus: 5 + 15 = 20
Annabelle Serpentine Dance: 6 + 14 = 20
The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots: 20
Les jouers de cartes arrosés: 19
Cinderella: 18
L’hallucination de l’alchemiste: 17
King John: 17
La lune à un mètre:12 + 4 = 16
Dickson Experimental Sound Film: 10 + 6 = 16
The Temptation of St. Anthony: 16
Escamotage d'une dame au théâtre Robert Houdin: 15
The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight: 14
Fatima, Muscle Dancer: 13
Partie d'écarté: 13
Après le bal: 12
John C. Rice/May Irwin Kiss: 12
Neuville-sur-Saône: Débarquement du congrès des photographes à Lyon: 11
Workers Leaving the Factory:11
Egypt: The Pyramids: 10
The Vanishing Lady: 10
Blacksmith Scene: 9
Princess Ali, Egyptian dance: 9
Défense d’afficher: 9
A Kiss in the Tunnel: 8
L'arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat: 8
A Wringing Good Joke: 7
Démolition d'un mur: 7
The Devil in a Convent: 5
At the Hypnotist’s: 4
Monkeyshines, No. 1: 3 points
Surprise Attack on a House at Daybreak: 3
Le spectre: 2
Wonderful Absinthe: 2
L’Affaire Dreyfus: 1
London's Trafalgar Square: 1

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Rules

1. All lists of any length (1 movie to 20 movies) will be allowed in the poll.

2. You can elect to give your #1 choice 20 points, #2 19 points, etc., or give 10 points to each film on the list. If there is no indication, the latter will be assumed.

2a. If your list has less than 20 entries, but you elect for the ranked ratings, they will be as such:

2ai. If your list has one entry, it will get 10 points.
2aii. If your list has two entries, #1 gets 11 points and #2 gets 10 points.
2aiii. If your list has three entries, #1 gets 11 points and #2 gets 10 points and #3 gets 9 points.
2aiv. If your list has four entries, #1 gets 12 points and #2 gets 11 points and #3 gets 10 points and #4 gets 9 points.
etc.

3. The poll will close in a month, on February 28, 2014..

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My List

1. The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895, Alfred Clark) - 20 points
2. Le manoir du diable (The House of the Devil) (1896,Georges Méliès) - 19 points
3. L'arroseur arrosé (The Waterer Watered) (1896, Louis Lumière) - 18 points
4. King John (1899, Walter Pfeffer Dando and William K. L. Dickson) - 17 points
5. The Temptation of St. Anthony (1898, Georges Méliès) - 16 points
6. Escamotage d'une dame au théâtre Robert Houdin (The Conjuring of a Woman at the House of Robert Houdin) (1896, Georges Méliès) - 15 points
7. The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (only fragments remain) (1897, Enoch J. Rector) - 14 points
8. Partie d'écarté (The Messers. Lumière at Cards) (1896, Louis Lumière) - 13 points
9. Après le bal (After the Ball) (1897, Georges Méliès) - 12 points
10. Neuville-sur-Saône: Débarquement du congrès des photographes à Lyon (The Photographical Cogress Arrives in Lyon) (1895, Louis Lumière) - 11 points
11. Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894, William K. L. Dickson) - 10 points
12. Blacksmith Scene (1893, William K. L. Dickson) - 9 points
13. L'arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat (Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat) (1896, Auguste Lumière and Louis Lumière) - 8 points
14. Démolition d'un mur (Demolition of a Wall) (1896, Louis Lumière) - 7 points
15. Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895, William K.L. Dickson and William Heise) - 6 points
16. Santa Claus (1898, George Albert Smith) - 5 points
17. La lune à un mètre (The Moon at Arm's Length) (1898, Georges Méliès) - 4 points
18. Monkeyshines, No. 1 (1890, William K. L. Dickson and William Heise) - 3 points
19. Le spectre (Murder Will Out) (1899, Georges Méliès) - 2 points
20. London's Trafalgar Square (1890, William Carr Crofts and Wordsworth Donisthorp) - 1 point

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Fun Fact: Many (most) films from this decade can be easily viewed for free on YouTube, including all of my list! And they are short enough that one can watch 20 and make a list in under an hour.

[W0m6at]

I'd like to bulk this out before the poll closes (and probably sort it differently), but I'd rather put up a malnourished list than forget altogether.

1. La lune à un mètre (1898) [The Astronomer's Dream]
2. Le manoir du diable (1896) [The Haunted Castle]
3. The Vanishing Lady (1897)
4. Défense d’afficher (1896) [Post no Bills] (This is the oldest comedy I've enjoyed)

[Scottie]

I've honestly seen like 100+ shorts from the late 1880s / early 1890s.

I need to finish watching 1896-1900.

[Kevin Holly]

Thanks for the list w0m6at, I look forward to seeing it expanded. I think that "The Astronomer's Dream" is the same as the one on my list "The Moon At Arm's Length" as both have the same French title. I'll have to check out that old comedy.

Hopefully blu-velvet puts up a list again, and then if Scottie does too, we'll have a bigger turnout then last time.

But yeah Scottie, seriously, if you've seen that many, pick 20 and put them down!!

[Kevin Holly]

Two Weeks Until the Poll Closes

[Blu-Velvet]

I'll get around to doing a list one of these days when things settle down a bit, but the number one title will definitely be

L'arroseur arrosé (aka Watering the Gardener)

with its sequel (will need to find a title as it doesn't seem to be on line) and various other Lumiere Brothers films,
plus several Melies films (especially Melies films, including CINDERELLA, THE ALCHEMIST'S HALLUCINATION, and HAUNTED CASTLE),
and some Edison films and early Gaumont films filling up most of the rest.

[Kevin Holly]

Five Days Until the Poll Closes

I might add:




Also, 10 Gold Medals!!

[Kevin Holly]

Three Days Until the Poll Closes

[arcadeforest]

Nice thread - thanks for the list

[Kevin Holly]

Originally Posted by arcadeforest

Nice thread - thanks for the list

Yeah I do what I can. I'm a bit pedantic, so when Drewes and Bethancourt started with the 1920s, it kind of felt off to me, so I went ahead and did the earlier decades. Of course, not many people have seen films from these days, so that may explain why they started where they did. That being said, I don't care, I'm just glad that all the decades are being covered.

And I'm glad to here the list was good for you!

[Kevin Holly]

Last Call - I Will Be Tallying the Results in a Few Hours

w0mbat - again, your choices will be given 12 points down to 9 points

blu-velvet - I will give Watering the Waterer 10 points, as it is a 1-entry list (c.f. original post)

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by Kevin Holly

Last Call - I Will Be Tallying the Results in a Few Hours

w0mbat - again, your choices will be given 12 points down to 9 points

blu-velvet - I will give Watering the Waterer 10 points, as it is a 1-entry list (c.f. original post)

It's been a hectic month, but I'll try to throw together a longer list this afternoon (I did also include three 1890s Georges Melies titles in my brief post above, and would also add the Edison Studios' THE KISS and the Dickson 1894 experimental sound test, among others, and a few more Lumiere and Melies films I need to decide on).

[mrr1]

This thread shocks me.

I didn't know there was such a thing as film in the 1890s.

[Blu-Velvet]

Okay, here's finally a list of 20 top films from the 1890s in general order of preference. I know there are some I've left off I planned to include, but didn't have time to track them down (it took a long time to find the title of the amusing sequel to "L'arroseur arrosé"), as I didn't have time to dig out my old 16mm print. The list is pretty heavy on Méliès and the Lumière brothers, but they're the easiest to find and I tried to include a few other filmmakers.


20 TOP FILMS FROM THE 1890s
===========================

L’arroseur arrosé (The Sprinkler Sprinkled) (1895) Lumières
Les jouers de cartes arrosés (1897) Lumières
Cinderella (1899) Méliès
L’hallucination de l’alchemiste (1897) Méliès
Le Manoir du Diable (1896) Méliès
Santa Claus (1898) George Albert Smith
Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895) Edison
Fatima, Muscle Dancer (1896) Edison
John C. Rice/May Irwin Kiss (1896) Edison
Workers Leaving the Factory (1895) Lumières

Egypt: The Pyramids (1897) Lumières
Princess Ali, Egyptian dance (1895) Edison
A Kiss in the Tunnel (1899) George Albert Smith
A Wringing Good Joke (1899) Edison
Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894) Edison
The Devil in a Convent (1899) Méliès
At the Hypnotist’s (1898) Alice Guy-Blaché
Surprise Attack on a House at Daybreak (1898) Alice Guy-Blaché
Wonderful Absinthe (1899) Alice Guy-Blaché
L’Affaire Dreyfus (9-part “serial”) (1899) Méliès

[Kevin Holly]

blu-velvet, thank you!

Originally Posted by mrr1

This thread shocks me.

I didn't know there was such a thing as film in the 1890s.

Well, you do now.

[W0m6at]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

Okay, here's finally a list of 20 top films from the 1890s in general order of preference. I know there are some I've left off I planned to include, but didn't have time to track them down (it took a long time to find the title of the amusing sequel to "L'arroseur arrosé"), as I didn't have time to dig out my old 16mm print. The list is pretty heavy on Méliès and the Lumière brothers, but they're the easiest to find and I tried to include a few other filmmakers.


20 TOP FILMS FROM THE 1890s
===========================

L’arroseur arrosé (The Sprinkler Sprinkled) (1895) Lumières
Les jouers de cartes arrosés (1897) Lumières
Cinderella (1899) Méliès
L’hallucination de l’alchemiste (1897) Méliès
Le Manoir du Diable (1896) Méliès
Santa Claus (1898) George Albert Smith
Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895) Edison
Fatima, Muscle Dancer (1896) Edison
John C. Rice/May Irwin Kiss (1896) Edison
Workers Leaving the Factory (1895) Lumières

Egypt: The Pyramids (1897) Lumières
Princess Ali, Egyptian dance (1895) Edison
A Kiss in the Tunnel (1899) George Albert Smith
A Wringing Good Joke (1899) Edison
Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894) Edison
The Devil in a Convent (1899) Méliès
At the Hypnotist’s (1898) Alice Guy-Blaché
Surprise Attack on a House at Daybreak (1898) Alice Guy-Blaché
Wonderful Absinthe (1899) Alice Guy-Blaché
L’Affaire Dreyfus (9-part “serial”) (1899) Méliès

Cool

Originally Posted by Kevin Holly

Last Call - I Will Be Tallying the Results in a Few Hours

w0mbat - again, your choices will be given 12 points down to 9 points

Yeah, that was my intention.

Sorry I've not been especially interactive. Between a 9mth old son, work, married life and a couple of (thankfully shortlived) illnesses, I've not really given myself much time for older films (when I have watched stuff, it's been with my wife and recent+mainstream).

If it's any consolation, I didn't even generate, much less submit a 2000s list.

[Kevin Holly]

Results are up!

Originally Posted by W0m6at

Sorry I've not been especially interactive. Between a 9mth old son, work, married life and a couple of (thankfully shortlived) illnesses, I've not really given myself much time for older films (when I have watched stuff, it's been with my wife and recent+mainstream).

If it's any consolation, I didn't even generate, much less submit a 2000s list.

Haha no problem man, don't worry about it. I'm glad you got something in.