Film Before Film poster

Film Before Film

1987 · 83 min

Documentary

★ 8.4
not streaming

An exhilarating and amusing encyclopedic look at the "prehistory" of cinema. Werner Nekes charts the fascination with moving pictures which led to the birth of film, covering shadow plays, peep shows, flip books, flicks, magic lanterns, lithopanes, panoramic, scrolls, colorful forms of early animation, and numerous other historical artiffices. Working with these formats, early "producers" created melodramas, comedies, -- as well as lots of pornography -- anticipating most of the forms known today. Nekes probes these colorful toys and inventions in a rich and rewarding optical experience. Film Before Film is a bewildering assault of exotic (and sometimes erotic) images and illusions.

Crew

  • Director Werner Nekes
  • Director of Photography Bernd Upnmoor
  • Director of Photography Christoph Schlingensief
  • Director of Photography Serge Roman

Cast

Crew

External reads

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🔥 Hot takes

warming up the wall…

Intermission

GO DEEPER

Turn the obscurity dial up. There's a lot further down to go.

Deal me more →

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