100 Years Of Cinema
The earliest days of cinema were a time of pure experimentation and wonder, a period when moving images first flickered to life before astonished audiences.
In the late 19th century, pioneers like the Lumière brothers in France and Thomas Edison in the United States were among the first to project short films publicly. The Lumières’ Workers Leaving the Factory (1895) and Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station (1895) are often credited as the birth of modern cinema. Simple scenes that nonetheless captivated viewers unused to such realism.
Early films were short, often under a minute, and silent, accompanied only by live music. They captured snippets of everyday life, comic sketches, or staged spectacles. As film-makers like Georges Méliès began to explore storytelling and visual trickery (A Trip to the Moon, 1902), cinema quickly evolved from a novelty to a narrative art form. Within just a decade, purpose-built cinemas were opening, and the moving picture had begun its journey from curiosity to the dominant art form of the 20th century.
Over one hundred years later, cinema has evolved into a global art form that blends storytelling, technology and culture on an unprecedented scale. Visual effects and computer-generated imagery have reached levels of realism once unimaginable, while sound design, colour grading and immersive formats like IMAX and 4DX continue to push the boundaries of audience experience.
Yet despite the technological leaps, the essence of cinema remains the same, a shared experience built on stories that move us. Whether it’s a blockbuster lighting up the big screen, an indie gem discovered in an art house cinema, or a classic revisited in a restored print, film continues to bring people together, spark imagination and reflect the world around us. From the Lumière brothers’ flickering frames to today’s digital epics, cinema endures, still evolving, still captivating and still reminding us of the power of moving pictures to make us feel, dream, and remember.
The Vintage Tribute's 100 Years of Cinema is a fantastic reminder of the power of cinema.
Enjoy!
