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Roundhay Garden Scene

  • 1888
  • Not Rated
  • 1m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
7.4K
YOUR RATING
Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)
DocumentaryShort

In the garden, a man asks his friends to do something silly for him to record on film.In the garden, a man asks his friends to do something silly for him to record on film.In the garden, a man asks his friends to do something silly for him to record on film.

  • Director
    • Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince
  • Stars
    • Annie Hartley
    • Adolphe Le Prince
    • Joseph Whitley
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    7.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince
    • Stars
      • Annie Hartley
      • Adolphe Le Prince
      • Joseph Whitley
    • 75User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos5

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    Top cast4

    Edit
    Annie Hartley
    • Self
    • (as Harriet Hartley)
    Adolphe Le Prince
    • Self
    Joseph Whitley
    • Self
    Sarah Whitley
    • Self
    • Director
      • Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews75

    7.27.3K
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    Featured reviews

    10Person555

    You're watching history

    When you watch this 2 second short you are watching the first film ever (i think). Congratulations to Director Louis Le Prince for creating this. He created an entirely new form of entertainment, though he probably did not know it at the time. Alas he did not live to see his invention turn into one of the biggest industries in the world. Le Prince started the movies, though it was helped along with other early directors.

    The short shows a few people (Le Prince's friends and relatives) walking around in a garden. Realizing that this was made over 110 years ago is enough to give it 10/10.
    10Torgo_Approves

    The ultimate retro movie!

    Oh my God! It's Attack of the 80's all over again... the 1880's!! This smashing blockbuster was not only the absolute first of its time, it stands well on its own as an epic mystery story. The questions this movie raises are plenty:

    1) Who is the woman in the funny hat? Why does she turn away from the camera? Is there some dark secret she is desperately trying to hide?

    2) Why is the man to the left so eager to leave? Afraid that the camera will make evidence of a murder eternal?

    OK, so maybe two questions may not count as plenty in today's plot twist-jaded audience, but still it is quite an amazing feat for a two seconds long film to leave you feeling both dazed and confused, left wanting for more, yet afraid of what horrible truths you might find and wondering if the truth can really live up to your imagination.

    Roundhay Garden Scene is a masterwork, right up there with "Leeds Bridge" and "Train Pulling Into Bombay Station". Recommended for all ages! 10/10

    (r#10)
    7CuriosityKilledShawn

    The first ever movie!

    No plot. No sound. No credits. But it was the first ever moving picture and it was directed by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, a man who's dad was pals with the earliest of photographers.

    The film simply involves Le Prince's family standing in the garden of a large Victorian house, moving around each other in circles. They had to do something I guess. Mad isn't it, the first ever film and it's just people doing the first crazy thing that comes to their head.

    It's weird watching this 120-year-old film and seeing a more vivid look at life in those days. Le Prince disappeared of the face of the earth in 1890 and his vanishing was never solved. He never knew how much of a pioneer he was.
    7Illyngophobia

    Watching a piece of history

    I have a very hard time tracking down this for an essay I was writing for English class.It is very hard to believe how far we have come with movies,this being why.

    This is by far,the shortest movie ever produced in cinema history,next to Traffic On Leeds Bridge,which was as short as this.I don't get why people rated this so poorly,being those that rated this a 1-5.This was the late 1800s of course.And it's pretty damn impressive,compared to these 3-D IMax action flicks we have now,that is filled with CGI and explosions.

    I give this 10 stars.This was the mother of all movies,and of course one of the first surviving ones.
    Michael_Elliott

    First Movies

    Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)

    Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge (1888)

    If you've ever wondered what the first movies ever made were then here you go. Director Louise Le Prince shot these two films with a single lense camera he made in 1888. From what I've read, both were shot in October of 1888 because the director's mother died this month and she's featured in the first film (which I just had to watch twice). The first film has some sort of creepy feel along with it but if you're interested then you can see them at IMDb or Youtube. Both just last for two seconds but at least I can now say I saw the first film ever made.

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    Related interests

    Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
    Documentary
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
    Short

    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The earliest surviving film, a 2 1/8 inch wide paper roll, filmed at 10-12 frames per second. As of 2010, only photographic copies of parts of the paper filmstrip still remain.
    • Connections
      Featured in Playback (2012)

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    FAQ1

    • Is that really Harriet Hartley?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 14, 1888 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • France
    • Language
      • None
    • Also known as
      • Okrugla vrtna scena
    • Filming locations
      • Roundhay, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK
    • Production company
      • Whitley Partners
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent

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