The History of Cinema

This project, which I began in January 2022, is a self-guided study of the history of cinema and a way of ensuring I never run out of things to draw. I’m expecting it to take around 30 years to complete.

I have compiled a list of approximately 1600 movies which I intend to watch in chronological order. For each movie, I will write a brief review here and on Letterboxd.com and draw something from or inspired by the film. Once I’ve completed each of these steps, I’ll add it to the list here.

The Movies

  1. L’Homme Machine, 1885, Étienne-Jules Marey
  2. Boat Leaving the Port, 1895, Louise Lumière
  3. Danse Serpentine, 1896, Louise Lumière
  4. La Lune à un mètre, 1898, Georges Méliès
  5. Un homme de têtes, 1898, Georges Méliès
  6. Cyrano de Bergerac, 1900, Clément Maurice
  7. Les Fredaines de Pierrette, 1900, Alice Guy
  8. Solar Eclipse, 1900, Nevil Maskelyne
  9. Let Me Dream Again, 1900, George Albert Smith
  10. Panorama of Eiffel Tower, 1900, James H. White

Sources

I created my list of movies from three sources on Letterboxd.com:

  1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (based on every published edition of the book with the same name, compiled by Peter Stanley)
  2. The Female Gaze: 100 overlooked films directed by women (compiled by Lost In Film)
  3. Film School (complied by Jacob Mazur)