Essential Films
@essentialfilms.bsky.social
Essential Films by Ion Martea reviews landmark movies from early cinema to today, exploring how film evolved into the world’s most influential art form. https://www.essential-films.co.uk/
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Before film existed, Émile Reynaud’s "The Steeple-Chase" proved animation could capture history itself. By depicting “actual sporting events in motion,” it showed how moving images became “a source of entertainment.”
👉 Read the full analysis here www.essential-films.co.uk/post/capturi...
👉 Read the full analysis here www.essential-films.co.uk/post/capturi...
The human body inevitably became Eadweard Muybridge's principal focus of study, largely because it is capable of executing varied actions as required. This precision of movement is clearly evident in "Athlete Back Summersault 2" (1881), in whi...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/athlete...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/athlete...
February 13, 2026 at 10:06 AM
The human body inevitably became Eadweard Muybridge's principal focus of study, largely because it is capable of executing varied actions as required. This precision of movement is clearly evident in "Athlete Back Summersault 2" (1881), in whi...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/athlete...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/athlete...
Eadweard Muybridge's "Skeleton of Horse" (1881) is a striking reminder of the painstaking efforts of scientists working in motion photography in the nineteenth century. This first attempt at stop-motion animation is remarkable for its sharpnes...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/skeleto...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/skeleto...
February 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Eadweard Muybridge's "Skeleton of Horse" (1881) is a striking reminder of the painstaking efforts of scientists working in motion photography in the nineteenth century. This first attempt at stop-motion animation is remarkable for its sharpnes...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/skeleto...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/skeleto...
Eadweard Muybridge stripped to his bare skin in "Athlete Swinging a Pick" (1881) in order to show the full force achievable through human movement. This pose echoes the art of classical Greece, where the naked human body is celebrated for its ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/athlete...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/athlete...
February 11, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Eadweard Muybridge stripped to his bare skin in "Athlete Swinging a Pick" (1881) in order to show the full force achievable through human movement. This pose echoes the art of classical Greece, where the naked human body is celebrated for its ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/athlete...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/athlete...
"The Slide" (1878) can be identified as the first example of applying linear perspective in the history of moving images. Émile Reynaud depicted three boys taking turns on an ice slide before finally jumping over a vault. The setting provides ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-sli...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-sli...
February 10, 2026 at 10:45 PM
"The Slide" (1878) can be identified as the first example of applying linear perspective in the history of moving images. Émile Reynaud depicted three boys taking turns on an ice slide before finally jumping over a vault. The setting provides ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-sli...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-sli...
Contemporary reviewers credited many of Émile Reynaud’s works as suitable for use as educational material in teaching younger audiences about many aspects of everyday life. "The Water-mill" (1878) fits these criteria particularly well by depic...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-wat...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-wat...
February 9, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Contemporary reviewers credited many of Émile Reynaud’s works as suitable for use as educational material in teaching younger audiences about many aspects of everyday life. "The Water-mill" (1878) fits these criteria particularly well by depic...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-wat...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-wat...
Before film existed, Émile Reynaud’s "The Steeple-Chase" proved animation could capture history itself. By depicting “actual sporting events in motion,” it showed how moving images became “a source of entertainment.”
👉 Read the full analysis here www.essential-films.co.uk/post/capturi...
👉 Read the full analysis here www.essential-films.co.uk/post/capturi...
February 8, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Before film existed, Émile Reynaud’s "The Steeple-Chase" proved animation could capture history itself. By depicting “actual sporting events in motion,” it showed how moving images became “a source of entertainment.”
👉 Read the full analysis here www.essential-films.co.uk/post/capturi...
👉 Read the full analysis here www.essential-films.co.uk/post/capturi...
In the 1870s, European proto-cinema was dominated by French pioneers. Janssen’s scientific studies and Reynaud’s moving drawings were the defining outputs of the decade. Discover the best of their works in the Essential Films canon.
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?contine...
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?contine...
February 7, 2026 at 9:40 AM
In the 1870s, European proto-cinema was dominated by French pioneers. Janssen’s scientific studies and Reynaud’s moving drawings were the defining outputs of the decade. Discover the best of their works in the Essential Films canon.
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?contine...
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?contine...
To conclude his exhibition of the Praxinoscope at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1878, Émile Reynaud selected a particularly engaging subject. "The Clowns" (1878) presents three circus performers executing somersaults around a horse. The sc...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-clo...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-clo...
February 6, 2026 at 7:47 PM
To conclude his exhibition of the Praxinoscope at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1878, Émile Reynaud selected a particularly engaging subject. "The Clowns" (1878) presents three circus performers executing somersaults around a horse. The sc...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-clo...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-clo...
A young lady throws corn to chickens that eagerly feast upon it. This simple premise gives rise to one of the more complex scenes animated by Émile Reynaud. "Feeding the Chickens" (1878) combines the regular motion of the human figure with the...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/feeding...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/feeding...
February 5, 2026 at 6:04 PM
A young lady throws corn to chickens that eagerly feast upon it. This simple premise gives rise to one of the more complex scenes animated by Émile Reynaud. "Feeding the Chickens" (1878) combines the regular motion of the human figure with the...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/feeding...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/feeding...
The Herculean figure at the centre of "The Strong Man" (1878) is shown holding a heavy weight in his left hand while juggling another with his right. The animation forms part of Émile Reynaud’s third series of strips for the Praxinoscope, cont...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-str...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-str...
February 4, 2026 at 8:55 AM
The Herculean figure at the centre of "The Strong Man" (1878) is shown holding a heavy weight in his left hand while juggling another with his right. The animation forms part of Émile Reynaud’s third series of strips for the Praxinoscope, cont...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-str...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-str...
Émile Reynaud’s “The Lady Rider” (1878) is a precursor to his more polished work, “The Steeple-Chase” (1878). A lady in a riding habit gallops on horseback in and out of the frame within a brief loop. The specificity of the solitary rider draw...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
February 3, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Émile Reynaud’s “The Lady Rider” (1878) is a precursor to his more polished work, “The Steeple-Chase” (1878). A lady in a riding habit gallops on horseback in and out of the frame within a brief loop. The specificity of the solitary rider draw...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
“The Little Waltzers” (1878) is the most crowded of the animation strips in Émile Reynaud’s early oeuvre. It features two young couples performing the waltz, moving in a circle at a three-step pace. The routine requires a specific rhythm, whic...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lit...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lit...
February 2, 2026 at 6:52 PM
“The Little Waltzers” (1878) is the most crowded of the animation strips in Émile Reynaud’s early oeuvre. It features two young couples performing the waltz, moving in a circle at a three-step pace. The routine requires a specific rhythm, whic...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lit...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lit...
French scientists and artists were at the forefront of the race to reproduce motion. Discover the best proto-cinematic works of the 1870s from France in the Essential Films canon.
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?country...
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?country...
February 1, 2026 at 3:23 PM
French scientists and artists were at the forefront of the race to reproduce motion. Discover the best proto-cinematic works of the 1870s from France in the Essential Films canon.
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?country...
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?country...
Using only two protagonists, one dressed in red and the other in blue, in “The Steeple-Chase” (1878), Émile Reynaud exploited optical illusion to create a veritable horse race. The rapid alternation of the jockeys evades the capacity of visual...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-ste...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-ste...
January 31, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Using only two protagonists, one dressed in red and the other in blue, in “The Steeple-Chase” (1878), Émile Reynaud exploited optical illusion to create a veritable horse race. The rapid alternation of the jockeys evades the capacity of visual...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-ste...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-ste...
Performance-wise, “The Equilibrist” (1878) leaves a desire for more impressive tricks. Émile Reynaud’s animated drawing for the Praxinoscope is predominantly an exercise in depicting movement, focusing attention primarily on the centre of the ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-equ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-equ...
January 30, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Performance-wise, “The Equilibrist” (1878) leaves a desire for more impressive tricks. Émile Reynaud’s animated drawing for the Praxinoscope is predominantly an exercise in depicting movement, focusing attention primarily on the centre of the ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-equ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-equ...
In “The Pit-sawyers” (1878), Émile Reynaud set the scene to demonstrate the act of sawing within a saw pit. The motion is continuous; however, it fails to generate a convincing effect. The wooden planks do not change shape, rendering the sawin...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-pit...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-pit...
January 29, 2026 at 10:29 PM
In “The Pit-sawyers” (1878), Émile Reynaud set the scene to demonstrate the act of sawing within a saw pit. The motion is continuous; however, it fails to generate a convincing effect. The wooden planks do not change shape, rendering the sawin...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-pit...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-pit...
Of all circus acts, juggling seems best suited to loop animation. In “The Juggler” (1878), Émile Reynaud enhanced the routine by adding to the juggled knives a multicoloured rotating plate, supported on a pole balanced on the performer’s face....
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-jug...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-jug...
January 28, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Of all circus acts, juggling seems best suited to loop animation. In “The Juggler” (1878), Émile Reynaud enhanced the routine by adding to the juggled knives a multicoloured rotating plate, supported on a pole balanced on the performer’s face....
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-jug...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-jug...
Among Émile Reynaud’s first series of animated strips, "The Roaster" (1878) appears as one of the most accomplished works of the cycle. The human movements are mainly limited to the cook bending and pouring the roasting mixture over the rotati...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-roa...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-roa...
January 27, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Among Émile Reynaud’s first series of animated strips, "The Roaster" (1878) appears as one of the most accomplished works of the cycle. The human movements are mainly limited to the cook bending and pouring the roasting mixture over the rotati...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-roa...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-roa...
“The rosette is magic… a star folding onto itself.”
In 1878, Émile Reynaud transformed animation into abstraction with "The Magic Rosette", where science, colour, and divine geometry collide.
👉 Discover why it still matters: www.essential-films.co.uk/post/the-div...
In 1878, Émile Reynaud transformed animation into abstraction with "The Magic Rosette", where science, colour, and divine geometry collide.
👉 Discover why it still matters: www.essential-films.co.uk/post/the-div...
January 26, 2026 at 11:59 PM
“The rosette is magic… a star folding onto itself.”
In 1878, Émile Reynaud transformed animation into abstraction with "The Magic Rosette", where science, colour, and divine geometry collide.
👉 Discover why it still matters: www.essential-films.co.uk/post/the-div...
In 1878, Émile Reynaud transformed animation into abstraction with "The Magic Rosette", where science, colour, and divine geometry collide.
👉 Discover why it still matters: www.essential-films.co.uk/post/the-div...
1878 was a landmark year in the history of cinema. Muybridge in the USA and Reynaud in France both laid the foundations of the art of moving pictures. Discover the best works from this pivotal year in the Essential Films canon!
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?year=1878
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?year=1878
January 25, 2026 at 8:57 PM
1878 was a landmark year in the history of cinema. Muybridge in the USA and Reynaud in France both laid the foundations of the art of moving pictures. Discover the best works from this pivotal year in the Essential Films canon!
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?year=1878
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?year=1878
Water ripples calmly around a figure partly submerged in water, performing the breaststroke. In “The Lady Swimmer” (1878), Émile Reynaud continued his experiments with colour layering to fascinate the viewer with the beauty of animation. The r...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
January 24, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Water ripples calmly around a figure partly submerged in water, performing the breaststroke. In “The Lady Swimmer” (1878), Émile Reynaud continued his experiments with colour layering to fascinate the viewer with the beauty of animation. The r...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
Sports have long provided a visual spectacle, so it is unsurprising that early motion picture experiments found them an intriguing subject matter. Given the constraints of his invention, Émile Reynaud tended to opt for minimalist reproductions...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/battled...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/battled...
January 23, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Sports have long provided a visual spectacle, so it is unsurprising that early motion picture experiments found them an intriguing subject matter. Given the constraints of his invention, Émile Reynaud tended to opt for minimalist reproductions...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/battled...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/battled...
Games come in and out of fashion. We learn of those that have perished through archaeological remains, whether written or painted. "The Game of Graces" (1878) is a rare animation contemporary with the heyday of the eponymous game, both now rel...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-gam...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-gam...
January 22, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Games come in and out of fashion. We learn of those that have perished through archaeological remains, whether written or painted. "The Game of Graces" (1878) is a rare animation contemporary with the heyday of the eponymous game, both now rel...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-gam...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-gam...
Émile Reynaud managed to reproduce unfiltered joy in his strip “The Swing” (1878). The two children are not merely subjects in an animated experiment; they come alive with each movement of the rudimentary apparatus. Their faces burst with laug...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-swi...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-swi...
January 21, 2026 at 10:35 AM
Émile Reynaud managed to reproduce unfiltered joy in his strip “The Swing” (1878). The two children are not merely subjects in an animated experiment; they come alive with each movement of the rudimentary apparatus. Their faces burst with laug...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-swi...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-swi...
"The Soap-bubbles" (1878) is a study in blue. Émile Reynaud used varying shades of the same colour to differentiate between the dress of the young woman, the azure skyline and the transparent soap bubbles. The resulting visual harmony produces...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-soa...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-soa...
January 20, 2026 at 12:14 PM
"The Soap-bubbles" (1878) is a study in blue. Émile Reynaud used varying shades of the same colour to differentiate between the dress of the young woman, the azure skyline and the transparent soap bubbles. The resulting visual harmony produces...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-soa...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-soa...