Le Sortie de l'Usine Lumière

Le Sortie de l'Usine Lumiére (eng. "Workers Leaving the Lumiére Factory") is a 1895 short silent movie directed by Louis Lumiére, producted by Auguste and Louis Lumiére and starring only walker-on actors. It was the first of a set of ten movies which were projected on the 28 December of 1895 in the Salon Indien du Grand Café in the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris, so it is the very first movie that was ever seen by a public.

Plot
The movie is somehow a documentary, though there are a few elements who suggest otherwise, for example the fact that none of the actors walk towards the camera. However, the movie depicts workers, men and women, leaving the Lumiére factory in Lyon. Depending on the version, after all the workers have left, the owners leave in a carriage and then the movie ends. In another version, the movie ends as the porter begins to close the factory doors. It lasts forty-five seconds.

Why It Rocks
While there is not much to say about the features of this movie, since it is very short, it is the very first movie that was ever watched by human eyes, ever, so its historically importance is undeniable. Even if you do not like silent movies, it is likely that you will give it a watch just out of curiosity and its short lenght.

Trivia

 * 1) The Lumiére factory building has since been demolished in 1970, but the hangar which appears in the movie is still standing.
 * 2) Several versions exist of this film, in one of them the actors wear spring clothes and in another one winter clothes.
 * 3) This is the very first movie in which a dog appeared, a beautiful Bullmastiff, way before the breed was recognized.

Video
Since the movie is in public domain, it can be viewed for free. This video contains all the three different versions of the movie.

J1EdyZtkGXo

This video, instead, contains one of the three versions but with a card in french at the start. The text in English means: "Workmen and workwomen exiting Lumière Factory".

iZ0oMFi1C1g