The Eye Filmmuseum in the Netherlands and the British Film Institute (BFI) present a restored compilation of rare footage from the earliest years of cinema. The Brilliant Biograph: Earliest Moving Images of Europe (1897– 1902) takes the viewer on a tour across Europe through five thematic chapters linked by train journeys. The selection does not follow a strict chronological or geographical order; instead, it offers a collage of scenes that capture the spirit of the fin de siècle, including urbanization, leisure activities, tourism, technological innovations, and the performing arts. A specially composed score by pianist Daan van den Hurk weaves together footage compiled from fifty separate films into a seamless whole.

The Biograph projector, released in the summer of 1896, was developed by William Kennedy Dickson, who had worked in Thomas Edison’s laboratory and was one of the pioneers of recording moving images on film. Biograph distinguished itself from its rivals with its clearer, steadier, and larger screen image. Each Biograph film differs in subject and tone, with durations ranging from 30 seconds to one minute. Given that the individual Biograph films vary in theme and tone—and run approximately 30 seconds to one minute in length, these one-minute time capsules from 120 years ago still deliver some of the richest and sharpest images that cinema has ever achieved.