Who invented the movies?

The movies were invented in 1895 by the Lumière brothers, 2 engineers from Lyon, in France.

They were the first to project a film in public thanks to a machine that they built. But to invent this machine, the Lumière brothers were inspired by the work of many other inventors.

So, how were the movies invented?

To start with, the movies owed a lot to photography. In the 1880s, the use of flexible film revolutionised photography… And gave Thomas Edison, a great American inventor, the idea to perfect a camera and a device to see the images in 1891.  

This device showed the pictures taken by the camera in quick succession and gave the illusion of movement! It didn’t allow films to be projected in front of an audience. Only one person at a time could watch. 

In 1895, the Lumière brothers did better! They created the cinematograph, which was both a camera and a projector! On 28 December, in front of an audience, they projected a film for the first time: workers leaving one of their factories.

Georges Meliès was in the audience, and was amazed by what he saw. He was to become one of the first directors of fiction movies.

Even if the Lumière brothers’ films are not works of art, their invention undoubtedly gave birth to modern movies. 

Today, digital technology, special effects and 3-D… have changed the movies, but the magic stays the same!