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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“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...
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...
Discover the best films by exploring the Essential Films Canon. Follow us and stay updated as we progress through the history of cinema.
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film
January 19, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Discover the best films by exploring the Essential Films Canon. Follow us and stay updated as we progress through the history of cinema.
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film
With "The Lady Charmer" (1878), Émile Reynaud pre-empted Étienne-Jules Marey’s more celebrated chronophotographic gun studies of the 1880s, later collected in Marey’s anthology "The Flight of Birds" (1890). Avian flight proved capable of deliv...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
January 18, 2026 at 11:29 AM
With "The Lady Charmer" (1878), Émile Reynaud pre-empted Étienne-Jules Marey’s more celebrated chronophotographic gun studies of the 1880s, later collected in Marey’s anthology "The Flight of Birds" (1890). Avian flight proved capable of deliv...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-lad...
A man is smoking his pipe whilst his dog seeks his attention. In “The Smoker” (1878), the movement is limited to the floating smoke and the animal’s barking and wagging its tail. This is another of Émile Reynaud’s animations in which ordinary ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-smo...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-smo...
January 17, 2026 at 12:04 PM
A man is smoking his pipe whilst his dog seeks his attention. In “The Smoker” (1878), the movement is limited to the floating smoke and the animal’s barking and wagging its tail. This is another of Émile Reynaud’s animations in which ordinary ...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-smo...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-smo...
Émile Reynaud’s Praxinoscope strips are not only experiments in animation but also historical artefacts that showcase forms of popular entertainment from one and a half centuries ago. “The Trapeze” (1878) may appear antiquated in its subject m...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-tra...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-tra...
January 16, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Émile Reynaud’s Praxinoscope strips are not only experiments in animation but also historical artefacts that showcase forms of popular entertainment from one and a half centuries ago. “The Trapeze” (1878) may appear antiquated in its subject m...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-tra...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-tra...
An artist working at a high rate will inevitably produce works that do not match their full potential. “The Baby’s Breakfast” (1878) is one such case within Émile Reynaud’s oeuvre. The baby’s depiction mildly echoes the painting style of the B...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-bab...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-bab...
January 15, 2026 at 6:09 PM
An artist working at a high rate will inevitably produce works that do not match their full potential. “The Baby’s Breakfast” (1878) is one such case within Émile Reynaud’s oeuvre. The baby’s depiction mildly echoes the painting style of the B...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-bab...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-bab...
In “The Butterflies” (1878), Émile Reynaud breathed vivacity into a scene that his contemporaries would have chosen to give a still-life treatment. The insects play a colourful dance around a vibrating flower, thereby celebrating the wonder of...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-but...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-but...
January 14, 2026 at 11:50 AM
In “The Butterflies” (1878), Émile Reynaud breathed vivacity into a scene that his contemporaries would have chosen to give a still-life treatment. The insects play a colourful dance around a vibrating flower, thereby celebrating the wonder of...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-but...
Continue at www.essential-films.co.uk/film/the-but...
In 1878, Eadweard Muybridge's "Sallie Gardner at a Gallop" captured "what the human eye could not," changing visual history. Discover how this groundbreaking work bridged art and science, laying the foundation for cinema.
👉 Click to read the full essay www.essential-films.co.uk/post/between...
👉 Click to read the full essay www.essential-films.co.uk/post/between...
January 13, 2026 at 6:47 PM
In 1878, Eadweard Muybridge's "Sallie Gardner at a Gallop" captured "what the human eye could not," changing visual history. Discover how this groundbreaking work bridged art and science, laying the foundation for cinema.
👉 Click to read the full essay www.essential-films.co.uk/post/between...
👉 Click to read the full essay www.essential-films.co.uk/post/between...
Nearly 150 years ago, cinematic output produced many curious experiments in moving images. Discover the best of them in the Essential Films canon.
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?century...
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?century...
January 12, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Nearly 150 years ago, cinematic output produced many curious experiments in moving images. Discover the best of them in the Essential Films canon.
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?century...
👉 View the full list here www.essential-films.co.uk/film?century...