Category: Futurism

  • The Flying Machine

    The Flying Machine

    (7/10) Movie pioneer Ferdinand Zecca rides his steampunk bike over Paris in this short, but beautifully filmed trick film from 1901, marking France’s first science fiction movie.  The Flying Machine (À la conquête de l’air). 1901, France. Directed by and starring Ferdinand Zecca. Produces for Pathé. IMDb score: 6.6/10. Tomatometer:…

  • The Mechanical Butcher

    The Mechanical Butcher

    (5/10) The first science fiction film in history was made by movie pioneer Louis Lumière in 1895, and depicts a futuristic machine turning a live pork into sausages and ham at lightning speed.  The Mechanical Butcher (La Charcuterie Mecanique). 1895, France. Directed, filmed and produced by Louis Lumière for Lumière. …

  • The Airship Destroyer

    The Airship Destroyer

    An action-packed British short from 1909 depicting future warfare with missiles and airships. Walter Booth directs with typical energy and audacity and some of the physical effects are very impressive for their time. However, the design of the film is amateurish, the model work crude and the substitution splices sometimes…