The Paris Exposition Universelle (1900) FULL VIDEO

 

The 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle (Universal Exhibition) was a watershed moment for the global birth of cinema. While early short films had been shown publicly since late 1895, the 1900 World’s Fair served as the official global coming-out party for motion pictures [1].

Rather than featuring just one singular film, the Exposition housed an array of competing, multi-booth cinematographic installations that presented hundreds of brief films (known as actualités or "living pictures") [1, 2]. These films documented the fairgrounds, daily French life, and historical reenactments [1, 3]. It was at this event that cinema transitioned from a niche laboratory novelty into a massive, internationally recognized medium of mass entertainment and technological ambition [1].

Pioneering Achievements in Film

The Exposition was defined by structural and experiential breakthroughs that effectively laid the blueprint for modern exhibition standards, including large-format cinema, immersive 360-degree theater, and synchronized sound.

1. The Cinéorama: The First 360° Immersive Cinema

Invented by Raoul Grimoin-Sanson, the Cinéorama was an astonishing precursor to modern IMAX and virtual reality environments [4].

Raoul Grimoin-Sanson’s Cinéorama configuration. Source: Wikipedia

As seen in the illustration above, the audience stood inside a simulated basket of a hot air balloon, positioned in the center of a large circular pavilion [4].

• The Setup: Beneath the spectator platform, a central projection booth housed 10 synchronized 70mm film projectors pointed outward [4].

• The Visuals: The 10 projectors seamlessly cast a massive, continuous 360-degree image onto a circular screen measuring 100 meters (approx. 330 feet) in circumference [4].

• The Experience: Spectators watched hand-colored footage filmed from an actual hot air balloon ascending over Paris, Brussels, and Nice.

A Dangerous Innovation: The heat generated by the 10 high-powered arc lamps in the central projection room was so intense that it posed an extreme fire hazard. Due to safety concerns raised by the Paris authorities regarding the tight, unventilated space, the attraction was shut down after just three public performances [4].

2. The Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Early Synchronized Sound Film

Long before the official arrival of "talkies" in the late 1920s, the Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre successfully married moving pictures with recorded sound at the 1900 fair [3, 5].

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre program brochure. Source: ResearchGate

Developed by Paul Decauville and Clement Maurice, this pavilion relied on manual synchronization to align imagery with audio [3, 5].

• The Technique: High-profile stage actors were filmed performing famous theatrical scenes. During public playback, a projectionist would carefully adjust the hand-crank speed of the film projector to match the playback speed of a separate Henri Lioret cylinder phonograph [3, 5].

• Historical Content: This system captured legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt in her very first movie role: a brief, action-oriented performance titled Le Duel d'Hamlet (The Duel of Hamlet) [3, 5].

3. The Lumière Giant Screen: Unprecedented Mass Audiences

The Lumière Brothers, Auguste and Louis, sought to dominate their home territory by building a cinema experience on a scale never before attempted [1].

• The Dimensions: Erected in the Galerie des Machines (and later moved near the Place de l'Alma), they hung an enormous translucent canvas screen measuring 21 meters wide by 18 meters high ($69\text{ft}\times 59\text{ft}$) [1, 3].

• The Projection: To fill this space with a bright image, the screen was kept wet. The projection mechanism used an incredibly intense automated electric arc lamp coupled with standard 35mm film [3].

• The Scale: Because the screen was translucent, audiences could sit on both the front and back sides simultaneously. The venue routinely hosted up to 25,000 spectators per session, treating an estimated 1.4 million fairgoers to over 150 different shorts throughout the fair’s run [1, 6].

Historical Footnote Sources

• [1] Morettin, Eduardo Victorio. (2011). "Universal exhibitions and the cinema: history and culture." Revista Brasileira de História, Vol. 31, No. 61, pp. 231-249. This text explores the official integration of cinema within the 1900 Paris Fair framework and documents the physical scale of the Lumière installations.

• [2] Guru, B. P. Mahesh Chandra. (2020). "Critical Study on History of International Cinema." CORE Academic Archive. Evaluates early cinematic developments, tracking camera innovations, special effects experimentation, and public exhibition practices around the turn of the century.

• [3] Barnes, John. (2000). "The Paris Exposition Universelle de 1900." The Magic Lantern Society Journal, Vol. 4, No. 10, pp. 15-22. Provides micro-historical detail regarding the entertainment venues situated along the Rue de Paris, specifically focusing on the operational specifications of the Lumière projectors and Gaumont’s related sound ventures.

• [4] Amad, Paula. (2020). "'The World's Heavy Gaze': Cin-aereality in the Postwar Avant-Gardes." Modernism/modernity, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 207-242. Details Raoul Grimoin-Sanson's technological construction of the Cinéorama, its use of hand-colored 70mm film segments, and its subsequent closure by the Paris police department.

• [5] Duckett, Victoria. (2024). "Hamlet: A Short Film, 1900." Deakin University Research Repository, Chapter 1. A definitive analysis of Sarah Bernhardt’s business ventures into the Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre, analyzing the technical preservation records of the Le Duel d'Hamlet film strip.

• [6] Katz, David. (1998). "A Widescreen Chronology." ProQuest Academic Dissertations, pp. 1-14. A historical registry charting early experiments with large aspect ratios and widescreen formats, documenting audience capacity numbers during the Lumière Brothers' 1900 exhibition.