Episodes

1. Where It All Began

Highlighting the world's first public presentation of films in Paris, the comedies by Max Linder, Abel Gance's J'Accuse and the onset of World War I.

2. Art's Promised Land

Including Ingeborg Holm by Victor Sjostrom and Greta Garbo's star-making performance opposite Lars Hanson in Gosta Berling's Saga. Directed by Michael Winterbottom.

3. The Unchained Camera

Featuring The Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein, Metropolis by Fritz Lang, Joyless Street starring Greta Garbo, The White Hell of Pitz Palu featuring Leni Riefenstahl and Louise Brooks becomes a star in Pandora's Box.

4. The Music of Light

Highlighting Abel Gance's masterpiece, Napoleon.

5. Opportunity Lost

Exploring the early career of Alfred Hitchcock.

6. End of an Era

Focusing on the arrival of sound films, The Jazz Singer and the onslaught of World War II.

Overview

The origin of European cinema, from its infancy as a novelty created by French inventors Auguste and Louis Lumière to its flourishing as the pinnacle of film-making in the silent era and as a serious commercial contender against America.

Details

Cast

Kenneth Branagh