Arrivée d’un train à La Ciotat

[Manuel Schmalstieg]

In your cataloge-lumiere is the title „Arrivée d’un train à La Ciotat“ (Vue N° 653):

http://catalogue-lumiere.com/arrivee-train-a-la-ciotat/

 

This version of the film is different from the most popular version of „Arrivée d’un train à La Ciotat“, that is from 1897 (link to deleted video)

 

Can you explain me why there are two different version of the film? Is the version in your cataloge-lumiere the first version from january 1896?

[Manuel Schmalstieg]

Here are some explanations, based on the book by historians Michelle Aubert & Jean-Claude Seguin.

- There's one version of the "train arrival" in the commercial catalogue, number 653 (= 741 in the numbering used by Aubert & Seguin). It was shot in summer 1897, according to the age of the children seen in the film (Joséphine Lumière).
- There are two other versions, "non cataloguées" (not in the commercial catalogue), that have been found in the Lumière archive by the historians.
- One of those versions was shot in early 1896, as there were 32 stills used in a newspaper article about Le Cinématographe (published in La Science française, Paris, n° 59, March 13 1896, p. 89). Possibly, this version was screened January 25 1896 in Lyon.
- The other unnumbered version was possibly an alternate shot of number 653, as the vegetation is identical.

I hope this helps!