The Film Museum Frankfurt am Main is one of the most important film archives in the world. The museum’s exhibition includes an overview of the history of cinema, from its origins until today. The presentation is divided into five chapters:
1) Early Cinema, which includes an extensive collection of camera and projection equipment as well as a collection of early films and moving images that date back to 1895
2) New Paths: German Cinema 1919-1945, which shows how Germany’s cultural and social development influences and is reflected in its film production during those years
3) New Paths: American Cinema, 1945-1973, which shows the ways in which American cinema changed after World War II
It features various screenings, which can be booked online, such as documentary films about the life and work of directors like Billy Wilder or Ingmar Bergman or retrospectives on topics like German Cinema or Early Film History and Technology.
The museum also has a library with many historic movie books and magazines.
The exhibition offers a journey through the moving image with its history and technical development. It invites visitors to explore the various methods of recording, editing and displaying images. Visitors can view video recordings from various periods in history, such as Edison’s Vitascope (1895) or the silent film Metropolis by Fritz Lang (1927). Audio recordings illustrate how sound was integrated into film productions.
