The Birth, the Life and the Death of Christ

Alice Guy-Blaché's ambitious retelling of the life of Christ unfolds across a series of carefully staged tableaux — from the Nativity through the Crucifixion — each scene composed like a living painting. At roughly 33 minutes, it was one of the longest films made to that point, an early indicator that cinema could tackle grand, epic subjects. The hand-tinted color in surviving prints adds a luminous, devotional quality. It's a fascinating bridge between the tradition of religious pageantry and the narrative filmmaking that would soon transform the medium.