The films of the Mutoscope and Biograph are quite special. Not only because they are very old and rare, but also because of their exceptional image quality.
The films of the Mutoscope and Biograph are the oldest films in the Eye vaults. The collection of Mutoscope and Biograph films consists of 200 films of approximately one minute each. The films are quite rare, only the British Film Institute has a similar smaller collection.
The films were shot on a very large format that was quickly outdated, but which yielded spectacularly beautiful images: 68mm. Apart from the format, the material is unusual because it doesn’t have sprocket holes, so the image fills the entire width of the film strip. This produces an image quality that is comparable to IMAX – 8 to 16K in digital terminology.
Most 68mm films contain rare images from various locations in Europe, with an image quality that after 120 years is still one of the best that film can transmit.