Opening title card: "An homage to the anonymous pioneer cameraman who filmed these images recently unearthed in a French archive." Brief sequences are presented in roughly chronological order: •
China (1905), including
Peking (1906), featuring the Imperial palace and guards during the last days of the
Empress Dowager Cixi. •
Cambodia (1910), including
Angkor Wat and
sacred Cambodian dance. •
Siam (1910), featuring the coronation of Prince
Vajiravudh as King
Rama VI of Thailand. •
Japan (1909) with the
traditional tea ceremony (first film footage in Japan). •
India (1910), sacred bathing and cremations at
Allahabad at the confluence of the Ganges and Jumna Rivers. •
Persia (1909), scenes of the
10th day of the holy month of
Muharram in
Tehran, including the processional performance of
blood-letting in honor of the martyrdom of
Husayn ibn Ali. •
Mesopotamia (1912), including
Baghdad. •
Constantinople (1909). •
Palestine (1910), including the "Wailing Wall" (
Western Wall) in
Jerusalem. •
Macedonia (1913) •
Austria (1914) •
London (1916), including the
Tower Bridge and
Piccadilly Circus. •
Paris (1917), including the 23-year old aviator, and French national hero, Captain
Georges Guynemer, some months before his tragic death. •
Nice (1913), featuring its famous
Carnival. •
The Cameroons (1920) and baby gorillas. •
India (1920), featuring the
Maharaja of
Kapurthala and the newly installed British Viceroy
Lord Chelmsford. •
Afghanistan (1921), including
Kabul and a British expedition seen surveying the India/Afghan border. •
Tibet (1919), including
Lhasa and a contingent of German anthropologists,
whirling dervishes,
prostrating Buddhist pilgrims, a traditional archery tournament and the
13th Dalai Lama filmed at an audience at the
Potala Palace (the first cameras ever allowed in). •
Palestine (1925), where
Lord Balfour tours one of the earliest
kibbutzim. • China (1927), where insurgents are seen rioting at the instigation of the
Chinese Civil War. ==Distribution==