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Topic: Nicholas II
The Ukrainian company "Kinotur" has announced that it intends to restore and digitize the filming of the 1896 Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II.
The film's restoration will be carried out in cooperation with the Ukraine Central State Photographic Archives.
The filming of the 1896 Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II was shot by Camille Cerf, a cameraman for French film pioneers, the Lumiere Brothers. After the film was shot, the company went on a mission to show documentary footage of the coronation event in several countries throughout Europe. The film was first screened in Paris on June 24, 1896, and was then shown in St. Petersburg shortly thereafter.
On May 5 [Old Style] 1896, the Moscow newspaper Daily News wrote, "among those attending the coronation of Nicholas II is the correspondent Camille Cerf, who has been sent to Moscow, by Louis Lumiere, armed with an interesting dcvice--a motion picture camera . . . It will document on film the solemn procession of entry step by step on a special newsreel tape on which will capture the images, then recycle them via a projector, thus allowing the world to witness the entire procession of this historic event and all its highlights."
The 1896 Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II is considered to be the first full-length film ever produced in Russia's history. Up to this day only small vignettes have been shown in contemporary documentaries, however, once the restoration and digitizing have been completed, the entire film will once again be made available for public viewing.
© Royal Russia. 20 June, 2011
Updated: Monday, 20 June 2011 12:42 AM EDT
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