To coincide with our exhibition ORIGINS OF CINEMA: Magic Lanterns, Cinematograph, and Pioneer Projectors, the Palace offers a series of lectures to extend the experience beyond the screen.

Conference: Depuis Edison et Lumière jusqu'aux derniers procédés argentiques, J.P Verscheure

As soon as the first moving images appeared in kinetoscopes, inventors from around the world began experimenting with projecting them onto a screen for a collective audience. The Lumière brothers set the stage on December 28, 1895, with a small screen, but the idea of large-scale projection quickly emerged. With its Cinemascope screen and stereophonic sound system, Palace offers the ideal setting to retrace the history of image and sound with authenticity.

The major milestones of this evolution are illustrated through original and significant film excerpts, from the silent era to the advent of sound cinema with the first Vitaphone productions. This is followed by the development of colour processes and the introduction of formats such as Cinerama and Cinemascope, marking the beginning of widescreen and stereophonic sound. A true “format war” then unfolds, with systems such as VistaVision, Technirama, Superscope and Techniscope, each offering filmmakers new creative possibilities all highlighted within this programme.

The choice of Palace is no coincidence: to fully understand and experience this evolution, it is essential to present these films on a screen that respects the history and development of cinema venues.