The first motion picture display in history took place 114 years ago today, on March 22, 1895

It was a private screening by the brothers Lumiere, who showed a movie called Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory which, most surprisingly, featured employees leaving a factory. This historical event was followed by several other private screenings, which eventually led to the first public motion picture display on December 28th, 1895.

To honor this first screening, here are 10 of our favorite firsts - some historic, some personal, some seemingly impossible - that have been captured in cinema.

1. First Moon Landing

The Dish (2000)

In July 1969, the eyes of the world were on the Apollo 11 moon landing - but the world would have watched blank television screens if not for the hard work of a group of Australians manning the Parkes Radio Telescope, one of the largest dishes in the world. In The Dish, a dramatization of the events surrounding the telecast of the space mission, Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill) and Al Burnett (Patrick Warburton) try to hold their crew together through crises ranging from dangerously high winds to a sudden power failure that cuts off contact with the distant astronauts, forcing the team to impersonate Neil Armstrong for the benefit of the visiting American ambassador…

2. First Time in Prison

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover in the late 1940s. However, only Andy knows that he didn’t commit the crimes. Sent to Shawshank Prison to do hard time, Andy - a taciturn banker in the outside world - has to learn to survive the brutal, cutthroat prison life. His quiet strength slowly earns the respect of his fellow inmates - most notably, Red (Morgan Freeman) - and even the prison staff. This beautifully crafted movie features sincere performances from the entire cast, with an uplifting message about the redemptive value of hope.

3. First Alien Encounter

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) becomes obsessed with meeting extraterrestrials after encountering a UFO on an abandoned road one night. Steven Spielberg hoped to follow up the huge success of Jaws with a low-budget film that would be an easy shoot, but, thanks in part to the complicated special effects, Close Encounters quickly snowballed into an expensive endeavor - yet a commercial and artistic success. No one who has seen the film has ever looked at a plate of mashed potatoes the same way again.

4. First Death

South Park (Pilot, Cartman gets an anal probe)

In the pilot episode Kenny dies for the first time. Of course many more deaths would come later on for Kenny, the kid with a thousand souls. In this episode Kenny is first struck by an alien laser beam, then g run over by a stampede of cows running away from aliens, and finally run over by a police vehicle. Talk about accident-prone…

5. First Century

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

This striking vision from director Martin Scorsese offers an allegorical interpretation of the last days of Jesus Christ. Based strictly on Kazantzakis’s book, the film has a very different focus than past portraits of the “Messiah.” This Jesus (Willem Defoe) is a man wracked with doubt over his position among his followers and fear of the role God has chosen for him and the pain that must accompany it. He is unsure whether the messages he receives come from God or Satan, and he is tempted by a mortal life of earthly possessions and sensual love, resulting in a controversial, though genuinely sympathetic, account of Christianity’s most revered figure.

6. First World War

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

In this visionary work unfolding one indelible image after another, Lawrence (Peter O’Toole)’s fluency in Arabic earns him a post on a mission sent to establish contact with Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness), leader of the Arab revolt and ally of the British against the German-sponsored Turks in WWI. Lawrence quickly earns the Arabs’ respect after he executes acts of extraordinary heroism. As the Englishman’s genius for guerrilla warfare becomes evident, he assumes the role of de facto leader of the Arab revolt, uniting the warring tribes into one devastatingly effective force. Lawrence of Arabia fuses the conflict of man against man, man against nature, and man against himself in a sublime poem of force.

7. First Kiss

My Girl (1991)

Director Howard Zieff’s timeless coming-of-age story endures due to the strength of its characters and the quirky humanity of the story. Anna Chlumsky as Vada exhibits a vast emotional range and delivers a stunning performance, while Macaulay Culkin seems natural in his role of observer - worlds away from his character in Home Alone. The film treats the loss of innocence and the pain Vada goes through with respect and depth, and ultimately creates a moving portrait of a family’s growth together as they learn to recognize and accept the pain and beauty of life.

8. First Sex

Real Women Have Curves (2002)

This sweet, beautifully shot film, is definitely not your typical virgin-looking-for-sex film. Ana (America Ferrera) is a Mexican-American girl growing up in a hardworking blue-collar family in East L.A. Instead of settling for work in the sweatshop factory her sister runs, Ana drives her conservative co-workers and family to stand up to social injustice and – mostly - the idealization of (thin) women. One of the most sensitive yet powerful scenes in the film is when Ana decides to have sex for the first time with her boyfriend. Confident as she is, she insists on having the lights on, rather than hide her not 90-60-90 figure in the dark. The director wisely chose not to show us the act itself, thus leaving us with a memorable and very realistic first sex (though sexless) scene.

9. First Wife

The First Wives Club (1996)

Reuniting for the funeral of a college classmate, three women of a certain age join forces to gain revenge on their former husbands, who divorced them for younger women. At first they want to humiliate their former husbands and cause them real trouble, financial and legal. But as the movie progresses, the women decide to focus their efforts on a real feminist cause: funding an organization aiding abused women. A scathing satire of high society and Hollywood, adapted from the best-selling novel by Olivia Goldsmith.

10. First Job

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Grad student Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is looking for her first job. She wants to write about political and economic issues, but instead she is interviewed to become the assistant of a prestigious fashion magazine editor, Miranda Priestly. Inside the pristine Runway offices, Andy suffers a never-ending list of impossible tasks and constant harassment from Miranda’s jealous first assistant (Emily Blunt). While inspired by notorious VOGUE editor Anna Wintour, Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly is entirely her own creation. Sporting silver hair, a vast collection of fur coats, an encyclopedic knowledge of all things fashion, and a killer smile, Miranda is full of wicked charm. With her mature beauty and commanding presence, Meryl Streep shows off her knack for combining humor and sadness.

Want more firsts? Search on Jinni for -

First Sex * First Love * Alien Encounter * Death * WW1 * Benign Alien * Prison Life * Prisoner * Looking For Sex * Young Heroes * Modern Classic * Ensemble Cast

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