Rough Sea at Dover
(1895)
Considered by some to be the first natural history orientated film and one of the oldest surviving British films, Rough Sea at Dover dates back to 1895. Filmed by Birt Acres using a camera designed by R. W. Paul, based on Edison’s invention of the kinetoscope, the film features the simple ebb and flow of waves crashing against Admiralty Pier, Dover.
Originally intended for exhibition in peephole kinetoscopes, the film premiered at the Royal Photographic Society in London on the 14th January 1896 and was the first public film screening in Britain. A great success, the Rough Sea at Dover went on to become one of the most popular and widely-screened of all early British films.
