When the World was Wide

Content

The film opens with a title card dedicating the work to anonymous pioneer cameramen whose images were recently unearthed in a French archive. Sequences appear in rough chronological order, beginning with China in 1905, including Peking in 1906 showing the Imperial palace and guards during the final days of Empress Dowager Cixi. Cambodia in 1910 features Angkor Wat and sacred Cambodian dance, while Siam in 1910 presents the coronation of Prince Vajiravudh as King Rama VI. Japan in 1909 includes a traditional tea ceremony, marking the first film footage ever taken in that country. India in 1910 shows sacred bathing and cremations at Allahabad at the confluence of the Ganges and Jumna Rivers. Persia in 1909 depicts the 10th day of Muharram in Tehran, including a processional blood-letting performance honoring the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. Mesopotamia in 1912 includes Baghdad, and Constantinople appears in 1909. Palestine in 1910 shows the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Macedonia in 1913, Austria in 1914, London in 1916 with Tower Bridge and Piccadilly Circus, and Paris in 1917 featuring 23-year-old aviator Captain Georges Guynemer months before his death are included. Nice in 1913 shows its Carnival. The Cameroons in 1920 features baby gorillas. India in 1920 presents the Maharaja of Kapurthala and British Viceroy Lord Chelmsford. Afghanistan in 1921 includes Kabul and a British expedition surveying the India/Afghan border. Tibet in 1919 shows Lhasa, German anthropologists, whirling dervishes, prostrating Buddhist pilgrims, an archery tournament, and the 13th Dalai Lama at an audience in the Potala Palace, the first cameras ever allowed in. Palestine in 1925 shows Lord Balfour touring an early kibbutz. China in 1927 depicts insurgents rioting at the instigation of the Chinese Civil War.