The Kiss

1896
5.8| 0h1m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 01 April 1896 Released
Producted By: Edison Studios
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time.

Genre

Drama, Romance

Watch Online

The Kiss (1896) is currently not available on any services.

Cast

May Irwin

Director

William Heise

Production Companies

Edison Studios

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
The Kiss Videos and Images
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew
May Irwin as Widow Jones

The Kiss Audience Reviews

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good
Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
mirosuionitsaki2 This is a very interesting film. It is one of the earliest romance films. Actually, it is the first.This film caused a minor scandal back in the day, which right now we can safely laugh at.This helped in making many other films. It's quite interesting how romance this day has changed only little. This film is scratchy and is of poor quality, but you must understand. This film is made almost two centuries ago.The film was produced by Thomas Edison, with the two actors of the day May Irwin and John C. Rice. This is one of many of other Edison's films which are now in museums everywhere.
rbverhoef A popular short film from the Edison Manufacturing Company is 'The Kiss', which stars Broadway stars May Irwin and John C. Rice shows these two people kissing as in their musical 'The Widow Jones'. It was the first kiss in the movies, causing immediate controversy (some found it pornographic) and the first call for censorship. Seeing it today we can hardly understand that; the two look rather innocent. The scene itself is even a little funny.From its first film the Edison Manufacturing Company has produced over a thousand of short films. The most famous is probably 'The Great Train Robbery', considered to be the first western, even though it was shot in New Jersey. The Brothers Lumière and Georges Méliès did their part in developing the cinema in France, Edison and later D.W. Griffith were their American counterparts.As for the single shot films from the Edison Manufacturing Company, they are all historically interesting. For some reason those from Lumière have a higher entertainment value, if that's what you should call it, but that does not mean they are more important (and 'The Kiss' is an exception actually). The Edison Manufacturing Company's short films existing out of multiple scenes belong to the highpoint of American cinema.
MartinHafer This "movie" is an 18 second clip shown in Nickelodeons across the country in 1896. It consists of a rather ugly older couple getting frisky with each other and culminates in a brief but sweet kiss. THAT'S ALL!! And yet, when it appeared it was considered "smut" and there were widespread cries for censorship!!! It just goes to show you how much things have changed over the years! It's a very important movie historically and I have shown it to my history classes when we discuss American cinema. If anyone cares to see it, it's available on the Internet and is available in Quicktime, MPEG and other formats. Give it a try--it won't take up much of your time!PS--This film is also known as the MAY IRWIN KISS and is not the same as the 1900 film THE KISS--a knock-off film also made by the Edison Studio, but with more intense kissing and a more attractive couple.
Snow Leopard As short and simple as it is, this is still an interesting historical landmark, as one of the first movies to be surrounded by public controversy. Some of the other early movies are remembered for the initial surprise they caused (for example, the fear that some audiences felt when they first saw footage of a train coming towards the camera), but the reaction to this movie was different.Given the accounts of the reactions that it caused, the footage itself seems surprisingly innocuous. The participants in "The Kiss" are neither young nor attractive, and their feelings towards each other seem more affectionate than sensual. That it caused such comment in its time no doubt speaks in part to what that generation was concerned with, but even at that, surely most persons had seen this kind of behavior before.What made this different was that it was projected on a large screen for all to see, and that an intimate moment had been captured in a form that could be preserved forever and replayed over and over. Unlike a stage scene, a movie is never really over and forgotten, since audiences can still see it many decades later. Also unlike a stage scene, a movie camera could capture the scene in a (medium) close-up, bringing the viewer much closer to the kissing couple.A movie also captures the entire sequence of events, so that the impression of what is happening is fleshed out in its entirety, making it more memorable than even the most well-chosen moment for a still photograph. All of these thoughts may not fully explain it either, but the fact remains that, though there are certainly some different things that other media can do better than cinema, this was an early example of what movies can do to a degree that other art forms cannot quite rival.