The Bud, the Leaf and the Flower (1912) watch online HD

I took a look at a Pathe-Baby version of this movie, one of the films available for the home market. These were issued in a 9.5 mm format, far smaller than the 35 mm versions for theatrical showings or 16 mm versions that were later used for television prints. Because of the small size of the film, these could not contain the details of the theatrical version, but given their comparative cheapness and the lack of definition back when TV was projected in a 480-line format (in the US; European standards were similar), the image was the same viewed onscreen. Nowadays, given high-definition tv, the viewer can see the difference in image. Because many films survive only in those 16 mm prints, a dedicated film buff may look at such a print in a theater, and the difference is obvious.

In any case, this movie is a time-lapse study of the growth of plants. The titles claim that minutes would elapse between frames, and looking at the sped-up growth is startling.