This film is part of Free
Cheese Mites
What’s in your cheese? The microscopic mites here are unpleasant today but caused a sensation in 1903, in one of the Britain’s earliest exhibited scientific films.
Overview
Part of Charles Urban's 'Unseen World' series, which brought the microscopic world to the screen, Cheese Mites showed large-as-crabs mites wandering about the nation's favourite lunchtime snack to the joyful disgust of audiences.
For 80 years the BFI only held the shot of the creepy crawlies but now a new version has been discovered showing a professor (F Martin Duncan) horrified by examining his bread and cheese through a magnifying glass. A spoof, called Unclean World appeared shortly after and is also available to watch on BFI Player, as is Urban’s later cheese-related film Manufacture of Stilton Cheese.
Related
The Beggar's Deceit The Beggar's Deceit
Comedy 1900 1 mins Silent
A copper pursues a cheeky beggar who can't possibly escape justice - or can he?
Come Along, Do! Come Along, Do!
Comedy 1898 1 mins Silent
A museum visitor takes an interest in a nude sculpture - to his wife's annoyance - in a sadly incomplete early film comedy
How It Feels to Be Run Over How It Feels to Be Run Over
Trick film 1900 1 mins Silent
A terrifying first-person brush with death at the hands of a dangerous driver
Spiders on a Web Spiders on a Web
1900 0 mins Silent
Dare you watch this footage of larger-than-life spiders - one of the earliest nature films of its type?
Railway Collision Railway Collision
Drama 1900 1 mins Silent
An impressive early film special effect
Comic Faces - Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer Comic Faces - Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer
Comedy 1897 1 mins Silent
How many faces can one man pull while drinking one glass of beer? Far more than you might think
Halfway Halfway
Drama 2023 9 mins
Two lovers searching for each other on a beach try to work out some uncomfortable truths over the phone.
I'll Tell You When I'm Ready I'll Tell You When I'm Ready
2024 13 mins
I'll Tell You When I'm Ready follows the personal story of jaye simpson
Cab Ride Cab Ride
2023 12 mins
Two queer lovers bolt out of a house party, into a waiting cab where they have one eventful journey to figure out whether they are truly a match.
The First Kiss The First Kiss
Drama 2023 15 mins
Today is a special day for Andi – he’s going to Madrid for a date with a boy he met online.
Little One Little One
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
Unsure of how to raise a child, a pregnant woman seeks guidance from her gay dads. Her dad reflects on their family’s history, captured on an old camcorder.
Compton's '22 Compton's '22
Drama 2023 17 mins
An intergenerational discussion about the legendary riot that predates Stonewall.