Head to the Film Museum in Dusseldorf’s picturesque Old Town for a fascinating glimpse into the history of the moving image. The museum is spread across four floors of an unassuming building on the banks of the river Rhine. It contains over 10,000 artefacts, including antique recording equipment, original costumes and a cinema organ that dates back to the silent movies of the 1930s.
Film buffs may want to go on the website beforehand and book their place on one of the guided tours, which are available for a small fee on the first Wednesday of each month.
The ground floor is filled with mementos from many of the world’s best-loved movies. Keep an eye out for the Movie Cult - Movie Theatre room which has treasures straight from the set of Charlie Chaplin’s masterpieces and memorabilia from the best-selling Star Wars franchise. Wander through halls packed with photos and awards before seeing if you can recognise the movie from the posters of famous and lesser known films of the last hundred years displayed across the walls.
The shadow puppets exhibition on the first floor will introduce you to the pre-cinematic experience of visual theatre, an art form created by throwing shadows from a bright light onto a wall or screen. The intricate puppets used for these displays are incredibly beautiful and there is an impressive display here stretching right back from the nineteenth to the thirteenth centuries.
Inside the second-floor ‘Palace of Illusions’, you’ll be introduced to the science of special effects. See the sky in paintings change from day to night at the touch of a button, using old-school ‘light painting techniques’ from the seventeenth century. You can also play and experiment with more recent innovations including the chance to create and mix different sound effects. The third floor is dedicated to scripts, costumes and set designs as well as an interesting display dedicated to the evolution of 3-D cinematography.
The museum is open from Tuesdays to Fridays and is free for children under 18. It’s just a short walk from the Marktplatz with nearby tram stops at Benrather Strasse and Heinrich-Heine-Allee.
