The Story of the Kelly Gang premiered at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre on Boxing Day 1906. It was the world’s first multi-reel, feature-length movie ever made. The Story of the Kelly Gang is a 1906 Australian bushranger film that follows the activities of Ned Kelly and his gang, a 19th-century bushranger and bandit. Charles Tait directed the film, which was shot in and around Melbourne.
This silent film’s original version lasted more than an hour and had a reel length of around 1,200 meters (4,000 feet), making it the world’s longest narrative film. It premiered on December 26, 1906, at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Hall, and was first screened in the United Kingdom in January 1908. It is recognized as the beginning point of the bushranging drama, a genre that dominated early Australian film production. It was a commercial and critical triumph. Many more films about the Kelly legend have been made since its release.
As of 2020, roughly 17 minutes of the film have been known to have survived, which have been restored for theatrical and home media releases, along with stills and other pieces. For being the world’s first full-length narrative feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang was inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2007.
The film was thought to be lost until 1976 when five small portions with a total running time of a few seconds were discovered. In 1978, a collection belonging to a retired film exhibitor yielded another 64 meters (210 feet) of the film.
Also READ: Which Hollywood movie has broken the most records?
