Good start, but then it gets ruined

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Shot at Boca del Inferno, Hell's Mouth, in Portugal, "A Sea Cave Near Lisbon" not only received positive reviews, it also was a favorite with audiences. Since audiences loved any old film just so long as it showed movement, it's easy to see why due to people back then loving films with waves. Directed by Henry Short, a cinematographer who worked for Robert Paul himself, the film really must have effected audiences. While not much happens at all you can't be bored as it's only 13 secs. The fact it's a moment in time makes it an interesting watch for silent film lovers.

Robert Paul is a largely forgotten name today, but he was a major pioneer of British cinema, and was quick to grasp the commercial potential of cinema in ways that better known pioneers such as William Friese-Greene were not. He was more of a mechanic than a filmmaker making, with Birt Acres, his own camera on which to shoot films in 1895, and also Britain's first projector, the Animatograph, with which to screen them in 1896. Early in the 20th century he had a custom-made studio built in Muswell Hill.This film, so short it barely qualifies for the title, is a good early example of how a dramatically framed shot can enhance a film. It's filmed from within a cave, the entrance of which serves as a frame for the waves that crash over rocks before flowing into the cave. Beyond the rocks, the horizon can be glimpsed.