The Movie Database Support
Support → Website Support
Website bug - Release dates predating 1900 cannot be logged
posted by cornflower70STAFFMOD on February 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Hi,
I'm trying to add a number of films made before 1900 which I have a date of release for, some by film pioneers like R.W. Paul and the Lumière brothers but since December last year, I can no longer add them. (It was working prior to December 2024). The website says the box is blank if you try to log any date before 1900. This has to be a website bug. I've asked for support once already but had no response and this has been ongoing now for over two months. Can someone respond and fix this please?
Reply by cornflower70
on March 4, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Is the problem here with the release date field dropdown going to be fixed, so it can accept film release dates from the 1890s again?
Reply by cornflower70
on April 12, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Hi, this is still an ongoing problem and it has been over 4 months now.
Any hope at all of getting this sorted out? Others are noticing this too now, comments are being made about this problem by people at British Film Institute silent film screenings.
Reply by rqphqel
on April 13, 2025 at 3:02 AM
@travisbell
This can be fixed by passing a min value to kendoDatePicker (default is new Date(1900, 0, 1)):
Reply by Ruby
on May 16, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Yes, if this bug could be fixed, that would be amazing. I think I started noticing this issue in December.
Not only new pages for pre-1900 films can't be added, but I believe it also causes issues on the existing pages for classic early films. As an example, if you go to the profile of one of the Lumière brothers, Laveuses appears at the top without a date as unreleased. However, if you go to the page of Laveuses, the 1896 French release can be seen at the top, and also in the Release Dates section.
Many of these old classic films have been screened in other countries (as parts of retrospectives etc now, and also originally, closer to their release). I'm afraid adding these details (or notes to the release dates already present) might remove the original release date. For example, if I wanted to add a note to the existing release dates in the US, Mexico, or (South) Korea for The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, I'm afraid the release date will disappear, as you can see when clicking on edit next to the release.
Hopefully the solution suggested by @rqphqel above could help solve this issue before more existing release dates go missing.