Bill Douglas Cinema Museum — Attraction in Exeter

Great, if small, collection of memorabilia and artefacts related to cinema as well as the moving image and optical illusions, set around the university.

We spent an enjoyable 45 minutes or so there. The first part of the collection houses a range of movie based memorabilia, magazines, toys, photographs etc which are interesting if a little cluttered. It's a shame as there are some gems in there (such as Marlene Deitrich's shoes) which fail to stand out among the more prosaic items due to the slightly cluttered display cabinets.

The second half, found down some stairs and through some university corridors, was actually the more interesting section, containing early moving image machines and toys (magic lanterns, mutoscopes etc) and a range of optical illusions.

Overall it was a great, free gem of a museum in Exeter. I feel the name implies it's more related to movies when really this is only half of the museum, the optical ullusions were unexpected and actually more interesting for me. I also wonder whether people who aren't students or don't have business on the campus would be likely to come across it.

Well recommended for a free activity in Exeter for the curious, and generous...

A phenomenal collection of cinema, early cinema and pre-cinema memorabilia, artefacts, books and optical devices collected by the Scottish filmmaker Bill Douglas (1934-1991) and his friend Peter Jewell over a thirty year period. The museum houses all manner of things from the cheap and cheerful to the rare and priceless. You will be amazed at the breadth of the colleciton, I assure you. And incredible to think that all of this was put together from finds in car boot sales and second-hand shops. I've been countless times and am always astounded by what Bill and Peter collected. My favourite items are the Victorian pre-cinema devices. Most are incredibly fragile but have miraculously survived the years. And many of them stil work, although some will require the BDCM's very helpful staff to get them working. (Some of the more sturdy items you can work yourself.) The histories these items tell are varied - almost infinite, one might say - the history of a century and more of popular stories and dreams. The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is a national treasure....

Museum dedicated to cinema and different types of film making.

Split over 2 levels and inside the university of Exeter, this museum is full of film memorabilia from different decades and genres.

Covering films from Shaun of the dead, Alice in wonderland, black panther to comrades, they have a great selection of cinema items, including ushers touches, note books and old ticket rolls.

Downstairs there is more of an interactive room, with view finders, shadow makers, 3D scenes & spinning illusion moving picture makers.

The curator was also on hand to talk us through the displays, he was very friendly, knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions.

The museum is free and quite small, but if you are a big film fan, you could easily spend a couple of hours here, looking at the displays and getting lost in the...