1903 Part 1

Hey gang! Today I will be starting the year of 1903...which will be split into two parts. Super exciting yeah? Speaking of...my birthday is less than 24 hours away! I'm really excited...almost more excited than the fact that Edison stopped making films.

First up we have our first incarnation of Alice in Wonderland...oy.

Ok so I know the film was badly damaged with it being over 100 years old and all but GEEZ. The quality was absolutely terrible! A Trip to the Moon was better than that and you guys know how much I didn't like that. Special effects were pretty awful and if I hadn't known the story/if there hadn't been titles between scenes I would have been so flipping confused. It just wasn't executed well at all. Something I did like was all the kids as the cards...I totally laughed harder than I should have.

Now the most horrible thing you will ever see...another film by Thomas Edison.

TOLD YOU! ...poor Topsy =( =( =(. This elephant died because Edison wanted to one up Tesla...UGH WHAT A JERK! wsljkfdnvwp9e8rgbqergvnq;aowibAIUGREH[Q....not a fan -_-

Next up we see Mr. Melies again with Fairyland: A Kingdom of Fairies 

 

A few things about this piece: color again...nice, first evidence of a montage? yes!, special effects...nice as usual. Now for things I hated: the story...It was super difficult to follow and i'm pretty sure I still have it wrong. There was something about some bad guy and a princess? Then there were mermaids and they were breathing under water...it was some crazyness going on. Also I'm starting to get really tired of the theatrical sets...they were really good in this film but I'm just absolutely sick of them. I know things won't change for awhile but UGH.

And now for the most famous piece from this year...Thomas Edison's The Great Train Robbery.

For the first time I don't absolutely detest Edison's work...The problem is this is one of the only things (film wise) he's remembered for. The film had a good story which was easy to follow, a chase scene, a dance number and half of the film was shot outside and not in a studio! All in all I thought this was a great example of relatively good film making and I hope Edison's work continues on this path (although I doubt it when he also released Topsy in the same year =( ).

That's it for today! Next post will be on Friday because I have 4 finals on Thursday and won't have time to watch anything. Have a great week!  

1901...The Unproductive Era

Well hello there...fancy seeing you here...in my thoughts. Anywho today we're going into 1901 where not much happened. There were 7 films made in 1901...one of which is President McKinley's inauguration and 3 others I wasn't able to find. So I'm doing 4 films today (just so the posts are easy to keep up with in the future).

First up we have Fire! by James Williamson. It's just shy of 5 minutes long and is one of the first films to use multiple shots to tell a narrative. Take a look!

Favorites: shots used, fire effects, fireman who just left the hose running while he rescued the dude

Dislikes: they had two horse drawn carriages going to the fire but only used one...fail. 

I think this is a great example of how to tell a story through film. Early filmmakers had the extremely difficult tasking of not having words. They had to tell the story through their shots and this is a pretty good way of doing just that. 

Next we have President Mckinley's inauguration... 

Again Edison directed this documentary and it certainly didn't surprise me. It was boring as hell and because there is no sound or subtitles or something I have no idea what's going on. The only thing I could tell was that it was an important guy speaking and there was a parade...it tells me nothing of what was actually going on. I really wish Edison would stop experimenting and do an actual story (I know hes dead and all of his films have been produced but I want a time machine so I can smack him for being dumb). 

Now on to more American documentaries....Star Theatre by F.S. Armitage

What I love about this film is that it does something that Edisoon completely fails to do...tell me what's going on. There is an establishing shot of the star theatre...then the demolish it...then an ending shot of it completely demolished and people walking normally. Beginning, middle, and end. While it wasn't the most riveting or entertaining film I've watched it certainly did it's job and I appreciate that. 

And now the last film of the day Scrooge, or Marley's Ghost by Walter Booth. 

Favorites: super imposing for all ghost effects, acting, titles

Dislikes: set...looked like they took it straight from a stage production. 

Another British flick which I think is really well done and I wish more of the footage survived (we only have about half of the original). I really really really enjoyed the ghost effects. They were positively superb for their time! 

Well thats all I have to say. Join me on thursday when we go into 1902!

The 20th Century! : 1900

Why hello there! Today is the start of something fantastic...the 20th century!! We have 5 films to get through today so let's get started shall we?...we shall! 


First up is As Seen Through A Telescope by George Albert Smith. It took some digging to find a video but I did and it's an interesting piece...

There are 3 shots in this film (which is more than a lot of the pieces we've seen up until now) and is classified as a comedy. It's kind of extremely boring in my opinion...L'Arroseur Arrose was infinitely funnier than this. I don't know maybe i'm just tired but I didn't see the humor in this at all (post a comment if you feel differently). All in all it wasn't too terrible and is certainly a nice film to start the century on. 


Next we have Sir Edison doing what he does best...showing absolutely nothing. This time in The Enchanted Drawing a guy draws a picture and then some supplemental accessories (which were also drawn on) are taken and put back on the drawing and depending on the action the picture reacts...mkay. 

 It's probably because i've grown up with CGI and 3D but I certainly wasn't impressed. Although I think someone in the 1900s would have completely flipped their shit during or after watching this short piece. I also wonder when animation burst on to the scene because there are some major animation elements in the tricks used to simulate the enchantment. You should go find the answer and let me know! (I'll wait......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................you find it?...No?...........LOOK AGAIN!.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................assuming you've tried harder leave the answer somewhere on this page and I will reward you with love and admiration =D.) 


Now that we have enlightened ourselves let's move on to the next film...the birth of Michael Bay (also known as Explosion of a Motor Car). 

So a couple of things...why the heck was the cop just flinging body parts around...not cool man!! And speaking of that...if there was an actual 'splosion why weren't the clothes of the poor car riders slightly tattered (at the very least)?? After that the piece was certainly interesting and should be applauded in it's use of editing and other special effects. We need more of this...you know just shit being blown up. Screw stories, plots, and character development! It's all about the 'SPLOSIONS!!

Moving along through this year we have another Smith piece, Grandma's Reading Glass...

sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I don't understand why it was so important for this Smith guy to put a black piece of paper with a whole in it over the camera lens. Like...the proportions are all wrong and there is no peripheral vision which is just dumb...not a fan. 

Ok so this next piece is the first cinematic incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes character. Let's watch! 

...so Holmes gets robbed by Nightcrawler??...

That's it for today...I know it's a bit short but my life is a little busy right now as I finish up summer session (2 more weeks!) and get ready for my 21st birthday!! (about a week and a half away). Next time we'll get into 1901 and slowly but surely we're going to have some more plot! (such excitement). See you on Sunday! 

Films Watched Today
- As Seen Through A Telescope (George Smith)
- The Enchanted Drawing (Thomas Edison)
- Explosion of a Motor Car (Cecil Hepworth)
- Grandma's Reading Glass (George Smith)
- Sherlock Holmes Baffled (Arthur Marvin)

The 1890s Part 2

Hello again friends! Today's post is going to be a little long because we have to get through 8 films so not all of the videos will be posted like before. But today we will finish the 1890s and Thursday we will start on the almost 200 films that occupy the 1900s (it'll be as hectic as an elephant on acid). 


OK so our first film, L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat, is an extremely famous piece of 50 seconds ...well i'll just let you see it. 

This little bit of film scared the begezzus out of people when it was first shown. Imagine what it felt like when you first saw a 3D movie...and that's how these people felt. Honestly I don't blame them...trains can be scary! Anyways...I like the film quality in this and I'm excited for more of the Lumiere Bros. 


Next up is another short film, Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory at about 46 seconds, by Louis Lumiere. It shows workers coming out Lumiere's factory and there are three different versions. Not much to say except there were A LOT of women working in Lumiere's factory...like I think I saw 10 men total...weird. 


Moving on! We have the first evidence of comedy and plot! The last contribution from Lumiere in this decade called L'Arroseur Arrosé or The Sprinkler Sprinkled is about a guy just trying to do his job and then he gets pranked... 

So I lol'd hardcore at this because the gardener totally got pwned. I'm so glad we got to some plot before the 1900s although we haven't seen the magical mystical minute yet...


Now we get to meet the magician/director Georges Melies who enters into the realm of minutes!! (such excitement). Le Manoir Du Diable (The Devil's House) is 3 minutes long and is considered the first horror film, although it wasn't meant to do that.

Since we've journeyed into the wonderful land of plot a few things about this film...I love the bat. Also the first use of editing wasn't too bad, considering, and I can see where it is construed as both an entertaining film and a horror film. At the end I learned that the moral of the story is to always battle evil with a cross...woot!


Next we have the kiss seen 'round the world. The Kiss is 47 seconds of them talking really close to each other and then they kiss...and it was controversial. Of course Americans have to blow things out of proportion by writing debasing newspaper articles and calling the police to stop the viewing of the film...shocking. My main issue with this is that they are talking but no sound is coming out and they don't have subtitles or something...like WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?!...I want to know. 


And now...my childhood is explained. 

SO THAT'S where the Cabbage Patch Kids come from...it all makes sense now! Film historians say that La Fee aux Choux (The Cabbage Fairy) is the first fictional film...and while it was made before Le Manoir Du Diable it certainly doesn't have the same amount of plot and really doesn't make any sense...all that happens is some cabbage fairy finds some babies. At least Melies' piece had a beginning, middle, and end. 


And then there was Tommy...Tommy Edison I mean. This guy is just...UGH. He filmed 4 girls pillow fighting...WHY? When the French were creating plots and significantly better cinematography...we filmed a pillow fight and a kiss. We are so freaking obsessed with women and sex it's not even funny! I'm not even going to post a link because it's so dumb. I'm dubbing this the official DERP of the decade. 


Finally we have the pride of this decade. A nearly 10 minute long piece by our favorite guy Georges Melies. Jeanne D'Arc is truly remarkable because not only is it a real story but it is the first use of color in film. Now don't go all Wizard of Oz on me because every frame was hand tinted and not everything is colored. If you would like to take a look here it is: (NOTE: the music in this is obviously put in by the youtuber so disregard it). 

Favorites: Color, editing, transitions, the use of the same footage to simulate a shit ton of people during the army march. Dislikes: random things that weren't tinted (like one of the alter boys robes when all the others were)...if you're gonna hand tint every frame you might as well be thorough. 


So that's it for this decade and century. On Thursday we will start the 1900s and I'll see how much I can get through but you can guarantee it'll take us through July...my goal is to be done with the 1920s by December 31 but that is 1,133 films (assuming I can get access to all of them) and will be crazy. So stay with me and let me know if I've missed a film...I want to make sure I get all that I can (seeing as it is a journey to see every movie possible). Thanks for reading and I'll see ya on Thursday!   


Films Watched Today:

• L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat (Auguste and Louis Lumière 1895)
• Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory (Louis Lumière 1895)
• L'Arroseur Arrosé (Louis Lumière 1895)
• Le Manoir du diable (Georges Méliès 1896)
• The Kiss (William Heise 1896)
• La Fée aux Choux (Alice Guy Blaché 1896)
• New Pillow Fight (Edison 1897)
• Jeanne d'Arc (1899 film) (Georges Méliès 1899)