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)

1890s Part 1

Hello there fellow cinema travelers! Today we are venturing into the 1890s...where things aren't much better than the 1880s as far as cinematic quality. In this decade we get the first use of sound in film and we tiptoe into the world of minutes (such excitement)!!

First up is the last remaining frames of Wordsworth Donisthorpe's London's Trafalgar Square

Nothing to crazy...it's a lot like Le Prince's work (those crazy kids and their experimenting).

ONWARD! Next up is the first film filmed in the United States (so just now I really wish I lived in Finland...that alliteration would have been fantastic!...don't judge)

It doesn't surprise me that it was made in America. It was creepy, crappy, and I wanted to throw money at it to make it go away. The Monkeyshines films (there were 3) were the first attempt at camera work by the Edison company (he probably should have just sticked with light bulbs).

Next up is my main man William Dickson in Dickson's Greeting, the first publicly shown film. Filmed in Edison's Black Maria studios using the kinetograph it is certainly the highest quality of film we have seen to date. Let's take a gander.

Now we have another Dickson film. It's three blacksmith's starring in Blacksmith Scene...it's absolutely riveting.

A slight step down  as far as quality mainly because Dickson's Greeting was filmed in a studio and had lighting capabilities. Other than that not much else to report (I'm just itching to get to the last film for today because it's super fantabulous). 

So in Dickson's next experiment, Fred Ott's Sneeze, Fred Ott sneezes...I swear these guys are naming geniuses.

I wish I could smack them because they were doing so well as far as quality and then...this. I guess I'll forgive them because they're dead or whatever and I guess they made the technologies that started the film industry...damn overachievers.

Now this Dickson guy decides to get into some exploitation! I was wondering when we would see some blatant race material and here it is...The Buffalo Dance.

I'm sure these Sioux Indians got paid...hopefully. My favorite part is when the one guy keeps looking back at the camera to make sure he's doing what the boss wants...I have a feeling this took a few takes.

AND NOW! The moment you have all been waiting for...The first use of sound in film!! "Now wait just a minute I thought the first film with syncopated sound throughout was Don Juan by Warner Bros in 1925?" Well...yes that's true...but this is the first time that sound and film were recorded and put together as a presentation. Is it truly syncopated? Let's find out.

Now the quality is of course...not very good, and it's hard to see what the violinist is doing, but at the very end you can see him playing after the music has stopped...showing that this, of course, is not syncopated. It wasn't until Don Juan that sound became a viable option in cinema. That is not to say The Dickson Experimental Sound Film wasn't influential it just didn't stop silent films from being made.

That's it for today. Come back on Sunday to continue through the 1890s...we'll get to see horror, comedy, and the magical mystical minute!

Films Watched Today:

London's Trafalgar Square (Wordsworth Donisthorpe and W. C. Crofts 1890)

Monkeyshines (William Dickson and William Heise 1890)

Dickson Greeting (William Dickson 1891)

Blacksmith Scene (William Dickson 1893)

Fred Ott's Sneeze (William Dickson 1894)

Buffalo Dance (William Dickson 1894)

Dickson Experimental Sound Film (William Dickson 1895)

all information came from Wikipedia

The 1880s

And so it begins! We are starting this journey with the oldest pieces of film that have survived the over 100 years of existence. Most of them are not about a story rather they are a collection of moving pictures. They are also almost always an experiment in this new technology and these early films are...well...early. Shall we get started? WE SHALL!

First off is the Roundhay Garden Scene. Made in October of 1888 by Louis Le Prince, this is the oldest surviving film. It's 2 seconds long...take a look!

Not much to comment on...they walk. Moving on! Next up is another Louis Le Prince masterpiece (Leeds Bridge...so original). Also produced in October of 1888 this Le Prince guy filmed some traffic going across Leeds Bridge...breathtaking and again it's 2 seconds...ENJOY! 

Honestly I think its pretty cool that these random bits of film are still around and we have the opportunity to see actual footage from that time period...(like my opinion matters HA).

Pressing forward...we've now graduated to almost 10 seconds (at 2 frames per second)! This Accordion Player is by far the lowest quality of Le Prince's work so far and is more of 19 pictures being placed in order than a film...but i'll take it. 

and the 2 second version! 

Now the last film we have on our bill for today is unfortunately a lost film...meaning I can't watch it...BUT I would like to say that it was originally thought to have been the first film ever made (until the first 3 films I talked about were discovered). It was shot in 1889 by William Friese-Greene (an English inventor) annnnnnnnd we somehow lost all 20 feet of his film. How is that even possible? Unless you purposefully burn it or something...jerks. I bet it was the French...they got jealous because an Englishman caught on to their little "motion pictures"! Don't get me wrong I love the French but you know they would do something as silly as destroy a film...amirite?? I'm right. 

Anywho come back on Thursday when I tackle the 1890s where sound is first introduced ("WHAT?!?!"...i know right?) and the films are over a minute long (crazyness I say)!  

Films Watched Today:

1. Roundhay Garden Scene : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundhay_Garden_Scene 

2. Leeds Bridge : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Le_Prince#Leeds_Bridge_.28LPCCP_Type-1_MkII.29

3. Accordion Player : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Le_Prince#Accordion_Player_.28LPCCP_Type-1_MkII.29 

4. Leisurely Pedestrians, Open Topped Buses and Hansom Cabs with Trotting Horses : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leisurely_Pedestrians,_Open_Topped_Buses_and_Hansom_Cabs_with_Trotting_Horses 

Hello!

Hi there anyone that could possibly be reading this. My name is Alexis and I'm a theatre major (yes thats spelled correctly). "I thought this was a film blog why are you a theatre major?!" you may ask. Well it is a film blog so don't change the channel but I, a lowly theatre technician, am attempting what most film majors don't even want to attempt...I am going to watch every film ever made! I have seen a lot of films and I love watching them (I have a special place in my heart for B-Movies) but I have certainly not seen every film ever made and so I shall attempt to do such! So every Sunday and Thursday I will talk about a film (in chronological order), give a bit of history and be hilarious.

Now don't mistake my love for film for expertise. I have a very limited knowledge about film production and can only speak based on my own opinions. That said I'm going to do my best to make this a fun adventure through the world of cinema. This will be part history, part opinion, part undeniable awesome.

Also the more comments the better but if you have a seen a film I am about to see please don't ruin it. So even if I have seen it...assume I haven't and refrain from spoilers because they suck and we want to rid the world of suck (nerdfighters unite)! We will begin this adventure on this Sunday May 30, 2011 with the oldest surviving film, Roundhay Garden Scene, so come back and enjoy the ride!