Early film

[Lencho of the Apes]

A thread to hold our thoughts on movies made before 1907. Is that still considered the cut-off point for "cinema of attractions"? Give or take however-many months...

[Lencho of the Apes]

This fragment of a Pathe Freres release from 1900 makes me think there are holes in our understanding of how narrative structures evolved; I've got to look again at some 1899-1900s to get my thoughts straight, but this looks like it once was six tableaux that told a story in sequence. 1899 had a Passion and a Dreyfuss Affair where each tableau was considered a separate film, Williamson's Fire was 1901... There are some earlier Williamsons like Daring Burglary and such that I need to look at again, but for now this one has me be-quandaried. Domestic/romance plots weren't common, if nothing else...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGyhvUYctdA&t=40s

[niminy-piminy]

this film (seems like) reinforces the notion of narrative structures in early cinema mimicking the theater plays.
act one (played in a certain stage decoration), act two (played in a changed stage decoration), etc., etc.
also, i read/heard somewhere that in Meliés' films actors enter the stage only from the sides or from the back (as if entering the theater stage) — never from the front side.
which makes me now curious, what is the oldest film that offers an actor entering the scene from the front side (contrary to the custom of entering the theater stage)??? or leaving the scene via the front side (leaving the scene by passing right next to the camera)??? maybe during some chases???

EDIT: i remember i stumbled upon this (Meliés' actors issue) while watching some experimental film.
it is some pointless short flick with chickens (entering/leaving the scene of the film from various directions — including the front side).
and voiceover (as far as i remember) says that those chickens are capable to do it because they are not conditioned by centuries of theater acting and thus they don't feel weird enter/leave the scene via the front side (as opposed to actors in early cinema).
unfortunately, i can't recall the title or an auteur of the film now.

[niminy-piminy]

ha, i found my old note that identifies the film.

ORPHEUS DESCENDING (Paul Pfeiffer, 2001)
Melièse (like mythic Orpheus) looked back on the ways how actors were entering the scene in the past (in the theater plays) and thus his actors failed to achieve something even near-to-mindless chickens (without any directorial guidance) can easily accomplish (this film makes it obvious)

here is Paul Pfeiffer's lecture with a snippet from ORPHEUS DESCENDING — the scene of a chicken leaving the film frame going towards the camera (from 34:04 till 34:12) — something (for a long) unimaginable in early cinema (with actors used to the ways of theater acting).
https://youtu.be/gOGPkoGnNJU?t=2044

[greennui]

My favourite early film genre: waves crashing against the shore.

Spoiler!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V5deEwbMVo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDuBxrxBUUw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyKaAaeFaTE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBAHTaw7ryU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liCb3Yl66Xo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLEmLHGQ0cc

[sally]

after watching the high quality compilation of jan kříženecký's early films yesterday, just want to watch hours more of the things (things=multiple gloriously poetically shot actualites) anyone link to any more? (other than lumiere!) could browse endless individual crap scans on youtube but just want to sit down in front of something crisp and long (if segmented)

[sally]

cunard mail steamer lucania leaving for america - mitchell & kenyon (1901!)


this is pretty epic for 1901, 16 mins (not the paltry 2 that letterboxd has it as) range of shots/angles, capturing work, play, process....those M&K faces (one point a young max linder-type sees the camera, adjusts his hat to a rakish angle and carries on mansplaining something to his girl) and even more impressively, during a pan along the side of the ship, a cut to a close-up of some enigmatic fist-shaking detail, and then back to continue the distant pan...

[sally]

i think i'm the only person in england not watching sport tonight. instead am working my way through all the actuality films on the bfi player (irritatingly at least 50% of which, and not just early film but all years, aren't on imdb or letterboxd so am never gonna remember if i've already seen waves crashing at st ives or the scilly isles, i may just be watching the same film over and over)

anyway i think i've exhausted them - has anyone got a good source of any more anywhere? especially the longer form seaside ones when they're all looking in the camera, maybe being less clothed than usual makes them more candid but when they look in the camera i get 120 year old chills...

[greennui]

I gots a list for these
https://letterboxd.com/greennui/list/become-ocean/

La Vague (Étienne-Jules Marey, 1891)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgOuswSHeP8

A Visit to the Seaside (G.A Smith, 1908)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akRm4EsXcgk

Mauvais temps au port (1899)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWG_WuoIoq0

A Storm at Sea (James White, 1900)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCF-IgZL_Ac

The Launch of HMS Albion at Blackwall (E.P. Prestwich, 1898) - Above

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1VA0PM0Hv8

The Launch of H.M.S. Albion (Robert W. Paul, 1898) - Ground level

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sn_4SJvQh8

[sally]

well, thanks and they are lovely, but unless i get you posting them all individually, i have to go to google and search them out one by one, whereas if i search bfi player with, say 1898, i get...hundreds (not just sea stuff but i give the football matches a miss tho cuz ugh not now). is there any archive other than EYE where i can do that ? i just feel like like i'm missing something obvious

[greennui]

Archive.org?

[sally]

i sort of always knew this was there but never really delved in. and there's plenty! (45 peter elfelt alone) will keep me amused for a while.

https://filmcentralen.dk/museum/danmark ... &type=alle

and the faroe islands/iceland films...half peter hutton.....

https://www.filmarkivet.se also exists, but it's difficult to navigate? just want to order all the films by date, is this possible. (love stockholm in colours - hey we've got this snazzy new colour technology, what shall we film? cool, dead things)

why isn't there a german one? you'd think there'd be a german one. have i just not found it?

[greennui]

https://www.filmarkivet.se also exists, but it's difficult to navigate? just want to order all the films by date, is this possible. (love stockholm in colours - hey we've got this snazzy new colour technology, what shall we film? cool, dead things)

Go to advanced search (avancerat sök), pick a year range, 1895-1916 for an example and then it should be in the earliest to latest order.

[sally]

https://www.filmarkivet.se also exists, but it's difficult to navigate? just want to order all the films by date, is this possible. (love stockholm in colours - hey we've got this snazzy new colour technology, what shall we film? cool, dead things)

Go to advanced search (avancerat sök), pick a year range, 1895-1916 for an example and then it should be in the earliest to latest order.

perfect, thank you! ooooh there's lots.

[sally]

someone posted this on nitrateville looking for identification....can't help but i haven't publicly loved godard for a while so

https://imgur.com/a/7SWBLr2