1911 Poll 2.0

[sally]

well i'm posting it here cuz greg didn't. i generally miss tweets from across the pond in my timeline cuz you all exist at my 4am

https://twitter.com/gruxamengus/status/ ... 7780073476

[...]

The sorceress is great! (I didn't wanna go with witch after google translate pulled sorceress as an option since witch seems so old fashioned. Heh.) Anyway, she's fun to watch be all meh shrug okay if that's what you wanna do about things while the chambermaid is getting into the whole deal up until the body count starts happening. It's a fun cast!

Like check out the chambermaid on the far left in the second to the last gif. While the one on the right is miss efficient with the hairpin, she's not sure about this whole thing at all but doesn't want to cause a fuss just because she's confused.

[sally]

eh i'm done, final list:



the four devils / de fire djævle - lind, dinesen
the strange bird / der fremde vogel - gad
a victim of the mormons / mormonens offer - blom
in the prime of life / ekspeditricen - blom*
lady mary's love / hendes ære - blom
the traitress / die verräterin - gad
the beauties of italy, triptych of picturesque views - marelli
the golden wedding / nozze d'oro - maggi, ambrosio
il sogno di un tramonto d’autunno - maggi
l'uragano - ubaldo maria del colle
le torchon brûle ou une querelle de ménage - bosetti
the barges / les chalands - lacroix
le haleur - perret
moses of the mill / le moïse du moulin - perret
l’épouvante - capellani
one hundred dollars, dead or alive / cent dollars mort ou vif - durand
max is convalescent / max en convalescence - linder
bathing life at mölle / badlif vid mölle - bergqvist
revolution in a bachelors’ club
tilly and the fire engines - fitzhamon

*that glove scene is still one of the filthiest things i've ever seen

[greennui]

Dante’s Inferno (Giuseppe de Liguoro/Francesco Bertolini/Adolfo Padovan)
The Beauties of Italy, Triptych of Picturesque Views (Piero Marelli)
Life in Holland (Piero Marelli)
Bathing Life at Mölle (John Bergqvist)
The Deluge
Burgos (Segundo de Chomón)
Ascenzione al Dente del Gigante (Mario Piacenza)
Le torchon brûle ou Une querelle de ménage (Romeo Bosetti)
The Dangerous Age (August Blom)
L’Odissea (Giuseppe de Liguoro/Francesco Bertolini/Adolfo Padovan)
Crimes of Diogo Alves (João Tavares)
Le parapluie magnétique
Rosalie et son phonographe
Starting Something (Alice Guy-Blaché)
The Four Devils (Alfred Lind, Robert Dinesen)
Le haleur (Léonce Perret)
L’Épouvante (Albert Capellani)
Shooting the Rapids on the River Ozu in Japan
New York 1911
Water Lilies (Irmgard von Rottenthal)
The Lonedale Operator (D. W. Griffith)

[Lencho of the Apes]

I felt like I ran out of things to watch around the 20th, so I guess it's time to do this thing.

The Black Dream - Urban Gad
The Girl Behind The Counter - Blom
Pinocchio - Giulio Antamoro
La Tare - Feuillade
Water Lliies - Irmgard von Rottenthal

The Four Devils
In The Hands f Imposters - Blom
'Inutile Sacrifice
A Test Of A Friendship
A Victim of the Mormons

Andre Chenier - Feuillade, Arnaud
Au Pays Des Tenebres - Jasset
Enoch Arden 1 & 2 - Griffith
e Moise Du Moulin
L'Epouvante - Capellani

L'khaim - Kai Hansen
Max Takes Tonics
Starting Something - Alice Guy
A Modern Cinderella
Manhattan Trade School For Girls

[niminy-piminy]

Dante's Inferno (Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, Giuseppe de Liguoro)
František Palacký Monument Prior to Its Completion (Jan Kříženecký)
Charmed by the Sirens (Georges Denola)
The Beauties of Italy, Triptych of Picturesque Views (Piero Marelli)
Baron Munchausen's Dream (Georges Méliès)
Geese Breeding in Libuš Near Prague (Karl Degl)
The Spirit's Revenge (Émile Cohl)
Tilly and the Fire Engines (Lewin Fitzhamon)
Betty and Jane at the Theatre (Romeo Bosetti)

Starting Something (Alice Guy-Blaché)
Pik Nik veste la jupe-culotte (Mario Morais)
Brains Repaired (Émile Cohl)
The Automatic Motorist (Walter R. Booth)
The Dream (Thomas H. Ince)
The Life of the Honey Bee (J.C. Bee-Mason)
The Carrot Caterpillar (Unknown)
Revolution in a Bachelors' Club (Unknown)
Rivals (Antonín Pech)

[deepbluefunk]

Animated Putty (Booth)
Little Nemo (McCay & Blackton)
The Automatic Motorist (Booth)
Brains Repaired (Cohl)
Le musée des grotesques (Cohl)
Lady Godiva (Kent)
Les fantaisies d’Agénor Maltracé (Cohl)


That's all I would put a vote for. Sorry if it makes for complicated math. Feel free to drop the bottom 1 or 2 if needed.

[...]

I guess I'm done viewing, so I'll post my list later tonight at work, since I don't have time right now.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

Wanted, oh so much, to get to so much more, but life in various forms intervened. This will have to do:

Rosalie et Leontine vont au theatre (Romeo Bosetti)
The Beauties of Italy (Piero Marelli)
The Fall of Troy (Giovanni Pastrone)
L'Inferno (Francesco Bertolini)

When the Tables Turned (William Haddock)
The Lonedale Operator (D.W. Griffith)
Max and Jane Want to Play on the Stage (Max Linder)
Three Million Dollars (Allan Dwan)

Max en convalescene (Max Linder)
Robinet aviatore (Luigi Maggi)
Rosalie et son phonographe (Romeo Bosetti)
The Automatic Motorist (Walter Booth)

The Pirates of 1920 (Dave Aylott, A.E. Coleby)
L'auto di Robinet (unknown)
TIlly and the Fire Engines (Lewin Fitzhamon)
Il talismano (unknown)

Max et sa belle-mere (Max Linder)
Cent dollars mort ou vif (Jean Durand)
Starting Something (Alice Guy-Blache)
Pinnochio (Guilio Antamoro)

[...]

The Golden Wedding/Nozze d'oro
Dream of an Autumn Afternoon/Il sogno di un tramonto d’autunno
Max Takes a Tonic
Broncho Billy's Christmas Dinner
Tweedledum as Aviator/Robinet aviatore

Max and Jane Want to do Theater
Water Lilies
Rory O'More
Enoch Arden
The Dangerous Age/Den farlige Alder

If One Could See Into the Future/La madre e la morte
Charmed by the Sirens/La légende des ondines
The Cowboy Coward
Rosalie et son phonographe
Jobard a tué sa belle-mère

The Lighthouse by the Sea
The Manicure Lady
The Making of a Man
The Carrot Caterpillar
Burgos

Ranking some of these is a bit silly since most have a more unusual mix of strengths and flaws looking back at them with a perspective of how things have developed and seeing some of the less savory elements from the same view, not to mention the sense that there may be some scenes shortened or missing from a number of the films from the year but perhaps not, the difference though is significant in some cases. Minor successes mixed with more ambitious works not quite able to pull off the totality of the effect they're going for.

Some of the more enjoyable movies are so for incongruous elements, an actress standing out as exceptional, a clever conceit among more routine elements, or some nifty camera work standing out from the pack. A couple of my top selections are perhaps a bit sentinmental or easy to digest, compared to other choices, but done well and sort of carrying a stronger sense of how movies would develop, while I left out a couple more problematic films with maybe bolder dramatic conceits, though still based in some cliches. Broncho Billy's Christmas Dinner fitting the former concept, but works better as a whole then, say, The Witch of the Everglades, with the more vivid central character concept of "the Witch" but many other problems involved. Something like The Miner's Luck amused for the charming absurdity of Vera on her pony riding around solving problems in a way that isn't dwelt on over much, but prefigures a host of entertainment features to come. A number of films, like Rory O'More, The Colleen Bawn, and Water Lilies stand out for being filmed in the elements and/or having strong location work that works in a different way than even modern location filming, feeling much more visceral, and tied to character and story than the common practice has since become.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

Dante’s Inferno (Giuseppe de Liguoro/Francesco Bertolini/Adolfo Padovan)
The Beauties of Italy, Triptych of Picturesque Views (Piero Marelli)
Life in Holland (Piero Marelli)
Bathing Life at Mölle (John Bergqvist)
The Deluge
Burgos (Segundo de Chomón)
Ascenzione al Dente del Gigante (Mario Piacenza)
Le torchon brûle ou Une querelle de ménage (Romeo Bosetti)
The Dangerous Age (August Blom)
L’Odissea (Giuseppe de Liguoro/Francesco Bertolini/Adolfo Padovan)
Crimes of Diogo Alves (João Tavares)
Le parapluie magnétique
Rosalie et son phonographe
Starting Something (Alice Guy-Blaché)
The Four Devils (Alfred Lind, Robert Dinesen)
Le haleur (Léonce Perret)
L’Épouvante (Albert Capellani)
Shooting the Rapids on the River Ozu in Japan
New York 1911
Water Lilies (Irmgard von Rottenthal)
The Lonedale Operator (D. W. Griffith)

This is 21 movies. Which movie would you like me to discount?

[greennui]

Last one.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

Right-o! Thanks

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

Results

This is pretty cool — Piero Marelli, something of a forum find and someone without any film historical reputation, comes in first place! Also sees a document of '10s geese breeding near Prague place in the top 40 .

1. The Beauties of Italy, Triptych of Picturesque Views (Piero Marelli) / 15

2. Enoch Arden (D.W. Griffith) / 13

3. L'Inferno (Giuseppe de Liguoro, Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan) / 12

4. The Automatic Motorist (Walter R. Booth) / 11.5

5. Water Lilies (Irmgard von Rottenthal) / 11

6. The Four Devils (Alfred Lind, Robert Dinesen) / 9.5

— Rosalie et Léontine vont au théâtre (Romeo Bosetti) / 9

— Tilly and the Fire Engines (Lewin Fitzhamon) / 9

9. Les Hallucinations du baron de Münchausen (Georges Melies) / 8.5

— L'Epouvante (Albert Capellani) / 8.5

— Rosalie et son phonographe (Romeo Bosetti) / 8.5

12. The Black Dream (Urban Gad) / 7.5
— Ekspeditricen (August Blom) / 7.5
— The Golden Wedding (Luigi Maggi, Arturo Ambrosio) / 7.5
— Max et Jane veulent faire du théâtre (Max Linder, René Leprince) / 7.5
— Robinet aviatore (Luigi Maggi) / 7.5
— Il Sogno di un tramonto d'autunno (Luigi Maggi) / 7.5
— Starting Something (Alice Guy-Blache) / 7.5
19. The Lonedale Operator (D.W. Griffith) / 7
— New York 1911 (Svenska Biografteatern) / 7

21. Charmed by the Sirens (Georges Denola) / 6.5
— The Dangerous Age (August Blom) / 6.5
— A Victim of the Mormons (August Blom) / 6.5
24. Bathing Life at Molle (John Bergqvist) / 6
— Le haleur (Léonce Perret) / 6
— Le torchon brûle ou Une querelle de ménage (Romeo Bosetti) / 6
— Max en convalescence (Max Linder) / 6
— Max victime du quinquina (Max Linder) / 6
29. Little Nemo (Winsor McCay, J. Stuart Blackton) / 5.5
— Pinocchio (Giulio Antamoro) / 5.5

31. Animated Putty (Walter R. Booth) / 5
Brains Repaired (Émile Cohl) / 5
The Fall of Troy (Giovanni Pastrone, Luigi Romano Borgnetto) / 5
Revolution in a Bachelor's Club (Pathé Frères)/ 5
35. Broncho Billy's Christmas Dinner (Gilbert M. Anderson) / 4.5
Burgos (Segundo de Chomón) / 4.5
The Defect (Louis Feuillade) / 4.5
38. František Palacký Monument Prior to Its Completion (Jan Kříženecký) / 4
— Geese Breeding in Libus Near Prague / 4
— One Hundred Dollars, Dead or Alive (Jean Durand) / 4
— La vengeance des esprits (Emile Cohl) / 4
— Three Million Dollars (Allan Dwan) / 4
— When the Tables Turned (William F. Haddock / 4

44. The Carrot Caterpillar (Pathe Freres) / 3.5
— In the Hands of Imposters (August Blom) / 3.5
— L'inutile sacrifice (Clément Maurice) / 3.5
— Rory O'More (Sidney Olcott, Robert G. Vignola) / 3.5
— The Test of Friendship (Edison Manufacturing Co.) / 3.5

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

My apologies that it took a bit longer than usual to get this together — 'twas a more stressful work week than normal. I anticipate the same will be true in the first week of March, so '72 and '00 might have to wait for a weekend as well.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

Also, for comparison, here's the 1.0 poll: https://letterboxd.com/rischka/list/1911-poll/.

Quite a notable result: the movie that came in first last time, The Trust or The Battles for Money, got ZERO votes this time!

[Lencho of the Apes]

I thought it was interesting to see that "cinema of attractions" filmmaking were still so strongly in place long after narrative styles took root, and that the SCFZ members who are least invested in narrative-feature practice were able to go all-in on them for their ballots. Implies... somehow... that there's a parallel between that CoA praxis and noncommercial "artist's cinema."