Early Films 1888-1897

Watching Silent Films

1888 is a somewhat arbitrary year to begin this series, but it evens out the decades to finish up 130 years later. Since there was no reliable way to project movies until 1896, most of this post is considered “pre-cinema.” 1896 was also the year that movies were shown outside of Europe and the United States, so as more people used the new medium, it developed (no pun intended) more quickly. Perhaps too quickly, as filmmakers didn’t take the time to preserve what they had created; Martin Scorcese’s Film Foundation has estimated that half of all American films made before 1950 and over 90% of films made before 1929 are lost. The ones that remain are a gift that allows us to go back in time.

http://zepfanman.com/2017/11/videos-world-cinema-1888-1897-10y10f1/
^titles from the list:

1888 – Roundhay Garden Scene (Le Prince; France; 2sec)
1889? Monkeyshines, No. 1 (Dickson & Heise; New Jersey; 30sec)
1890 – Fly (Marey; France; 7sec)
1891 – Dickson Greeting (Dickson; New Jersey; 3sec)
1892 – Poor Pete (Reynaud; France; 4min)
1893 – Blacksmith Scene (Dickson, New Jersey; 27sec)
1894? Dickson Experimental Sound Film (Dickson; New Jersey; 17sec)
1895 – Workers Leaving the Factory [1] (Lumière; France; 45sec)
(1896) 1900 – The Cabbage Fairy (Guy; France; 1min)
1897 – The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (Rector; USA; 20min)720

Article about The Fly 1890: http://www.essential-films.co.uk/article/the-fly-mosquinha-1890.html

hosted by YiFeng, Lily, Bob

Recorded on February 18, 2020