1902-2009-a-personal-history

1912 - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:32:45 +0100

1912 - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

It's been a rather long October so far. Jynx is still in West Virginia helping out since her dad's accident, and I just got a message from her saying she had to have an ambulance come and take him to the hospital. It's hard not being able to lend a hand, and even harder to not know what's going on. Since she's been gone, the weather changed and it's been rather dour. But, I press on. I decided I should find a horror film since it is almost Halloween, and I found this early silent version of the classic story Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.
This version wastes none of its eight minute running time. We're thrown right into the action as Dr. Jekyll tries out his potion on himself and trasforms into the hideous Mr. Hyde. There's not much development of character or plot, but it follows the basic structure of monster movies. Tragically, the doctor becomes a monster and terrorizes a village until he is hunted down. That's about the size of it.
I must go await word on Jim's condition. I hope the doctors there have a transformative potion that can return him to fighting form. If only it were that easy. I send my love and my thoughts and hope everything's okay. See y'all in 1913.

1911 - Little Nemo

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:48:04 +0100

1911 - Little Nemo

Billed as the first display of moving cartoons, Windsor McKay's film delivers on its promise. It starts as a live-action film with McKay announcing to his artist collegues his intentions to which they laugh heartily, but this does not deter Windsor, and soon enough we're watching a cartoon. Windsor tells his friends that he will make four thousand drawings that will move within the month. He has a shitload of ink and drawing paper delivered for the long road ahead. The drawings pile up around him, all over his office, when a young man with a feather duster enters and knocks them everywhere. It's as infuriating as it sounds, trust me. At about seven and a half minutes in we see the fruit of the cartoonist's labor.
A little character in a clown suit smoking a cigar with the words "Watch Me Move" appear on screen. And move he does. he and his animated companions dance and stretch, and it's kind of intoxicating in a way. The animation is crude by today's standards, but that's what makes it so appealing. You can feel the work it took to make these characters come to life. It's a lively and entertaining short and a must for anyone interested in animation and the origins of moving cartoons.

1910 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:28:02 +0100

1910 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I am suffering from Otitis Externa, which is a form of swimmer's ear that manifests itself in severe ear pain and swelling. I feel like my ear is wearing a boxing glove, and I can't hear a thing out of my right side. So it's been a fun few days. Missed a few classes, laid in bed clutching the side of my head in agony, overdosing on Tylenol and throwing up what little food I could choke down through the nasuea. But I was prescribed some fancy 120 dollar ear drops so I'm hoping those days are coming to a close. So in celebration of my newfound optimism and the seventieth anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, I decided to check out this magical land's first appearance in the cinema. Befitting my predicament this is a silent version of the famous L. Frank Baum story, and it's also a very bare-bones kind of affair. Men dressed up as donkeys; Dorothy meets the Scarecrow before she's in Oz. The whole thing jumps around a lot, but I must say that its biggest misstep is the coreographed musical number in the middle of the film which looks good, I guess, but this is still a silent film. I couldn't quite make out if the wizard granted our gang of misfits their wishes by letting them know that they had them all along, but I wish I could find a wizard to give me my hearing back. I have a newfound respect for those without hearing. It's a bitch. Anyway, while in no way the classic that the Wizard of Oz we all know and love is, this version can at least boast that it's not nearly as racist as the 1925 version, or Baum himself apparently, who makes much use of racial stereotypes in his writing and called for the extermination of Native Americans. Everyone has something shameful in their past. I went through a period of shoplifting, L. Frank Baum called for the extermination of a whole race of people. Tomato, tomato.

1909 - The Airship Destroyer

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:08:31 +0100

1909 - The Airship Destroyer

My father-in-law was severely injured in a car accident a few weeks ago. He was hit by some schmuck going ninety in a fifty mile-per-hour zone, weaving in and out of traffic in his BMW convertible. What a piece of shit. Jim (my father-in-law) suffered two cracked vertebrae in this back and seven broken ribs while that asshole broke his collarbone and walked out of the hospital that night. Jynx (my wife) has gone to stay with him for a while and help out while the physical therapists try to get him back together again. So, I'm here alone. I walk to school everyday and have been keeping up on my studies. I got an A on my first paper and recieved an A+ on my last quiz, so that's good. But, being a glass is half empty kind of guy, as I am, I can't get my mind off the misfortune that has befallen Jim at the hands of some rich, reckless fuckstick who obviously has no consideration for anyone's safety and thinks that his car somehow isn't capable of hurting anyone. I hope this guy gets what's coming to him. He deserved to die in that wreck and I hope someday he finishes the job. Now that I got that out of my system:
I saw the most wonderful silent film today. The Airship Destroyer (1909) follows the attempt of an inventor to fight back a battalion of airships dropping bombs on his city. This film has it all: romance, action and, above all, great special effects. It's a short, concise piece of filmmaking that tells a short, consice story. The use of miniatures is wonderful and the effects have a result similar to those in Voyage to the Moon (1902). Sometimes one needs to brighten up one's day and I'm happy these little discoveries await me when I need them most.

1908 - The Adventures of Dollie

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:09:03 +0100

1908 - The Adventures of Dollie

It's not even noon and I'm exhausted. I really have been working hard at getting school done this year, and it's paying off, but I'm just tired already. I'm reading James Fenimore Cooper's mind-numbing classic The Last of the Mohicans, and Robert A. Heinlein's Libertarian sci-fi classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and several other short works for various classics. But I'm glad I finally got to my next film D.W. Griffith's directorial debut The Adventures of Dollie. D.W. was the revolutionary filmmaker who brought us the epic and ground-breaking uber-racist The Birth of a Nation some years later. There's no doubting his impact on cinema and it shows here even in his first film.

This film follows a man, a woman, and a little girl on a day out when the latter is kidnapped after a brief altercation with a thieving gypsy. It's really quite terrifying. She's grabbed and stuffed in a barrel which is nailed shut and tossed in the river where it eventually makes its way back to her parents. The film is engaging in a way that many were lacking at the time. Griffith has a knack for bringing the narrative to life with his pioneering editing style and camera work. I can't wait to get to more of his work including the offensive yet undeniably important The Birth of a Nation with its offensive black stereotypes and its Ku Klux Klan heroes. It's an interesting time to look at and a fascinating piece in the history of our country.

Well, back to the Mohicans. I can't wait til I get to the last of that book...get it? See you in 1909!

1907 - Ben Hur

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:56:31 +0100

1907 - Ben Hur

    You know, sometimes I'm glad they don't make 'em like they used to. 1907's Ben Hur jumps right into the action with a mob of people yelling about something then continues with the yelling and the fist-pumping and the chariot race. It's not much fun. Maybe I'm just tired. It's hard to watch a movie like this when you're out of patience and forgot to take your medicine. I will give this movie one thing: the chariot race is hilarious. It consists of one static shot of the cheering onlookers and every now and again a chariot passes. I don't know what I was expecting, but that was a delight. Simply delightful. Delightful. Simply.
    My brain is full of things I don't care about right now like the writings of James Fenimore Cooper and some puritans. School is taking up most of my time, but I look forward to my little viewings. I hope for a little amusement and a little surprise; something to break up the monotony. Oddly enough that monotonous chariot race did just that. I give Ben Hur a thumbs up; an A+; four stars. It may not be the best ten minutes of your life, but if you like actionless action sequences then you're in for a treat!

1906 - The Merry Frolics of Satan

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:11:06 +0100

1906 - The Merry Frolics of Satan

I'm only on my fifth movie and already I'm repeating directors. "The Merry Frolics of Satan" is another visually striking film from french filmmaker George Melies; director of "A Trip to the Moon". From what I can gather this movie is about a man whose horse and carriage are transformed by the devil and they take off with a bunch of chefs running after them. The skeletal horse leads him straight into an open volcano where they ride through stars and moons with pretty ladies on them until finally the buggy goes over a cliff. Our hero uses his umbrella to slow his descent and crashes through the ceiling, and landing on the table of the chefs (maybe). I'll be honest, I don't know if this is the whole film, but I don't think it really matters. This movie has the same visual flair of "A Trip to the Moon" along with some really good (hand) coloring.

1905 - Baby's Toilet

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:20:47 +0100

1905 - Baby's Toilet

    To graduate I have to take two years of a foreign language. I've been sitting in French class tonight, reciting a conversation between three students repeatedly. I feel confident that I can now introduce Nadine to Abdou without hesitation. Beyond that school's been rather dull.  I've been reading Puritan poetry and a woman's account of her capture and captivity by Native Americans. It's all been a bit God-y and dry. Luckily I got to watch Baby's Toilet.
    Baby's Toilet is an actuality film from 1905 which shows a nurse bathing and clothing a baby. These films are basically very short documentaries in that they show real events. Unlike documentary there is no bigger story to fit these images into. This is simply a nurse washing and clothing a baby.  It's an early genre of film that died out rather quickly, although I'm sure I could find some people to argue with me over certain Gus Van Sant works.  Movies like these work exactly as they are described. It is simply an experience to watch the film, but it will not impact your life in any truly meaningful way. It's simply a woman and a baby and a bowl of water.  More interesting for its historical value than anything else.
    So far the films have been fun and short which has been suiting me just fine with all my colonial readings I have to cram into my day. We'll see how I fare when the longer, more challenging films come along. I was hoping for my next entry to get the world's first ever feature film, but unfortunately the 1906 Australian film The Story of the Kelly Gang doesn't exist as a whole and I can't seem to locate the part that survived, so we'll have to do something else, I guess.  I guess I should go introduce Nadine to Abdou some more.

1904 - Westinghouse Works

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:29:19 +0100

1904 - Westinghouse Works

In 1904 the companies making up the factories of Westinghouse Works opened their doors to movie cameras and recorded several films meant to promote their progressive labor policies. What was produced were some visually fascinating images of turn of the century industrial America. One film shows some two hundred women, all with their hair pulled up and their skirts to their ankles, clocking in for work. It's a static shot of this line going by, but it is mesmerizing. Another great shot moves above the factory floor giving a great bird's eye view of the workers doing their jobs. These were not commercial films. I suppose these would be the great grandfather of the industrial films companies still make today.
I've worked in a factory, and it hasn't changed much. People were better dressed then and more overworked than when I was in their shoes. I'm sure it was less safe and all of that, but it sure looked cooler. If the french fry factory I had worked for had looked a little more like a Tim Burton set maybe I would have been happier. I can still smell that powder that rolled around in that giant drum coating the french fries with flavor. I had to wear a surgical mask while my eyes watered. When I took my break the inside of my mask looked like a used cigarette butt. I remember looking around at my co-workers and feeling bad that I couldn't be like them. They were hard workers whose dreams had long since passed them by. They had been out in the world and knew how cruel it was. They were thankful to have a union job that paid them decently. For that they were willing to suck it up and work the mind-numbing hours away taking joy in a much deserved cigarette break here and there. They were appreciative of the four hours overtime spent folding boxes. Some were single mothers, others just out of jail. They were poetic to me then because I fancied myself an artist of some sort. There was a Bukowskian beauty to their downtrodden existence in my mind. But these people were just trying to make a living and make the best of what they had. I was eighteen. I hadn't given up yet. I guess I still haven't, but I'm getting closer every day.

1903: The Great Train Robbery

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:59:32 +0100

1903: The Great Train Robbery

This movie is pretty violent. It's about a train robbery which may have been apparent from the title, but in these primitive days of early cinema one may need reminding that when the title says the film's about a train robbery that's all you get. Some desperadoes rob a train and that's it. They shoot a bunch of people who die hilariously over the top deaths and at one point one of the bandits beats a guy until he becomes a dummy then throws him right off the train. I saw this and Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds today and honestly I was a little more shocked by the blatant disregard for life in this movie than in that movie which specifically follows a group of men who scalp Nazis. Not that The Great Train Robbery is a bloodbath or anything, but even though I've seen this film before, I was still taken aback by the gunplay and that beating scene.

All that stagey violence is well and good, but what this movie is really known for is that final shot. The outlaw staring straight into the camera, raising his gun, pointing it at the audience, then firing. It's a very striking image that we still see imitated today. What's fun about movies of this era is imagining what it was like to see this stuff for the first time; to witness the development of editing, and cinematography. It must have been wondrous. It's still overwhelming today what great filmmakers and editors can accomplish. I can only imagine how incredible this form must have been in those early days. These films may seem simple to us, and they are, but these were "the movies" that the world was watching. I believe it's important to see these movies in the context of their time. It's easy to say it was good for it's time, but I'm looking to view it in the context of its own time and judge the film on its own merit.

That having been said it's perhaps impossible to watch anything without your own life experience coloring it in some way. This movie makes me think about that episode of The Brady Bunch when Peter was obsessed with Jesse James. He has a dream that the whole family's on a train in the old west when Jesse hops aboard to rob it and just be a jerk in general, really. Peter learns that Jesse was turned into a hero by the public and by legend, but in reality Jesse was a real drag. That's the cultural touchstone that The Great Train Robbery brings to mind. As much as I'd like to say I was thinking about film history and where this particular movie fits into all that, or what a great step forward this movie was in the world of cinema, I cannot. I was thinking about how it took the Bradys a half hour to learn the lesson The Great Train Robbery gave me in ten. Effective and compact. That's how I will rate movies from now on. Is it better than The Brady Bunch? This movie is probably better than The Brady Bunch, but if asked to make a choice I'd have to stick with Greg, Marcia and the fam. It's just stupider and more my speed.