This DVD is very similar to a VHS tape issued by another distributor, Kino Video, "The Movies Begin, Vol. I." That the contents are similar is no surprise, as both are derived from the Film Preservation Associates' archives. The DVD is longer than the VHS tape (117 min. vs. 75 min.), and contains more material. Missing from the DVD is a wonderful sequence found in the VHS: "Moscow in the Snow" (1908). This Pâté documentary provides panoramic shots of pre-revolutionary Moscow, as well as vignettes of the inhabitants. It is such a delight that its exclusion represents a serious loss.
The earliest example included are "pre-movies-movies" consisting of a sequence of E. Muybridge's stills (1885) assembled into films. The effect is very interesting, even today. Muybridge used trip-wires and multiple cameras to obtain a sequence of stills. When Muybridge first published his stop-action motion studies they were positively revolutionary. One of Muybridge's accomplishments was to settle -- once and for all -- the question whether a running horse ever has all four feet off the ground (It does! Unfortunately this segment is not included.) Incidentally, Muybridge's sequences also provide a glimpse of the feminine figure of 100 years ago, and how it might differ from today's ideal.
This is followed by selected Edison Kinetoscopes (ca. 1894); of these I found the "serpentine dances" most interesting. (A dance form no longer practiced, except perhaps in Chinese opera.) Later on there appear additional vignettes. Some, such as the one of President McKinley, the San Francisco Earthquake, and gold prospectors crossing over the Chilkoot Pass, have obvious historical interest.
Five sequences are of special interest:
1) S. Porter's "The Great Train Robbery," is a seminal work which set the framework for countless westerns to follow.
2) "A Girl and her Trust" is similar to the above, but better. It even has "feminist" elements.
3) "Nero, or the Fall of Rome" is entertaining, if historically inaccurate: Nero did fall, but Rome did not fall until several centuries later. Nero's troubled relationship with Poppaea Sabina is the subject. Perhaps what it intends is that Nero's evil was amplified by Poppaea, and this set the tone for future emperors, eventually resulting in Rome's downfall. (The historian Josephus however tells of a very different Poppaea: A deeply religious woman who urged Nero to show compassion.)
For me, without question the two best works on this tape are: 1) George Melies's "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (Voyage to the Moon) of 1902; and 2) S. Chomon's "Le Scarabee d'Or" (Golden Beetle) of 1907.
The "Golden Beetle" is a fantasy piece, with similarities to Rimsky-Korsakov's fairytale operas - except of course there is no singing, and it is only 2 minutes long. Synopsis: A sorcerer captures a golden beetle and by means of a magic fire cauldron turns it into a woman. Or perhaps she is a fairy, as she has three pairs of wings. From his unbounded glee, we suspect the sorcerer's intentions are not quite honorable. The fairy however, turns out to be more than the sorcerer had bargained for. My means of two assistants (whose miraculous appearance is unexplained) she throws the sorcerer into the fire cauldron, from whence he disappears. The moral? Perhaps it is similar to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (remember Mickey and the brooms): don't mess with powerful things you don't fully understand. Or maybe that old men should not have an interest in young women. But ultimately it does not matter, because the plot seems merely a backdrop for the technical wizardry. Segundo de Chomon worked closely with Melies, and was heavily influenced by him. Chomon's specialty was early experimentation with color film, of which "Golden Beetle" is a good example. The coloring process involved hand coloring of individual frames, and was obviously very labor intensive. Chomon also experimented with more automated color techniques.
For me the piece de resistance of this collection is George Melies's "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (Voyage to the Moon) of 1902. This work has great historical interest as the first science fiction film produced. But the genre is peculiar: it is slapstick science fiction - a form occasionally still used, such as in "Mars Attacks."
After slapstick, the film is best characterized as an amalgam of J. Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon" and H. G. Wells's "First Men in the Moon." The first part of the movie roughly follows Verne's novel: a group of scientists use a giant canon to travel to the moon. The second part roughly follows Wells: the moon travelers discover a civilization of intelligent beings living under the surface of the moon. The travelers manage to get home safely among great rejoicing.
Melies had an abiding interest in science, especially astronomy, and science fiction. It is of interest to note that his scientists tend to be absent-minded, eccentric, and even buffoonish. They are unable to function without the help of down-to-earth assistants (e.g., telescope carriers). All this is very reminiscent of Swift's "flappers" from the "La Puta" section of "Gulliver's Travels."
Why slapstick? Probably Melies thought the audience of 1902 was not ready for a more scientific approach. This had to await "Die Frau im Mond" of 1929, and "Destination Moon" of 1950.
The science in this movie is best described as "absolutely pathetic" (possibly intentionally so). The movie is good training for school children assigned to "find all the mistakes." Two egregious examples: 1) the travelers have absolutely no problem breathing on the lunar surface; and 2) to return to Earth they simply fall off the edge of the Moon (ouch!).
Many viewers are familiar with at least one scene from this movie: the space capsule hitting the man-in-the-moon smack in the eye. This sequence has been excerpted many times - though most people may not know its origin. A second, almost as famous, sequence is the chorus line of beauties giving the travelers a spectacular send-off. (Should NASA consider such a format for its launches?)
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