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PROGRESS UPDATE
A goal of Greg on their OLD 101 Things list with a status of In Progress.
 
1906 A TRIP DOWN MARKET STREET
https://youtu.be/8YRbMMqj0qw

The version linked above has been digitally cleaned up a bit. Though it is silent, accurate to the period sound effects have been added. This was shot on Market Street in San Francisco just 4 days before a devastating earthquake which caused widespread fires due to ruptured gas lines. 80% of the city was destroyed and 3000 died. Opera star Enrico Caruso was jolted awake by a tremor and successfully fled the city.

1907 THE HAUNTED HOTEL
https://youtu.be/mlvAoSFxGeA

Mildly amusing. Early stop animation video used to make items, such as a teapot, "move" by itself.

1908 THE ADVENTURES OF DOLLIE
https://youtu.be/1CyJRT1zONw

From the "Wow, that's pretty dark early nineteen hundreds" file comes D.W. Griffith's film debut. As a result of a perceived slight a gypsy peddler feels when a vacationing family fails to buy anything from him, said gypsy kidnaps their young daughter concealing her in a barrel. That barrel later falls off the peddler's wagon into a waterfall. Luckily the lass is saved when a young boy finds her and she is taken back to mom and pop.

1922 NOSFERATU from Amazon Prime
I had a hard time gauging why this is so influential. I can only guess because it was the first take on DRACULA? So hugely overrated even in comparison to other silent movies. I didn't really enjoy this one.
Posted 4 years ago
 1
Related Notes:
Movies worth watching:

NEW FAVORITES:
The Great Train Robbery
The General
Love Story
Some Like It Hot
Grandma's Boy

GOOD ONE-TIME WATCH:
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
High Noon
The Champion (1915)
12 Years a Slave (A fascinating but heartbreaking true story. "One-time watch" is not a judgment of its quali (...more)
1909 THE NICOTINE PRINCESS (ALSO TITLED "THE SMOKE FAIRY")

You can read a synopsis here. So far, this was easily the strangest, "I just don't get it" viewing thus far. I felt the widest disconnect here between what my own sensibilities are and what turn of the century audiences apparently f (...more)
1899- KING JOHN
https://youtu.be/7lWn99STB1o
Oldest known filming of any Shakespeare work. Only about a quarter of the film still survives of the Her Majesty's Theatre London production. In the scenes, the king has been poisoned and is in the throes of fever. Interesting for historical reas (...more)
1888 ROUNDHAY GARDEN SCENE
1st known celluloid movie shot by Englishman Louis le Prince
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR2r__ZgO5g

Obviously this is one of those "important only because it's historic" deals. There is very little about this that makes it inherently interesting. It doesn't re (...more)
The ones I have already watched still count. I am viewing this goal as "getting an overview of the progression of filmmaking" so it's not necessary for me to look for new ones.

Also, before 1900 there aren't many surviving examples to select from.
1897 OLD MAN DRINKING A GLASS OF BEER- Exactly what the title makes clear.

1901 MCKINLEY INAUGURATION (Taking the Oath)- Neat that the footage exists but it's pretty far back, not a very good look at McKinley

1902 A TRIP TO THE MOON (VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE)- An extremely entertaining film. This (...more)
1900 JEANNE D'ARC- Again, not that interesting in and of itself but considering the vintage the colour is still strikingly brilliant in places. 1st full-color film (hand-colored) of any decent length (10 minutes)

1899 DEVIL IN A CONVENT- One of the first, if not THE first, uses of the "jump (...more)