Angelic and demonic serpentine dance from dawn of cinema. Hand-colored frame by frame. Lumière no. 765 or 765.1 (colorized, different dancer?).
10 Dec Danse serpentine (1897)
Fireworks
(The comment was made on a collection before IMDB broke out each film as a separate record.)
This collection has provided some of the deepest cinematic journeys I have had. And to think: these are over a century old, are less than a minute each and had almost no prior films to borrow from. I contend that films these days draw their matter much more from other films than ‘real’ life. That certainly cannot be said of this crew, who invent more than just the machinery.
These very first films were also the very first self-referential films. They depict the boss. They depict crowds watching. They depict films being made and shown. ‘Depict’ is a carefully chosen word here.
If I saw these when new, I believe I may have dropped everything and joined the community. This must have been life-altering for many. It is also one of the last times that a French artist (excluding Grillet) had anything interesting to say. Absinthe burnout, y’know.
I had to keep playing the painted dancer over and over again. This is one of the most mind-blowing experiences I have ever had.
Posted in 2004
Ted’s Evaluation — 4 of 3: Every cineliterate person should experience this.
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