August

Film: Nancy Drew… Reporter

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Nancy Drew… Reporter

While writing my post about the Lumière brothers, I happened to come across an old, public domain Nancy Drew film–the kind you can find in bargain bins at Target and Big Lots with five other movies on the same DVD for $1.

Movie embedded in the full post.

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Film Heritage Part Four: The Lumière Brothers

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A look at the Lumière brothers, often referred to as “the fathers of cinema.”

Auguste Marie Louis Nicholas Lumière (1862-1954) and Louis Jean Lumière (1864-1948) worked in the still photography industry, and it is there that they focused most of their efforts for most of their lives. However, like everyone and their brother towards the end of the 19th century, they also took a few years to develop a film recording and projection system. In 1894, they bought out an unpaid patent for the term cinématographe, originally filed by one Léon Bouly, which they then applied to their own device.

Part Four of a multi-part series of posts. (Part One, Part Two, Part Three)

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Allegro Non Troppo by Bruno Bozzetto

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Allegro Non Troppo: animation becomes art.

Allegro Non Troppo is Bruno Bozzetto’s response to Disney’s Fantasia. The film consists of six parts, each featuring animation set to a piece of classical music. Bookending each piece of music and animation are scenes of black-and-white live action. While the production values are clearly lower than Disney’s masterpiece, Bozzetto’s film is an interesting riff on the same idea, and it has a somewhat deeper and darker tone that I happen to appreciate.

Video excerpts embedded in the full post.

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The Not-So-Slow Decent Into Madness

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The Evolution of Jim “THE HAMMER” Shapiro.

Hurt? I cannot rip out the hearts of those who hurt you. I cannot hand you their severed heads! But, I can hunt them down and settle the score! I’ll squeeze ‘em for every dime I can. Every! Single! Dime! I’m Jim “THE HAMMER” Shapiro, but I cannot proceed until you call! 1-800…

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Film Heritage Part Three: Off the Beaten Path - Louis Le Prince

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An overview of Louis Le Prince, who created the first working film device and shot the world’s first film.

Le Prince’s disappearance on September 16, 1890, is entirely unexplained and entirely unfortunate. He boarded a train to Dijon, France, shortly before a planned emigration to New York, where he hoped to promote his inventions, but he was never seen again.

Part Three of a multi-part series of posts. (Part One, Part Two, Part Four)

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Film Heritage Part Two: Thomas Alva Edison

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A look at Thomas Alva Edison’s contributions to the world of cinema.

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) is perhaps the prototypical inventor, famous for the extremely wise words that “genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

Part Two of a multi-part series of posts. (Part One, Part Two, Part Four)

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