1895 – L’Arroseur Arrosé / The Sprinkler Sprinkled

Directed by: Louis Lumière

Whereas most films at the time were documentaries that chronicled small events (a dance, waves crashing, workers leaving a factory, etc.), L’Arroseur Arrosé (also known as Le Jardinier / The Gardener) presented a complete and self-contained narrative – an early instance of scripted storytelling! The story is circular: we see the gardener in his normal environment, this normality is disrupted by the boy who steps into the frame, and upon the boy being punished for his prank and banished from the screen, a return to normality. The comedy works due to the audience seeing events from an omniscient point-of-view, thus being privy to events unaware to the gardener and anticipating the outcome.

Lumière claimed that film was based on a prank played by his younger brother Édouard on the family gardener François Clerc; however evidence points to him being possibly influenced by a popular comic strip gag that first appeared in Le Chat Noir on July 4, 1885, titled Arrosage public (art: Uzès, the pseudonym of Achille Lemot). Other iterations include Ein Bubenstreich in the October 15, 1886, issue of Fliegende Blätter (art: Hans Schließmann) and the oft-cited L’Arroseur from a 1887 publication by Quantin (art: Hermann Vogel). All closely depict the events from the film. It is not entirely impossible that Édouard, influenced by the comic strip, re-created the scene in real-life and inspired his older brother. Depending on what is to be believed, L’Arroseur Arrosé may be considered the first instance of film adaptation.

Imagerie artistique de la Maison Quantin, Série 4, Planche n°4, 1887 (art: Hermann Vogel).

As copyright law had not yet been defined for this emerging medium, competing filmmakers would often re-shoot popular films and present to audiences as their own. Remakes of this picture include A Surrey Garden (1896; Birt Acres), The Bad Boy and the Gardener (1896; James H. White), L’Arroseur (1896; Georges Méliès), L’Arroseur Arrosé (1897; Alice Guy), A Practical Joke (1898; George Albert Smith). François Truffaut included a homage to it in Les Mistons (1958).

Poster by Marcellin Auzolle.

Its poster was illustrated by Marcellin Auzolle and is the first one designed to promote an individual film (prior emphasis lay on technological novelty of shows).

Bibliography

Burns, P. T. (2010). ‘Chapter Fifteen 1895-1900’, The History of the Discovery of Cinematography. Available at: http://www.precinemahistory.net/1895.htm [Accessed: 18 December 2021].

Cardellini, M. (2010). ‘Arroseurs arrosés’, Töpfferiana. Available at: http://www.topfferiana.fr/2010/10/arroseurs-arroses/ [Accessed: 18 December 2021].

Cousins, R. F. (2001). ‘L’Arroseur Arrose’, Encyclopedia.com. Available at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/movies/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/larroseur-arrose [Accessed: 18 December 2021].

IMDb contributors (n.d.). ‘Tables Turned on the Gardener (1895)’, IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000014/ [Accessed: 18 December 2021].

Patrick, N. (2016). ‘The “Sprinkler Sprinkled” is the first ever comedy film from 1895’, The Vintage News. Available at: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/06/21/sprinkler-sprinkled-first-ever-comedy-film-1895/ [Accessed: 18 December 2021].

1895 – Das Boxende Känguruh / Boxing Kangaroo

Directed by: Max Skladanowsky

When it comes to the early years of cinema, it is difficult to attribute “firsts” with absolute certainty, largely due to lost records, lost media, rumors and general misconceptions made popular. Likewise, while it is generally accepted that the first public screening of films was by the Lumière brothers, they were preceded by two German brothers, Max and Emil Skladanowsky, by almost two months.

On November 1, 1895, they screened their Wintergartenprogramm to a paying audience at the Berlin Wintergarten Varieté. The full program consisted of:
Italienischer Bauerntanz
Komisches Reck
Das Boxende Känguruh
Jongleur
Akrobatisches Potpurri
Kamarinskaja
Serpentintanz
Ringkämpfer
Apotheose

The films were projected using Max Skladanowsky’s Bioscop dual projector. As the Lumière brothers’ Cinématographe was superior to the Bioscop, the Skladanowsky brothers soon fell into obscurity.

One of the more memorable shorts in the program was Das Boxende Känguruh, as evident by Birt Acres’ “remake” the following year, The Boxing Kangaroo (1896). It was not uncommon for early filmmakers to replicate popular films. Even in the Skladanowsky brothers’ program, there is a version of the Serpentine Dance and the Lumière brothers would screen Les Forgerons, a variation of Blacksmith Scene.

Bibliography

Blankenship, J. (2012). ‘1 November 1895: Premiere of Wintergarten Program Highlights Transitional Nature of Early Film Technology’. In: Kapczynski, J. M. & Richardson, M. D. (ed.) A New History of German Cinema. New York: Camden House.

IMDb contributors (n.d. a). ‘Das boxende Känguruh (1895)’, IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000018/ [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

INDb contributors (n.d. b). ‘Wintergartenprogramm (1895)’, IMDb, Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1754898/ [Accessed: 10 December 2021].

Wikipedia contributors (2021a). ‘Boxing Kangaroo (film)’, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 23 July. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Kangaroo_(film) [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

Wikipedia contributors (2021b). ‘The Boxing Kangaroo’, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 25 March. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boxing_Kangaroo [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

1895 – The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

Directed by: Alfred Clark

While Blacksmith Scene (1893) was a historical re-creation, this is the first to be based on a specific historic event – the beheading of Mary I of Scotland on February 8, 1587, for her role in the Babington Plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. It is also significant for two other reasons. First of all, it might well be the first film to use special effects (a substitution splice). Cinema legend has it that audiences, unaccustomed to the capabilities of the medium, were horrified by the beheading and believed an actress sacrificed her life for the film. Second, the frame has been divided into four rows of actors to create a sense of depth. From front to back:
1. Mary
2. The executioner
3. Two guards
4. Row of guards

This shows that careful consideration had been put into the composition of the shot and contrasts with earlier films produced by Thomas Edison, which were generally shot against a black backdrop with very little sense of depth.

Bibliography

Barry, M. (2010). ‘Alfred Clark: Narrative and Special Effects Pioneer’, The Art and Culture of Movies, 8 March. Available at: http://artandcultureofmovies.blogspot.com.ee/2010/03/alfred-clark-narrative-and-special.html [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

Encyclopædia Britannica contributors (2021). ‘Elizabeth I’, Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 September. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-I [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

History Magazine (2001). ‘The Babington Plot’, History Magazine. Available at: https://www.history-magazine.com/babington.html [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

IMDb contributors (n.d.). ‘The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895)’, IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0132134/ [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

1895 – La Sortie de l’Usine Lumière à Lyon / Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory

Directed by: Louis Lumière

There are three versions of the film, often referred to as “one horse”, “two horses”, and “no horses” due to a horse-drawn carriage appearing in the first two instances (pulled by either one horse or two horses) but missing in the third. Another notable difference is a change in clothing, denoting the different seasons during which the workers were filmed.

While Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope allowed a film to be viewed by one individual at a time (through a peephole), the Lumière brothers’ Cinématographe projected the images on a wall to an audience. La Sortie de l’Usine Lumière à Lyon was first screened to a scientific conference in their basement and subsequently to the public on December 28, 1895, at the Grand Café on 14 Boulevard des Capucines in Paris. The films shown, in order of presentation:

1. La Sortie de l’Usine Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory)
2. La Voltige (Trick Riding)
3. La Pêche aux Poissons Rouges (Fishing for Goldfish)
4. Le Débarquement du Congrès de Photographie à Lyon (The Photographical Congress Arrives in Lyon)
5. Les Forgerons (Blacksmith Scene)
6. Le Jardinier / L’Arroseur Arrosé (The Sprinkler Sprinkled)
7. Le Repas / Repas de bébé (Baby’s Dinner)
8. Le Saut à la Couverture (Jumping the Blanket)
9. La Place des Cordeliers à Lyon (Cordeliers’ Square in Lyon)
10. La Mer / Baignade en Mer (The Sea)

The event is widely considered the first commercial projection of film to an audience and the birth of cinema.

Program for one of the early public screenings.

The films can be interpreted as the moment between work and leisure, the gate symbolic of this divide. However, viewed in succession as one work, it can be seen as a comment on work life: time passes but the scene remains largely the same. In layman’s terms, ‘same shit, different day’. In any case, the continuous flow of people gives the impression of a workforce rather than individuals, the single drops merging into a stream.

The “no horses” version accomplishes what Louis Lumière perhaps intended to achieve – a visual narrative. There is a clear beginning, middle, and end as the gates open, the workers leave, and the gates close. Storytelling begins to enter the medium.

Bibliography

Crow, J. (2014). ‘Watch the Films of the Lumière Brothers & the Birth of Cinema (1895)’, Open Culture, 28 August. Available at: http://www.openculture.com/2014/08/watch-the-films-of-the-lumiere-brothers-the-birth-of-cinema-1895.html [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

Dirks, T. (n.d.). ‘Greatest Film Milestones Pre-1900s’, filmsite. Available at: http://www.filmsite.org/milestonespre1900s_2.html [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

IMDb contributors (n.d.). ‘Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory (1895)’, IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000010/ [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

Just Another Film Buff (2013). ‘Flashback #88’, The Seventh Art, 14 April. Available at: https://theseventhart.info/2013/04/14/flashback-88/ [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

Un Jour de plus à Paris (2016). ‘La première séance publique de cinéma de l’histoire au 14, Boulevard des Capucines’, Un Jour de plus à Paris. Available at: http://www.unjourdeplusaparis.com/paris-insolite/premiere-seance-publique-cinema [Accessed: 4 December 2021].

1895 – Rough Sea at Dover

Directed by: Birt Acres

Since Thomas Edison neglected to patent his Kinetoscope in Britain, instrument-maker Robert W. Paul purchased one, took it apart and began manufacturing copies. However, the Kinetograph camera was not only patented but its inner workings were a secret, prompting Paul to seek the aid of Birt Acres, with whom he developed a brand new camera. Together they produced numerous films, including Incident at Clovelly Cottage (1895) and The Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race (1895). Rough Sea at Dover was projected at the Royal Photographic Society in Hanover Street, London, on January 14, 1896. It was the first public film screening in Britain.

Not only does the film take place outdoors, which sets it apart from those produced within the confines of Edison’s Black Maria studio, it features a subject that is naturally dynamic – waves crashing on the shores of Dover. Water in general would come to be used in film for moments of contemplation and dream-like hypnotism.

Bibliography

Brooke, M. (n.d.). ‘Rough Sea at Dover (1896)’, BFI screenonline. Available at: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/442891/ [Accessed: 3 December 2021].

IMDb contributors (n.d.). ‘Rough Sea at Dover (1896)’, IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000030/ [Accessed: 3 December 2021].

1895 – Annabelle Serpentine Dance

Directed by: William K. L. Dickson, William Heise

This was part of a series of dance recordings featuring Annabelle Moore, preceded by Annabelle Butterfly Dance (1894) and Annabelle Sun Dance (1894). What sets Annabelle Serpentine Dance apart from the rest is that it is one of the earliest hand-tinted color films ever released publicly. It gives the illusion of Annabelle’s dress changing color, adding to the dreamlike performance.

The dance routine is a variation of “skirt dances” and was invented by Loie Fuller (Marie Louise Fuller) when she experimented with lengths of silk and colored lighting. Her Serpentine Dance premiered February 1892 in New York.

Bibliography

IMDb contributors (n.d.). ‘Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895)’, IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154152/ [Accessed: 3 December 2021].

Smith, I. (2016). ‘Annabelle Serpentine Dance is the world’s first hand-tinted motion from 1895, and it’s quite spectacular’, The Vintage News, 13 June. Available at: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/06/13/annabelle-serpentine-dance-worlds-first-hand-tinted-motion-1895-quite-spectacular/ [Accessed: 3 December 2021].

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica (2021). ‘Loie Fuller’, Encyclopædia Britannica, 11 January. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Loie-Fuller [Accessed: 3 December 2021].

1894/1895 – The Dickson Experimental Sound Film

Directed by: William K. L. Dickson

Much like the Monkeyshines films, this is an in-house experiment of the Kinetophone – a system consisting of a Kinetoscope and a cylinder-playing phonograph. It is the first film to feature live-recorded sound, although due to technicalities does not necessarily qualify as the first sound-film in history. The main issue is that it did not attempt synchronicity but an effect much like turning on your TV and radio at the same time. The music was an approximation and various recommendations were made for films played with the Kinetophone (in the case of Carmencita, suggestions included Valse Santiago, La Paloma, and Alma-Danza Spagnola). Regardless, it was a significant development towards sound film.

As for the content, it features William Dickson playing the violin and two other men (likely lab assistants) dancing. The melody is Song of the Cabin Boy from Robert Planquette’s light opera Les Cloched de Corneville (The Chimes of Freedom), composed in 1877. In the full version of the surviving recording, it is possible to hear somebody say “Are the rest of you ready? Go ahead!” at the very beginning – the first recorded instance of “speed” and “action”.

Bibliography

IMDb contributors (n.d.). ‘Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894)’, IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177707/ [Accessed: 2 December 2021].

Murch, W. (n.d.). ‘Dickson Experimental Sound Film 1895’, FilmSound.org. Available at: http://filmsound.org/murch/dickson.htm [Accessed: 2 December 2021].

Wikipedia contributors (2021). ‘The Dickson Experimental Sound Film’, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 November. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dickson_Experimental_Sound_Film [Accessed: 2 December 2021].