Review of Buffalo Running

Eadweard Muybridge was an early English photographer that was important for his very early motion studies, which would later lead to the first true motion pictures. Admittedly, his "movies" were simply a lot of photographs put together to create the illusion of movement, so it's inaccurate to say he 'invented' the medium. But his works, although technically not films, are fine examples of some of the earliest attempts at motion pictures even though they lack the proper qualifications.

Muybridge created both studies of animal and human locomotion, not so much in an attempt to create the first films but in order to study the movement of people and animals. "Buffalo Running" is an interesting example of one of these studies. It lasts for about three seconds technically, but could be played endlessly without the slightest cut in movement, and the title as always summarizes the action. Furthermore, despite not really qualifying as a film, the manner in which it was shot gives it the appearance of a true, live clip. If I didn't know it was a lot of photos I wouldn't have guessed, and the artistic beauty and movements of the titular animal are captured to perfection. Historically interesting as an early example of the slowly-developing medium, and nice for what it is.