Unless you were lucky enough to find a theater playing a film by early film genius Georges Méliès, most of the movies back in 1901 were amazingly lame by today's standards. Yet, despite often having not much plot and very simple camera-work, they were adored by audiences. One of the "amazing" camera tricks employed very successfully in 1901 that today seems incredibly lame is the notion of playing a film backwards for laughs. In this film, a man apparently needs to catch a train so he pops out of bed backward and his clothes magically appear to jump onto him--since the film is actually of a man taking off his clothes and going to bed but it's played backward. It's pretty mundane and tough to watch today, but film historians might find it of interest--I sure didn't.
3 Reviews
I kept laughing during the whole movie
joachimt-IMDB7 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I can't believe people are giving a bad rating for this movie.
Imagine you're a filmmaker around the year 1900. Hardly anyone has gone before you. A very view people are able to use this medium as a form of art. You're starting to wonder what kind of tricks you can come up with to tell a funny story. Suddenly you have a very original idea. Why don't you record some movements and play them backwards. Before doing it you start laughing only because of the idea and the funny things you can create.
Off course, nowadays this movie seems silly. But in 1901 ... very funny. From the very first movement I laughed. The movie itself isn't even that funny, but in combination with the TITLE it's hilarious.
Imagine you're a filmmaker around the year 1900. Hardly anyone has gone before you. A very view people are able to use this medium as a form of art. You're starting to wonder what kind of tricks you can come up with to tell a funny story. Suddenly you have a very original idea. Why don't you record some movements and play them backwards. Before doing it you start laughing only because of the idea and the funny things you can create.
Off course, nowadays this movie seems silly. But in 1901 ... very funny. From the very first movement I laughed. The movie itself isn't even that funny, but in combination with the TITLE it's hilarious.
Melies -- Edison Style
Michael_Elliott12 September 2009
Catching an Early Train (1901)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Extremely light Edison short has a man oversleeping so when he jumps out of head, his clothing begins to jump at him so he can get dressed quicker. It's rather clear that this "magic" film was trying to be in the same genre as those movies being released by Georges Melies but it falls quite short. The special effects are fairly good for their time but one can't help but think that the "magic of Melies" is missing here. Also missing is the charm and grace that a Melies film carries.
You can view this at the Library of Congress website.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Extremely light Edison short has a man oversleeping so when he jumps out of head, his clothing begins to jump at him so he can get dressed quicker. It's rather clear that this "magic" film was trying to be in the same genre as those movies being released by Georges Melies but it falls quite short. The special effects are fairly good for their time but one can't help but think that the "magic of Melies" is missing here. Also missing is the charm and grace that a Melies film carries.
You can view this at the Library of Congress website.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
