Unseen cinema. [10-film compilation] / 7, Viva la dance. Annabelle dances and dances :
Viva La Dance is part of the film retrospective Unseen Cinema that explores long-forgotten American experimental cinema. Annabelle's skirt dances are among the earliest artistic works in film history. Looking directly at us, she turns, crouches, extends her arms, carves the space of the frame w...
| Corporate Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | , |
| Format: | Video |
| Language: | No linguistic content |
| Published: |
United States :
Filmmakers Showcase,
[1894]
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to this streaming video (Alexander Street Press) |
| Summary: | Viva La Dance is part of the film retrospective Unseen Cinema that explores long-forgotten American experimental cinema. Annabelle's skirt dances are among the earliest artistic works in film history. Looking directly at us, she turns, crouches, extends her arms, carves the space of the frame with the multi-hued drapes attached to wands in her hands. There are no edits, no camera movements, just a graceful kinetic invocation. --Robert A. Haller. Annabelle Whitford Moore, one of the first film stars, made her debut at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. She was a featured performer on Broadway when Dickson filmed her in 1894. Her Serpentine and Butterfly Dances were so popular that Dickson filmed her again for the American Mutoscope in 1896. --Paul Spehr William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, best known as Edison's assistant in developing the Kinetoscope and Kinetograph, was an important and influential filmmaker. Perhaps, Dickson was the only filmmaker to make films with a camera and a film format (35mm) of his design, in a film studio (Black Maria) that he also designed. He established film production for Edison (1891-1895), American Mutoscope (1896-1897), and British Mutoscope (1897-1903). Working as the director and with assistants such as Heise and Bitzer, he produced more than five hundred films, many of them among the most memorable of the era. --Paul SpehrJames White, a technician working for Raff & Gammon, the distributor for Edison's Kinetoscope, was hired by Edison's business manager William Gilmore. At Edison Manufacturing, he supervised film production, a position he held until 1903 when he was sent to England to manage Edison's film business there. --Paul SpehrWillaim Heise, Dickson's assistant during experiments on the Kinetophone, was trained in photography and operated the camera for the early productions in Edison's Black Maria (1893-1895). When Dickson left Edison in April 1895, Heise stayed and filmed a number of productions with James White. Heise took over direction in October 1896. --Paul SpehrEdison Manufacturing Co., formed to market products invented by Thomas Edison, handled his motion picture and closely related phonograph business. In 1896, as the Kinetoscope business faltered, Edison appointed William Gilmore to manage the company. Gilmore took distribution out of the hands of independents like Raff & Gammon and Maguire & Baucus. Then Edison began a series of lawsuits to repress competitors. Patent suits dominated the American film market prior to W.W.I and kept Edison the predominant American film company during much of this period. Until recently aesthetic advancements made by Edison's filmmakers have been overshadowed by accounts of the legal wrangling. -Paul Spehr / Bruce Posner Annabelle Dances and Dances (1894-1897) - 10 Film Compilation. black and white color tint silent with music 16-40fps 5:18 minutes. Production: Edison Manufacturing Co., American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. |
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| Item Description: | Title from resource description page (viewed July 24, 2020). "Early American avant-garde film 1893-1941." |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (6 min.) |
| Playing Time: | 00:05:24 |
| Production Credits: | Music, Neal Kurz. |