KINETOSCOPE FILMS

by William Kennedy Laurie DICKSON & William HEISE & James WHITE
1900 / 35mm / tinted b&w / silent / 1S / 5' 55

"These brief glimpses were some of the first images captured in America to show us the world in motion. They were viewed one at-a-time through a peephole viewer known as the Kinetoscope machine designed by Thomas Edison for singular viewing. Additionally, the Biograph camera was soon developed, and eventually movie projectors would enlarge the moving picture spectacles onto larger screens for vastly larger audiences." — Bruce Posner

12 films:
Films by James White and William Heise:
Ella Lola, A La Trilby (1898, 31 sec)
Films by W.K.L. Dickson and William Heise:
Annabelle Butterfly Dance #1 (1894, 20 sec)
Annabelle Butterfly Dance #3 (1895, 25 sec)
Serpentine Dance by Annabelle (1896, 23 sec)
Annabelle Serpentine Dance #1 (1894 color tint, 14 sec)
[Crissie Sheridan Serpentine Dance] (1897, 32 sec, x2)
Serpentine Dances #4 (1897 color tint, 48 sec)
Blacksmithing Scene (1893, 27 sec)
Sandow, No.1 (1894, 27 sec)
The Barber Shop (1893, 22 sec)
Cock Fight (1894, 17 sec)
Hornbacker-Murphy Fight (1894, 17 sec)

"Annabelle’s skirt dances are among the earliest artistic works in film history. Looking directly at us, she turns, crouches, extends her arms, and 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


Producer: EDISON MANUFACTURING CO.

1 PRINT IN DISTRIBUTION


distribution format Digital file on server (FHD)
screen 16/9 (single screen)
speed 24 fps
sound silent
rental fee 26,00 €