I've gone into the depths of madness and it's not going to stop until I've watched a from every year since 1900. It seemed like something fun to do now that I have no more Best Picture Nominees to watch and I'm nearly out of Best Animated Feature Nominees.
Also, I had realized at some point these past few weeks that I have never seen a movie from the 1910s. So here is my journey so far through the silent film era. One criterion that I did have for this experience, is that it must be a movie that I have never seen before. That means A Trip to the Moon, and The Great Train Robbery were movies that were out for this section.
I was able to get through this decade rather quickly because most of these films are incredibly short. Here's what the dawn of filmmaking had to offer:
1900.)
Title: The Doctor and the Monkey
Runtime: 1 Minute
Director: George Melies
Plot: A doctor has trouble with a monkey that escapes from a cage.
What I thought: This is pretty straightforward, Melies makes a lot of appearances early on and this was based on how much I enjoyed A Trip to the Moon which none of these films came close to replicating.
Rating: 2.5/5
1901.)
Title: The Magician and the Human Pump aka Excelsior!
Runtime: 2 minutes 35 seconds
Director: George Melies
Plot: A magician performs tricks with the help of an assistant.
What I thought: This was pretty amusing and Melies has a lot of fun with his camera tricks that he employs.
Rating: 3/5
1902.)
Title: The Devil's Money Bags
Runtime: 3 Minutes
Director: George Melies
Plot: Some guy hides gold, but Satan finds it and the dude gets tortured.
What I thought: I can't say I was entirely sure what I was watching here.
Rating: 2/5
1903.)
Title: The Magic Lantern
Runtime: 3 Minutes
Director: George Melies
Plot: Clowns make moving pictures after assembling a magic lantern.
What I thought: First off, clowns are the worst, and secondly, this is dull.
Rating: 2/5
1904.)
.
Title: The Clockmaker's Dream
Runtime: 2 Minutes
Director: George Melies
Plot: A clockmaker falls asleep and some ladies show him how to make new clocks.
What I thought: A cure for insomnia, you might be asleep in just 2 minutes.
Rating: 2/5
1905.)
Title: The Enchanted Sedan Chair
Runtime: 3 Minutes
Director: George Melies
Plot: Another magician, some more mediocre magic.
What I thought: Even the title is less than thrilling.
Rating: 2/5
1906.)
Title: The House of Ghosts
Runtime: 6 Minutes
Director: Segundo de Chomon
Plot: Three friends go on a trip and stay in an abandoned house where things get freaky.
What I thought: There are a lot of cool things going on here and it gives a creepy vibe. I accidentally watched this and The 400 Tricks of the Devil (Melies), but one site had this as a 1907 film, but IMDB (which is what I go by) listed it as 1906, and since I liked this one better, it's the highlighted film of 1906.
Rating: 3/5
1907.)
Title: Satan in Prison
Runtime: 5 Minutes
Director: George Melies
Plot: Satan is in jail and has to entertain himself.
What I thought: This has a slow start, but gets fun towards the end.
Rating: 2.5/5
1908.)
Title: The Broken Violin
Runtime: 4 Minutes
Director: George Melies
Plot: A cook hides a violin in a kitchen.
What I thought: It's not a complete film, but what's there isn't that compelling.
Rating: 2/5
1909.)
Title: Edgar Allan Poe
Runtime: 7 Minutes
Director: D.W. Griffith
Plot: Events that are based on the life of Edgar Allan Poe.
What I thought: I thought it was amusing and entertaining. I might be the exception than the rule.
Rating: 3/5
