Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Honeymooners reach Japan, 1930


Country: United Kingdom.
Amateur home movie showing Japan.
Busy narrow side streets in Japan, Asia: street vendors selling what could be melons; Japanese lanterns on the outside of houses; people running; a cyclist. Willis with Matsiyama (a Japanese man) at the Heian Shrine, Japan. Shots of the shrine, a pagoda, and a Japanese women with parasol, possibly Geisha. Japanese people drinking water from shrine and then spitting it out. Japanese man in kimono and panama hat talking to male European. They bow . White woman in kimono walking through Japanese garden. People in kimonos in same garden. They remove their shoes at house entrance and enter. Women bowing to each while on their knees. Men do the same. They remain on their knees and are then given cushions. Servant pours out tea which they drink. They use fans.
Rail track shot from rear of moving train. Cross bridge, mountains in distance. Smoking funnel of the train. The Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan, Asia. Woman walks towards camera, man in suit does same. Man and woman emerging from hotel entrance and walking towards camera. Tokyo, Japanese street scenes, cars, office buildings. Man in shorts holds flower of a plant. Woman in Japanese gardens, traditional Japanese buildings, hills in background.

Japan and Tokyo in the 1930's


Country: United Kingdom
Amateur home movie footage, many short shots of streets in Japan presumably Tokyo, big buildings, people in the streets, many cars. Two women in kimonos, soldiers, Japanese flags on top of a building, a big stadium, a tram, a bridge over a river, a statue of a warrior on a horse, many people crossing the roads, a view of the city from a moving train. In a religious ceremony, monks in different costumes carrying on their shoulders a beautifully carved wooden construction inside which sits their holy man. They all walk in a row, men carrying gongs, musicians being carried too. They walk towards a shrine. A religious ceremony is taking place. A tennis game. A big gate -Japanese writing on top. A market. A Pagoda. Smiling people coming out of a building. A Japanese garden. A man on a train platform waving his hand. A park, a big pagoda, a horse and wagon. Sea side is seen through a cave's entrance. A view of the cave from the shore. A man on a boat. Passengers smiling. A statue of Buddha - its legs, its head. Views in the mist.
Join here to better quality footage, possibly stock inter titles in English, "Nikko". A bridge over a river. A front road to Toshugu shrine, two people crossing the road, on either side Cryptomera trees. The large Torii gate overlooking a five story pagoda. The front gate, a statue of Buddha enclosed. Three treasure houses are seen on the right of the gate. On the left is a sacred stable. "Famous saying of "DO NOT SEE. DO NOT HEAR. DO NOT SPEAK EVIL", is on this transom. On the right turn is Yomei-gate. Fully decorated with statues and gargoyles, through this gate and the temple can be seen two huge ornate doors, in the passage way the carving of Sleeping Cat can be seen. The tomb of Tokugawa Shogun III. The road now winds along at the side of the Daya River, many cars riding down the rive with many rocks. The Hoto waterfall is seen from the tea house. The famous Kegon waterfall. Lake Chuzehji - its source. Views of Senjogahara. Streams on the way to Yunotaki waterfall. Lake Yunoko - its source. Fish, boats, trees all around.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Panorama of the Moving Boardwalk - 1900


Country: USA
Release Date: August 1900 (USA)
Filming Locations: Paris, France
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Documentary | Short 
This picture was taken from the stationary platform, showing the rapidly moving board walk on the outer edge, which has a speed of five miles per hour; also shows the middle platform moving two and a-half miles per hour, the third platform being stationary. At intervals there are upright posts to steady passengers from one platform to the other. By watching these uprights passing by the camera and passing each other, a good idea of the speed is obtained. The structure is crowded with passengers, some gliding by, standing still, others walking and running and stepping from one platform to the other. Written by Edison Films (1901)   

International News - 1921


Country: United States
This video is one of the very first international new casts in history. It was first realest in the gold age of silent films. Hence the lack of sound. It start with the Knights of Columbus opening a boys home. Babe Ruth giving State Deputy Joseph M Nurre a gift. Theres a mention of an Arms Conference: the Big Four as they were called. President and First Lady Harding was also meeting with persons all over the country at The White House. Sir Harry Lauder came to see inmates. One of the most interesting clips is a Ku Klux Klan Wizard by the name of William J. Simmons appears before a Congressional Committee. The Committee was deciding what to identify the Klan as. There is a clip of the World Series Champions New York Giants. New York City Mayor John Hylan is in it. There is a yacht race in Halifax. There is mention of famine in the Soviet Union, pretty large clip in fact. The Arch of Triumph in Paris gets a Medal of Honor as recognition to the Unknown Hero. There are troop reviews in Europe for the Chief of Staff. Lastly, a clip of men taking a river boat trip.and visitors to Native American in Colorado. This video is in the Public Domain. The Master Copy can be found at the National Archives and Records Administration, Room 4000, 8601 Adelphi Road, Hyattsville, MD 20740-6001. The Archival Retrieval Catalog (ARC) number is: 88967; 88968
Note: This review was extracted from You Tube.

Panorama of Wreckage of Water Front - 1900


Country: USA
Release Date: September 1900 (USA)
Filming Locations: Galveston, Texas, USA
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Genres: Short
On September 8th, 1900, the city of Galveston was hit by a hurricane and tidal wave, which would end up costing more than 2500 lives. With winds of up to 135mph, many considered this one of the deadliest storms of its time and the Edison studio sent cameras down there to capture some of the aftermath.
More striking footage from Edison in their Galveston disaster coverage. This film runs just under a minute and takes us to the waterfront where the tidal wave clearly had a major impact on what we're seeing. Just take a look at several of the boats that are wrapped around the docks and the overall damage is just hard to imagine. There are a few seconds of people standing around viewing the damage and there are even a couple boats in the background where no damage has been done so I'm guessing these were coming in to offer support. If you've seen all the Edison films that covered this disaster you know that the damage done was simply amazing. Being able to see this footage today makes you somewhat thankful that Edison sent a crew to film it as it's certainly an important part of history.  

Unsere heimkehrenden Kriegsgefangenen, Wetzlar - 1919


Country: Germany
(c) Deutsches Filminstitut - DIF e.V.
Director: Oskar Barnack
English title: Our Prisoners of War
Return, Wetzlar 1919
Synopsis: German soldiers and former prisoners of war returning from WW I are welcomed at Wetzlar train station.
Note: This review was extracted from you tube.

La Bonne Absinthe - 1899


Country: France
Director: Alice Guy
Also known as: Wonderful Absinthe (USA - DVD title)
Production Co: Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont
Plot Keywords: Absinthe | Propaganda | Propaganda Film
Genres: Short