Accordion Player

Starring: Adolphe Le Prince
Directed by: Louis Le Prince
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Documentary, Short
Length: 2 seconds
1888

Times Seen:
Tim: 10

Summary: A boy plays an accordion.

Review:

Tim: I find the story of Louis Le Prince fascinating and tragic. The man who, by all accounts, invented motion pictures disappeared before being able to capitalize on his work. The three existing films he leaves behind- Roundhay Garden Scene, Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge, and Accordion Player represent the earliest days of cinema.

Accordion Player, like the others, is extremely short- just a few seconds. But, it shows that Le Prince's experimentation has paid off. He's able to capture fluid movement on film. Yes, this short is extremely short, but it's a monumental achievement regardless. For this film, Le Prince's son Adolphe is playing the accordion and showing off some solid dance moves. He looks happy, showing off for the camera, his likeness being captured on his father's world-changing invention. I doubt that he recognized in this moment that this short film would exist forever and 134 years later, we'd still be watching his moves. That's the power of motion pictures- they allow us to capture a moment that still exists, once it becomes the past. That's a remarkable, humanity-defining achievement.

Like Le Prince's other films, this movie is truly worth seeing. It's an inauspicious start for cinema, but it moved the technology forward. When you consider the context behind this movie- the effort Louis Le Prince put into his device, his strange disappearance, how other inventors would take credit for being the originator of cinema, the tragic end of Adolphe's life... well, this is a beautiful and haunting short film. I feel so grateful that it exists today.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Roundhay Garden Scene, Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge