Roundhay Garden Scene

Starring: Annie Hartley, Adolphe Le Prince, Joseph Whitley, Sarah Whitley
Directed by: Louis Le Prince
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Short, Documentary
Length: 2 seconds
1888

Times Seen:
Tim: 29

Summary: Four people move to create the world's first moving pictures.

Review:

Tim: I find Roundhay Garden Scene to be fascinating. It's only a 2-second film, but by most accounts, it's the world's first motion picture. There is an incredible account of Louis Le Prince in the book, The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures by Paul Fischer. It's well worth a read if you're interested in film. The story behind this quick short film puts so much more emphasis on the technological breakthrough this film represents.

It's just amazing to me that multiple people were all competing on this same idea, the concept of motion pictures. Le Prince wasn't the best funded, but he got there first. It's so incredible that this film has survived when so many others were lost. Here, we see four people acting in different ways in a garden. Seems innocuous, but when you consider the context, the thousands of hours, the money invested in creating something the world had never seen before, I don't know how anyone wouldn't marvel at what these two seconds suggest. Movies have changed all of humanity in countless ways, and this short film represents their beginning.

In the film, we see four of Louis Le Prince's family members, including his son, all moving in different ways. There was nothing especially poignant about their movement, it was just meant to prove a concept. I like that the first movie shows something silly- I like what it suggests about human beings. Le Prince was trying to create a new technology, a new medium. He needed movement. I like to believe this first film wasn't overly rehearsed- movement is what mattered, making sure the newfound camera was able to capture that movement precisely enough to play back and give the impression that you were watching the real thing before your eyes. The technological breakthroughs Le Prince made to get to this point are just incredible.

I know this short film is only 2 seconds long and it would be easy to dismiss it. The dancing, the walking, the turning, these are all human endeavors we've seen countless times. But here, it's the first time motion was ever captured on screen. Adolphe, Sarah, Joseph, and Annie are captured on film for the first time, their quick movements living on forever. Humanity would continue to build on Le Prince's innovation, even as he was overlooked and not given proper credit for it. His story is a mystery and a tragedy. But, with Roundhay Garden Scene, he will live on forever.

This short is well worth watching if you've never seen it. It boggles the mind to think of everything that came after this. Louis Le Prince changed the world and this film is proof. *Update- So a year or so after first watching the first movie repeatedly and adding it to my site, I was having a conversation with my eight year-old son (almost nine) and I asked if he wanted to see the first movie ever. He readily agreed and we were soon joined by my five year-old daughter, and we watched Roundhay Garden Scene four times. It was fun to reconnect with this film and see the origins of motion pictures. It's short, but the context makes the film so powerful. Just like previously, it's hard not to feel transfixed watching this great original film.

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



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