Rescued by Rover (screenonline)
Fitzcarraldo
Rescued by Rover is a British film made in 1905 by Hepworth Manufacturing Company and starring Cecil M. Hepworth, his wife, baby and dog, along with another couple to round out the cast. On its own merits a very charming and exciting 5 minutes, in the context of film history it's fascinating. As explained in the screenonline link above:
'By 1905, most films consisted of multiple shots, but their narratives were still conceived on an essentially "theatrical" model, in that they consisted of a series of self-contained "acts". By contrast, Rescued By Rover's director Lewin Fitzhamon regarded individual shots as small pieces of a larger jigsaw making up the whole film, a much more "cinematic" treatment.'
We watched a restored version, the quality of which was made clear the next week when we saw a clip of it in a documentary from the 90's(?)
Fitzcarraldo is another film that left a strange impression after just an excerpt. It was shot in English and dubbed in German which is continually jarring. Klaus Kinski is a strikingly strange looking man and I found myself marvelling at that at times. I was also pondering how much we were supposed to be on board with his notion of an opera house in the jungle. I've never seen all of Field of Dreams either but I've always assumed that complete disinterest in the protagonist's goal will leave me necessarily distanced from the heart of the story. In theory at least. I will watch it. I know what it's like to crave something and be surrounded by people who don't know what they're missing. And maybe once I've seen it, I'll take up the gauntlet, become as obsessed and passionate as any Kinski or Costner and devote my life to building an independent cinema in Newry. In that field opposite the towpath I reckon.
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