| End of Day Three: Special Medals for Pioneering Films. |
| Well, we've got a long time to go until we get to the coveted Best Picture awards, so to whet people's interest and give the audience a little tease, our next special awards will go to the three best films in the early development of cinema (Through 1905). While these short films have since been eclipsed in both length and technology, they were crucial in the development of the cinema, and their makers helped shape film history. It is time to honor several early filmmakers and these prime examples of their work, for without them, this new industry may not have taken off and become the artistic and popular force it has become in 1920. The French delegation have let it be known that they will beat your poor embattled chairman upside the head with baguettes if their rich inventive tradition is shut out in this category, but who knows? There are 10 years to honor and only three medals to hand out. Besides, your sly as a fox chairman might have a little protest of his own up his sleeve! But enough of that! On to the presentation. |
| And for the Best Picture of the first 10 years the medals go to... Bronze: Rescued By Rover (1905) Directed by Lewis Fitzhamon & Cecil M. Hepworth, Produced by Cecil M. Hepworth (Great Britain). First, let it be said that your Evenhanded Chairman is putting forth this medal even though he doesn't particularly like this film. However, he grudgingly acknowledges its importance, hence the award. How the audience feels about it will probably depend much on your taste for cute dogs rescuing cute kids films. If this sort of thing is your cup of tea, you'll probably be tickled pink throughout the short run time of this early example of this delightful little sub-genre. (Especially since the dog gives the best performance in the movie, by far.) If your opinion on the matter is more in tune with that of your Cynical Bastard Chairman, well at least it's only seven minutes long. However, there is an aspect to this film that is much more troubling than simple cloying cuteness. Using the old gypsy stealing child stereotype, the film manipulated the audience of its time by playing into people's fear of the urban poor and re-enforcing a pervasive stereotype against the gypsy (or more properly Romany) people, an ethnic group that has been maligned in Europe more than any other than the Jews. Despite its smaller scale, it is in its own way every bit as deplorably racist as The Birth of a Nation. Ahem, now on to the reasons for the award. Several years before D. W. Griffith helmed his first short, Mr. Hepworth had already begun to use editing to advance the story in cinema. This film was remarkably tight in its transitions, displaying continuity between shots that was very sophisticated. There was a limited use of cross cutting that was an early advancement and a nice mix between studio shots and outdoor location shooting that flowed well together. Despite the irritating and implausible storyline, the film does suck the viewer into the action more than most of its time through its enhanced editing techniques, which propel the narrative forward. As the British film industries major international success, Rescued by Rover's influence was felt world-wide, including by D. W. Griffith, whose own first film used a very similar theme, and was reputedly less technically sophisticated. So, for its technological advancements and influence, this award is reluctantly given out. Hepworth gets his medal and the applause by an audience apparently either less knowledgeable or less concerned about the racism against the Romany in this film than that against African Americans in The Birth of a Nation, as nary a hiss is to be heard. |
| Silver: The Great Train Robbery (1903) Directed by Edwin S. Porter, Edison Manufacturing Company (United States) Porter was the first major U.S. film director, his output matched only by G.W. (Billy) Bitzer at Edison's chief rival, Biograph Company. The Great Train Robbery is his lasting legacy. Arguably the birth of the western, the film was hugely popular and created a sensation. Packed full of action and suspense, it was a giant leap forward for the use of the medium as a narrative entertainment. Prior to this film, the cinema was often a forum to showcase the technology and record simple events, now you had a storyline and it proved to be hugely popular. This was a film that used multiple locations, editing, some early inventive camera work as well as color tinting so it was influential on many levels, but its major value was its huge leap forward in the advancement of storytelling and the ability of cinema to thrill audiences. It has certainly dated at the time of this award, but still has the capacity to entertain, as evidenced the enthusiastic response of the crowd. Mr. Porter even managed to get in a few words of thanks in before he was jostled from the podium by Mr. Edison, who as always, was more than willing to claim the credit. |
| Gold: Kingdom of Fairies (1903) Directed and Produced by Georges Melies (France) The French are ecstatic but a bit surprised, not at the award for the beloved Melies, but for the film chosen. Most people would have predicted his most famous film A Trip to the Moon to take the honors. That film is a delight and highly recommended, but for your Contrary Chairman, the wonderful dreamscape of Kingdom of Fairies is the favorite of his admittedly limited exposure to the Melies oeuvre. Melies was a magician and he brought this sense of wonder with him to the cinema. Others instilled technology into the new medium, but Melies gave film perhaps the greatest gift of all, that of joy, fantasy, dreams and imagination. His joy and enthusiasm fills every frame and despite any primitiveness in technique, it is for this reason that your Romantic Dreamer Chairman's love for Melies and this little film is unconditional. Watching Kingdom of Fairies is like stepping into a dream filled with lovely and intricate tableaux art that makes for a stunning visual feast. The camerawork may be mainly stationary, but Melies shows a magician's sense of slight of hand, using stop-motion photography, trap doors and many other tricks to shift scenes and make strange characters appear and disappear before our eyes and continuously delight and surprise the viewer. The underwater kingdom and its strange floating contraptions is delicious fantasy. The sets are all artful, as are the costumes. There is little actual plot, but this just seems to enhance the dream-like state you feel you're entering when watching. If you only check out one early director, your humble chairman requests that that one be Melies. After going out of fashion, and being lost to the public eye for years, Mr. Melies is clearly delighted at the love being poured upon him by his native French citizens as he gives the host country its first gold medal to a standing ovation from a jubilant crowd of Parisians. After three days, the medal count stands at 4 for the United States followed by France and Great Britain with 2 each. But wait, the night isn't quite over: your Sly Chairman has a little slight of hand of his own to display: |
| Yes, this may be the first case of an illustrious chairman of an august body protesting his own awards! He wholeheartedly shared the disgust of many attendees at the racism in The Birth of a Nation, but was dismayed at the lack of empathy by many of the same people in Paris towards their own maligned ethnic people, the Romany, the outcasts of Europe. He's certain he saw many people spitting at gypsy children selling flowers on the street corner while on their way to the Birth of a Nation protests. So, in the spirit of Melies, your radical Chairman is proposing a "positive protest" against the racial/class attitudes found in bronze medal winner, Ruscued by Rover. He's inviting all participants to leave the bustle of the Parisian cafes and spend this evenings festivities on the edge of town for a magical evening of gypsy music, dancing and storytelling by a roaring bonfire as an opportunity to expose themselves to the rich cultural tradition of this much maligned people. He hopes he won't be lonely in his protest. Perhaps some of you fine attendees will join him and seek out more information on the richness of the gypsies, for it is through understanding that prejudice is defeated. |