From Spectacle Art to the Cinema of Attraction, or the Intermedia Character of a Film Trick
Abstract
In his article, Dębski draws attention to the inter-media links of cinematography and its roots in the nineteenth century culture of spectacles. By referencing the work of Tom Gunning, Andre Gaudreault, and Martin Loiperdinger, and analysing German and Wrocław based examples (eg. Schenk’s Eden-Theater spectacles, plays of the Liebich’s theatre, Fiedler’s advertisements of magic lanterns), he shows the broad context of the beginnings of cinematography. He also points to the affinity of film tricks with “tricks” known from the older media (theater illusion, magic lantern, mechanical theater) and deconstructs the myth that Melies invented the “first movie trick”. The author further emphasizes the richness and diversity of the early cinema of attraction, which was characterized by the “joy of experimentation”.
Keywords:
cinema of attraction, trick, theaterReferences
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Authors
Andrzej Dębskikwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
University of Wrocław Poland
Dr, kieruje projektem „Historia kina na Dolnym Śląsku do 1945 roku” w Centrum im. Willy’ego Brandta Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. Jest autorem książki Historia kina we Wrocławiu w latach 1896-1918 (2009), a także współredaktorem tomów zbiorowych, m.in. Unterwegs zum Nachbarn. Deutsch-polnische Filmbegegnungen (wraz z Brigitte Braun i Andrzejem Gwoździem, 2013), Sylwester Chęciński (z Rafałem Bubnickim, 2015), KINtop. Antologia wczesnego kina (z Martinem Loiperdingerem, 2016).
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