gavin6942
Time-lapse photography is used to show the manual dismantling and demolition of New York's Star Theatre over a period of about thirty days.I have to assume that the "building up" is simple dismantling shown in reverse, because if these builders were able to construct a theater in thirty days, that would be amazing in itself. But either way, is this the first time-lapse film? It had to be one of the first, and it really captures something grand.We are also left to wonder about the building in the foreground that keeps taking its awning down and putting it back up up. While that was probably normal at he time, it seems strange today when awnings comes attached to the building and never go away.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Demolishing and Building Up the Star Theatre" is a very early example of time lapse photography. The reason that nobody else did it before that is probably also what it is most known of. At least, I could not see any other memorable features in these almost 3 minutes. That's a bit of a shame as director Frederick S. Armitage, one of America's filmmaking pioneers, chose an interesting location to depict in his film. And the idea of letting it collapse again was fairly nice too. I am sure many people who watched this film did not understand the concept and thought it actually did collapse in real as well. Still, I was a bit disappointed by this movie. It has its moments, but it also drags a bit. Maybe 90 seconds max would have been a better idea.
MartinHafer
At about the turn of the century, an old theater was being torn down. Not wanting to lose an opportunity, the film makers film it--frame by frame and piecing it together using time-lapse footage. So, you see the building going from complete to completely demolished in only about 2 minutes.This is a highly creative film for 1901 and must have impressed audiences of the day. Sure, in today's world audiences would not be particularly impressed, as time-lapse filming is taken for granted. Still, you have to admire all the time that went into making this--it must have taken months.If you'd like to see it, it's included in the 50 film set "Treasures From American Film Archives"--a four-DVD set of mostly ephemeral old films that would have otherwise been lost and forgotten.
Snow Leopard
For 1901, this footage is impressive both in its creativity and in its quality. It would be easy to believe that it had been made much later than it actually was. The time-lapse technique works remarkably well, and it creates an interesting and very watchable movie.The idea is a simple one, but ambitious for its time. As a massive old theater building was being torn down, a film crew from American Mutoscope & Biograph set up a stationary camera timed to take photographs at regular intervals over the entire course of the process, creating a fast-paced movie of the building's demolition. The illusion works perfectly, and it is also very interesting to watch. Almost as interesting as the building itself are some of the other details in the surrounding neighborhood. An awning in the foreground continually appears and disappears, along with many other such details.The earliest film-makers often showed quite an imagination and some determined resourcefulness in their efforts to get the most out of their equipment. Although footage like this is now more commonplace and is easier to obtain, this pioneering effort well deserves to be remembered and watched.
AD
