He_who_lurks Beginning his new film Company, Edison, in searching for material audiences would find entertaining, decided to film a young Newark Athlete displaying his talent of swinging Indian clubs. This film was then probably one of the first movies by the Edison company that featured a display of skill, something that many of Edison's early films would show. In fact, considering it's 1891, this was probably the first one that falls in that genre. I'm not sure who the athlete was but while his skill isn't all that impressive, it is still extremely interesting in terms of historical interest which makes this a must-see. Yes, all we see is the Athlete of the title swinging some clubs but try to remember this was one of Edison's first film experiments.While the footage is indeed quite interesting, the fact that it is sadly damaged is unfortunate. I'm guessing this was a time defect not that it was taken that way. For all of you who are fans of Hollywood remember that while this footage is extremely crude and beat up looking it was the beginning and you must respect it. Sure, there are much more prolific films from Edison out there but while there's nothing too special about the athlete's talent in terms of what we see today it is definitely more interesting than seeing a train arriving in a station.I'll give this an eight of ten for the simple fact it is an important historical artifact. And also it's pretty interesting in its own way. (Note: Two different 'fragments' of this survive. One is very brief and is damaged by a black shutter effect at the end. In the other, we actually see the guy make a full swing with the clubs. I'm not sure why there are two available clips, but in the quick one, the lighting is better; in the other, the lighting is darker).

vukelic-stjepan In compare with other Edison (Dickson) installaments, this footage for me is poorest (eventually better than Monkeyshines). Quality is bad and in comparison with Men's Boxing it doesn't show any progress, quite to the contrary. Good things that film brings to me is increasing of my general knowledge. Until now I have no idea what Indian clubs are and what is their purpose. Second thing about that movie is that this movie was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is currently the oldest film chosen to be in this Registry.

kobe1413 An athlete (from Newark I presume) waves two clubs in a quick routine. This was filmed by W.K.L. Dickson and William Heise for the Edison Manufacturing Company. It was made using the horizontal-feed Kinetograph that was developed by Thomas Edison and Dickson.A big step forward, this film is much clearer than the previous three Monkeyshine films from the same group of people the in 1890. The movement of the boy is able to been see easily. Heise and Dickson' films would continue to improve in quality.Again not much to see here but maintains interest as a relic of a time long ago. I gave it a 2 out of 10.

Snow Leopard This ultra-short feature is one of a small number of surviving experiments made by the Edison Company in the same year as the well-known "Dickson Greeting" film. As such, it is simple but successful, accomplishing its goal of capturing the motions of its subject while also providing a clear image of him.The footage simply shows one athlete or gymnast who makes a movement with a pair of clubs. The movie succeeds in photographing the subject in some detail, and in capturing the motion smoothly. The motion is equally clear at each of the speeds in the preserved footage. These are simple goals, to be sure, but they are basic foundations of cinema, and they had to be met before the new invention could be used for more complex and interesting movies.In 1894, when the Edison Company was expanding its film production for commercial use in their Kinetoscopes, a similar camera test was done with the newer equipment then in use. That film, "Athlete With Wand", served a similar purpose, and it is of interest in comparison with this one.