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105 Year Old Film

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DougDolde

Guest
This film was "lost" for many years. It was the first 35mm film ever It was taken by camera mounted on the front of a cable car.

The number of automobiles is staggering for 1906. Absolutely amazing!
The clock tower at the end of Market Street at the Embarcadero wharf is
still there. ... How many "street cleaning" people were employed to
pick up after the horses? Talk about going green!

Great historical film! Watch the scampering as Joe Public
race away from autos, horses, cable cars and bicycles.

This film, originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with
the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out exactly when it was
shot. From New York trade papers announcing the film showing to the wet
streets from recent heavy rainfall & shadows indicating time of year &
actual weather and conditions on historical record, even when the cars
were registered (he even knows who owned them and when the plates were issued!)..

It was filmed only four days before the Great California Earthquake of April 18th 1906 and shipped by train to NY for processing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=NINOxRxze9k
 

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
Shame they didn't set it to more contemporary music. The traffic is chaos, never seen a city where the tram system didn't have priority over other traffic either, some of those cars are cutting across incredibly close, glad I wasn't a driver of one of those! The kids seem to be having fun playing up for the camera.

Is it just me or is it eerie watching a film where every single person in it is long dead? :). They all had their own lives, their own stories, all now long gone. Hey if I'm this melancholy at 10am... :ROTFL:
 

Anders_HK

Member
It seems to beg for two questions;

1) Among the great volume of multi media, what will they be able to retrieve in 2115?

2) How will life of our time be viewed in 2115... ?

Regards
Anders
 

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
Shame they didn't set it to more contemporary music. The traffic is chaos, never seen a city where the tram system didn't have priority over other traffic either, some of those cars are cutting across incredibly close, glad I wasn't a driver of one of those! The kids seem to be having fun playing up for the camera.

Is it just me or is it eerie watching a film where every single person in it is long dead? :). They all had their own lives, their own stories, all now long gone. Hey if I'm this melancholy at 10am... :ROTFL:
This is exactly how I felt.
I just watched it again with my husband. We were struck by how well-dressed everyone was and also I noticed how long the strides of many of the men were. It was also eerie to think that in a few days all of their lives would be changed by the earthquake.
 

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
I think the length of the strides is due to the speed of the film not actual movement.

My wife pointed out something interesting, the cable car made no stops...
 
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Gulp..... Total chaos! And those cyclists with their wheels literally IN the cable slot... Must have been broader tyres they were using than today´s racing ones.

Then, of course, the speed of an oncoming cable car is totally predictable, so I suppose SF inhabitants soon learned exactly how much time they had to cross its path.
 

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
I think the length of the strides is due to the speed of the film not actual movement.

My wife pointed out something interesting, the cable car made no stops...
I think the cable car did make stops. In a couple of places you could see people approaching and then there was a start/stop to the film.
 
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