Edwin S. Porter | IMDB v2.1

Edwin S. Porter Dec 30, 2017 16:13:03 GMT spiderwort likes this

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Post by Matthew the Swordsman on Dec 30, 2017 16:13:03 GMT

Dec 30, 2017 16:05:58 GMT spiderwort said:

Dec 30, 2017 15:31:48 GMT Matthew the Swordsman said:

Here's a copy of the film with the original editing, ripped by someone from the DVD. The source is a 35mm print from the Library of Congress. This kind of editing was common in 1902, but gone by 1907.

Okay, let me rephrase myself. Instead of cross-cutting (though if memory serves, that is the version I saw decades ago), this version, at the very least, uses continuity editing - in other words, it employs a series of shots sequentially to advance the narrative in one direction. Very different from the proscenium style before it: all in one set with no cuts. So if only in this way, FIREMAN is a seminal film in regards to editing and narrative storytelling. A little dull, I admit, but it works, and at the time was probably not considered dull. And later, in TRAIN ROBBERY, it was a technique that was finessed. And I would argue that film does employ cross-cutting techniques, to say nothing of the startling and historically significant cut to the Close-up at the end.

I hope this clarifies my perspective. Now I want to find the version of FIREMAN that used cross-cutting. With the footage in the version I just watched, I would tend to think that was not even possible. And if there is more coverage to be used, I then wonder if perhaps the company registered a film that was just an assembly, rather than a fully edited version. Interesting question to ponder. But thanks for getting my old brain going. You've brought back a lot of memories.

I'm sorry again if I was rude. I've read that Charles Musser, considered an expert on Edison films, says the version I posted above is how the film originally appeared. I assume he's correct.

But yes, it was indeed an innovative film, although I personally prefer Edwin S. Porter's film from the same year of "Jack and the Beanstalk" (unfortunately, no good copy appears on YouTube, but the below will do):