Roundhay Garden Scene by Louis Le Prince United Kingdom France 1888

Roundhay Garden Scene

 Roundhay Garden Scene è un cortometraggio di 3 secondi del 1888 ed è il secondo prodotto cinematografico di cui si abbia notizia.

Trama

Nel giardino si vedono Adolphe Le Prince, Sarah Whitley, Joseph Whitley e Harriet Hartley che camminano e ridono.

Produzione

Secondo il figlio di Le Prince, Adolphe, venne filmato al Oakwood Grange, nella casa di Joseph e Sarah Whitley, a Roundhay, un sobborgo di Leeds, West Yorkshire, Inghilterra, il 14 ottobre 1888. Si tratta di una ripresa effettuata alla velocità di 10 - 12 fotogrammi al secondo.

Tragedia e mistero

Questo film pioniere è circondato da un'aura di mistero e tragedia. Infatti il 24 ottobre 1888, dopo soli dieci giorni dalla sua realizzazione, Sarah Robinson Whitley, presente nel cortometraggio e madre settantaduenne di Le Prince, morì. Fu sepolta il 27 ottobre alla St. John's Church, Roundhay, Leeds. Il 16 settembre 1890, mentre andava a brevettare la sua invenzione a Londra e fare la prima presentazione pubblica a New York, Louis Le Prince, regista, scomparve e fu visto per l'ultima volta sull'espresso tra Digione e Parigi. Nel 1902 Alphonse Le Prince, figlio dell'inventore, venne trovato ucciso a New York.
Queste leggende sono sicuramente dovute al fascino che le immagini in movimento fecero all'epoca e al loro "dominio" mantenuto nel tempo, rendendo le figure rappresentate straordinariamente verosimili e, per questo, immortali.
Nel 2015 è uscito The First Film, documentario biografico diretto da David Wilkinson dove si racconta anche la genesi del filmato Roundhay Garden Scene

A screenshot from Roundhay original direction by Louis Le Prince. Courtesy of NMFT, Yannick@FR.

Roundhay Garden Scene is an 1888 short silent film recorded by French inventor Louis Le Prince. It is believed to be the oldest surviving film in existence, as noted by the Guinness Book of Records.

Overview

According to Le Prince's son, Adolphe, the film was made at Oakwood Grange, the home of Joseph and Sarah Whitley, in Roundhay, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, on October 14, 1888.
It features Adolphe Le Prince, Sarah Whitley (née Robinson, 1816 – 24 October 1888), Joseph Whitley (1817 – 11 January 1891) and Annie Hartley in the garden, walking around. Note that Sarah is walking backwards as she turns around, and that Joseph's coat tails are flying as he also is turning. Joseph and Sarah Whitley were Adolph Le Prince's parents-in-law, being the parents of his wife Elizabeth, and Annie Hartley is believed to be a friend of Le Prince and his wife. Sarah Whitley died ten days after the scene was taken. She was the earliest born person ever to appear in a film; her husband Joseph was the second earliest born person and the earliest born male person. Sarah Whitley was also the first person who had appeared in a film to die.

Remastered footage

In 1930 the National Science Museum (NSM), London, produced photographic copies of surviving parts from the 1888 filmstrip. This sequence was recorded on an 1885 Eastman Kodak paper base photographic film through Le Prince's single-lens combi camera-projector. Le Prince's son, Adolphe, stated that the Roundhay Garden movie was shot at 12 frames/s (and a second movie, Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge, at 20 frames/s), however the later digital remastered version of Roundhay Garden produced by the National Media Museum, Bradford, which contains 52 frames, runs at 24.64 frames/s, a modern cinematographic frame rate, so it plays in only 2.11 seconds. The National Science Museum copy has 20 frames; at 12 frames/s, this produces a run time of 1.66 seconds.

 

 

Play media

Roundhay Garden Scene.ogg 382 KB

Directed by

	Louis Le Prince
Starring	Annie Hartley Adolphe Le Prince Joseph Whitley Sarah Whitley
Cinematography	Louis Le Prince
Edited by	Louis Le Prince
Release dates	October 14, 1888 (Private collection)
Running time	2.11 seconds
Country	United Kingdom France