This is one of the most unusual films I’ve watched to this point in the chronology. It’s a strange mix of dream sequences and fantasies, directed by Yevgeny Bauer. It’s a Russian film, and gave me a glimpse into what was happening cinematically outside the U.S. in 1915. It is definitely different than most of the American films I’ve watched. The only one so far that’s been similar is The Avenging Conscience, D.W. Griffith’s 1914 foray into the nascent horror genre.
I’ve seen dream sequences in previous films, and some fantasy elements, but After Death pushes the boundary on what I’ve seen so far. The entire film is a back and forth between events happening to the characters and dream sequences. The plot is incredibly simple. A studious young man is taken to party where he sees a woman that he finds pretty. Soon thereafter he sees her sing onstage, after which he receives a latter from her asking him to meet her in a park. They meet, and have a very awkward and puzzling exchange. She tells him she has a lot to say to him. He responds that he’s ready to listen, but is surprised by the situation because he lives a scholar’s secluded life. She say she made a mistake and runs away.
Three months later, he finds out she committed suicide. He visits her family, and reads her suicide note, saying she killed herself out of unrequited love. He’s now wracked with guilt, because he also loved her but was too shy to let her know. He spends the rest of the film having numerous spooky dreams and visions of her ghost visiting him. He grows ill and is bedridden, still dreaming. The film ends with him dying in his mother’s arms after one last visit from the girl’s ghost.
As a realistic depiction of human behavior the film falls flat, but for the visuals it presents it is a stunning success. The dreams and ghostly visits are quite innovative and unsettling, and it’s there that the film earns its admission price.
As this is the 50th film I’ve watched as a part of this podcast so far, and I haven’t much more to say about it, I thought it might be fun to look at what I’ve watched so far. You know, metrics. The internet loves metrics!
First, let’s break it down by year.
1899 - 1 film1900 - 1 film1901 - 1 film1902 - 2 films1903 - 3 films1904 - 1 film1905 - 1 film1906 - 3 films1907 - no films from this year1908- 2 films1909- 4 films1910- 1 film1911- 1 film1912- 6 films1913- 2 films1914- 8 films1915- 15 films (13 covered so far)
What happened in 1907? How did I not find anything to watch from that year?
I should mention that what I’m doing, or at least the way I’m doing it, is not an exact science. I’m learning a lot as go along, so I may well have missed some must-sees from past years. I’d love to hear from those of you with more knowledge on this topic than me about what I may have missed, or what I should be sure to watch in the future.
Next, let’s examine how am I watching these movies. The answer in general is projected onto a big screen in a room in my house dedicated to watching films, but as for the source, it breaks down like this:
20 on YouTube16 on Blu-ray13 on DVD1 on Prime
Finally, let’s look by director. Here’s whose films I’ve so far seen:
14 films by Georges Méliès9 films by D.W. Griffith3 films by James Kirkwood2 films by Edwin S. Porter2 films by Henry Lehrman
and 1 film each from the following directors or teams of directors:
Gilbert M. AndersonReginald BarkerReginald Barker and Thomas H. InceYevgeny BauerFrancesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, and Giuseppe de LiguoroAugust BlomRomeo BosettiCharles ChaplinWilliam H. Clifford and William S. HartJohn H. CollinsCecil B. DeMilleEdwin MiddletonMabel NormandGiovanni PastroneFrank PowellMack SennettPhillips Smalley and Lois WeberWladyslaw StarewiczRaoul WalshW.W. Young
So there you go. 50 movies down, about 2500 to go.
Next I’m watching The Golden Chance [1915], directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
