Best Class EVER.

I have discovered the best class at Texas A&M University. History of Film.
Every Tuesday night from 7 PM to 9:30 PM I get to sit in a classroom and watch movies. Then every Tuesday and Thursday during the day, I get to sit in a classroom and learn about how awesome movie are. This is seriously the best thing that has ever happened to me.

In saying this, our first movie lab was tonight so I have loads to share with you. Yay!
*Added Bonus* - Two of the movies we watched were in "The Book".

First we watched a bunch of short (and I mean short) films by the Lumiere Brothers. They were each about 1 minute long but they were some of the first films ever made and screened in their version of a theater. These films ranged from a baby eating to a train coming into the station. Actually, L'Arrivee d'un train a La Ciotat has a really cool back-story that our professor told us. The way that the camera was set up, it looked as if the train was coming towards the camera. Since the whole "moving picture" thing was very new, many people who were watching this film jumped up, ran out of the room, and screamed. They thought that the train was going to come through the screen!

Next, we got to watch a film that was a bit longer (by a whole minute). The only difference is that this time, it had more of a story to it, rather than just a literal moving picture. Par le trou de serrure is about a peeping tom janitor who looks through keyholes of hotel rooms.

Finally, we are starting to get to the goods people. Our next film was by the famed Georges Melies, and is possibly one of the most recognized silent films EVER. It's also the very first film listed in "The Book". Le Voyage dans la lune [Trip to the Moon] is about a group of wizard-looking scientists who travel to the moon in a bullet-spaceship. It's incredible to see what they imaged the moon would be like. I can tell you, it is NOTHING like the actual moon. It even had inhabitants that the head scientist could kill by bashing them with his cane. One of the coolest things about this movie is that it was in color. OK - not actually, but kind of. This movie came out in 1902, and was filmed in black and white, but sometimes for movies (as they did for this one), they would take the film strips and literally color it like a coloring book. They would have to do this for every single frame. It's absolutely incredible in my opinion the detail that goes into making these films.

Next, we watched The Great Train Robbery, directed by Edwin S. Porter in 1902. The title is pretty self-explanatory. This was the very first western y'all! Forget Clint Eastwood, forget John Wayne, it's all about this movie right here. My favorite fact about this movie is that they actually filmed it while on a moving train. It was also one of the first movies of the time that you start to notice the camera panning. Most films were shot from one spot and the camera didn't move a bit. Annnnnd, it used cross-cutting, or following more than one story line (kind of like, "back at the ranch..." in novels).

Alright, two more movies. Now for The Crime of Carelessness. This was actually based on/inspired by a huge factory fire in 1911 in NYC (This fire is also the likely reason we have illuminated EXIT signs). Basically, the factory owner blocked his fire exits, despite being asked to clear them, and a fire was started and 146 workers died. The movie is slightly different, but it portrays the same message. It's a very cautionary tale, similar to a public service announcement, but with much more zest.

Finally, we watched a pretty long silent film. And by pretty long I mean 49 minutes, but that is long compared to the minute to 15 minute films of before. Hypocrites was my least favorite film of the day, mainly because it starred a naked woman who was meant to personify Truth. Other than that, it had a inspiring plot/story. A priest gives a sermon on hypocrisy and then the naked woman, Truth, shows the priest that his congregation are indeed hypocrites. Then there is this long slew of vignettes in which we see how one should act and how they are actually acting. The film raised an interesting point about hypocrisy, I will admit. However, I find it a tad ironic that the director, Lois Weber, films this in an extenuation of her missionary work, yet the main character is blatantly nude, and we see EVERYTHING. Nevertheless, she gets her point across.