Démolition d'un mur

After the debut of the Cinématographe in 1895, its creators, Auguste and Louis Lumière, started to make more movies to supply the audiences' demand of more of those amazing moving images that were projected on the big screens during their shows. The brothers' invention had been a success, but they thought that it was only the initial impact of moving images displayed on a screen what made the Cinématographe so popular, so their movies focused on the idea of showing as much movement on screen as possible. Soon common scenes of everyday life such as trains arriving and people working would be captured by the brothers' camera and transformed into "actuality films", early documentaries depicting the life and times of the late 19th Century. However, while watching a film they had just finished, Louis Lumière had an idea that literally, would demolish the established ideas about cinema.

As usual, it all started at the Lumière factory, where one day in 1896 a group of workers was gathered to help in the demolition of the some walls. Louis Lumière thought it would be a good idea to use their new invention to capture the moment and so "Démolition d'Un Mur" was made. As the title implies, the movie captures the complete scene of the demolition of one of the walls of the factory, taken down by the workers in a very careful way. Like Lumière imagined, the scene has a lot of movement and one could even say that the images of the destruction of the wall have some unnatural, haunting beauty in them. However, what makes "Démolition d'Un Mur" even more fascinating is the brilliant idea that Lumière had for the screening of this film. Completely understanding the properties of his invention, Lumière decided to run the movie's reel backwards after the ending, so the audience could see the illusion of the wall being magically rebuilt in front of their very eyes.

While quite creative inventors in their field (and "Démolition d'Un Mur" is certainly a testament of that), the Lumière brothers weren't exactly interested in the commercial possibilities of their invention, and in fact considered "without future". So while Edison's company was showing vaudeville artists and dancers in Dickson's Kinetoscope, the brothers focused their Cinématographe shorts in the same style of actuality films they were so fond of. Even when oddities like this movie or "L' Arroseur Arrosé" (argualy cinema's first comedy) showed them using their talents in different kind of movies, their would soon lose interest and kept making documentaries while focusing their attention to new inventions. Anyways, while probably it was never intended in that way "Démolition d'Un Mur" showed that cinema was more than captured scenes of real life, and with the wall, the limits of a new art-form were demolished. 8/10

Even when you could not care less about what you see on screen, watching a single shot created by Louis and Auguste Lumière gives you a weird feeling. Knowing that the images are shot over a hundred years ago, knowing that their little films are so important for the cinema we have today, makes it very interesting.

In 'Démolition d'un Mur' we see a man ordering his workers to tear down a wall. It represents a lot of things, whether that is intended or not, and that makes this single shot even more interesting. For its historical value alone it is worth watching, but there is some real joy in watching this Lumière film.

Demolition of a Wall (1896), is also known as, Démolition d'un Mur (1896). This film in some publications or online services have this film listed as 1895. I'm fine having this listed as 1896, because it probably was shot in 1895, but was shown to a paying audience the following winter or spring. It shows the classic film technique of discovery by accident. The film was accidentally rewound, thus giving the scene the backwards appearance, of a wall reassembling itself. It is something we don't even notice today, but was a breakthrough in film effects and editing in 1896. The shot is framed nicely and the captured moment of the wall coming down (in forward speed), along with the dust in the air, creates a essence of tangibility to the film. This is another winner from Lumiere, as they continue to astonish, with each new cinematic discovery, unfolding on the screen.

8.7 (B+ MyGrade) = 8 IMDB.

'Demolition Of A Wall (1896)' depicts a work crew... demolishing a wall. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, a twist comes about halfway through that shouldn't fail to put a smile on your face. This short is, as I understand it, the first use of a specific cinematic technique which I won't spoil here. Though it's a basic trick, it certainly would've blown away audiences (especially considering they were still impressed that pictures could move in the first place). There's a bit of tension as the wall teeters on the edge of falling, and a burst of destructive glee as it collapses to the ground. Then, the thing pulls the rug out from under you and treats you to a nice visual surprise. Again, it's very basic. It's effectively unexpected, though, and gives the film its own distinct identity. Once again, it's hard to rate these pioneering pictures. Regardless of how traditionally entertaining it is, it's well worth a watch. 7/10.

In 1896 the projectionists could completely disregard the wishes of the cameraman and crank a film faster or slower than it was shot. This could produce an effect not intended by the filmmaker. In this case, however, the film is cranked through the projector at normal speed (16 frames-per-second) and we see four men demolishing a ten-foot masonry wall with sledge hammers, picks, and an interesting device that seems to be a hand-cranked ram used to facilitate the toppling of the wall. Having reached the end of the film; the projectionist starts cranking in reverse, at a slightly faster speed, and the wall arises from the rubble (like a phoenix from the ashes) to resume its former place.