Troops Embarking at San Francisco

Troops Embarking at San Francisco (1898)

This film is pretty much pointless except for the fact that it gives you a chance to see some troops as they get ready to leave. This thing clocks in under forty-five seconds so obviously one shouldn't be expecting too much. I enjoy watching these older movies because they simply capture a moment in time but I must say that it's hard to get any sort of entertainment out of this because of the fact that nothing happens. Basically the camera is stationed and we see some troops walking around. That's it.

The Library of Congress is a great resource for viewing these old movies.

From one angle, a line of soldiers are shown walking up the gangplank. In the foreground one can make out well wishers, smartly dressed and fully aware of the camera; one man takes off his hat as if to greet us, a woman keeps looking over her shoulder, and a few people pass barely a foot from the lens staring directly into it. The soldiers are lit very brightly, too brightly, and they are too far away to see any details. The civilian observers in the foreground (and the cameraman) are presumably standing under a platform of some kind. They are lit far very darkly. The unevenness of the exposure and the blurriness of the current version of this movie are disappointing. One can spot some neat hats on the women, but this movie is not worth much effort seeking out.