Men Boxing

This hotly anticipated film fails to deliver. The special effects are spectacular, but the real action is lacking. The characters aren't defined at all, you simply don't identify with them in any way. The dialog has it moments to be sure, but subtitles just can't convey the idiosyncrasies of the human voice. The direction is pedestrian, at times I wondered if anyone was at the helm at all. It is a lengthy tome to be sure, but not overlong given the subject matter. The cinematography is rather good, and the decision to go monochromatic was a masterstroke. No sequels were planned or made, though many iterations have followed. This is not on the par with Rocky, and doesn't even come close to the sparkling, violent energy of Raging Bull, with which is shares a common theme (and common color - B&W). There is some very deep subliminal ideology, on several levels at work here. However, I think it will be many years before many of them are recognized and appreciated by the savvy filmgoer. All in all this is a masterpiece, even if the technical aspects, and certain performances lack the power of the subject matter and denouement.

During the years from 1890 to 1892, there was a period of constant experimenting in Thomas Alva Edison's headquarters, as the team led by Scottish inventor Williak K.L. Dickson was working constantly in an idea that would revolutionize entertainment. That idea was the Kinetoscope, a project that Dickson had been developing since Edison told him about the "motion pictures" that other pioneers had began to make (French inventor Louis Le Prince being the first in 1988). Dickson took Edison's ideas beyond and conceived a machine able to show motion pictures through a hole, the Kinetoscope. Many experiments were done in order to discover the best way to produce movies, and what started with the raw experiments codenamed "Monkeyshines", by 1891 it would be a reality: Dickson was now able to produce motion pictures. The tests continued, each time with better quality, and this short, "Men Boxing", is another of those early American films.

Directed by William K.L. Dickson and William Heise, "Men Boxing" shows a scene of a boxing match between two workers at Edison's laboratory. However, this is not a documentary movie like the ones Dickson would make for Edison in the future, the two fighters are only pretending to be boxing in a fake boxing ring (as usual, the movie was shot in Edison's laboratory), in order to test the camera. The scene allowed Dickson and Heise to test the amount of lighting necessary to achieve high quality images, as well as the recording speed the camera needed to capture the different movements of the boxers. While an entirely technical experiment (like most of the early films, this movie wasn't made to be shown to the public), it's interesting to see the two actors having fun in their roles of boxers, almost joking as the entire short seems to be done with a healthy dose of good humor.

When William K.L. Dickson showed his "Dickson Greeting" short to the world, Kinetoscope was born and the era of motion pictures as entertainment was inaugurated. Soon, the Kinetoscope (or "peepshow machine") became widely popular thanks to Dickson's short films that depicted vaudeville acts and folkloric dances from around the world, as well as the short documentaries done for the devise. Like "Monkeyshines" or "Newark Athlete", the short experiment titled "Men Boxing" was a key factor in the success of Dickson's Kinetoscope, as this movie almost has the quality that the inventors desired. Charming and fun, this little experiment, while still incomplete, already shows how fun and entertaining the new medium would be. 7/10

Perhaps the censors got to this one. For a title that offers the promise of nothing but blood splattering action this is a lame affair. Two men standing feet apart waving comical 'Mickey Mouse' white gloves at each other. I don't know if the guy on the right knew that he was becoming part of cinema history but I'm sure that he is disappointed that his five seconds of fame find him in a submissive 'come and get me big boy' stance.

Still better than Rocky V though.

This experimental Edison Company movie also contains a touch of good humor. It is one of a number of surviving examples of the camera tests that followed the well-known "Dickson Greeting" film, designed to see, among other things, how well the new motion picture camera could capture movements of various kinds. It accomplishes this, and it adds a brief suggestion of wit at the same time.

The footage shows two men in a boxing ring, but they actually do little serious boxing. The purpose was not entertainment, but rather to test the camera, by taking footage of different movements and then also playing it at different speeds in the completed film. The simulated boxing ring in the Edison studio, the contrast between dark and light areas in the camera field, and the different behavior of the boxers, are all part of the camera test.

Nevertheless, the early Edison film crews seemed to have had a sense of humor, and the contrast between the serious-looking boxer on the left and the very non-serious cutup on the right makes it more interesting to look at than a mere technical shot would have been.

Newark Athlete (1891)

Men Boxing (1891)

Newark Athlete is just a brief fragment from the Edison studio, which was apparently just a set up test to check the conditions on the camera. The thing only lasts a few seconds so needless to say the studio wasn't trying to make anything special out of it but thankfully the thing survives so film buffs such as myself can view the early history of film. Men Boxing on the other hand seems to be the studio actually trying to put something fun on film. Two men, both wearing boxing gloves, throw a few punches at one another while smiling for the camera. Some think this once again was just testing the camera but since it contains a tad bit more I'm going to guess the men making it thought this could be something real.