User Reviews

As another reviewer has mentioned, this trip along the North River capturing the skyline of New York City in 1903 is probably of more interest to someone familiar with the US metropolis who can identify the changes between then and now. The film seems almost other-worldly because of the distinct lack of human life (for the most part - some people can be glimpsed on a boat as the camera glides past), which makes it seem as if someone is filming footage of an abandoned city. Films like this, recording real life images from over a century ago should really instill the viewer with a sense of wonder but it's ironic that the device that enables us to record such images is also the instrument that constricts time to a degree that footage such as this seems almost mundane...

This short feature combines some excellent photography with some interesting sights that provide a good look into the past. The photography of Manhattan Island, taken from the river, is very well done, and you can see plenty of detail both along the waterfront and in the city behind it. It still looks very good, too, aside from the usual slight physical blemishes that have happened to the film over time. It must have been quite an accomplishment to get footage this clear with the equipment that was then available.

The movie by no means looks or feels like something made over a century ago - it gives you a look into the past as if you were right there. Someone who was much more familiar with New York City would probably enjoy it even more, since the panoramic view would allow you to compare the past and present to a degree that still photographs would not allow. (It's too bad that there isn't more surviving footage such as this for many other places of 100 years ago.) It's a simple little feature, of course, but nicely done and well worth seeing.

This very short film (typical of the length of a film at the turn of the century) is of the Southern portion of Manhattan near Battery Park. To get the shot, they filmed from a deck of a boat. You get to various docks, a new old cruise chip, the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Valley Railroads buildings, ferries and various buildings. As I have said about many of the short films of New York I have seen, it's not the sort of thing the average viewer would love--but would make history teachers drool. After all, it's a great and irreplaceable look into our past from over a hundred years ago--and so much has changed. Buildings have gotten taller and an aircraft carrier and convention center might be in the same shot. Fascinating...at least to me. And, featuring very nice camera-work for 1903.

The main novelty of this short, "Skyscrapers of New York City, from the North River", lies not in the footage (which is an interesting yet not extraordinarily so shot), nor the fact that it was the only film J. B. Smith directed. The largest reason this footage retains interest today for historians is chiefly through how it was shot: rather, from a boat on the North River. Moving shots were indeed quite novel during the 1890s and early 1900s, mostly because of how static cameras were at that point, and because of how they increased the realism of an audience being on the location the cameraman was. Actually, the way panoramic shots were captured was merely by attaching cameras to a moving conveyance to make camera motion. Not an inventive concept by today's standards but very exhilarating for audiences during the period.

This documentary is a later film of that genre, as such films had originated in 1896 with Alexandre Promio's "Panorama du Grande Canal pris d'un bateau". At that time, camera panning of any sort had not been invented yet and all cameras were fixed in one position--plus, film was still new to the public and panoramic shots were very attention-getting to audiences. The "Phantom Ride" movies later followed this, where the concept of filming scenery from a train was innovated, an even more attractive idea to audiences. Movies like Billy Blitzer's "Panorama from the Tower of Brooklyn Bridge" later followed, attempting different methods of panning shots.

That was all very 1890s-ish, however. By 1903 films were getting longer and more sophisticated, and simple panning documentaries were becoming a little obsolete, with trick films and fairy-tale extravaganzas rising above. Edison clearly realized this, as part of this very movie was edited into the thirteen-minute "European Rest Cure" made a year later. In general, things were just getting fancier. Still, these short documentaries provide interesting glimpses of the past and of old buildings long gone and history-wise are above the more developed movies during that time.

Skyscrapers of New York from the East River (1903)

*** (out of 4)

A camera is placed on a boat and we get another view of the buildings in NYC. I'm not sure what time this film was shot but the streets are pretty empty.

Panorama from Tower of Brooklyn Bridge (1903)

*** (out of 4)

Biograph film from director Billy Blitzer who would eventually become famous for his work with D.W. Griffith. It's also worth noting that this was shot in 65mm.

Building Up and Demolishing the Star Theatre (1901)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Early gimmick film from Biograph uses exposures caught every four minutes to see the Star Theatre being built. At the end of the film the footage is shown backwards to bring the thing down.

Coney Island at Night (1905)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Edison film directed by Edwin S. Porter shows just what the title says. This film really isn't too interesting but it's worth noting that this was one of the first film that could show glowing lights thanks to a special camera built by Porter.