The city portrait dates from the beginning of the cinema, with the Lumiere Brothers' 1895 CORDELIERS' SQUARE IN LYON and reached its first full flowering in the 1920s with MANHATTA. More than a series of views, it attempted, through careful editing, to give the viewer a sense of the rhythms and purposes of a place.
In this picture, shot by the brilliant Boris Kaufman, we get to look at Les Halles, the central market of Paris as it wakes to its own workday in the wee hours when the horse carts bring in produce through the early afternoon when the trash and garbage is scoured. Beautifully shot with an editing rhythm like the tide coming in and going out, this is a fine short example of the genre.
In this picture, shot by the brilliant Boris Kaufman, we get to look at Les Halles, the central market of Paris as it wakes to its own workday in the wee hours when the horse carts bring in produce through the early afternoon when the trash and garbage is scoured. Beautifully shot with an editing rhythm like the tide coming in and going out, this is a fine short example of the genre.
