Rome, pont Ripetta (1896) User Reviews

An Early Movie Genre

[boblipton · 6/10 · 23 November 2020]

There's a lot of traffic on the Pont Ripetta: horse cabs, pedestrians -- some of whom turn to look at the camera.

People who pay attention to this earlest of movies are aware there's a genre of downtown shots, which almost invariable end with the local transportation pulling into the field of vision to end the film. There was also a related genre set on a bridge, likewise derived from pre-cinema technique. You may have seen Robert Paul's BLACKFRIARS BRIDGE. Here's an example of that sort of movie.

Rome, pont Ripetta (1896)

[Michael_Elliott · 26 December 2016]

Rome, pont Ripetta (1896)

A street in Rome is the location of this Lumiere Brothers film that captures a moment in time. When reviewing movies like this it's impossible to judge them like a movie you'd watch from today. The film was basically made with the camera being turned on and capturing whatever was going on in front of it. In this case, the camera was placed by a railroad track where wee see a streetcar (led by horses) going across as well as people on bicycles and others just walking. Obviously there's nothing ground-breaking here but for fans of these actuality movies you're bound to enjoy this one. The cinematography was quite good and there's no doubt that you can get some fun from seeing the various items that were being worn or ridden during this era.