Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (1894)**** (out of 4) If entertainment is what you're seeking then don't take my four-star review meaning a great movie. The word entertainment might not fit too well with these early films but on a historical level this here is one of the all time greats.
A man sneezing. It's Fred Ott one of not too many people who appeared in more than one of Dickson's very early short films at the end of the 19th century.
First, to understand all that came after (CITIZEN KANE, ISHTAR, LEGO: THE MOVIE), you need to get a couple things straight. The sneezer pictured here is Fred Ott.
Best known as Fred Ott's Sneeze, W.K.
Certainly there have been other notable cinematic sneezes in the past century, some more comedic, some more dramatic, but for the sheer intense SINCERITY of a sneeze, Fred Ott must be regarded as the champion -- no special effects, no stunt double, no computer graphics -- Fred Ott sneezed all by himself under Dickson's superb direction. And he did it for a lot less than twenty million dollars!
Thomas Edison's "Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze" is truly the "Star Wars" of the 1800s... This ground-breaking masterpiece literally blew me away.
I have seen this film numerous times in documentaries about the history of the silent film. I have always loved the history of the silent film and this is undoubtedly the seed from which some of the great comedies of our time have been based.
One story has it that, in 1877, railroad tycoon Leland Stanford and a pal were having drinks on Stanford's California stud farm, when one or the other of them wondered aloud whether or not a galloping horse ever had all four hooves off the ground. rw0000017 Jeope!
All action, no plot. Still important in the terms of film history.
