Early cinema: why are we obsessed with firsts?

Arts & Ideas

BBC

Society & Culture

4.2 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 7 February 2020

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Alice Guy-Blaché the pioneering film director, a British film pioneer Robert Paul and how the Boer War led to animated film are the topics for discussion as Matthew Sweet talks to Donna Kornhaber, Ian Christie and Pamela B. Green. Ahead of this weekend's Oscars ceremony they reflect on early film innovations.

Alice Guy or Alice Guy-Blaché (July 1, 1873 – March 24, 1968) is considered a pioneer of narrative film. A new documentary Be Natural the untold story of Alice Guy-Blaché is on general release in the UK from January 2020.

Robert Paul (3 October 1869 – 28 March 1943) was also an early pioneer of British film. He also worked as an electrician and scientific instrument maker. Ian Christie has written a biography called Robert Paul and the Origins of British Cinema. An exhibition about Paul runs at Bradford's National Science and Media Museum until March 2020.

Donna Kornhaber has published Nightmares in the Dream Sanctuary: War and the Animated Film.

Producer: Caitlin Benedict

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron. Evil genius. He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it. That's like hiding at your own funeral. Yeah, a big, great gig. I'm Russell Kane. Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps that it's a long time ago, right?
0:23.3	It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream van plays music when it's out of ice cream.
0:28.8	Listen to evil genius on BBC Sounds.
0:33.3	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:37.4	Arts and Ideas Podcasts, BBC Radio 3, take one.
0:40.4	Hello, I'm Matthew Sweet, and I'm going to take you to the cinema.
0:43.8	We're going quite early, though.
0:45.2	1895, 1896, certainly not later than 1918.
0:49.5	So button up your boots while you listen to these messages.
0:53.3	Was that all right, darling?
0:54.7	Print it.
0:55.8	An American capitalist, a Russian tax advisor and a breathtaking heist.
1:01.6	You're saying fraudsters have stolen more than quarter of a billion dollars from the Russian state.
1:07.1	Based on a true story, a musical about doing the right thing at any cost.
1:12.6	Mr. Magnitsky, if we changed our mind.
1:16.1	Stand up and fight for justice, stand up for the law.
1:19.3	If we don't stand for this, then what is it we're for?
1:22.9	Magnitsky, the musical by Johnny Flynn and Robert Hudson on BBC Radio 3.
1:28.5	Why are you telling my story?
1:29.9	Because you were unbreakable.
1:32.7	Available now on BBC Sounds.
1:38.0	In 1895, the time machine was invented.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.