'The Automatic Motorist' (1911) First Time Watching Surreal Silent Sci-Fi Comedy

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  • Опубліковано 24 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 28

  • @DansTravels5823
    @DansTravels5823 2 роки тому +3

    I love how they'd try anything and everything. So much imagination, which frankly we could use more of that spirit today.

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому +1

      I agree.I love the spirit of exploration and playfulness here. I'd rather see someone trying things that are different than a thousand superhero movies, which seem to predominate today.

  • @davidcoyote8921
    @davidcoyote8921 2 роки тому +1

    Original and imaginative 👍

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому

      And i love how he evokes these other worlds and environments in such simple ways. I'm guessing they did not spend a huge amount of money making this, but the fun ideas come through all the same. :)

  • @Radz-kc5ri
    @Radz-kc5ri 2 роки тому +1

    That was very entertaining. Great little comedic moments. Clever and cute. Loved the Gerry Anderson Stingray comment Tengy! So true.

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому +1

      Glad you enjoyed it! I was shocked by how like Stingray those moments are. I wonder if the Andersons were inspired by early fantasy films like these and the practical effects they pioneered?

  • @brucster99b2
    @brucster99b2 2 роки тому +2

    The variety of different camera techniques/special effects were very impressive. Didn't know there was oxygen on Saturn, or that man had perfected the ability to breathe under water! You learn something new every day. For me, the doggie stole the show! He was determined not to let go of the policeman's butt at any cost!! Thanks for sharing another little jewel Tengy.

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому +1

      Yes, it really is a wide range of special effects here.
      I'm still not 100% clear what the policeman was doing behind the car, but it was great fun at any rate :)

    • @brucster99b2
      @brucster99b2 2 роки тому +1

      @@TengyTalksTVMovies I had a look around at a few reviews, but found no answers as to why the policeman was handcuffed to the car.

  • @chocsal
    @chocsal 2 роки тому +2

    A real brain-tickler :0) and the backgrounds made me think of Smallfilms.

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому +1

      I'm a bit confused by where the underwater sequence is supposed to be taking place. I thought they'd landed back on Earth, but then at the end they're still in the sky...or was the underwater part still on the planet? Maybe it doesn't matter. I enjoyed it in any case :)

  • @Felchenstien
    @Felchenstien 2 роки тому

    Another amazing find that I'm totally unfamiliar with. The whimsical visual effects are so imaginative and well-executed! Great job!

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому +1

      So pleased that you enjoyed this. :) It seems almost like a prophecy of fantasy films to come...

  • @williamcurry4868
    @williamcurry4868 2 роки тому

    This is such great fun to watch, and got to say, so many of these filmmakers were experimenting and still things that others stand on their shoulders to follow along

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому

      Yes we owe these early pioneers a debt of gratitude for all the techniques they developed. They really paved the way for those who followed them :)

  • @robertlancaster4538
    @robertlancaster4538 2 роки тому

    'Automatic Motorist' is quite far-out! Glad you've brought it to our attentions, Tengy!

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому

      Delighted that you enjoyed it. Booth seems to have done some interesting stuff. :)

  • @jeffmartin1026
    @jeffmartin1026 2 роки тому

    Another great find/share from you. A true delight that gives such a complete story in just 6 minutes. If remade today it would probably be 2 hours of CGI with just as much character development as this one does. I agree that Saturn seems to be much smaller than I had also thought.

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому

      Yes, there is something to be said for how short and sweet this is while still being sort of epic in its scope. :) I'm not a fan of overlong movies, or ones that are too CGI reliant.

  • @jcastromex
    @jcastromex 2 роки тому +1

    This is a gut-busting, laugh-out-loud short that's full of hijinks and definitely my favorite film of all of your reactions. I REALLY enjoyed this one!
    Good gracious. What a fantastic robot the scientist (Father-in-law?) created, I guess as a wedding present. My first thought that came to me was how did the actor who portrayed the robot come up with the idea of how a robot should physically move?
    In literature, I knew about L. Frank Baum's character Tik-Tok and slightly knew about The Steam Man from "The Steam Man of the Prairies" (1868) as early robotic figures. With this in mind, I quickly researched robots in early films to see if there was any inspiration. I found these:
    "An Animated Doll (1908), from Essanay Film Manufacturing Co.
    An Extraordinary Duel (1909, Fr.), from Pathé Frères, about two dueling men (one black, one white) who kept destroying each other, but then were reanimated and rebuilt to continue fighting
    The Rubber Man (1909), from the Lubin Company, about a mechanical creation that ran amok through a town and village before being short-circuited by being doused in a water trough
    Dr. Smith's Automaton (1910, Fr.), from Pathé Frères
    A Mechanical Husband (1910, UK), about a girl who objected to her father's choice of a man and fell in love with an automaton."
    Could any of these have been the inspiration? I wonder. 🤔🤔🤔
    A huge belly laugh came in the scene of the policeman and dog. In the great days of vaudeville and in vaudevillian films, a dog chasing and attacking a character ALWAYS brings huge laughs! This scene had me in tears!
    The car scenes and special effects were epic! I absolutely got the vibes of "A Trip to the Moon" (French: Le Voyage dans la Lune - 1902) by Georges Méliès. The ride around the planets, the holes cracked into/out of them, and the aliens and their Queen (?) are reminiscent of Méliès' work.
    The ending really left me baffled. Why in the world was the person shooting down the people out of the sky back onto Earth? I laughed even harder! It made no sense and I loved it! 🤣🤣🤣
    All-in-all, a movie masterpiece that made my day! Thank you for choosing this film for our enjoyment Tengy! I won't forget this one! 😃 📽❤️

    • @TengyTalksTVMovies
      @TengyTalksTVMovies  2 роки тому +1

      So delighted you enjoyed this so much, John! Interesting question about the robot movement acting - I wonder if automata might have been the inspiration? I guess they were the only robots most would have seen back then?
      The Baum connection I suspect is key here - also with the Tin Man, and didn't we see an early Wizard of Oz from this same time. I guess the Oz books would have been really popular back then, and I think this film does have a flavour of that.
      Thanks for that superb list - I have added it to my to-watch file!
      This is wonderfully surreal - I guess the ending has that surreal Warner Brothers flavour - if something is up in the air and you want to get it down you just shoot it and it comes down!
      Fantastic that a film from so long ago can bring so much pleasure and delight today :D

  • @bobmessier5215
    @bobmessier5215 2 роки тому

    Imagine if this was a full-length feature (over an hour) it would be a cherished, classic silent movie of sci-fi and fantasy.

  • @VeronicaWoodbury
    @VeronicaWoodbury 2 роки тому

    Fun! The policeman and the dog definitely made me laugh the most, along with the people being shot down out of the sky and being unharmed.

  • @mikesilva3868
    @mikesilva3868 2 роки тому +1

    😎

  • @robertlancaster4538
    @robertlancaster4538 2 роки тому

    Tengy, you might also enjoy Buster Keaton's moving-wagon (for people relocating) in his two-reeler, 'Cops' (1922).