Star Theatre (film)
Star Theatre | |
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![]() Star Theatre, 1900 | |
Directed by | F.S. Armitage |
Produced by | American Mutoscope and Biograph Company |
Cinematography | F.S. Armitage |
Release date |
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Running time | 1 minute 58 seconds |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent |
Star Theatre (also known as Demolishing and Building Up the Star Theatre) is a 1901 short documentary film in which time-lapse photography is used to show the dismantling and demolition of New York City's Star Theatre over a period of about a month.
Produced by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company (often shortened to Biograph), it was filmed by F.S. Armitage. In 2002, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry.[1][2]
Production[]
Formerly called Wallack's Theatre, the Star Theatre was located across the street from Biograph's offices on Thirteenth Street and Broadway in New York City, New York. Taking advantage of his view from his office, Armitage set up a camera and used "a specifically devised electric apparatus" to shoot every four minutes, eight hours a day. He also shot about thirty seconds of standard exposures at the beginning and end of the demolition process to set and close the scene.
Biograph publicists encouraged exhibitors to show the film advancing regularly and in reverse, adding "The effect is very extraordinary."[3]
References[]
- ^ "Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. 17 December 2002. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ Eagan, Daniel. (2010). America's film legacy : the authoritative guide to the landmark movies in the National Film Registry. National Film Preservation Board (U.S.). New York: Continuum. p. 10. ISBN 9781441116475. OCLC 676697377.
External links[]
- Star Theatre at IMDb
- Star Theatre is available for free download at the Internet Archive
- Star Theatre, Library of Congress
- Demolishing and Building Up the Star Theatre essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ISBN 0826429777, pages 9–10 [1]
- 1901 films
- Silent films
- United States National Film Registry films
- American black-and-white films
- American films
- American short documentary films
- American silent short films
- Documentary films about New York City
- 1900s short documentary films
- Black-and-white documentary films
- 1901 short films
- Historical documentary film stubs
- Short silent documentary film stubs