Spanish Bullfight
Dir: Louis Lumiere, The Lumiere Brothers
1897
*****
The date in which The Lumiere Brothers' Spanish Bullfight was released is unclear. Some say 1897 and other say 1900, it is unclear which is correct. Never the less, it remains the first controversial film ever made, an unbiased document exposing the true horror of a Spanish Bullfight. It is an extraordinary piece of history captured, especially as Spanish Bullfights are rarely allowed to be filmed. I believe it started out purely as an experimentation in camera operations. The Lumiere Brothers dealt with the technical side of film making, their earlier film of a train leaving a station was static but still wowed audiences. Here, the camera moves and follows the action. A bullfight was probably chosen due to the movements and maybe because of the tension and excitement often experienced but it's more likely that the intentions were of technical progress rather than controversial in content. The brothers did indeed impress with their camera techniques but also unwittingly, they created the first subversive documentary. Content aside, the shots are extremely clear, the detail of the people in the front rows is wonderful, making it quite a wonderful document of life in the early 1900's or late 1800's.