Rough Sea at Dover (1895)

Directed by

Robert W. Paul, Birt Acres

Genre

silent film, nature documentary

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

17 min

Rating

5.0 of 10 from 45 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This is a very early film that shows waves crashing against the shore at Dover. It is a straightforward recording of nature in motion. The film was a popular attraction when it was first shown.

shortblack-and-whitesilentsimpleobservationalhistoricrealisticstatic

What happens

Rough Sea at Dover (also known as Gale at Dover and Sea Waves at Dover) is an 1895 British short black-and-white silent film, shot by Birt Acres. Acres shot the film in mid-1895, with a camera designed with and built by Robert W. Paul, their original intention being to supply films for viewing in the Edison kinetoscope. Projected, the film premiered on 14 January 1896 when Acres showed it to the Royal Photographic Society in Hanover Street, London, using his "Kinetic Lantern", along with various other films made during the period Acres was working with Paul. Acres had screened some of these films (but not this film) to the Lyonsdown Photographic Society a few days before, on 10 January 1896, just two weeks after the first public screening by the Lumière Brothers in Paris. Following its successful screening in London the film was taken to the United States where it was shown on 23 April 1896 at Koster and Bial's Music Hall in New York City with a series of American movies made by the Edison's company. Despite its simple nature, Rough Sea at Dover became one of the most popular and widely screened early British films. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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