Amazon: Longest River in the World (1918)

Original title

Amazonas, o Maior Rio do Mundo

Directed by

Silvino Santos

Genre

documentary film

Country

Brazil

Runtime

1h 06m

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This silent black-and-white documentary shows life in the Amazon rainforest. It was filmed over three years in the early 20th century.

oldscenicobservationalquietnostalgichistorically richslow-paced

What happens

Amazonas, o Maior Rio do Mundo (lit. 'Amazon: The Greatest River in the World') is a 1922 Brazilian silent documentary film produced in 1918 by Silvino Santos. It is a black-and-white film that portrays life in the Amazon rainforest. Completed in 1920, it is considered one of the oldest cinematic records of the Amazon. It was presumed lost in 1931 and only rediscovered in 2023 at the Czech Film Archive. Silvino Santos produced the work over three years using sophisticated cinematic techniques, which led it to be deemed of "immense artistic value" by Le Monde. It has also been described as the "Holy Grail of Brazilian silent cinema" by The Guardian. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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