The other day I downloaded “Africa Speaks” from some website. Discounting the obvious racial bias, was interesting to view such an old film, and it set me to wondering, if anything similar exists for other parts of the world? Asia, Middle East, etc? Anyone have a clue?
Any information would be appreciated!
BA
There is a DVD series entitled The Movies Begin (unfortunately unavailable from Netflix) that is a hodgepodge of films from 1894-1913. I haven’t seen all of it, but one thing that is included is a movie bio of Jesus that was actually filmed on location in Egypt and {what was then} Palestine.
Nanook of the North, the first feature length documentary, features great Arctic footage from 1920-21. (The famous irony of its success is that while the movie was a huge hit with literally “lines around the block” and champagne receptions for its producers, its star was dying of exposure.)
I thought he starved to death.
I like documentaries. I have Nanook of the North on DVD. That wasn’t a “real” documentary, BTW. The situations were set up, and that wasn’t Nanook’s family. They were indeed eskimos, but they were chosen for the film because they were photogenic. I’d call it a “mockumentary” – not in the sense of This Is Spinal Tap, but in the sense that it is a “scripted” film that appears to be a documentary. Good film, and a classic.
In 1914 Edward Curtis release In the Land of the Headhunters. This was a period piece set in a pre-contact Kwakiutl village, and involves a warrior who is in love with the daughter of the chief of a neighbouring tribe. Unfortunately, the other tribe’s shaman is in love with her as well. It’s a pretty straight forward love story that features a vision quest, hunting, battles, and ceremonies. What’s really remarkable was that it was filmed on location using primitive equipment and elaborate sets. The image of the costumed dancers in the bows of the canoes is one of the best-known of early its type.
The Kwakiutls were renowned for their costumes. Their masks and ceremonies were marvels of technology. Some masks unfold to become something entirely different from what they were originally – sort of like Transformers. The ceremonies were awesome. In the spring and summer months, food was gathered. When winter came, the tribe kept themselves entertained with elaborate plays. Actors would disappear from one place and re-appear in another.
In the Land of the Headhunters opened to rave reviews. But although it was a critical success, it failed to make a profit and Curtis died poor. In 1972 the only remaining copy of the film was preserved. Time had taken its toll. There had been a fire decades before that destroyed much of the film. (Stills still exist to show what they contained.) The nitrate-based film deteriorated over time. Nevertheless, the University of Washington restored it as best as they could. Some of the scenes look solarised, and there are bizarre “jump cuts” where the film was too far gone to be saved. As I said, some scenes are missing completely. UoW added a soundtrack and incidental sounds, including some background dialog performed by Kwakiutl tribe members.
Although the taking of heads did occur in the past, the title was thought to give the wrong impression of the Kwakiutl. They fought when they had to, but they lived in a very rich environment and (IIRC) only battled in defense. UoW changed the title to In the Land of the War Canoes.
Another good documentary (this one an actual documentary) is Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon Tiki. I don’t think it fits the OP’s question, but I still think it deserves mention. It was filmed in black and white using a wind-up Bolex H-16 camera, and does have that “early documentary” look and feel.