Louis Lumière was a pioneering French filmmaker, and in 1935, he took the concept of “the remake” to another level when he reshot the famous Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat in 3D. To those who don’t know, the original 2D version was among the first publicly shown films when it premiered in January of 1896. It has since become a classic for anyone interested in the history of cinema, and created one of the first urban legends of film.
The story has it that because of the realism of a train rolling toward the audience, the crowd was understandably frightened and shocked, and some individuals even ran from the theater. This is likely due to the advancements of the Lumière brothers’ Cinematograph camera, which produced the sharpest and brightest images of the time. The Cinematograph was also used to develop and project the final product.
This early projector alone was revolutionary. It enabled an audience to view a film together as a group. The Lumiere brothers continued their work, and experimented with the first 3D stereoscopic capture of moving images. Now, if you were among the first people to see moving images moving rapidly toward you, that might have been enough to get you on your feet and out the door.
It is now believed that the 3D reshoot of Arrival of a Train in 1935 is what caused the panic in the theater. So, while it’s fun to think that early cinema caused terror due to the revolutionary technology, the 3D remake is a more believable cause. However, that isn’t to say that these early motion pictures weren’t amazing to the audience. Films like these are still amazing today.
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