Cinema of Attractions
The cinema of attraction.
‘A matter of making images seen.’ This is what Fernand Léger was writing in 1902 about the new art, trying to describe the possible changes in cinema, by emphasizing the fact that imitating the movements of nature is not necessarily the best way of defining cinema’s essence. This is only one of the writings concerning this topic which influenced Tom Gunning in characterizing the cinematic period before 1906 as that of the ‘cinema of attractions’. In this essay I am going to talk about the cinema of attractions and its main characteristics with examples from several early films, with an emphasis on ‘Un homme de têtes’ (Georges Méliès, 1898) and L'arrivée d'un train à la Ciotat (Auguste and Louis Lumière,1895).
History of the cinema of attractions
The term of ‘cinema of attractions’ was introduced into the study of film by Tom Gunning and André Gaudreault in 1985, describing a filmmaking technique used for early films, until 1906, in which the main interest is in the spectacle and the audience’s visual experience rather than in the narrative side. The cinema of attractions employed delights like colors, costumes, commentary, sometimes even grotesque features, like freaks or indigenous people. In the simplest terms, it was a cinema based on entertainment, shock and sensations, the ability of showing something. The main difference between this style and the cinema in later years is the focus: the cinema of attractions is trying to take the spectators on an unique trip to an extraordinary place, by inviting them to look, get involved and be amazed by these perfect illusions, rather than telling a story, while the narrative cinema focuses on human psychology, continuity of the plot and characters.
The term ‘attract’ is defined by the english dictionary as ‘to draw by appealing to the emotions or senses, by stimulating interest, or by exciting admiration; allure; invite’. In cinema, Eisenstein was one of the first people to use
‘A matter of making images seen.’ This is what Fernand Léger was writing in 1902 about the new art, trying to describe the possible changes in cinema, by emphasizing the fact that imitating the movements of nature is not necessarily the best way of defining cinema’s essence. This is only one of the writings concerning this topic which influenced Tom Gunning in characterizing the cinematic period before 1906 as that of the ‘cinema of attractions’. In this essay I am going to talk about the cinema of attractions and its main characteristics with examples from several early films, with an emphasis on ‘Un homme de têtes’ (Georges Méliès, 1898) and L'arrivée d'un train à la Ciotat (Auguste and Louis Lumière,1895).
History of the cinema of attractions
The term of ‘cinema of attractions’ was introduced into the study of film by Tom Gunning and André Gaudreault in 1985, describing a filmmaking technique used for early films, until 1906, in which the main interest is in the spectacle and the audience’s visual experience rather than in the narrative side. The cinema of attractions employed delights like colors, costumes, commentary, sometimes even grotesque features, like freaks or indigenous people. In the simplest terms, it was a cinema based on entertainment, shock and sensations, the ability of showing something. The main difference between this style and the cinema in later years is the focus: the cinema of attractions is trying to take the spectators on an unique trip to an extraordinary place, by inviting them to look, get involved and be amazed by these perfect illusions, rather than telling a story, while the narrative cinema focuses on human psychology, continuity of the plot and characters.
The term ‘attract’ is defined by the english dictionary as ‘to draw by appealing to the emotions or senses, by stimulating interest, or by exciting admiration; allure; invite’. In cinema, Eisenstein was one of the first people to use
Bibliography: 9. L 'arrivée d 'un train à la Ciotat (Auguste and Louis Lumière,1895).