Filmed from the front of a trolley, this 7-minute film evokes what life was like before automobiles and trucks dominated the streets.- via darkroastedblend
What I like best is that everyone is so normal and human...laughing, frowning, slouching...so different from the stiff posed people we see in photos from that era.
I love this video. I had actually stumbled upon it through Dark Roast Blend. I am just fascinated by how all the folks are so excited by the camera recording them as it is something they haven't seen before. That and all the folks out in their best suits and dresses. :)
That was the most fascinating thing I've seen in ages! Some things never change- people leaping around and waving at the camera... and people still haven't learned not to wander out in front of a moving vehicle!
Beautiful video! It's great being able to see these streets as they were a century ago: full of bicycles, no cars,... It's a pity they didn't show more of Pl. Lesseps.
I found a couple of interesting things: everyone dresses the same, everyone dresses very formally-hats,coats,ties (or what we would consider formal today),and the style of dress is very drab. considering there were few or no colors in clothes back then,it was even drabber.
I also noticed how few women there were on the street.
Last,it occurred to me that every single one of those people,even the young children,are now dead.
It always amazes me how soundtracks can create a specific mood. Try watching this with a Ministry song or something by Nine Inch Nails, instead of that wistful, nostalgic piano piece. Then see how you feel about the video.
People still get in front of the camera as much as possible. That street looked chaotic, as people drove, biked, and ran in front of the trolley.
Yes, seefish, they should have played Flight of the Valkyries. Then it would have been - "Who will they run down next? All flee from the slavering jaws of Progress!"
I have a Catalan husband who lived in Barcelona for many years so I will show it to him!
Famed Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí, died in hospital a few days after being run over by a tram in Barcelona in 1926. He was dressed in a shabby way when run over and no one helped him to the hospital at first because people thought he was a homeless man. When he died, masses poured out on the streets to mourn and he was buried at his unfinished La Sagrada Familia.
@ jim - actually you are wrong about the colors of clothing back then. I am getting my masters in fashion history so have been studying this sort of thing quite a bit. The clothes of the turn of the century were extraordinarily colored. The discovery of aniline dyes came about in the late 1850s and revolutionized the textile industry. Bright greens, pinks, purples blues - you name it were everywhere. One of the reasons why people tend to think everything was so drab then is that for the most part all we have to look at is old black and white pictures that don't hint at the brightness of the colors, or the existent clothes that the average person comes across are horribly faded from time.
Now onto the women in the street thing. 1908 was the beginning of a transitory period where women were just starting to be allowed on the street without a man accompanying them. To be clear, this was only the case in Europe. In America women had been walking around outside on their own for some time. So this video is a great example of the starts of Modernism and the freedom of movement for women.
Sorry to be so long winded, i'm writing a paper about this sort of stuff today so it is definitely on the mind :)
I would love to see a modern version of this being played right next to it. Just to see if the same buildings are still there and if the streets are wider now.
why is it after watching this clip, that it pops into the brain that all these people are dead? I just think it's funny that a majority of the comments have noted that the people are dead. Think about it, 100 years from now, people will look at footage from today and say; "they're all dead." It's beautiful yet sad at the same time.
Yeah really. While those who are concerned about the death toll they just watched, consider this: canned laughter on most modern sitcoms are recordings of audiences from the 1950s. Oh noes! More deathses!
What surprized me the most is the overall use of hats.
Also, following the path with google Earth shows us the lack of trees today.
This vid really made me appreciate narrow streets somehow. Notice how people are actually interacting with each other.
Interesting that even in its early days, people would do anything to get on film, like stand in front of a trolley :)
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/21/early-20th-century-l.html
What I like best is that everyone is so normal and human...laughing, frowning, slouching...so different from the stiff posed people we see in photos from that era.
I found a couple of interesting things: everyone dresses the same, everyone dresses very formally-hats,coats,ties (or what we would consider formal today),and the style of dress is very drab. considering there were few or no colors in clothes back then,it was even drabber.
I also noticed how few women there were on the street.
Last,it occurred to me that every single one of those people,even the young children,are now dead.
Yes, seefish, they should have played Flight of the Valkyries. Then it would have been - "Who will they run down next? All flee from the slavering jaws of Progress!"
Famed Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí, died in hospital a few days after being run over by a tram in Barcelona in 1926. He was dressed in a shabby way when run over and no one helped him to the hospital at first because people thought he was a homeless man. When he died, masses poured out on the streets to mourn and he was buried at his unfinished La Sagrada Familia.
Now onto the women in the street thing. 1908 was the beginning of a transitory period where women were just starting to be allowed on the street without a man accompanying them. To be clear, this was only the case in Europe. In America women had been walking around outside on their own for some time. So this video is a great example of the starts of Modernism and the freedom of movement for women.
Sorry to be so long winded, i'm writing a paper about this sort of stuff today so it is definitely on the mind :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHbMNDw3CMc&NR=1
It sure was a beautiful city, though.
Graywinckel Street?? If your winckel is gray, see a doctor immediately!!!
:D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxiiS8ZgAmU
Regarding the music, in the Europa Film Treasures website says the composer is Antonio Coppola, not sure if ti refers to the music, though:
http://www.europafilmtreasures.eu/FT/245/about-the-film-barcelona_by_tram
http://www.yle.fi/player/player.jsp?name=El%E4v%E4+arkisto%2F00017_1