The Scientist and the Cowboy

Hell, there are no rules here; we're trying to accomplish something. ~Thomas Edison

When film was a shiny new toy in the wee budding years of the Twentieth Century, everyone tried to be a Spielberg. . . and usually failed miserably.  Most of these early shorts are easily forgettable. Two innovators who actually didn't choke on their own ineptitude and made some pretty damn good flicks were Georges Méliès , with his Le Voyage Dans la Luna and Edwin Porter, with his The Great Train Robbery.

Le Voyage Dans la Luna, (1902) ,or A Trip to the Moon, for all you Nationalists, is th first science fiction story, and Melies' most famous work--but after doing over 500 films, you'd hope at least ONE would make it's way into pop cultural history. It's a quaint little movie about a group of scientists who decide to build a cannon and shoot a large bullet into the eyeball of the Man on the Moon.

 

~Science is such a dick.~

Upon landing on the moon, they wield their mighty umbrellas of doom ("This is my BOOMstick!") to destroy the Moon Satyrs. It's your typical Invasion and Conquer story, and has been a great influence for every science fiction film you have or haven't seen. Oh, and music videos....like this one.

(TRIVIA BITE: The directors of the above video were Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the married directorial team behind Little Miss Sunshine.)

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The Great Train Robbery (1903) is considered the first Western, even though it was filmed in Delaware and even though Edison had apparently made some crappy Western 4 years prior. This is another quaint little story about Invasion and Conquest. Just replace the scientists with cowboys....and the moon with a train. This film has the unique privilege of being the first Blockbuster, and subsequently, giving us our first "movie star," Gilbert Anderson.

 

~the Brad Pitt of 1900s~

The greatest innovation each of these films provided was the advancements in editing. yes, editing. Before these, film was pretty much like watching the home videos of people plowing, or waving, or shitting. Yes, i'm talking about you, Lumiere Brothers. These two films utilized different sets, camera techniques, and even used some real fucking actors. Hollywood has come a long way indeed, but owes oodles of inspiration and perspiration to these early pioneers.