Star Theatre (film)

Star Theatre (also known as Demolishing and Building Up the Star Theatre) is a 1901 short documentary film in which time-lapse photography is used to show the dismantling and demolition of New York City's Star Theatre over a period of about a month.

Star Theatre
the full film
Directed byF.S. Armitage
Produced byAmerican Mutoscope and Biograph Company
CinematographyF.S. Armitage
Release date
  • 1901 (1901)
Running time
1 minute 58 seconds
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent film

Produced by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company (often shortened to Biograph), it was filmed by F.S. Armitage. In 2002, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry.[1][2]

Production

Formerly called Wallack's Theatre, the Star Theatre was located across the street from Biograph's offices on Thirteenth Street and Broadway in New York City, New York. Taking advantage of his view from his office, Armitage set up a camera and used "a specifically devised electric apparatus" to shoot every four minutes, eight hours a day. He also shot about thirty seconds of standard exposures at the beginning and end of the demolition process to set and close the scene.

Biograph publicists encouraged exhibitors to show the film advancing regularly and in reverse, adding "The effect is very extraordinary."[3]

References
  1. "Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. 17 December 2002. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  2. "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  3. Eagan, Daniel. (2010). America's film legacy : the authoritative guide to the landmark movies in the National Film Registry. National Film Preservation Board (U.S.). New York: Continuum. p. 10. ISBN 9781441116475. OCLC 676697377.


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