It's the end of the world as we know it ...
Folks, it isn't every day of the genre year that we -- as fans -- get to celebrate an authentic 'first,' but today -- April 1 -- does have a very significant one that gets overlooked in those lesser entertainment blogs, so let me educate you.
It was on this day all the way back in 1916 in the great nation of Denmark that audiences were first introduced to the Apocalypse movie, a unique sub-genre of Science Fiction that continues to resonate with viewers everywhere. It was called Verdens Undergang (aka The End Of The World), and the story explored the physical and psychological aftermath unleashed on mankind when a comet passes very, very, very near to our world. Directed by August Blom with a story from Otto Rung, the feature starred Olaf Fønss, Carl Lauritzen, Ebba Thomsen, Johanne Fritz-Petersen, Thorleif Lund, Alf Blütecher, Frederik Jacobsen, K. Zimmerman, Moritz Bielawski, and Erik Holberg.
Here's the plot summary and a bit of extra information from the film's citation page on Wikipedia.org:
"The film depicts a worldwide catastrophe when an errant comet passes by Earth and causes natural disasters and social unrest. Blom and his crew created special effects for the comet disaster using showers of fiery sparks and shrouds of smoke. The film attracted a huge audience because of fears generated during the passing of Halley's comet six years earlier, as well as the ongoing turbulence and unrest of World War I. The film is also known as The Flaming Sword. It was restored by the Danish Film Institute and released on DVD in 2006."
Such devastation played out to the delight and horror of audiences of the day; and coming in at an impressive 77 minute running time it remains the very first entry tapping that fragile fear I suspect all of us have imagined at one time or another. While I've yet to see this one (not a big fan of silent films, in general, but this one remains a curiosity), I have read that European audiences were kinda/sorta smitten with the project as -- at the time of its release -- World War I was kicking into gear; and the association of 'End Times' was not only very real but front-and-center in the public consciousness. Because of such obvious real world comparisons, Verdens Undergang was necessarily a bit of a box office sensation over there.
A quick search of the Information Superhighway shows that the film is available for viewing for free up on Wikipedia.org for those who might be interested in exploring it further. Here's the helpful link. And don't bother hitting that sound button over and over and over, my friends ... it's SILENT. (Ask your grandparents, kiddies.)
-- EZ
Folks, it isn't every day of the genre year that we -- as fans -- get to celebrate an authentic 'first,' but today -- April 1 -- does have a very significant one that gets overlooked in those lesser entertainment blogs, so let me educate you.
It was on this day all the way back in 1916 in the great nation of Denmark that audiences were first introduced to the Apocalypse movie, a unique sub-genre of Science Fiction that continues to resonate with viewers everywhere. It was called Verdens Undergang (aka The End Of The World), and the story explored the physical and psychological aftermath unleashed on mankind when a comet passes very, very, very near to our world. Directed by August Blom with a story from Otto Rung, the feature starred Olaf Fønss, Carl Lauritzen, Ebba Thomsen, Johanne Fritz-Petersen, Thorleif Lund, Alf Blütecher, Frederik Jacobsen, K. Zimmerman, Moritz Bielawski, and Erik Holberg.
Here's the plot summary and a bit of extra information from the film's citation page on Wikipedia.org:
"The film depicts a worldwide catastrophe when an errant comet passes by Earth and causes natural disasters and social unrest. Blom and his crew created special effects for the comet disaster using showers of fiery sparks and shrouds of smoke. The film attracted a huge audience because of fears generated during the passing of Halley's comet six years earlier, as well as the ongoing turbulence and unrest of World War I. The film is also known as The Flaming Sword. It was restored by the Danish Film Institute and released on DVD in 2006."
Such devastation played out to the delight and horror of audiences of the day; and coming in at an impressive 77 minute running time it remains the very first entry tapping that fragile fear I suspect all of us have imagined at one time or another. While I've yet to see this one (not a big fan of silent films, in general, but this one remains a curiosity), I have read that European audiences were kinda/sorta smitten with the project as -- at the time of its release -- World War I was kicking into gear; and the association of 'End Times' was not only very real but front-and-center in the public consciousness. Because of such obvious real world comparisons, Verdens Undergang was necessarily a bit of a box office sensation over there.
A quick search of the Information Superhighway shows that the film is available for viewing for free up on Wikipedia.org for those who might be interested in exploring it further. Here's the helpful link. And don't bother hitting that sound button over and over and over, my friends ... it's SILENT. (Ask your grandparents, kiddies.)
-- EZ
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