As a way to honor the 93rd Oscars and the wonderful achievements in the filming industry, let’s learn about some of the films advertised in New Jersey’s newspapers!
One of the films, directed by D. W. Griffith, titled “Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages,” was first released in September 5, 1916. It consists of four parallel stories that deal with humankind’s intolerance, through the depiction of religious wars or capitalist exploitation. It was one of the first films selected for preservation by the Library of Congress. Featured in November 14, 1917 Perth Amboy Evening News.
The film, “The Great Train Robbery,” advertised in the image below, was released on December 01, 1903. This silent western film, directed by Edwin S. Porter, portrays two bandits robbing a train. In the beginning, the bandits tie up the operator and force him to stop the train in order to steal the loot from the passengers. While this is happening, the operator managed to alert others about the train robbery, thus overtaking the bandits. In 1990, the film was selected to be preserved in the Library of Congress for its historical and cultural significance.
Featured in March 23, 1916 Perth Amboy Evening News.
Although these films were released too early to be recognized by the Oscars, they are considered historically significant and therefore are chosen for preservation by the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress.
(Contributed by Kristi Chanda)
Sources:
Intolerance. (n.d.). Public Domain Movies. Retrieved from http://publicdomainmovie.net/movie/intolerance.
The great train robbery. (n. d.). Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/00694220.