Demolishing and Building Up the Star Theatre

synopsis

The demolition of New York’s Star Theatre, filmed at regular intervals over several weeks, contracts into a few minutes. The film could also be projected in reverse, making the ruins miraculously rise into a building. Documentary footage becomes a temporal illusion, and the cinematic apparatus takes command of time.

biography

Frederick S. Armitage (1874–1933) was a British-American cinematographer and director associated with the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. In his short films, he used time-lapse photography, reverse motion and other visual tricks, turning the camera’s technical capabilities into cinematic spectacle.

film details

director:

Frederick S. Armitage