Artist Entry: Charles Reisner

[Before I begin, I know we are supposed to reference contemporary artists but he directed his last film in 1950's, which wasn't too terribly long ago!]

The artist I am referencing in this entry is a director, actor, writer etc (etc...), Charles Reisner. I discovered him literally, twenty minutes ago when I was flipping through the channels (shamelessly, after Gossip Girl). I stopped on TMC because they were playing a film which after looking it up, I discovered was called Steamboat Bill Jr. Unfortunately, it was one of the only films I could find online that he directed but it impressed me enough that I just had to write about him and it.

First, the film was made in the late 1920s, therefore the special effects were entirely, entirely done onscreen. In today's filmmaking, half of the sets they built and destroyed for the film wouldn't really even exist if remade today. Instead, it would be replaced with CGI.

Second, Steamboat Bill Jr. showed man-man objects being overtaken and destroyed by nature and people struggling in between the two. Seeing this film also helped spark some ideas as to where my project can go.

My favorite shot from the film was a part in which he is flying on a tree as if it were a balloon (seen below). I also included stills from my other favorite scenes.

Him hugging the tree as an anchor against the wind however it unroots itself...

And he rides the tree like a balloon until it crashes into water.

Hand drawn elements on the film itself

Nature destroying this building.

Once going back and reading about it and watching it from the start, I realized that its a little different than I gathered...However it still served as an inspiration to me. Reisner is known widely for his elbow rubbing with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

A clip from the Steamboat Bill Jr can be seen here.