Luis Martinetti, Contortionist
About Luis Martinetti, Contortionist
Luis Martinetti of the Martinetti Brothers trapeze act hangs from a pair of flying rings in tiger-striped tights and folds his body through a contortion routine. The camera does not move. The shot runs 12.5 seconds.
Cast & crew
More about Luis Martinetti, Contortionist
William K. L. Dickson directed it for the Edison Manufacturing Company. William Heise photographed it on 11 October 1894 in the Black Maria at West Orange, a tar-paper studio built for the Kinetograph.
Themes
Background
Edison shot it in October 1894 as a Kinetoscope subject, a single variety act meant for a peephole cabinet rather than a screen.
Making
The Black Maria could be rotated so the open roof put daylight on the performer while the camera stayed fixed.
Look
William Heise filmed Martinetti against the Black Maria's dark interior, with the rings and the striped costume carrying the image.
Preservation
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences preserves a print. It was issued in 2000 on Treasures from American Film Archives.
Notes
- Martinetti worked with his brothers as a trapeze act and performs here alone on the rings.
- The National Film Preservation Foundation included it in the 2000 DVD set Treasures from American Film Archives.
Scenes
- Martinetti, in tiger-striped tights, knots himself around the rings and holds the pose.
Also available
- Treasures from American Film Archives (National Film Preservation Foundation DVD, 2000)
