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Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

deathandtaxesmag.com

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Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#61

Post by dcminter »

eddieroger wrote: post #29

I think the most interesting thing I took away from this video was the look of surprise and curiosity on the faces of people looking directly at the camera, specifically during the bit on Petticoat Lane. It may just have been the (for the time) large vehicle coming at them in the middle of the street, but I prefer to think that they'd yet to have seen a camera like this one, and didn't know what to make of it. I can'…

If I remember rightly there's a photo of their setup - a bulky camera on a tripod with a man operating it on the roof of a car. I think that would still draw attention these days. I'll look for the link (on the BFI site somewhere probably).

Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#62

Post by vidarh »

Alexx wrote: post #9

That's fantastic, the very first shot is of my street, filmed next to the building I live in. I can't quite make out the sign on the building corner - but I'm pretty sure it's the exact same pub that's there now. It's also odd seeing trams in London.

Some of us see trams in London every day...

Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#63

Post by iaskwhy »

jchrisa wrote: post #53
iaskwhy wrote: post #39

The thing that stood out the most for me is the complete absense of bicycles, I even went out to check when was its invention (apparently around one century before this footage). Something else I noticed is how much cared after is Hyde Park right now, although it doesn't look bad at all on the footage. I can't say I was surprise as the Central Park in New York City also changed a lot (probably even more than Hyde Par…

There are some cool cargo bike on the right hand of London bridge at 1:26

True but not as surprising since you can still find some similar to those in central London nowadays around Soho.

Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#64

Post by Udo »

lkozma wrote: post #55
Alexx wrote: post #9

That's fantastic, the very first shot is of my street, filmed next to the building I live in. I can't quite make out the sign on the building corner - but I'm pretty sure it's the exact same pub that's there now. It's also odd seeing trams in London.

jacko0 and ksrm [EDIT: and icecreampain], you seem to be under some kind of ban - what you write appears gray, and is invisible when I log out - despite them appearing to be perfectly valid contributions. I really hate this whole banning on HN - the fact that people get banned and continue posting without knowing it (sometimes for months) - seems to me like the elementary school bullying technique of putting a post-i…

I tried looking into what got them banned, but it's not at all obvious from their history. I wonder what happened here?

Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#65

Post by pedalpete »

geetee wrote: post #52

Side by side comparison to 2013 (better than the 2010 video in my opinion): https://vimeo.com/81368735

My initial reaction to the first video was how slowly everything seems to move in London. But it doesn't seem modern day is much better.

Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#66

Post by kps »

andyidsinga wrote: post #48
neals wrote: post #33

I wish hats would come back like in the video. Almost everybody wore a hat in 1927. I bought a hat a few weeks back. It's so great to wear, it's safe and warm. However, everybody looks at me as if I am some crazed hipster with my "fedora". If everybody would wear a hat like in the video, life would be so much nicer.

im with you brother! :) i have an Indiana jones-like hat and a fedora. my daughter ( 11 ) has 4 fedoras! we're no hipsters either !

Current slang aside, an ‘Indiana Jones’ (front-pinched snap-brim fur felt dome hat) is a fedora, and a hipster ‘fedora’ (cloth panel tapered bucket) isn't. It's like calling Crocs ‘Monkstraps’ because they buckle on the feet.

Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#67

Post by sentenza »

eddieroger wrote: post #29

I think the most interesting thing I took away from this video was the look of surprise and curiosity on the faces of people looking directly at the camera, specifically during the bit on Petticoat Lane. It may just have been the (for the time) large vehicle coming at them in the middle of the street, but I prefer to think that they'd yet to have seen a camera like this one, and didn't know what to make of it. I can'…

To me they seemed more annoyed that the camera vehicle was coming through. I couldn't help but think that more than one of the turned heads mentally cursed the cameraman.

Spooky to think that, of some of them, this one annoyed look is all there remains.

Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#68

Post by dasil003 »

dcminter wrote: post #61
eddieroger wrote: post #29

I think the most interesting thing I took away from this video was the look of surprise and curiosity on the faces of people looking directly at the camera, specifically during the bit on Petticoat Lane. It may just have been the (for the time) large vehicle coming at them in the middle of the street, but I prefer to think that they'd yet to have seen a camera like this one, and didn't know what to make of it. I can'…

If I remember rightly there's a photo of their setup - a bulky camera on a tripod with a man operating it on the roof of a car. I think that would still draw attention these days. I'll look for the link (on the BFI site somewhere probably).

There's also the fact that someone is driving a vehicle through the middle of the market and they need to get out of the way with no room to move.

Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#69

Post by bbosh »

pedalpete wrote: post #65
geetee wrote: post #52

Side by side comparison to 2013 (better than the 2010 video in my opinion): https://vimeo.com/81368735

My initial reaction to the first video was how slowly everything seems to move in London. But it doesn't seem modern day is much better.

The second video is obviously slowed down to keep pace with the old video. Certainly the buses and horse-drawn carts would be a lot slower.

Re: Rare color film shows what London looked like in 1927

#70

Post by eddieroger »

sentenza wrote: post #67
eddieroger wrote: post #29

I think the most interesting thing I took away from this video was the look of surprise and curiosity on the faces of people looking directly at the camera, specifically during the bit on Petticoat Lane. It may just have been the (for the time) large vehicle coming at them in the middle of the street, but I prefer to think that they'd yet to have seen a camera like this one, and didn't know what to make of it. I can'…

To me they seemed more annoyed that the camera vehicle was coming through. I couldn't help but think that more than one of the turned heads mentally cursed the cameraman. Spooky to think that, of some of them, this one annoyed look is all there remains.

Maybe in just being too idealist, but I don't want to think of that look as frustration with a car driving through, but I get that's probably it. Yeah, though, what a bummer that your only pictured self is that look.
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