A Chess Dispute revisited.
Chess in Cinema
At first sight Robert W. Paul (1869-1943) seems like an improbable candidate to have become one of cinema’s greatest pioneers, but it was thru a fascination with Thomas Edison’s that the young electrician and instrument-inventor soon became an iconic figure in the emerging world of cinematography.
One thing led to another and soon Paul began to produce his own films, employing various innovative techniques (in those early days, everything was innovative) and he soon became a recognized name in the quickly developing world of cinema. You can read in much more detail about this phase of the inventor’s life HERE and HERE.
The Chess Dispute (1903)
This short silent film is one of Paul’s best known works. A comedy taking place between two affluent looking men over a game of chess. One drinks and smokes, and when he looks away, his opponent moves two pieces. A fight ensues…
A 2015 re-make of ‘A Chess Dispute’!
In 2015, in Italia, a remake of Robert Paul’s 1903 film was done. I came across it only yesterday! Directed by Piergiorgio Mariniello and featuring Armando Pizzuti and Riccardo Ferrazzoli as the players. Director of photography: Marco Schirinzi. The film was shot at the Cafe Martino a Isola del Liri.
The kinetoscope, a device created for viewing short movies through a one-eyed peephole, is generally credited as being made by Thomas Edison. It was, in fact, created by his assistant, William Dickson in 1891. Edison hoped that it would spur on business for his phonograph, but he was ultimately unable to match the sound with the moving images.