Rescued by Rover

The film that launched the British film industry onto the world stage. Certainly due in-part to its advancements in editing and cinematography, but more so thanks to Cecil M. Hepworth's understanding of what audiences of the time were clamoring for. Narrative clarity? Yeah sure, but more importantly...DOGS on film! However, not just random dogs, but instead the first ever film starring a dog. The Hepworth's family dog, Blair, blazed a path for the future generations of "Lassies" and "Air Buds".

Dang, so Rover was the original Lassie.

Sophisticated and fluid early storytelling with innovative cinematic presentation, technical mastery and a simple but still effective emotional core.

Impressive editing techniques for the time. A precursor to Lassie.

Not perfect but pretty nifty. It's easy to discern and appreciate its filmmaking decisions and how they benefit or detract from the work. The lack of intertitles for a more purely cinematic narrative is another mark in its favor.

Certainly repetitive, but it's one of the first movies ever, and it's great!

Great animal acting and use of editing. It's always interesting to watch early films and see how, for all their technical/grammatical simplicity, their innovations are still being felt today.

Not many surprises but I enjoyed watching it all play out. Impressive acting from the dog.

The dog Blair, playing Rover, does perhaps the best acting pre-Chaplin.

Rather ludicrous, obviously, but it still has some charm and doesn't drag too much. The scene where he crosses a stream isn't well thought out though, when there's a bridge in the shot.

What's that, Lessie!?

Pretty simple but must have been some hot shit back in the day.