HEPWORTH MFG. CO.

A pair of early experiments in filmic special effects, both from 1900:

How It Feels To Be Run Over


The Explosion of a Motor Car


A curious reaction to modernity, these films seem to both indict and poke light-hearted fun at the rapid technological advancements of the turn of the 20th century. Cecil Hepworth, a pioneering British film maker, was producing as many as three films a week at his studio in south east England, often to great critical and commercial success. As far as I know, the two films above were shown mostly during touring revues, serving as gentle (if a bit macabre) warnings against the excesses of the dawning era.