Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Auguste Lumière directs four workers in the demolition of an old wall at the Lumière factory. One worker is pressing the wall inwards with a jackscrew, while another is pushing it with a pick. When the wall hits the ground, a cloud of white dust whirls up. Three workers continue the demolition of the wall with picks.
One of the earliest films ever made, 'Demolition of a Wall' is a landmark of cinema history. Its novelty score is unimpeachably high — it represents the very birth of the medium, and the famous trick of reversing the film to show the wall rising was an early demonstration of cinema's unique manipulative potential. Cinematography earns above average for its era, capturing the dust cloud and action with surprising clarity and compositional awareness. Plot and acting are minimal by necessity — this is a documentary slice of life with no narrative arc or performance craft to speak of. The ending, while historically notable for its reversibility gimmick, is abrupt and unremarkable as a cinematic conclusion.