Film Review (sorta): Prehistoric Peeps (1905)

Not only is this the very first dinosaur movie (as far as we know, since most films from this period are lost) but since it's adapted from Edward Tennyson Reed's comic strip in Punch Magazine, it's also (one supposes) the very first comic book movie as well. But alas, the film is unwatchable by most people.

You see, the film is preserved at the British Film Institute in London (or at least most of it is - parts are still considered lost) but that preserved copy is nowhere on the internet nor can it be found on any form of home media. The only place one can see the film is in the film library at the BFi in London. I personally live an ocean away from this film library, so i'm outta luck - as are anyone not living or visiting in or around London.

There is a copy online though. It is obviously from someone sneaking a video of the computer screen with their phone - and not doing a very good job of it. Then again, if the BFi caught them doing this, i believe that's punishable by death. Okay, maybe not that serious but they would be in legal trouble, which surprises me it's still up and running at You Tube.

This rendition is far from great, but at least it's something. We can see the silly pantomime dinosaur costumes (which i adore!) of no specific type of dinosaur in particular. But then, science didn't really know that much about dinosaurs in 1905. Just a few fossils dug up as of then. I'm sure they knew enough to know that there probably weren't giant chickens running around back then (which there is in this film!) but hey, who am i to say there weren't. Modern day paleontologists are starting to think many dinosaurs may have evolved into birds. Even Spielberg alludes to that in the first Jurassic Park. Not sure of Creighton alluded to the same in the novel. But i digress.

I am not going to give this a rating on Letterboxd as the conditions of my viewing (viewings actually, as i watched it three times in a row!) were not that great, but from what i saw (especially those ridiculously fun dinosaur costumes!) i liked it a lot and perhaps someday, those bastards at the BFi will release the damn movie in the proper way for all of us to see!