It is indeed a film about an old man drinking a glass of beer. He gets drunk quicker than my wife...
5 Reviews
Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer review
JoeytheBrit22 April 2020
Just what the title says
Tornado_Sam7 October 2017
This short film is an early comedy directed by G. A. Smith, and its title will tell you all you need to know. Basically a man (not really 'old') is sitting at a table drinking a glass of beer, and then starts making stupid faces. The actor who played the "old" man (Tom Green) has some really good acting skills with his expressions, even if the acting is overdone. It's not at all ground-breaking like Smith's later POV experiments, and is more just the sort of movie you'd make while screwing around with you video camera. People in 1898 must have thought this was pretty funny, but it comes off pretty dumb to modern audiences. But for fans of early cinema it's entertaining while it lasts.
Funny Faces and the Art of Composition
boblipton15 February 2010
Although D.W. Griffith is usually described as the man who invented film grammar, in reality most of his work was in the line of regularizing it. Most of the groundwork had been laid in the previous decade by Englishman George Albert Smith who later went into the color motion picture business with Kinemacolour.
However, before he could invent film cutting, he first had to deal with the details of motion and, in particular, with the motion of the human face and here he has produced a lovely little study of Tom Green, a well-known music hall performer of the era, as he sits, drinking a beer and telling a story. Entertaining in its own right, it is also tremendous advance for the era: an extended medium close-up.
However, before he could invent film cutting, he first had to deal with the details of motion and, in particular, with the motion of the human face and here he has produced a lovely little study of Tom Green, a well-known music hall performer of the era, as he sits, drinking a beer and telling a story. Entertaining in its own right, it is also tremendous advance for the era: an extended medium close-up.
Everything is Obvious When You Already Know the Answer
boblipton12 July 2018
That's Tom Green, a popular music hall comedian of the era, and it's what it says on the label: Mr. Green drinks a glass of beer and is jovially drunk. Why did George Albert Smith think this worth making a movie? Even one that was less than 40 seconds long?
Because it's a close-up. Specifically, to use a technical term, it's an extended medium close-up. Mr. Smith was interested in the effects achievable by different camera angles and positions, and not just in the way that people like Melies were, but to determine what camera positions were best to show different things. Here, he shows that the medium close-up is just the thing to show the expressions on the face of an individual performer. The exact distance and so forth.
Well, isn't that obvious? Sure, that's what you say now, 120 years later.
Because it's a close-up. Specifically, to use a technical term, it's an extended medium close-up. Mr. Smith was interested in the effects achievable by different camera angles and positions, and not just in the way that people like Melies were, but to determine what camera positions were best to show different things. Here, he shows that the medium close-up is just the thing to show the expressions on the face of an individual performer. The exact distance and so forth.
Well, isn't that obvious? Sure, that's what you say now, 120 years later.
A Good Drink
Michael_Elliott22 August 2016
Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer (1898)
This early film from George Allen Smith certainly isn't anything ground-breaking but fans of these early movies should enjoy it. We basically see, as the title suggests, an old man pouring a glass of beer and drinking it while making funny faces. Yes, that's the only thing that happens in this thirty second film so as you can tell there's nothing cinema changing here but it's mildly entertaining. I thought the old man was somewhat funny with his gestures. I also thought it was fascinating getting to see what a glass of beer looked like in 1898 and it seems you got much more for your value back them as compared to today.
This early film from George Allen Smith certainly isn't anything ground-breaking but fans of these early movies should enjoy it. We basically see, as the title suggests, an old man pouring a glass of beer and drinking it while making funny faces. Yes, that's the only thing that happens in this thirty second film so as you can tell there's nothing cinema changing here but it's mildly entertaining. I thought the old man was somewhat funny with his gestures. I also thought it was fascinating getting to see what a glass of beer looked like in 1898 and it seems you got much more for your value back them as compared to today.
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