An Awful Symphony (1909) User Reviews

Impossible to rate originally....now I've found the rest of this one on YouTube!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 9 February 2014]

I see there is one other review for this film by Segundo de Chomón and they raved about it and made no mention of the fact it's only a small fragment of the original film Perhaps there is a complete version out there somewhere but all I have found is part of a film--and the part just isn't enough to enable me to give the film a numerical score.

The film begins with some interesting stop-motion work. What looks like a shadow appears on the street and it grows and morphs into the shadow of a person and then becomes several It's really a neat trick for 1909. Then, the shadows become a bizarre collection of musicians wearing odd garb--some like clowns, one like a viking clown and one with a top hat. They march around the street playing their instruments and then the film ends abruptly. Like I said, there really isn't much to this one.

UPDATE: I saw this film posted on YouTube and it was more complete. As a result, I am able to give it a rating. And, it's worth seeing...especially since there is a neat stop-motion portion I never got to see the first time!

Victorious!

[boblipton · 9/10 · 3 February 2011]

By the time this short subject came out, Segundo de Chomon had bested Georges Melies at his own game. His camera magic was as fully developed as Melies. His sense of humor was sharper and his scenes had invaded the real world. Many of the shots of this split-reel short about a bizarre group of tramp musicians who disappear into and out of drums, beach umbrellas and whatnots are shot in the street and the others are on stages decorated to look realistic.

But this unadorned magic show was nearing its end. Audiences were coming to expect the magic to support something, not to be the beginning and end of the show. Stop motion was becoming part of the grammar of films, not the purpose. No more split-reel magic shows, but on to the fantasies supported by magic.

Nice effects, if not much story

[Tornado_Sam · 22 April 2018]

1909 was one of the last years director Segundo de Chomón spent making trick films for Pathé. "Symphonie Bizarre" (also known as "An Awful Symphony" on IMDb) is one of these later efforts and it relies greatly on stop-motion photography. There is not much in the way of plot, which is something that was essential by 1909, so technically this is not as ground-breaking as the director's earlier efforts. Still, it is new--not a Méliès ripoff nor a static scene of a magician performing magic tricks.

The film appears to be slightly colored, and if this was indeed a color print it has probably been faded by time. It follows a group of musicians who, for whatever reason, have magical powers. They hide in a drum which moves around the street by itself, disappear under umbrellas which close and open, rearrange themselves, etc. The umbrella bit does get repetitive but is still fun to watch. Like I said, little plot and probably very outdated by 1909, but so long as you enjoy these early gimmick movies, it's still very watchable.

A side note: According to the IMDb summary, the beginning of this film is lost. And, for whatever reason, YouTube has an alternate version of the film which is also incomplete and features only the first surviving minute of the more complete version. The reviewer who said only a fragment survives obviously saw this clip and was tricked into believing that it's all that exists.