An Otter Study
P: Kineto (Charles Urban). UK 1912
Print: BFI

“The secret haunts of the otter, including underwater scenes filmed in a tank concealed in a stream. Includes scenes of the preparation of the hide and the otter fishing for roach and pike, followed by the pursuit of the otter by men with hounds.”
Synopsis BFI Screenonline

“In this instance, a tank was concealed on the bed of the river and the cameraman was able to film from behind the glass. The reviewer from ‘The Bioscope’ was lavish in his praise and was moved to cite this film as an example of the revolutionary achievements of the cinematograph and as a ‘record-breaker’ in which we are able ‘to view life from an absolutely novel point of view’. (…) So, in a way, our ‘Bioscope’ reviewer is right to see this is a novel treatment of the subject, in which we delight at the elegance of the creature and begin to feel empathy for it.”
Bryony Dixon
BFI Screenonline

>>> about Charles Urban: Early Ethnography

>>> Nature / Science