The Barber Shop (1893) FULL VIDEO

 

The Barber Shop (1893)

Director: William K.L. Dickson and William Heise

Filming Date: 1893

Release Date: 1894

Country of Origin: USA

Customer gets a lightning-fast shave.

William K.L. Dickson and William Heise directed the 1894 American short story silent film The Barbershop. The Edison Manufacturing Company produced it at the Black Maria Studio in West Orange, New Jersey. The film was made specifically for the Kinetoscope.

The first (industrial) movie ever made is Barber Shop. Out of the ten movies from the first Kinetoscope Parlor, it was the most popular.

Two other men sit on either side of the chair while a barber gives a man a very quick shave in a barbershop.

The pioneering achievement of the 1893 film The Barbershop (also known as The Barber Shop) is its status as one of the first narrative films in cinema history. While earlier films were primarily camera tests, The Barbershop introduced a staged, miniature plot with multiple layers of action. 

Its key historical milestones include:

First Staged Narrative: Along with Blacksmith Scene (1893), it is credited as the first film to attempt a brief storyline rather than just recording a random action.

Pioneer of Commercial Cinema: It was the first of ten films featured at the opening of the world's first Kinetoscope Parlor in Manhattan on April 14, 1894.

Complex Composition: It was remarkably ambitious for its time, featuring two simultaneous "spheres of action": a man getting a shave and haircut in the background, while two other actors engage with a newspaper in the foreground.

Early "Extras": The two men interacting with the newspaper are considered some of the first instances of background performers or extras in a scene.

First "Advertising" Concept: Some film historians view it as the first commercial film because it features a sign advertising a "shave and haircut for a nickel," effectively promoting both the service and the Kinetoscope itself, which also cost a nickel to use.

First Greek Film Actor: The barber in the film, an unknown Greek immigrant, is recognized as the first Greek actor in cinema history.