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Tram Journey Through Southampton (1900)
 

BFI

Main image of Tram Journey Through Southampton (1900)
 
35mm (originally 68mm), black and white, 100 feet
 
Production companyBritish Mutoscope and Biograph Company

A moving tour through lively turn-of-the-century Southampton.

Show full synopsis

This magnificent phantom ride vividly animates Southampton High Street at the turn of the 20th Century. The archway of the medieval stone wall through which the tram passes still stands today and will be instantly familiar to locals. As the tram emerges from the archway, a long-dead world startlingly comes to life: horse-drawn carriages meander slowly along the road, unfamiliar shops line the street and people walk around in the late-Victorian fashions of the day.

The use of the phantom ride - a film shot from a moving vehicle - draws the audience into the scene and creates a more involving viewing experience than might have been achieved with a static camera. Even over a century later, it still provides a powerful evocation of the now-ghostly world it recorded.

Christian Hayes

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Video Clips
Complete film (1:28)
GALLERY / SCRIPTS / AUDIO
SEE ALSO
Phantom Rides