This film is part of Free
Waves Break on Bow of a Ship
A vicarious ocean-going experience
Overview
You’ll need your sea legs to watch this film, which was apparently filmed from a perilous position on the ship’s mast - in rough seas. This is a nautical example of a 'phantom ride' - in which a camera is mounted on a moving vehicle - a popular genre among early filmgoers for the still-novel sensation of travel it offered. Thanks to the swelling waves, the effect when projected on a screen is rather queasier than the comparatively gentle train or tram journeys that were more typical phantom ride subjects.
Waves on Bow of a Ship was made by Warwick Trading Company, a leading British film production and distribution company between 1898-1915.
Related
Rough Sea at Roker (1901) Rough Sea at Roker (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Roker
Mesmerising film of sea waves on the north east coast of England.
Incoming Tide Incoming Tide
Non-Fiction 1898 1 mins Silent Location: Worthing
Worthing waves at us in this mesmerising early film
Rough Sea at Dover Rough Sea at Dover
Non-Fiction 1895 0 mins Silent
Waves crash onto a jetty on the Kentish shoreline in one of Britain's earliest surviving films
Rough Sea Rough Sea
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent
Dover’s Admiralty Pier could be the setting for these Victorian shots of waves breaking.
Rough Sea Rough Sea
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent
Breaking waves at an unidentified coastal location
Waves Breaking on a Pier Waves Breaking on a Pier
Non-Fiction 1896 1 mins Silent
Intrepid tourists brave the great waves breaking on the marina wall at Brighton
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.