Teddie Blake
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Paynbob
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Beulah Bram
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
This one shows us the one of the most important figures in early American cinematography. William K.L. Dickson greets the audience that has come to take a look at that wonderful magical new thing called film. I personally find this one less interesting than his Newark athlete from the same year, maybe also because it's considerably shorter and less spectacular. Basically he's just pulling a hat.It's another fine example, however, how much he has improved his craft since working on his maiden project Monkeyshines. The people who he's recording are now clearly visible and not just anonymous ghostlike contours.
cricket crockett
. . . I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then, face to face." 1 Corinthinians 13: 11-12 perfectly sums up what is going on with DICKSON'S GREETING following up MONKEYSHINES Nos. 1-3 at the dawn of humankind's Age of Playing God. No one could mistake the MONKEYSHINES trilogy from Edison Manufacturing Company as anything other than "a childish thing." However, DICKSON'S GREETING merits shouts of "It's alive, it's alive!" to echo Henry Frankenstein from the 1931 Universal Studio horror classic. DICKSON'S GREETING features a level of deceptive verisimilitude in the same ballpark as any movie which has followed, from Edison's ANNABELLE SERPENTINE DANCE to Clive Barker's HELLRAISER. And, just as the "man" Henry created was taken by most for a "monster," so the Sixth Day creation of Thomas Edison (with the aid of henchmen such as W.K.L. Dickson, pictured here) merited a similar label within a few short months of its "creation." Separating light from darkness on Edison's first day with the electric light bulb did not require the finesse and morality necessary to bring about an artificial world order to replace such now outdated guidelines as "The Holy Bible" as humanity's most often used guide to living in a "modern" world. Edison, who spent the nights of his inventing days "wilding" with his cohorts in the vice districts of New York City, recreated mankind in his own image. This sight was not always as pretty as DICKSON'S GREETING (watch LITTLE NICKY or THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE if you need illustrations of this point).
cnevel
This is a test, only a test.This film is a short sequence used to show off a brand new machine called a Kinetoscope.There is no plot, no clichés, no hamming it up, no stereotypes, no awards, no acting, no directing, no writing, no producing, no nothing.Commenting on this film like it was a feature with a script, actor, and director, or commenting on Dicksons acting is ridiculous.He was an inventor not an actor.Commenting on the movie industry, which didn't yet exist, is even more ridiculous.They just wanted to welcome the people who viewed the film on the Kinetoscope. So they told Dickson, who helped invent the thing, to stand in front of the camera and bow and take off his hat. You know, like a greeting.The reason that it was repeated 6 times is because it was only 3 seconds long.None of this matters as it was only used to show off the machine, not the film.I repeat, this is a test, only a test.Cnevel
MrCritical1
Thomas Edison, the father of many inventions, combined the phonograph and the zoopraxiscope to create the Kinetoscope.This incredible invention began Edison Motion Pictures and the first of its creations, "Dickson Greeting".This 18 sec. short (which loops 3 sec of footage 6 times at 30 fps) inspired the world to the endless possibilities of film.Although this film is very short and simple it is awesome to see the industry at its infancy and a gives you greater appreciation for where we are today.10* (10* Rating) This film deserves a perfect score for its imagination and what it represents.
