Annual Parade, New York Fire Department (1904) User Reviews

Where are all the floats?...

[MrCritical1 · 5/10 · 3 November 2003]

Filmed May 14, 1904 in New York City this film opens your eyes to how far we have come.

The film could have been 1 minute in length and have accomplished the same. The film itself was a bit tedious.

The best part about the film is seeing the Fire Dept. Equipment as it's being drawn by horses. Would love to be able to drive a present day fire engine right down that street and watch the mouths drop.

6* (10* Rating System)

Tedious.

[JoeytheBrit · 2/10 · 22 June 2009]

Considering this film is less than five minutes long it's surprising just how tedious it quickly becomes. After an OK start in which the camera gets up close and personal to a bunch of dignitaries arriving to watch the parade in question, we are subjected to four minutes of firemen marching past the camera. The camera is placed at an ill-chosen angle so that we don't see the marchers approaching and there really isn't any reason for the film to continue rolling after the first minute-and-a-half is over. This is the sort of film that, even back in 1904, would only have been watched by devoted mothers hoping to catch a glimpse of their firemen sons as they march past...

Some Great Footage

[Michael_Elliott · 27 February 2008]

Annual Parade, New York Fire Department (1904)

*** (out of 4)

This Edison short is pretty long-winded at just under five minutes but there's no question that it contains some excellent footage. As the title says, this here captures footage from the NYFD parade and features dozens of firefighters marching down the streets as they're watched by thousands of people. We get to see some equipment as well during all the action. This movie will appeal to all those out there who enjoy watching older footage of real things like firefighters. The camera is placed right by the street so you get a terrific look at everything as it happens.