In the twenty-first century, 'coke' has a number of meanings and most have been the subject of films. I had to go to Webster's Dictionary to find out that the coke filmed in this movie is the product of coal that is "heated in ovens to remove gasses thus transforming it into coke which burns with intense heat and little smoke and is used as an industrial fuel". Carmeiux is close to Lyon, so Lumiere did not have to go far to document this process.
9 Reviews
Very Good Photography Of A Rather Interesting Scene
Snow Leopard4 August 2005
Worthwhile as one of numerous examples of the good photography in most of the early Lumière movies, this short feature also provides a look at a rather interesting scene. As brief as the footage is, it provides quite a good view of what is going on.
The composition is very good, and almost perfect. The vantage point is well-chosen so as to allow an angle that allows the viewer a clear, complete look at the block of coke as it comes out of the smelter. The picture also captures many other details. You can see what everyone on the ground is doing as the coke comes out, and more than that, it catches the activity on top of the furnace as well, with carts being taken back-and-forth. The very top of this part of the scene is just cut off, but otherwise, it's quite a fine job of setting up the camera field.
The process itself may not seem all that exciting, but it's rather interesting when you realize what they are doing (as other commentators have explained). This short feature provides a sharp visual image of the process, and it works well.
The composition is very good, and almost perfect. The vantage point is well-chosen so as to allow an angle that allows the viewer a clear, complete look at the block of coke as it comes out of the smelter. The picture also captures many other details. You can see what everyone on the ground is doing as the coke comes out, and more than that, it catches the activity on top of the furnace as well, with carts being taken back-and-forth. The very top of this part of the scene is just cut off, but otherwise, it's quite a fine job of setting up the camera field.
The process itself may not seem all that exciting, but it's rather interesting when you realize what they are doing (as other commentators have explained). This short feature provides a sharp visual image of the process, and it works well.
I want those thirty seconds back
Horst_In_Translation12 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Seriously, this film was just so boring and I don't use that term loosely. The coal comes out of the mine and one worker splashes water on it while other men are watching. The one thing that always makes me curious about these short films that depict physically hard work is how the workers always wear very thick clothing back then. Etiquette was certainly more important than practicability as the poor fellas must sweat like crazy under these uniforms. On top of the picture we see the work progress. Anyway, it's not among the better silent short films from 1896 and Lumière has delivered more interesting pieces on many occasions.
Drawing out the coke
rbverhoef1 March 2005
'Carmaux, Défournage du Coke' is another early single shot created by Lumière. It shows, as we learn from the title of course, a large block of coke drawn out of a mine or something like that. One worker seems to cool the hot coke with some water from a hose while others tear the block to spread the separated pieces.
Like all these early little films it is interesting to watch. They are too short to become boring and realizing that you are watching an event that happened over hundred years ago makes it interesting anyway. With this one it is also fun to spot other little things that happen on-screen.
Like all these early little films it is interesting to watch. They are too short to become boring and realizing that you are watching an event that happened over hundred years ago makes it interesting anyway. With this one it is also fun to spot other little things that happen on-screen.
Drawing out of "Coke"
someguy88918 June 2004
This short 'documentary' can be found on the Landmarks of Early Film DVD. I was surprised at the title. And even more surprised when I saw this short movie. That stuff looked like... well, it couldn't be. I found out that 'coke' in France actually meant something else, something to do with fuel or something, but anyway, I was important. The camera, high up, films the process of drawing out a large white block from a cave or mine of some sort. Then they hose it down and some chunks fall off. I just loved these little shorts. Sure, years later they arent as revolutionary as they were then. But even the boring ones arent boring because they only last a few seconds. And they're so fascinating to watch, the people around them, the whole strange process. It makes you start thinking about how lucky these people were to be captured on film like that. They are long dead, but as long as this film exists, they will never die. Nor will that strange white.. fuel.. coke... stuff.
My grade: 7/10
My grade: 7/10
Primarily for historical interest
BrandtSponseller8 April 2005
This approximately 35-second long Lumiere Brothers short (Lumiere No. 122) shows a handful of workers attending to a block of coke (a processed form of bituminous coal designed to produce fewer sulfur and other fumes when burned, making it ideal for uses such as stoves and furnaces) as it emerges from an oven at the open coal mine in Carmaux, France, a town near the Tarn River in the south of the country.
While this Lumiere Brothers actuality surely has less staging than most of their other documentary shorts, it is also far less interesting aesthetically. The primary attraction here is historical. We get to witness a historical coal mining process, which appears surprisingly "messy", first-hand, at an important, historical French mine. It's interesting to note that carts full of coal are being walked across the top of the oven while it's surely still hot (the coke is just emerging and is steaming). Bituminous coal must be burned at a very high temperature to produce coke.
One aspect that captivated me for its mystery was just how the coke is moved through the furnace door to the waiting workers. Also note how even though the workers have long, forked "poles" to help break up the block of coke, they approach it very cautiously and try to quickly move away. There must have been a chance that pieces from the crumbling block would ricochet off the ground back towards the workers; maybe there was also a tendency for some "shattering" from the drastic, sudden change in temperature. No one ever said that coal mining was easy.
While this Lumiere Brothers actuality surely has less staging than most of their other documentary shorts, it is also far less interesting aesthetically. The primary attraction here is historical. We get to witness a historical coal mining process, which appears surprisingly "messy", first-hand, at an important, historical French mine. It's interesting to note that carts full of coal are being walked across the top of the oven while it's surely still hot (the coke is just emerging and is steaming). Bituminous coal must be burned at a very high temperature to produce coke.
One aspect that captivated me for its mystery was just how the coke is moved through the furnace door to the waiting workers. Also note how even though the workers have long, forked "poles" to help break up the block of coke, they approach it very cautiously and try to quickly move away. There must have been a chance that pieces from the crumbling block would ricochet off the ground back towards the workers; maybe there was also a tendency for some "shattering" from the drastic, sudden change in temperature. No one ever said that coal mining was easy.
The first movie of the history of the world cinema
p-trouche10 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
It's the first movie of the history of the world cinema on the large-scale industry carried out in Carmaux in France beside Toulouse on July 1, 1896. The cameraman is Alexandre Promio, chief of the photographic service of the Lumière brothers in the Lyon, and most famous of their operators. He made this day two films: "Drawing out the coke" (41 seconds) and "Loading of coke" (45 seconds) CARMAUX, a town of southern France, in the department of Tarn,. Pop. (1906) 8618. The town gives its name to an important coal-basin, and carries on the manufacture of glass. Jean Jaures is the deputy of Carmaux, of the Coal miners and the glass-workers elected of 1892 to 1898 and 1902 to 1914.
Carmaux: Drawing Out the Coke
Michael_Elliott21 September 2018
Carmaux: Drawing Out the Coke (1896)
The Lumiere Brothers are behind this actuality film that captures a day on the job as some workers are pushing coke out of a smelter and into the yard where water is poured on it. I've always enjoyed watching films from this era because it gives you a view of what life (and in this case, work) were like back in the day. We get to see how things were done, what people were wearing and so forth. If you want an acurate look at this job in 1896 then here you go. There's nothing ground-breaking here but it's still fascinating to watch today.
The Lumiere Brothers are behind this actuality film that captures a day on the job as some workers are pushing coke out of a smelter and into the yard where water is poured on it. I've always enjoyed watching films from this era because it gives you a view of what life (and in this case, work) were like back in the day. We get to see how things were done, what people were wearing and so forth. If you want an acurate look at this job in 1896 then here you go. There's nothing ground-breaking here but it's still fascinating to watch today.
Good subject
Tornado_Sam19 May 2017
This short Lumiere actuality film features a block of coke (some kind of coal) being drawn out of an oven. Workers approach. Some are hosing the block to cool it, and others use long tools to tear the block apart. The subject of this film is lots more interesting than other times and it is pretty interesting watching. Once more it is a moment in time, which makes it worth seeing for anyone. The film can be found in the DVD set called "The Movies Begin: A Treasury of Early Cinema" by Kino.
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