Saut à La Couverte (1896), is in the Lumiere Catalogue as #192. Some mistake this film for the Lumiere's 1895 debut classic, Le Saut à la Couverture (Jumping the Blanket - 1895). The Lumiere brothers create one of the first film remakes in film history. This approach to filmmaking was actually a common practice by the Lumieres. While the years went by, It gave them a way to continue to hone their filmmaking craft. They reshot a lot of their earlier films, including their famous, Arrival of a Train (1895). That film was remade, reshot or redone, at least three or four times, between 1896-1898. The brothers felt, that if a film did well the first time, why not improve upon it a second time and maybe generate twice as much capital, that the first film did. They in essence, invented the remake, during the first full year (1896), of the world's motion picture industry.
Being a remake of Jumping a Blanket (1895), Saut à La Couverte (1896), is also known in English, as Jump To Cover (1896). This time, the Lumieres reshot a large group of soldiers, throwing another man about, in a giant blanket. It isn't totally a remake, because in Jumping a Blanket (1895), there only were eight guys total in it. There are a lot more soldiers in Saut à La Couverte (1896). In the 1895 film, they look like they are attempting fire drills, while this film looks more like a circus act. Saut à La Couverte (1896), could be considered a possible sequel to Jumping the Blanket (1895), as well, because it looks more organized then the original film and they actually look like they had some training, before this film was shot. You could say, they got better for the sequel. This is still a pivotal moment in film history, brought to you by those French film pioneers, who started it all.
PMTM Grade: 7.3 (C) = 7 IMDB.
