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Brighton Aquarium Part 2

Feeding time at the aquarium offers a mesmerisingly gruesome entertainment

Interest film 1910 6 mins Silent

Overview

Seagulls seem a superfluous choice for an aquarium on the seafront, but the underwater view of diving birds swooping into the tank is captivating, their white fronts glowing through the dark water. Less relaxing are the lightning-fast spasms of the octopi as they gobble up their prey, but even this grisly scene has an oddly mesmerising quality. It was common for silent films to be distributed in many countries - hence the German intertitles here, which although inaccurate point to the universal appeal of the ocean and its curiosities.

A project of Eugenius Birch, better known as the architect of Brighton's West Pier, the aquarium was completed in 1872 and cost £130,000 - no trifling sum. Opened by Mayor John Cordy Burrows, the attraction was extremely popular with the late Victorians, but suffered a brief slump in interest around the turn of the twentieth century. By the time of this film, the aquarium's fortunes had revived and it is still open today, albeit now run by the Sea Life Centre chain.

Genres

Interest film

Country

United Kingdom

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Subjects

Accessibility

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