Rough Sea

Dover’s Admiralty Pier could be the setting for these Victorian shots of waves breaking.

This film shows waves breaking against a pier and beach, possibly Admiralty Pier in Dover. The popularity of films like this in the early days of cinema is possibly explained by the accuracy with which the new medium captured the chaotic rhythms of the water. In this case, the way the undertow clashes with the incoming swell is something that couldn’t be captured in paint, or even dissolving lantern slides.