James Williamson: Attack on a China Mission (1900)

Per avere un’idea della modernità di questi registi dobbiamo considerare che ad Hollywood i raccordi di direzione, movimento o sguardo, cominceranno ad essere utilizzati sistematicamente solo negli anni Dieci. Così come la tecnica del campo-controcampo di cui James Williamson ci fornisce un primissimo esempio nel suo film Attack on a China Mission (1900).
http://www.brevestoriadelcinema.org/storia-del-cinema/02-il-cinema-delle-origini/02-3-la-scuola-di-brighton/

Attack on a China Mission is a 1900 British short silent drama film, directed by James Williamson, showing some sailors coming to the rescue of the wife of a missionary killed by Boxers. The four-shot film, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, was innovative in content and technique. It incorporated a reverse-angle cut and at least two dozen performers, whereas most dramatic films of the era consisted of single-figure casts and very few shots. Film historian John Barnes claims Attack on a China Mission had "the most fully developed narrative" of any English film up to that time."