Rip Passing Over the Mountain (1896)
Article 5635 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 2-20-2019
Directed by William K. L. Dickson
Featuring Joseph Jefferson
Country: USA
What it is: The eighth episode of the first serial

Rip climbs up a hill.

When you get right down to it as far as the three individual episodes of the Rip Van Winkle serial, none of them really show their fantastic content as stand-alone movies; they have to be seen together and taken in the context of the original story. This one has the least overt fantastic content; all you really see is an old man climbing a hill. That being the case, it must be said that sometimes identifying fantastic content is a matter of context and perspective; it’s what you bring to the table that helps you decide. Granted, what I’ve said here doesn’t amount to a review of such, but I think it’s a fitting way to end this series of reviews of these shorts.