McCay’s Best– Lusitania!
June 28th, 2007
Why is “The Sinking of the Lusitania [1918] Winsor McCay’s best film?
Graphically, the animation is outstanding- the smoke; the tilt of the ship as it turns in the water and then sinks in 3 dimensions; the character he gives to the story with the fish cameo and the sillouettes of the sailers atop their watercraft; the fact that McCay had to work from reference with respect to the victims’ families and survivors [he couldn’t make up a dinosaur’s momements and call them believable as in “Gertie”].
Finally, this is probably the first piece of animated propoganda ever, successfully insighting the public against Germany to begin the U.S.’s involvement in WWI.
-Jake
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