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Constantin Philipsen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lauritz Carl Constantin Philipsen (1 December 1859 in Copenhagen; died 23 August 1925 Copenhagen) [1] is credited as one of the founders of the Cinema of Denmark.

Biography

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Philipsen, a photographer toured Scandinavian nations from 1898 with his magic lantern[2] He eventually sold his photography business to enter the emerging world of cinema on a full-time basis.

Philipsen opened Denmark's first viable cinema the 158 seat Kosmorama in 1904 in Copenhagen[3] He opened 26 more Kosmorama Cinemas in Denmark between 1905 and 1906.[4] Though the majority of cinemas seated at most 300-400 people, Philipsen opened the large Palace Cinema seating 2500 and using a 30 piece orchestra in to former site of Copenhagen's Grand Central Railway station[5]

In addition to owning cinemas Philipsen began producing his own films from 1909.

Legacy

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His son Preben Philipsen (1910–2005) named his Constantin Film company after his father.

Notes

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  1. ^ "Constantin Philipsen".
  2. ^ p. 182 Thomas, Alastair H. Historical Dictionary of Denmark Rowman & Littlefield, 26 Jul. 2016
  3. ^ p. 172 Abel, Richard Encyclopedia of Early Cinema Taylor & Francis, 2005
  4. ^ p. 51 Petterson, Palle B. Cameras into the Wild: A History of Early Wildlife and Expedition Filmmaking, 1895–1928 McFarland, 27 Jun. 2011
  5. ^ p. 173 Abel, Richard Encyclopedia of Early Cinema Taylor & Francis, 2005
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