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The movie Hardcore Henry claims to be the "the world’s first fully first-person action movie", that is, it is entirely shot from the protagonists first person point of view (POV).

But I don't think this is the first time a movie has been shot entirely from a first person POV. So what was the first movie shot from a first person POV?

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    From 1934: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Firebird_(1934_film) – Decypher Apr 7 '16 at 13:58
  • @Decypher I've not seen the movie, but the Wikipedia page suggests that only some of it (i.e. the murder scene) is shot in the first person. – Anthony Grist Apr 7 '16 at 14:39
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    Maybe you should add 'entirely' to the question title and the last sentence, it would be more clear. – Chanandler Bong Apr 7 '16 at 15:09
  • @Gandalf The question is about POV not about whether you get t see the protagonist So being themselves in a mirror doesn't invalidate the POV. – matt_black Apr 7 '16 at 23:11
  • Below find the movie I originally saw circa 1965 on TV. It struck me for the POV, but that is about all. – Cascabel Apr 8 '16 at 1:15
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Lady in the Lake (1947) was a film noir shot entirely in the first person POV, with the exception of 2 scenes where the protagonist broke the fourth wall to address the audience directly.

Taken from the Raymond Chandler novel of the same name, it was adapted to the screen and directed by Robert Montgomery, who also "starred" as the character Phillip Marlowe.

Wiki: "MGM promoted the film with the claim that it was the first of its kind and the most revolutionary style of film since the introduction of the talkies".

I couldn't find another, similarly filmed movie to refute that claim. As many people complained when this movie came out, that it was distracting POV, it has never been a popular film technique. It's rather more successful in "Shooter" video games.

enter image description here

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  • A good example (and I have seen it). But was it first and are there other examples? – matt_black Apr 8 '16 at 19:31
  • It's not a really successful form of filming. Most people find it distracting, so I guess it wasn't used much, unless you count those "Blair Witch" rip-offs. – Cascabel Apr 8 '16 at 19:38
  • Things like Blair Witch are hand-held camera POV not, strictly, individual persons's eye POV. That's a subtle distinction. – matt_black Sep 10 '16 at 23:30

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