Cento anni fà 12 – USA 1909 II: Alcuni film da scoprire

A Hundred Years Ago 12 – USA 1909 II: Films to Discover.
Presenta Mariann Lewinsky, grand piano: Neil Brand. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, on the Fourth of July, 2009.

From Tom Gunning's introductory text:
- Vitagraph was Griffith's major rival in sophistication, producing a number of ambitious literary adaptations, but failing to achieve the new conception of staging Griffith was introducing to film.
- However, Vitagraph's more modest narratives showed a clarity of storytelling often based around a particular object
- In 1909, Selig began producing westerns, a genre, which truly found international popularity this year
- At Essanay, the slapstick comedy was evolving
- Hiawatha represents the first major film of the independent company challenging the monopoly of the MPPC, Carl Laemmle's Imp, the ancestor of Universal

Due to technical problems, the order of the programme was changed to:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. US 1909. D: Charles Kent. Based on the play by William Shakespeare. CAST: Maurice Costello (Lysander), Clara Kimball Young (Penelope), James Young, Dolores Costello (fairy), Helene Costello (fairy), Gladys Hulette (Puck), William W. Ranous (Bottom), Charles Chapman (Quince); PC: Vitagraph. 35mm. B&w. From: GEH / Restoration funded by GEH. - Print looks bad in the beginning, from bad original materials, with a scratched image, but it turns ok toward the end. A fairy-tale film based on William Shakespeare's play, with Puck, Hermia (Rose Tapley), Lysander, Demetrius (Walter Ackerman), Helena (Julia Swayne Gordon). It is a condensation of the whole story, not very successful. - Dolores Costello, daughter of Maurice Costello, grandmother of Drew Barrymore, in her first film as a six-year old fairy. - 15 min
The Tell-Tale Blotter. US 1909. PC: Essanay. 35mm. B&w. From: GEH / Restoration funded by GEH. - An effective detective story, with a clear mise-en-scène, the blotter paper as vital evidence to the burglary of a safe. 5 min
The Cowboy Millionaire. US 1909. D: Otis Turner. CAST: Tom Mix, Carl Winterhoff, William Garwood, Mac Barnes, Adrienne Kroell, William Stowell; PC: Selig. 35mm. B&w. From: NFM. - Tinted print with Dutch intertitles. - Tom Mix gets married in the city, and his cowboy friends visit him with their horses and lassoes. The boisterous cowboys have a good time in the train, too. A lot of rodeo stunts. 2o min
Dope Head Clancy. US 1909. PC: Phoenix. 35mm. 155 m. B&w. From: GEH / Restoration funded by National Endowment for the Arts. - Ok print. Farce. Visiting a show without paying, thrown out. Wrestling match. Attempting to act in films, a parody of film production. 8 min
Buon anno. IT 1909. PC: Ambrosio. 35mm. From: Museo Nazionale del Cinema. - Good bye to a great retrospective (a hundred years ago: 1909). 1 min

Due to the delay in the programme I missed:
Hiawatha. US 1909. D: William V. Ranous. Based on the poem "The Song of Hiawatha" di Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; CAST: Gladys Hulette, William V. Ranous; PC: IMP. 16mm. B&w. From: MoMA
Lines of White on a Sullen Sea. US 1909. D: D.W. Griffith. DP: Billy Bitzer; CAST: Linda Arvidson, Kate Bruce, Dell Henderson, Florence Lawrence, Arthur Johnson, James Kirkwood, Owen Moore, Billy Quirk; PC: Biograph. 16mm. 11’. B&w. Intertitles reconstructed by Killiam/Blackhawk. From: MoMA. - I managed to see a bit of this print as it was shown in reverse in the beginning, and it did not look very good.

Cento anni fà 11 – Mondo perduto / Addio, cinema degli origini

A Hundred Years Ago 11 – Lost World / Farewell, Early Cinema!
Presenta Mariann Lewinsky. Grand piano: Neil Brand. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, on 3 July 2009.

From Mariann Lewinsky's introduction:

"Lost world: the sea lost its sails, the rivers their washerwomen, the fields their shade trees, the streets their animals and pedestrians, the humans their co-existence with livestock and the grown-ups their games with children".

Farewell, early cinema: soon the cinema would lose some genres characteristic to the first decade.
The féerie would disappear.
Films with sound on disc came to an abrupt end when at their peak, the reason being overproduction and a consequent collapse in price, with production costs exceeding sales revenue.
Oskar Messter, until then the major German producer, retired from the market in the autumn 1909.

Latham’s Machine Being Towed in after His Wonderful Flight on Oct 22nd [GB] 1909. 35mm. 50 m. B&w. No intertitles. From: BFINA. - Non-fiction. - Ok print. - 2 min
Hunting Scenes. [DE 1909]. 35mm. 76 m. B&w. No intertitles. From: BFINA. - Non-fiction. - Low contrast print. - Dullish. - 4 min
En Camargue – Course de taureaux à Saintes Maries / A Bull Fight. FR 1909 ; PC: Pathé 35mm. 102 m. B&w. English intertitles. From: BFINA. - Non-fiction. - Bull fight without killing. - 6 min
Un monsieur qui a mangé du taureau. FR 1909. PC: Gaumont. 35mm. 180 m. B&w. From: Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique. - Good image in the print - Fiction: comedy. - Les effets de la viande du taureau - Having eaten good beef the man attacks a woman like a bull - Matadors are alerted - A funny telegraph sequence, with the text of the message on the image - too repetitious - 11 min
Kobenhavn i sne / Eine Groszstadt in Schnee. DK 1909. PC: Nordisk. 35mm. 96 m. Deutsche Zwischentitel. B&w. From: BFINA - Non-fiction - beautiful winter images - skating on long skateways in the city - Alberti collects money for the unemployed - snow fight - 5 min
Un voyage à toute vapeur. NL 1909. 35mm. 62 m. Dutch intertitles. From: NFM. - Non-fiction. The print has a Dutch title. Sailing on an ocean liner in the grand style. 4 min
Comment se fait le fromage de Hollande / Herstellung von holländischer Käse. FR 1909. D: Alfred Machin. PC: Pathé 35mm. 200 m. B&w. Deutsche Zwischentitel. From: BFINA. - Non-fiction. Ok print. A good documentary about all the phases, from dog-driven carts to images of the greatest cheese markets.
[Collection de cartes postales]. FR 1908? PC: Pathé. 35mm. 112 m. B&w. English intertitles. BFINA. - Fiction. A variation of the popular subject of an illicit love affair being revealed via photography. The setting is on the beach, and the revelation takes place as the wife browses a funny set of holiday pictures at the postcart stand. 5 min
Le Philtre maudit. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 183 m. Pochoir. From: AFF/CNC. - Fiction, historical, 1480, with féerie and ballet elements. Beautiful print with pochoir colour. 9 min
Porcelaines tendres. FR 1909. D: Emile Cohl. PC: Gaumont. 35mm. 65 m. B&w. From: AFF/CNC. - Animation. Porcelain figurines come to life. 4 min
Der Graf von Luxemburg – Mädel klein Mädel fein. AT 1909. M: Franz Lehar; SC: Alfred M. Willner; Testi: Robert Bodanzky; Conduzione: Franz Lehar; With: Louise Kartousch, Bernhard Bötel; Registrazione sonora: Gramophone, Vienna 16 novembre 1909. Fonoscena. Beta SP. Orig: 50 m. 5’. B&w. From: Filmarchiv Austria. - A charming phonoscene with the original music by Franz Lehar conducted by Lehar himself! 3 min
Schutzmann Lied aus Donnerwetter – Tadellos!. DE 1908. M: Paul Lincke; Testi: Julius Freund; Conduzione: Bruno Seidler-Winkler; Int: Henry Bender; PC: Messter; Registrazione sonora: Zonophon Fonoscena. Beta Sp. Orig: 48 m. 5’. B&w From: Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek. Digital reconstruction: Christian Zwarg. - Phonoscene. A boisterous, funny, parodic German "po-po-police" march, one of the funniest films of the festival. Sung by Henry Bender, accompanied by other marching police-clad fellows. "New insight into Kaiser Wilhelm's Berlin" (Mariann Lewinsky). 3 min

Occupe-toi d'Amélie!

Occupati di Amelia FR/IT 1949 D: Claude Autant-Lara. Based on the play (1908) by Georges Feydeau; SC: Jean Aurenche, Pierre Bost; DP: André Bac; ED: Madeleine Gug; DP: Max Douy, Jean André, Jacques Douy; M: René Cloërec; S: William Sivel; CAST: Danielle Darrieux (Amélie), Jean Desailly (Marcel), Carette (Pochet), Victor Guyau (Van Putzboum), Grégoire Aslan (il principe di Palestrie), Armontel (generale Koschnadieff), André Bervil (Etienne), Charles Deschamps (il sindaco), Louise Conte (Irène), Marcelle Arnold, Lucienne Granier, Primerose Perret, Colette Ripert, Robert Auboyneau, Richard Francoeur; PC: Lux C.C.F. (Paris)/Lux Film (Roma); 35 mm. 2374 m. 86’. French version. From: AFF/CNC. Presenta: Eric Le Roy, earphone commentary in English and Italian, viewed at Cinema Lumière 2, Bologna, 3 July 2009. - Eric Le Roy told that the rights to the film reverted to the Autant-Lara family, and because of that, the film was for a long time difficult to see. This print was made 30 years ago and had barely been screened. - Immaculate print. - My French is not good enough, and I tried to follow the earphone commentary, which was always a few sentences late, so I stopped. - I could see that this is a brilliant meta-film which moves on several dimensions with lightning speed and with a powerful sense of the absurd. I look forward to seeing it again with proper translation.

Dafnis kai Chloe

Δαφνισ και Χλοη / Daphnis and Chloe. GR 1931 D: Laskos Orestis; Based on the story by Longus; SC: Laskos Orestis; DP: Dimitris Meravidis; M: Agis Asteriadis; LOC: Lesbos. CAST: Apollon Marsyas (Dafni), Matli Lucy (Cloe), Avlonitis Ioannis (Dryantas), Georgiadis Giorgos (Lamonas), Korina (Lykainio), Vitsoris Timos, Raftopoulou Marika, Paleologos Costas; PC: Astra Film 35mm. 64’ a 24 f /s. B&w. Greek intertitles with English subtitles. From: Greek Film Archive. - Presenta: Maria Komninos, grand piano: Marco Dalpane. Viewed at Cinema Lumière 1, Bologna, 3 July 2009. - Following the introduction by Maria Komninos: The first Greek film with purely artistic aspirations and an accomplished personal form of expression. The young poet Laskos Orestis / Orestis Laskos [Orestis is the given name, Laskos the family name] (1908-1992) started his film career with a screen version of the pastoral romance from the 2nd century AD by Longus / Longos. The story of the two abandoned children who grow up as shepherds in the meadows of Lesbos. Their close friendship is shaken by the first signs of adolescent sexuality, and they pass various trials before their relationship reaches its natural conclusion. The cinematography takes advantage of the soft landscape of Lesbos. The quality of the images and the lyrical disposition of the director more than make up for the film's imperfections. In the bathing scenes the nudity of the young lovers is innocent and natural. After WWII the film was considered lost, only fragments survived in Greece. In 1990 a major part of the film was located in the USA. The restoration was completed in 1992 with the assistance of Orestis Laskos, who died a few days after the premiere of the reconstruction. - I saw the beginning only of this charming and lyrical film.

Un'ora con Georges Méliès (e con qualche Lobster)

An Hour of Pure Georges Méliès (and some Lobsters). Presenta, grand piano (good), last film's bonimenteur: Serge Bromberg. Viewed in Cinema Lumière 1, Bologna, 3 July 2009.

From the catalogue introduction: Georges Méliès was not only a pioneer of the cinema but also a last representative of the magic theatre and fantasy spectacle of the 19th century, the "long century" (Eric Hobsbawm), which ended in 1914. Méliès and his Star Films were at their peak in 1903-1904, and crucial for the cinema before 1910, but for legal reasons it has been difficult to screen his films. - NB. Having finished his film career Méliès burned all his negatives and prints. Most of the Méliès films are lost forever, and the rest can never be seen again in good prints.

All films: Country: France, PC: Star Film, D: Georges Méliès, 35mm, from: Lobster Films

Le Cauchemar. 1896. - Passable b&w print - man asleep in bed, in his nightmare, transforms into a woman, etc. - 1'33"
Un homme de tête. 1898. - Passable b&w print - he severs his heads repeatedly, and the severed heads give a concert - 1'11"
L'Illusionniste double et la tête vivante. 1900. - Passable b&w print - the magician doubles himself and meets a magical vanishing lady who comes alive from a paper head - 1'25"
Le Livre magique. 1900. - B&w print from damaged source - the figures in a giant book come alive: Pierrot, Arlecchino, Pulcinella, Colombina, Cassandra - 3 min
Nouvelles luttes extravagantes. 1900. - Passable b&w print - buxom ladies wrestle in tights, transformations, disjecta membra, flattening as in animation - 3 min
Le Rêve du radjah. 1900. - Passable b&w print - The rajah's dream: changes in space, apparitions, transformations, fight with the pillow - 2'20"
Le Réveil d'un monsieur pressé. 1900. - The man wakes up, tries to dress, but his clothes undergo relentless transformations, exhausted, he returns to bed - 2 min
Le Sorcier, le prince et le bon génie. 1900. - Passable b&w print - two men and a woman - magic dresses, apparitions, disappearances, constant transformations - 2'08"
Le Tonneau des danaîdes. 1900. - B&w print - 8 woman and 1 man - the magic barrel can contain an endless number of women - 1'11"
Le Chapeau à surprise. 1901. - B&w print - a magician's miraculous table and trunk - a giant top hat - the magician conjures even his dinner guests from his trunk - even the painting on the wall comes alive - 2'33"
Excelsior! 1901. - Passable b&w print - the magician conjures a handkerchief from his assistant's mouth, and a bowl from the handkerchief - the magician uses his assistant as a water pump - he even gets fish to the bowl from his assistant's mouth - fire to the torch - the bowl turns into a shrimp and into a beautiful woman dressed as a clown - 2'04"
Nain et géant. 1901. - Passable b&w print - he doubles himself - one grows into a giant - the other shrinks into a midget - 0'51"
La Danseuse microscopique. 1902. - Passable b&w print - the bearded magician conjures eggs from his assistant's mouth - breaks the eggs into his top hat - a big egg grows even bigger - a dancing mini woman grows into life size - changes of form and place - 2'50"
L'Equilibre impossible. 1902. - Starting with images of classical antiquity - the acrobat GM multiplies into four identical copies, three of them performing acrobatics on his head and arms - 1'11"
Les Trésors de Satan. 1902. - Print has low contrast in the beginning - in the Satan's tresure cave - female assistants give the Devil a hard time - diabolic dance with a miser - 2'39"
L'Auberge du Bon Repos. 1903. - Passable b&w print - the slightly intoxicated traveller tries to go to sleep - but the portrait on the wall comes alive - his boots start to walk on the walls - the bed rocks like a boat on waves - strange faces on the walls haunt him - the Devil jumps in from the window - 5'30"
Le Monstre. 1903. - In Egypt, the sphinx, the pyramid - a living skeleton from the tomb becomes a ghost - who turns into a living woman, a temple beauty - and back to skeleton again - 2'31"
L'Oracle de Delphe. 1903. - In Egypt, in Delphi, the sphinxes come alive - a thief's head turns into that of a donkey - 1'40"
Le Chaudron infernal. 1903. - Colour print - Belphegor puts a woman into his devil's cauldron - the vapours of the cauldron turn into ghosts - 1'39"
La Fée carabosse. 1906. - Bonimenteur: Serge Bromberg - Colour print - a princess appears from a mirror - money turns into sand - the witch's revenge, magic dagger, magic smoke - chase by a magic broom at full moon - the shamrock: the ghosts disappear - a giant frog, an immense owl, a dragon, two snakes - a magic whisk, a magic sword - the prince met the princess - the flight in the sky - refuge by the sea - 9'58"

Cento anni fà 10 – Italia 1909

A Hundred Years Ago 10 – Italy 1909.
Presenta Giovanni Lasi. Grand piano: Antonio Coppola. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 2 July 2009.

Prima parte – Arte e storia: il destino italiano / First Part – Art and history: The destiny of Italy

Iulius Caesar. IT 1909. D: Giovanni Pastrone. Based on William Shakespeare. PC: Itala-Film 35mm. 255 m. B&w. Titres français. From: Cineteca di Bologna. - The assassination plot. The dream of Calpurnius. The shocked Marcus Antonius. Brutus and his friends evicted from Rome. The battle of Philippes. The death of Brutus. 12 min
Il piccolo garibaldino. IT 1909. PC: Cines. 35mm. Orig: 242 m. 224 m. B&w. [NOT: Deutsche Zwischentitel, as announced but Italian ones]. From: Cineteca Nazionale. - Restored in 2007, partly digitized, Desmet colour, ok print. - The boy wants to volunteer to fight with Garibaldi. The boy's dream projected on the wall. Meeting the father at the voluntary camp. A battle sequence. "I want to die next to him". The appearance of Garibaldi. A fairy-tale image of heaven. - 13 min
La signora dalle camelie. IT 1909. PC: Film d’Arte Italiana. Based on Alexandre Dumas, fils. 35mm. 343 m. B&w. No intertitles From: Museo Nazionale del Cinema. - The image is a bit dim, with a digital intermediate look. - 16 min
Spergiura! / Meineidig / The False Oath. IT 1909. PC: Ambrosio. Based on a novel by Honoré de Balzac (which one?). 35mm. 250 m. Tinted and toned. Deutsche Zwischentitel. From: Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek. - A beautiful image. - Historical drama.
Cretinetti re dei ladri. IT 1909. PC: Itala-Film. 35mm. 100 m. B&w and tinted. No intertitles. From: Cineteca di Bologna. - Comedy

The second part of the show I missed partly because the show was running late of schedule.

Cento anni fà 9 – Sogni, incubi e censura

A Hundred Years Ago 9 – Dreams, Nightmares, and Censorship.
Presenta Mariann Lewinsky. Grand piano: Mariann Lewinsky e Donald Sosin. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 2 July 2009.

Prima parte: Invisibile – Visibile / First Part: Invisible – Visible

Le Voleur invisible. FR 1909. D: Segundo de Chomón. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 104 m. B&w. From: Lobster Films. - Ok print. - A fine and funny trick comedy based on the novel by H.G. Wells. Only the clothes make the hero visible. The policemen are baffled at his escape from his clothes. 6 min. *
Rêve d’une féministe. FR 1909. PC: Pathé [2643]. 35mm. 110 m. B&w. From: AFF/CNC. - Farce, satire. - An incomplete print from damaged material. - Buxomy heroine participates at an emancipatory congress. Members of the Femina Club beat up a male doll and then the women attack a man together. The man is made to wash the dishes. 4 min.
La Mort du Duc d’Enghien en 1804. FR 1909. D: Albert Capellani. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 275 m. B&w. From: Cin. fr. - Historical drama. - Brilliant print based on a nitrate negative. - Fine composition, fine sense of the image, fine sense of movement. - On the orders of Napoleon, the Duke of Enghien is abducted from his exile in Baden, court-martialled and executed in Vincennes in 1804. - His faithful dog follows him to the grave. - 15 min
[Le] Chien jaloux. FR 1909. PC: Gaumont [2304]. 35mm. 183 m. 6’40’’ a 24 fps. B&w. From: AFF/CNC. - Drama. The dog is jealous of the attention given to the child. The dog causes a fire but rescues the child from it. - 7 min
La Lampe. FR 1909. PC: Pathé [3244]. 35mm. 120 m. B&w. From: AFF/CNC. - Comedy about the transportation of a lamp. - Magic tricks such as being flattened under a steamroller and being pumped back to life by a passing cyclist. - 4 min

Seconda parte: Empatia fisica e repulsione / Second Part: Empathy and Repulsion

Comme on se rencontre. FR 1909. PC: Pathé Frères. 35mm. 100 m. B&w. No intertitles. From: Cineteca di Bologna. - A farce. - Ok quality of image, based on 28 mm material. - Face being cut by a barber's knife. - 6 min
La Cinématographie des microbes. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 180 m. B&w. Deutsche Zwischentitel. From: BFINA. - Non-fiction. - A good print. - Rat tests, samples from the tail. - Footage through the microscope on microbes. - No music during this film: good. - 5 min
Le Moulin maudit / The Mill. FR 1909. D: Alfred Machin. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 130 m. Col. English intertitles. From: Cin. fr. Restored by AFF/CNC. - Tragedy, cruel revenge bordering on horror. - Subtle colour. - Johanna decides to marry the wealthy miller in preference to Wilhelm. Wilhelm visits the miller's wife. - A triangle drama. The husband catches the couple in flagranti. His revenge: he ties Wilhelm to the wing of the mill and his wife to a tree. He gets mad and jumps into the river. 9 min
Chasse à la panthère. FR 1909. D: Alfred Machin. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 131 m. Pochoir. From: Cineteca di Bologna. - Non-fiction. - A brilliant print with very effective colour. - A trap to the panther. The panther gets caught and is shot. - Not a particularly brave hunt. - The panther's jaws are opened, it is carried on a pole, and skinned. 8 min
NOT SHOWN: [Industrie de la peau des serpents au Java. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 152 m. From: Archives Gaumont-Pathé]

Cento anni fà 8 – Danimarca & Nordisk 1909

A Hundred Years Ago 8 – Denmark & Nordisk 1909.
Presenta Thomas Christensen, grand piano: Antonio Coppola. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 1 July 2009.

1909 was the last year when the short format was dominant in Danish film production. Nordisk was the dominant company. The last three films were also recently highlighted at the memorable "The Last Cigarette" retrospective at the DFI.

Capriciosa. DK 1909. D: Viggo Larsen. CAST: Lauritz Olsen, Gustav Lund, Petrine Sonne; PC: Nordisk. 35mm. 132 m. 7’ a 16 fps. B&w. From: DFI / Printed in 1993. - A fairy-tale about a young sailor who is given a wallet which is always full. However, he may not give anyone else any money. - In Méliès style about the inexhaustible wallet. The return of the prodigal.
Ved havet. DK 1909. D: Ole Olsen. PC: Nordisk. 35mm. 229 m. 13’ a 16 fps. Tinted. Svenska mellantexter. From: DFI / Printed in 2003. - A compilation of two films, one non-fiction, another realistic fiction. - The might of the sea. The net thrown to the sea, the boat keels over, the men are at the mercy of the sea, the funeral (fine composition).
Une vie gaspillée. DK 1910 ca. PC: Continental. 35mm. 154 m. 7’ a 20 fps. Tinted. Titres français. From: DFI / Printed in 2006. - Tragedy. - Unidentified Danish film. - Beautiful composition. - The two worlds: falling into the depths of squalor, a miserable saloon with Tuborg and Carlsberg ads. - In snowstorm the woman staggers back to her parents but is dismissed. Morte oubliée de tous.
Vidundercigaren. DK 1909. PC: Nordisk. 35mm. Orig.: 106 m. 55 m. 3’ a 16 fps. B&w. No intertitles. From: DFI / Printed in 1993. - A comedy. - A puff from the magic cigar knocks everybody down.
Dobbeltgaengeren / Die verräterische Cigarette. DK 1910. D: Holger Rasmussen. CAST: Aage Hertel, Victor Fabian, Otto Lagoni, Einar Zangenberg; PC: Nordisk. 35mm. Orig: 317 m. 265 m. 14’ a 16 fps. Tinted. Deutsche Zwischentitel. From: DFI / Printed in 2007. - A detective story, sharp composition, a beautiful telephone triple screen with bustle on the street in the middle panel. - The story is about burglary of a safe, with several thrills, including a final chase where a car is after a train.

Cento anni fà 7 – Il passato è una paese straniero

A Hundred Years Ago 7 – The Past Is a Foreign Country.
Presentano Mariann Lewinsky e Hiroshi Komatsu. Grand piano: Gabriel Thibaudeau. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière, 1 July 2009.

The global view a hundred years ago. Filmed journeys were very popular before the age of mass tourism. The films were also documents of colonialism. In Japan the survival rate of early cinema is close to zero, but some rarities exist.

[NOT SHOWN: Nationale stoet ter verheerlijking vande inlijving van Congo bij België Antwerp (6.6.1909). BG 1909. 16mm. 60 m. B&w. From: Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique]
Au Maroc: Tanger. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 120 m. B&w. From: NFM. - Non-fiction, transporting cattle by boat, black workers. Good print.
Dans l’Afrique mystérieuse. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 135 m. B&w. From: BFINA. - Non-fiction, black muslims bowing towards the Mecca, a black tribe armed with spears, gathering cocoanuts from the trees, transport by camels. Ok print.
Récolte, manipulation et exportation du café / Der Aufbruch zur Ernte. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 120 m. B&w. From: BFINA. - Marks of water damage in the original material. - Non-fiction, fascinating, in the jungle, all the phases of the production of coffee from the jungle to the coffee being served to a lady.
Tame Animals at Work / Wunder der Dressur. GB 1909. PC: Cricks and Martin. 35mm. 117 m. B&w. From: BFINA. - Print from damaged original material, titles missing. - At work: the pig, the camel, the dromedary, riding the ostrich, cattle, the zebra, the donkey, the horse, the yak, the lama.
ADDED: D'ou viennent les faux cheveux. FR 1909. Tinted. From: AFF/CNC. All the phases of the fabrication of a wig. Women's hair is cut, washed, sorted out, etc.
Revolución de Mayo. AR 1909. D: Mario Gallo. PC: Mario Gallo; 35mm [frammento]. ca. 75 m. B&w. From: Cinemateca Argentina. - This restoration reduced to be screenable on a widescreen format. - See my note from May 2009 in Buenos Aires.
Grande fête du cinquantenaire de Yokohama. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 83 m. Pochoir. From: BFINA. - From damaged material. - A parade film with archers and geishas.
Otello. IT 1909. D: Gerolamo Lo Savio. B.o. William Shakespeare. PC: Film d’Arte Italiana. 35mm. 228 m. Pochoir. English intertitles. From: National Film Center Tokyo, Komiya Collection. - A good print with fascinating colour and original intertitles. - Stately but not touching. - Reportedly the only surviving material of this film.
Asagao nikki / [Diary of a Morning Glory]. JP 1909. D: Shokichi Umeya. PC: M. Pathé. 16mm. ca. 60 m. B&w. From: Waseda University Tokyo. - From Hiroshi Komatsu's introduction: in Japan, the name Pathé was synonymous with the cinema, and that is why a Japanese company was named M. Pathé, although it had nothing to do with Charles Pathé. - A famous short story was the basis for a kabuki play and a puppet play. It is the tragedy of one who becomes blind. Rarely all acts are played. - [In the 1960s?] a 35mm nitrate print was found, a 16mm print was produced, and the nitrate was thrown away. In Bologna, the film is shown to a general audience for the first time in almost one hundred years. - Filmed kabuki theatre with long takes and long shots. The image is badly damaged.

Cento anni fà 6 – USA 1909 I: L'anno miracoloso di D.W. Griffith

A Hundred Years Ago 6 – USA 1909 I: The Miracle Year of D.W. Griffith.
Presentano Gian Luca Farinelli, Camille Blot-Wellens, Béatrice [Valbin-Constant?], Mariann Lewinsky. Grand piano: Gabriel Thibaudeau. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 30 June 2009

- The tribute to Griffith's annus mirabilis was sabotaged by the terrible quality of the prints. The original negatives exist at MoMA, but for some reason good prints of Griffith's films are rare.
- In 1909 Griffith directed 142 films. Quoting Tom Gunning's introductory text to the program: "Griffith had discovered the powers of parallel editing in 1908, but in 1909 he truly explored its diverse uses from suspense, to political commentary, to psychological exploration. But if editing supplied Griffith's major narrative tool, his attention to the image, to composition and lyrical beauty expanded as well."
- Griffith discovers the landscape as an image of the soul, "soulscape"

The Country Doctor. US 1909. D: D.W. Griffith. DP: Billy Bitzer; CAST: Frank Powell, Florence Lawrence, Mary Pickford, Linda Arvidson, Kate Bruce, Gladys Egan, Adele De Garde, Stephanie Longfellow; PC: Biograph. 35mm. 287 m. B&w. From: MoMA. - Ok print.
The Cricket on the Hearth. US 1909. D: D.W. Griffith. Based on the tale (1845) by Charles Dickens; DP: Billy Bitzer, Arthur Marvin; CAST: Charles Inslee, Owen Moore, Violet Mersereau, Herbert Prior, Linda Arvidson, Mack Sennett; PC: Biograph. 16mm. 73 m. B&w. [Announced: From: MoMA.] - From LoC paper print, titles missing, terrible print, incomprehensible without the titles, impossible to appreciate the visual quality.
Pippa Passes. US 1909. D: D.W. Griffith. Based on the poem by Robert Browning (1841); DP: Billy Bitzer, Arthur Marvin; CAST: Gertrude Robinson, George Nicholls, Adele De Garde, James Kirkwood, Mack Sennett, Tony O’Sullivan, Linda Arvidson; PC: Biograph. 16mm. 11’. From: LoC. - A terrible, scratched print based on a paper print, without titles, incomprehensible, impossible to appreciate the visual quality. - This story is famously based on the transforming power of music. As the pianist missed this idea completely, the live music was another obstruction to the reception of Griffith's film.
The Red Man’s View. US 1909. D: D.W. Griffith. DP: Billy Bitzer; CAST: James Kirkwood, Arthur Johnson, Owen Moore, Lottie Pickford, Alfred Paget, W. Chrystie Miller, Dorothy West, Kate Bruce; PC: Biograph. 35mm. 296 m. B&w. [Announced: From: MoMA.] - "Restored" by LoC, seemingly from a paper print, weak visual quality.

Cento anni fà 5 – Un cinema di distrazione

A Hundred Years Ago 5 – A Cinema of Distractions.
Presenta Mariann Lewinsky. Grand piano: Alain Baents. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 30 June 2009.

- the incidental, the accidental, the providential, the passer-by, the stray dog
- the transitional zone between fiction and non-fiction
- the feeling of real presence (Bela Balazs)
- the cinema of distractions (Luke McKernan)

Cinema – Città – Affinità / Cinema – City – Affinity

Street Scenes in Saarbrücken. DE 1909. PC: Welt-Kinematograph. 35mm. 101 m. B&w. From: BFINA. Non-fiction. Beautiful definition of light. The traffic, the passants, the phantom ride. 5 min

Quattro film Lux / Four Lux Productions

Souvenirs de Paris. FR 1909. PC: Lux. 35mm. 85 m. B&w. From: Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique. - Fiction. From worn material with a good definition of light. A lively account of family life. The father's gifts waken to life: the objects portray living images. 5 min. *
L’Enlèvement. FR 1909. PC: Lux. 35mm. 109 m. Col. English intertitles. From: AFF/CNC. - Comedy. The young lover kidnaps accidentally his mother-in-law instead of his bride. 7 min. *
Le Pneu Machin boit l’obstacle. FR 1909. PC: Lux. 35mm. 73 m. Col. English intertitles. From: AFF/CNC. - A crazy comedy. The automobile the touch of which can make anything disappear. The automobile ivre. 4 min. *
Les Tribulations d’un charcutier. FR 1909. PC: Lux. 35mm. 77 m. B&w. From: Cin. fr. Restored by AFF/CNC. - Print dim, bad contrast. A farce about sausages, slapstick. 5 min. *

Distrazioni e sorprese / Distractions and Surprises

La Possession de l’enfant. FR 1909. D: Louis Feuillade. PC: Gaumont. 35mm. 230 m. B&w. No intertitles. From: AFF/CNC. - A brilliant print, but intertitles missing. - A noble composition. - The art of noble pantomime. - The fight over the custody of the child. 13 min. *
La Fée des grèves. FR 1909. D: Louis Feuillade. PC: Gaumont. 35mm. 148 m. Pochoir. Deutsche Zwischentitel. From: AFF/CNC. - A somewhat low contrast print. - A historical costume drama and féerie. The story of the mermaid who wants to return to the sea. The man follows after her. Fantasmagoria in the style of Méliès. The maids are well clothed. 8 min
La Bouée. FR 1909. D: Louis Feuillade. PC: Gaumont. 35mm. 137 m. B&w. From: BFINA. - Deutsche Zwischentitel. From worn material with signs of damage. - A baby is found in the sea. Sold at auction. But there is money in the life buoy. 7 min
Un mariage en Auvergne. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 85 m. B&w. From: AFF/CNC. - Non-fiction. Traditional instruments and dances. 5 min.
XV. Eidgen. Musikfest in Basel. DE 1909. PC: Welt-Kinematograph. 35mm. 131 m. B&w.From: Cinémathèque Suisse. - Non-fiction: parade, boring, the spectacers react to the camera and make faces. 8 min
Film ist. 7-12. AT 2002. D+SC+ED: Gustav Deutsch. Research: Gustav Deutsch, Hanna Schimek; M: Werner Dafeldecker, Christian Fennesz, Martin Siewert, Burkhardt Stangl; PC: Loop Media, in collaborazione con CNC, Cinemateca Portuguesa, Cineteca di Bologna, Filmarchiv Austria, NFM. Extract from Chapter 12. 35mm. 5’. Col. From: sixpackfilm. - Maybe due to the delays in the schedule only 1 min 35 seconds of Gustav Deutsch's masterpiece were shown.

Cento anni fà 4 – La Film d'Art nel 1909

A Hundred Years Ago 4 – Film d'Art in 1909.
Presentano Béatrice de Pastre (CNC), XX (male), and Mariann Lewinsky. Grand piano: Maud Nelissen. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 29 June 2009.

Film d'Art:
- great themes from Homer, the Bible, and the opera
- the search for high quality
- the search for a visual language for the cinema

Le Retour d’Ulysse. FR 1909. D: André Calmettes, Charles Le Bargy. Based on Ulysses by Homer. SC: Jules Lemaître; M: Georges Huë; CAST: Julia Bartet (Penelope), Albert Lambert (Antinous), Paul Mounet (Ulysse), Louis Delaunay (il sacerdote); PC: Pathé; 35mm. 320 m. From: AFF/CNC. - Reportedly blown up from Pathé-Baby, amazing visual quality if that is true. - Penelope weaves her tapestry and tears it secretly to postpone the attentions of her suitors. Penelope's dream. The rivals destroy mementi of Ulysses. 11 min
L’Enfant prodigue. FR 1909. D: Georges Berr. SC: Henri Lavedan; DP: Lucien Jusseaume, Floury; CAST: Eugène Silvain (il padre di famiglia), René Alexandre (il figlio maggiore), Jean Dehelly (il figlio prodigo), i ballerini de l’Opéra, PC: Pathé; 35mm. 246 m. From: AFF/CNC. - Biblical epic. Three colours. 13 min
Mireille. FR 1909. D: Henri Cain. Based on the long poem Mirèio (1859) by Frédéric Mistral; Op.: Hérault e Nedelec per le scene girate ad Arles; LOC: Arles. CAST: M.lle Didier (Mireille), Roger Karl (Vincent), Jaegger (Maître Ramon); PC: Pathé; 35mm. 165 m. From: AFF/CNC.- A nest in the mulberry tree predicts a marriage within the year. Tragedy: the woman falls ill. Ok print. 9 min
Une conquête. FR 1909. D: Charles Decroix. SC: Charles Decroix; CAST: Max Linder (Gontran), M.me Frémeaux; PC: Pathé; 35mm. 130 m. From: AFF/CNC. - Comedy. Max Linder is the indefatigable ladies' man to whom accumulate handkerchiefs, flowers, statuettes, and dogs as he tries to please the lady who is on her way to meet her husband. 8 min *
Moines et guerriers. FR 1909. CAST: Pauline (Emilie) Polaire, Jacques Volnys, Georges Colin, Julien Clément, Léonie Richard; PC: Pathé; 35mm. 200 m. From: AFF/CNC. - Siège de Saragosse, 1808. Shot on location. A historical military subject from Napoleon's wars. The soldiers by the monastery, the grim revenge. Print ok, somewhat low contrast.

Cento anni fà 3 – Pronti per il lungometraggio

A Hundred Years Ago 3 – Coming Attraction: Feature Length
Presenta Mariann Lewinsky. Grand Piano: Antonio Coppola. Viewed at Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 29 June 2009.

- The first French feature film according to Henri Bousquet: L'Assommoir, 40 min. A complete print that has recently surfaced in Belgium was screened.

Roman d’une bottine et d’un escarpin. FR 1909. D: Georges Monca. CAST: Georges Tréville, Suzanne Demay; PC: Pathé. 35mm. 170 m. English intertitles. B&w. From: BFINA. - The meeting of the shoes tells the love story. Partially a good definition of light.
Les deux devoirs / Berufspflicht. FR 1909. D: Louis Feuillade. PC: Gaumont. 35mm. 172 m. B&w. Deutsche Zwischentitel. From: AFF/CNC. - The calling of the doctor. The demonstration. Partially a good definition of light. 10 min.
Roman d’une écuyère / Der abgewiesene Verehrer. FR 1909. D: Camille de Morlhon. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 240 m. Tinted. From: NFM. - Deutsche Zwischentitel. The circus world: the husband is a clown, the wife is an acrobatic rider. Of course there is the triangle drama, the clown falls from the trapeze, falls into the gutter, takes care of the child, but the wife begs to return. 13 min.
Une corderie / Seilerei. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 82 m. B&w. No intertitles. From: BFINA. - Fascinating non-fiction of the many phases of producing rope. 5 min. *
L’Assommoir. FR 1909. D: Albert Capellani. Based on the novel by Emile Zola (1877); SC: Albert Capellani, Michel Carré; CAST: Eugène Nau (Gervaise), Catherine Fontenay (Virginie), Alexandre Arquillière (Coupeau), Jacques Grétillaat (Lantier); PC: S.C.A.G.L. – Pathé. 35mm. 740 m. B&w. From: Archives Gaumont-Pathé. - A fascinating discovery. Interesting visual space, full of life, lively tableaux. - The women's fight in the laundry. The wedding in 1872 (Gervaise, Coupeau). - Excellent cinematography. - The jealous Virginie sets the trap for Coupeau at the scaffold of the building site. - During his long invalid period Coupeau becomes an alcoholist. - A fine dinner banquet scene. - Virginie revenges by fuelling Coupeau's alcohol addiction. - Coupeau loses the wager on strong drink at the tavern. The fight over the woman. - Coupeau is hospitalized, and is forbidden to drink strong alcohol. Virginie's last revenge leads to an extended danse macabre. - This episodic film, based on tableaux, follows reportedly the popular theatre adaption of the grim novel. 40 min. *

Cento anni fà 2 – Che c'è di nuovo nel 1909: Cinegiornali! Ballets Russes! Cretinetti!

A Hundred Years Ago 2 – What's New In 1909: Newsreels! Ballets Russes! Cretinetti!
Presenta: Mariann Lewinsky. Grand piano: Alain Baents. Viewed at Cinema Lumière 1, Bologna, 28 June 2009.

- The Centenary of the newsreel (Pathé Journal)
- The only moving image records of Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in their first Paris season in 1909.
- The first aerial films
- Marinetti's Futurist manifesto in February 1909 celebrated with the film of The Electric Policeman
- Maria Montessori's Il metodo della pedagogia scientifica (1909) celebrated with films about children
- James Joyce's Volta Cinema in Dublin opened in Dublin in 1909; among the films shown was Une pouponnière
- The Centenary of the film star: Cretinetti (Max Linder, Sarah Duhamel, and Stacia Napierkowska were to be credited by name later)
- The Centenary of the film diva: Stacia Napierkowska

Prima stagione dei Ballets Russes a Parigi / First Paris season of the Ballets Russes

La Danse du flambeau. FR 1909 D: Jules de Froberville. With: Tamara Karsavina; PC: Les Films du Lion. 35mm. 31 m. B&w. From: AFF/CNC. - Doc. A fine print, an impressive ballet performance, of the first filmed records of Ballets Russes. *
Pas-de-deux et soli. FR 1909. D: Jules de Froberville. With: Alexandra Baldina, Theodore Kosloff; PC: Les Films du Lion 35mm. 86 m. B&w From: AFF/CNC. - Doc. Two great ballet numbers, first a valse caprice for two, and then a solo number, ?by Nijinsky?.

Aviazione e cinegiornale / Aviation and newsreels

Wilbur Wright und seine Flugmaschine. FR 1909. PC: Eclipse. 35mm. 73 m. B&w. From: Filmarchiv Austria. - Doc. Ok actuality. Pretty low contrast.
Blériot traverse la Manche (25.7.1909). FR 1909. Blériot Crosses the Channel; PC: Pathé. 35mm. 110 m. B&w. English intertitles. From: BFINA. - Doc. Ok actuality.
Les Surprises de l’aviation. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm. 161 m. B&w. From: BFINA. - Fiction, wild and crazy comedy with an Eiffel Tower hijack. Ok print. *

Fait divers / Miscellaneous

Une pouponnière / Kinderbewahranstalt. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35mm [frammento]. 45 m. B&w. From: BFINA. Doc about a nursery, a print from deteriorating material, incomplete.
Concorso di bellezza fra bambini a Torino / Kinder tendoorstelling. IT 1909. PC: Aquila Films. 35mm. 66 m. B&w. From: NFM. - Doc from a childen's beauty contest. Print partly beautiful, partly from deteriorating material. Expressive medium shots of faces.
The Electric Policeman. FR 1909. PC: Gaumont. 35mm. 120 m. B&w. From: BFINA. - Fiction, comedy. Ok print. Due to electricity, the policeman becomes tireless in the chase, his feet continuing to move even when he is upside down in the river.

Star di Cinema / Movie Stars

Cretinetti paga i debiti / How Foolshead Pays His Debts. IT 1909. CAST: André Deed; PC: Itala-Film. 35mm. 154 m. B&w. From: BFINA. - A comedy with tricks in the Méliès style. Ok print. *
Une femme doit suivre son mari. FR 1909. CAST: Sarah Duhamel; PC: Gaumont. 35 mm. 115 m. Tinted. From: AFF/CNC. - Ok print. A police comedy.
Amoureux de la femme à barbe. FR 1909. CAST: Max Linder; PC: Pathé. 35mm. 120 m. B&w. From: NFM. - Here I lost my attention.
La Fable de Psyche. FR 1909. CAST: Stacia Napierkowska; PC: Pathé. 35mm. 108 m. Pochoir. From: Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique. - The great dancing star.
Dans l’Hellade. FR 1909. CAST: Stacia Napierkowska; PC: Pathé. 35mm. 74 m. B&w. From: NFM. - The great dancing star. Ok, somewhat low contrast print.