2000

Checklist: some of the films I saw theatrically in 2000

7.1.2000 Random Hearts
8.1.2000 Tyttö sillalla
22.1.2000 American Beauty

3.2.2000 Levottomat

4.3.2000 Kuudes aisti

7.4.2000 Magnolia

6.5.2000 Oman elämänsä sankari
6.5.2000 Erin Brockovich
12.5.2000 Man on the Moon
13.5.2000 Lahjakas herra Ripley
13.5.2000 Minä päivänä tahansa
20.5.2000 Stuart Little
20.5.2000 The Million Dollar Hotel
20.5.2000 Boys Don't Cry
27.5.2000 Happiness

2.6.2000 Pokemon
9.6.2000 Tango kolmelle

15.7.2000 Les Enfants du Marais
15.7.2000 M:I-2 Vaarallinen tehtävä 2
21.7.2000 Peeping Tom
22.7.2000 Tarzan (Disney)

2.9.2000 Silta
2.9.2000 Buena Vista Social Club
23.9.2000 Palaa luokseni

7.10.2000 Kananlento
28.10.2000 Rakkaudella Maire

9.12.2000 Yksinäinen sydän
9.12.2000 Dinosaurus
13.12.2000 Goya
23.12.2000 Peppi Etelämerellä
29.12.2000 Toisen kerroksen lauluja
30.12.2000 Apua! Olen kala

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, Sacile, 14-21 October, 2000

This was an abundant programme, ideal for someone getting started in film history – getting to see Lumière, Méliès, Biograph, Griffith, Feuillade, and German avant-garde in best possible prints. There was even a cross-section of all early cinema production in the special programme ”The World in 1900”. And we got to see and hear the world’s first sound film (1894) for the first time in 106 years! A good Millennium bargain.

This year of Le Giornate was a turning-point in programming early shorts. In earlier editions of Le Giornate, for instance, the Edisons and the non-fiction cycles were extremely hard to take. This year, we witnessed successful efforts to program early non-fiction in exciting ways, generally with correct speeds (Biograph at 30 fps). The Biograph compilations will be welcomed by film archive programmers for decades to come. ”The World in 1900” was another attractive attempt to show a wide variety of early cinema in context. Also the German avant-garde, Nordic animation and Walter Lantz shows had high standards of programming compilation.

On a personal note, the programme was too good, and shuttling between Sacile and Pordenone arduous (although the transportation was good). I tried to see too much, and with 15-hour periods without proper rest bouts of fatigue were inevitable. Afterwards I needed a week to recover. I heard similar reports from colleagues.

OPENING EVENT

Speedy (Kaupungin nopein, US 1928) – starring Harold Lloyd. 85’. Presented by Suzanne Lloyd Hayes, music composed and conducted by Carl Davis and performed by Camerata Labacensis. Harold’s last silent film presented in a complete restored version. A delight to discover the full version with charming detail of contemporary New York. Previously I’d only seen the Time-Life abridged version. ****

THE GRIFFITH PROJECT IV – FILMS PRODUCED IN 1910

The first complete D.W. Griffith retrospective ever mounted proceeded into an exciting year. In 1910, DWG and Biograph start to shoot some of their films in California. There were more good films and good prints than in the previous installments. Still, the 16 mm screenings were mostly so horrible that a true evaluation was impossible. But many films screened in 35 mm prints of Civil War themes (The House with Closed Shutters), starring Mary Pickford (Ramona), with subjects of social conscience (The Usurer) or in a pastoral setting (The Arcadian Maid) revealed their cinematic poetry. * marks my favourites. The duration of the films was 5-26 min. A Romance of the Western Hills (DWG 249) was not screened because of 16 mm problems. An excellent companion to the screenings has been The Griffith Project series of books. Part IV has an extended essay on each film. It is certainly one of the best film books of the year.

The Englishman and the Girl (DWG 234)
His Last Burglary 16 mm (DWG 235)
The Final Settlement 16 mm (DWG 236)
Taming a Husband 16 mm (DWG 237)
The Newlyweds 16 mm (DWG 238)
The Thread of Destiny * (DWG 239)
In Old California 16 mm (DWG 204)
The Man 16 mm (DWG 241)
The Converts 16 mm (DWG 242)
Faithful 16 mm (DWG 243)
The Twisted Trail 16 mm (DWG 244)
As It Is In Life 16 mm (DWG 245)
Gold Is Not All * (DWG 246)
A Rich Revenge 16 mm (DWG 247)
Unexpected Help (DWG 248)
Thou Shalt Not 16 mm (DWG 250)
The Way of the World * (DWG 251)
The Unchanging Sea 16 mm * (DWG 252)
The Gold-Seekers 16 mm (DWG 253)
Love Among the Roses 16 mm (DWG 254)
Ramona * (DWG 255)
The Two Brothers (DWG 256)
Over Silent Paths * (DWG 257)
The Impalement * (DWG 258)
In the Season of Buds 16 mm (DWG 259)
A Child of the Ghetto 16 mm (DWG 260)
A Victim of Jealousy (DWG 261)
In the Border States * (DWG 262)
The Face at the Window * (DWG 263)
The Marked Time-Table 16 mm (DWG 264)
A Child’s Impulse 16 mm (DWG 265)
The Purgation (DWG 266)
Muggsy’s First Sweetheart 16 mm (DWG 267)
A Midnight Cupid 16 mm (DWG 268)
What the Daisy Said * (DWG 269)
A Child’s Faith (DWG 270)
Serious Sixteen (DWG 271)
A Flash of Light (DWG 272)
As the Bells Rang Out! (DWG 273)
The Call to Arms 16 mm (DWG 274)
An Arcadian Maid * (DWG 275)
Her Father’s Pride * (DWG 276)
The House with Closed Shutters * (DWG 277)
A Salutary Lesson 16 mm (DWG 278)
The Sorrows of the Unfaithful 16 mm (DWG 279)
The Usurer * (DWG 280)
A Mohawk’s Way 16 mm (DWG 285)
In Life’s Cycle 16 mm (DWG 286)
The Oath and the Man 16 mm (DWG 287)
Rose O’Salem-Town * (DWG 288)
The Iconoclast 16 mm (DWG 289)
Examination Day at School (DWG 290)
That Chink at Golden Gulch 16 mm (DWG 291)
The Broken Doll * (DWG 292)
The Banker’s Daughters 16 mm (DWG 293)
The Message of the Violin 16 mm (DWG 294)
Two Little Waifs 16 mm (DWG 295)
Waiter No. 5 (DWG 296)
Simple Charity * (DWG 297)
The Fugitive * (DWG 298)
Sunshine Sue 16 mm (DWG 299)
The Song of the Wildwood Flute (DWG 300)
A Plain Song (DWG 301)
His Sister-In-Law 16 mm (DWG 302)
A Child’s Stratagem 16 mm (DWG 303)
The Golden Supper (DWG 304)
When a Man Loves 16 mm (DWG 305)
The Lesson (DWG 306)
Winning Back His Love (DWG 307)
A Wreath of Orange Blossoms 16 mm (DWG 308)
The Italian Barber 16 mm (DWG 309)
His Trust 16 mm (DWG 310)
His Trust Fulfilled 16 mm (DWG 311)
The Two Paths * (DWG 312)
Three Sisters (DWG 313)
Fate’s Turning (DWG 314)
The Diamond Star (DWG 315)
What Shall We Do With Our Old? * (DWG 316)
A Decree of Destiny 16 mm (DWG 317)
Heart Beats of Long Ago (DWG 318)
The Lily of the Tenements * (DWG 319)

LOUIS FEUILLADE

Louis Feuillade (1873-1925) became in 1907 the artistic director of Gaumont in succession to Alice Guy. By his own estimate he made some 800 films, many of which survive. Le Giornate presented a wonderful selection curated by Jacques Champreux, with a special star guest – Bouboule, the last of Feuillade’s child stars, now a spirited old lady. The Feuillade retrospective was also a versatile cross-section of the state-of-the-art French film production of his era. Many of the prints were dazzling; the Fantômas serial, however, was screened on video only (I skipped it); Les Vampires was not seen in best possible prints.

Debuts in Cinema
L’Homme aimenté (1907) 7’. A comedy about a magnetized man.
Le Violon (1908) 7’. Melodrama about the healing power of music. ”Très pathétique”.
La Légende de la fileuse (1908) 7’. Fantastique: magic and wonders worthy of Méliès
Une dame vraiment bien (1908) 4’. Comedy with the same concept as in The Girl Can’t Help It (”when she walks by the bread slice turns to toast”).
Le Printemps (1909) 7’. ”Vision antique”. Symbolist tableau.
La Possession de l’enfant (1909) 11’. A drama of divorce: the child brings the parents together again. (Affinities with Griffith shorts.)

”Le Film Esthétique”
L’Orgie Romaine / Héliogabale (1911) 8’. The decadent Emperor lets lions loose among his guests.
Le Fils de Locuste (1911) 14’. High tragedy in the court of another decadent Emperor: Nero.

”La Vie telle qu’elle est”
Le Trust ou les batailles de l’argent (1911) 25’. An early Feuillade crime fantasy.
L’Accident (1912) 23’. A triangle drama with a story like in Les Choses de la Vie (Intersection).

The First Child Stars: Bébé and Bout de Zan
Feuillade loved children and regularly had child stars among his cast.
Bébé Apache (1910) 10’. Bébé sets a trap to the apaches.
Bébé fait du cinéma (1911) 10’. Brilliant print of a forgotten meta-film.
Bout de Zan et le cigare (1913) 7’. Beautiful pochoir colour in the story of the boy and the cigar.

”La Vie drôle”
Les Millions de la bonne (1913) 25’. Comedy about the household that comes to believe that their maid is the heiress of an American millionaire.

Les Vampires (1915-1916) ****
1. La Tête coupée 40’
2. La Bague qui tue 17’
3. Le Cryptogramme rouge 48’
4. Le Spectre 38’
5. L’Evasion du mort 45’
6. Les Yeux qui fascinent 70’
7. Satanas 52’
8. Le Maître de la foudre 61’
9. L’Homme des poisons 59’
10. Les Noces sanglantes 65’
The film that gave the emblem to this year’s Le Giornate still thrills with its sense of the absurd, its vision of modernity, and its sense of humour.

Barrabas (1920). Of the last of Feuillade’s great detective serials (12 episodes) I saw the beginning of the prologue: La Maîtresse du Juif Errant. Perhaps more polished the early serials but also a work of Entzauberung.

Parisette (1921-1922). Of the ”Grand cinéroman en 12 épisodes” I saw episode 3: L’Affaire de Neuilly. Fluid storytelling, but the magic is gone.

Pierrot Pierrette (1924). The adventures of two young street singers starring Bout de Zan, now a teenager, together with Bouboule.

THE WONDERS OF THE BIOGRAPH ****

A large collection of films shot in the Biograph format (68mm) has now been successfully preserved on 35 mm. The projection speed is 30 fps. These films are true revelations that hardly anyone has seen in a hundred years. The films have been compiled into a witty and exciting touring show of 11 programmes by Nederlands Filmmuseum. The compilations were made by Nico de Klerk with the help of Mark van den Tempel and others at NFM. The length of the films is one minute on the average.
Biograph Programme Number 1 was not shown, at least not as scheduled.

Biograph 2: Where to Place the Camera?
[Charge of the Carabiniers – Aldershot] (GB [1898])
[Hondekarren] (NL [1898])
Threshing Machine at Work (US 1897)
Feestelijk bezoek van HM Konigin Wilhelmina aan Rotterdam (NL 1899)
[Huwelijksstoet ter Gelegenheid van het huwelijk van Wilhelmina en Hendrik] (NL 1901)
Jumping Hurdles (US 1897)
When the Bugle Sounds ”Charge” (DE 1899)
Menai Bridge, the Day Irish Mail from Euston Entering the Tubular Bridge over the Menai Straits (GB 1898)
Launch of the ”Oceanic” (GB 1899)
The Albany Day Boats (US 1897)
[Een Jacht, en Profil] (US [1900])
”Shamrock” and ”Columbia” (US 1899)
[International Yacht Races on the Clyde] (US [1901])
[International Yacht Races on the Clyde] (US [1901])
Coasting on Sleds in the Stockholm Sport Park on Sunday (GB 1902)
Shooting the Chutes (US 1896)
Empire State Express (US 1896)
Battleships ”Maine” and ”Iowa” (US 1897)
Four Warships in Rough Seas (GB 1900)
[Tram Journey Through Southampton] (GB [1900])
Irish Mail – L. & N.W. Railway – Taking Up Water at Full Speed (GB 1898)
From Vaudreuil to St. Anne’s (US [1900])
[Railway Trip Through Mountain Scenery and Tunnels] (US [1900])
Across Brooklyn Bridge (US 1899)

Biograph 3: ”Twentieth-Century Damsel”
The Wonderful Mutoscope (GB [1898])
A Just Cause for Divorce (US 1899)
A Mouse in a Girls’ Dormitory (US 1897)
The Black Cat and the Dinner for Two (GB [1898])
Tolhuis! Kiele! Kiele! (NL 1899)
The Female Drummer (US 1899)
Hazing Affair in a Girls’ Boarding School (US 1899)
The Stolen Stockings (US 1898)
The Nurse’s Joke (US 1899)
An Interrupted Sitting (US 1898)
[Slaapkamerpret] (FR [1899])
The Finish of Mr. Fresh (US 1899)
[Ongewenst vader] (DE [1900])
[Geen bedelaars in de keuken] (GB [1898])
The Amorous Guardsman (GB 1898)
The Price of a Kiss (US 1899)
A Bowery Cafe (US 1897)
Her First Cigarette (US 1899)
Duel to the Death (GB 1898)
[An Interrupted Kiss] [GB (1898)]
Love’s Young Dream (US 1897)
Armor Vs. Amour (US 1899)
Union Square – New York (US 1896)
View on Boulevard, New York City (US 1896)
In a German Bath (DE 1899)

Biograph 4: ”Les feuilles remuaient au vent”
American Falls, Goat Island (US 1896)
Sad Sea Waves (US 1897)
Feeding Seagulls off the Irish Coast (GB 1899)
[Fun on a Sand Hill] (DE [1899])
Skating in Central Park (US 1900)
[Horse Race at Epsom] (GB [1899])
A Pillow Fight (US 1897)
[Kinderspiel] (US [1899])
Een kinderfeest op het eiland Marken (NL [1899])
An Irish Peasant Scene – Feeding Pigs (GB 1899)
A Stable on Fire (US 1896)
[Maidenhead Junction] (GB [1898])
Facial Expressions – The Fateful Letter (GB 1898)
Keystone Express (US 1897)
Haverstraw Tunnel (US 1897)
Place de la Concorde (GB 1897)
[In the Friedrichstrasse] (DE [1899])
Jumbo, Horseless Fire-Engine (US 1897)
[Molens van de Zaanstreek] (GB? [1899])
[Hollandse visservloot] (GB 1898)
American Falls, Luna Island (US 1896)
Ninth Regiment, N.G.N.S.Y. (US 1899)
German Garde Kurassiers (DE 1900)
Amsterdams vreemdelingenverkeer (NL 1899)
Still Waters Run Deep (US 1897)
Water Polo – Worthing Swimming Club (GB 1898)
[German Battleship ”Kaisere Wilhelm II”] (DE 1900)
Landing at Villefranche from U.S. Cruiser ”Olympia” (GB 1899)

Biograph 5: Yesterday’s News
[American Biograph at the Palace] (GB 1899)
Plechtige intocht van H.M. Koningin Wilhelmina in Amsterdam (GB 1898)
Arrival of the Queen at the Palace, Amsterdam (GB 1898)
Review of the Royal Netherlands Guards in the Costumes of the Middle Ages (GB 1898)
The Royal Procession from the Church after the Ceremony (GB 1898)
The Queen and the Queen Mother on the Palace Balcony Responding to the Call of the Populace (GB 1898)
Bloemencorso te Haarlem op 4 juni 1899 (NL 1899)
The Great Ottawa Fire (US 1900)
Bumping Race (Cambridge May Races) (GB 1899)
La Sortie du Congrès de Versailles (FR 1899)
The Marriage of the Earl of Crewe and Lady ”Peggy” Primrose at Westminster Abbey (GB 1899)
From War to Peace – First Departure of SS ”St. Louis” from Southampton (GB 1898)
The Mardi Gras Carnival (US 1898)
The Dreyfus Case
[Dreyfus, Captain Alfred] (FR 1899)
[Na de rechtzaak] (FR 1899)
The Zola-Rochefort Duel, Paris (GB 1898)
Amann, the Great Impersonator (GB 1899)

Biograph 7: People in Front of the Camera
[Prinsengracht] (NL [1898])
”The Lane” on Sunday Morning (GB 1899)
[The Henley Regatta] (GB 1901)
[De Boulevard van Scheveningen] (GB 1898)
Een trambestorming op zondag op den dam (NL 1899)
[American Biograph in Circus o. Carré] (NL [1898])
Venice, Feeding the Pigeons in St. Mark’s Square (GB 1898)
The Georgetown Loop (US 1901)
Tapping a Blast Furnace – Newcastle (GB 1899)
Relieving the Guard at St. James’s Palace (GB 1897)
The Gordon Highlanders: Returning to Camp (GB 1897)
The Vatican Guards, Rome (GB 1898)
Funeral Procession of the Misericordia (GB 1898)
Capuchin Monks (GB 1898)
Procession of Armenian Monks, Including the Abbot- Archbishop St. Lazar, Venice (GB 1898)
Ringrijden voor sjeeten te Harlem (NL 1899)
Changing Guard (Berlin) (GB 1897)
[King Edward VII at the Birthday Celebration of the King of Denmark] (FR 1901)
Antarctic Expedition – Sir George Newnes’ Farewell to Officers and Crew (GB 1898)
[Koninklijk jacht tijdens de vissersvlootrevue bij muiden] (NL [1899])
[Paul Kruger in gesprek] (FR [1900])
Queen Margherita of Italy (GB 1898)
McKinley at Home, Canton, Ohio (US 1896)
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII Carried Through the Vatican Loggia on His Way to the Sistine Chapel (GB 1898)
Pope Leo XIII in His Carriage, Passing Through the Vatican Gardens (GB 1898)
Pope Leo XIII, in His Chair (GB 1898)
Pope Leo XIII, Resting on His Way to His Summer Villa (GB 1898)
Pope Leo XIII Walking Before Kneeling Guards (GB 1898)

Biograph 8: How Shots Hang Together
Captain Deasy’s Daring Drive, Ascent (DE 1903)
Worthing Life-Saving Station (GB 1898)
Launch of the Worthing Life-Boat: Coming Ashore (GB 1898)
Me and My Two Friends (GB 1898)
Spanish Coronation Bullfight (GB 1902)
Rip Van Winkle
Rip Meeting the Dwarf (US 1896)
Rip Leaving Sleepy Hollow (US 1896)
Rip’s Toast to Hudson and Crew (US 1896)
Rip’s Twenty Years’s Sleep (US 1896)
Awakening of Rip (US 1896)
Rip Passing Over the Mountain (US 1896)
Venice / Italy
The Grand Canal, Venice (GB 1898)
Panorama of the Grand Canal, Venice; Passing the Vegetable Market (GB 1898)
[Brug der Zuchten] (GB 1898)
Boys Bathing – Venice (GB 1898)
[Venetië-Havengezicht met gondels] (GB 1898)
Neapolitan Dance at the Ancient Forum of Pompeii (GB 1898)
Edward VII’s succession of Queen Victoria
Panoramic View of Windsor Castle (GB 1898)
Her Majesty the Queen Arriving at South Kensington on the Occasion of the Laying of the Foundation Stone of the Victoria & Albert Museum (GB [1899])
[Building Being Pulled Down] (US [1900])
Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, First Scene (GB 1902)
Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, Second Scene (GB 1902)
Captain Deasy’s Daring Drive, Descent (DE 1903)

Biograph 9: Staging the World
Three Linotype Machines (GB? [1900])
Agoust Family of Jugglers (GB 1898)
[Parade Britsetroepen] (GB [1900])
Charge d’un escadron du 27e dragons, contre une batterie du 11e régiment en position, faisant feu sur l’ennemi (GB 1897)
Fort Hill Fire Station (US 1897)
Hotel on Fire, Paris (Rescue Work by Paris Pompiers) (GB 1898)
”Man Overboard!” (GB 1899)
A Camp of Zingaree Gypsies (GB 1897)
[The Battleship ”Odin” With All Her Guns in Action] (DE 1900)
[Why Papa Can’t Sleep] (GB [1898])
Dutch Fishing Boats (GB 1898)
[Een nat pak] (GB? [1897])
Bath Scene – Holland (GB 1898)
A Country Dance (US 1897)
”Jarabe” Dance, Streets of Mexico, Pan-American Exposition (US 1901)
[Sailors of HMS ”Black Prince” Firing Cannon and Rifles] (GB [1900])
A Bad (K)night (US 1899)
Playing Doctor (GB 1898)
The Dairy Maid’s Revenge (US 1899)
The Spirit of His Forefathers (GB 1900)
A Midnight Fantasy (US 1899)
[Op leven en dood] (GB [1899])

Biograph 10: Visual Attractions
Apple Blossoms (US 1899)
King John (GB 1899) – Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Fencing Contest from the Play ”The Three Musketeers” (GB 1898)
An Intrigue in a Harem (US 1899)
Baxter Street Mystery (US 1899)
[Twee clowns boksen ondersterboven] (GB [1899])
Has He Hit Me? (GB 1898)
[Stealing a Dinner] (GB [1898])
Hurdle Jumping by Trained Dogs (US 1899)
”King” and ”Queen”, the Great High Diving Horses (US 1899)
Wrestling Pony and Man (US 1896)
The Landing of Savage South Africa at Southampton (GB 1899)
Dancing Darkies (US 1896)
[Clifton Suspension Bridge] (GB [1900])
[Warships at Sunset] (GB? [1900])
The Artist’s Dream (US 1899)
Phillis Was Not Dressed to Receive Callers (US 1898)
A Scandalous Proceeding (US 1899)
A Rural Courtship (US 1896)
Les Parisiennes (US 1897)
Conway Castle – Panoramic View of Conway on the L. & N.W. Railway (GB 1898)
[Deep Sea Divers] (GB? [1898])
Rare Fish in the Aquarium (DE? 1899)
Watersnood in Buurt YY (NL 1899)
Surf Dashing Against England’s Rocky Coast (GB 1897)
The Tarantella, an Italian Dance (GB 1898)
Pelicans at the Zoo (GB 1898)
The Smallest Train in the World (US 1899)
From Monte Carlo to Monaco (FR 1899)

LUMIERE FILMS OF ITALY ”HORS CATALOGUE”

Discovered by the Fondazione Cineteca Italiana in Milan, these hors catalogue Lumière films date from the 1890s. Some of them may be original Lumière views not included in the official catalogue. Some may be non-Lumière views shot with the Cinématographe after it became freely available for purchase in 1897. There may even be views that were not shot with the Cinématographe but only distributed on Lumière stock. The definitive identification is a work in progress. Anyway, some of the views are very impressive (e.g. the first view of the train wreck), and the result of the difficult restoration (the special Lumière stock) very successful.

Programma 1
Italie: Omnibus I: Panorama en bâteau: Le Lombardie
Italie: Omnibus II: Panorama en bâteau: Danse à bord d’un navire
Panorama en bâteau: Ponton de débarquement – ”L’Elvezia”
Italie: Le carrosse du Roi Victor-Emmanuel III et sa suite devant une foule
Italie: Le Roi et la Reine à une revue militaire
Italie: Départ de carrosses avec escorte devant un édifice à colonnade
Italie: Les courses I: le Roi et la foule
Italie: Les courses II: Présentation des ânes montés par des enfants
Italie: Les courses III: Défilé de calèches fleuries
Italie: Le Roi et la Reine à une revue militaire II

Programma 2
Italie: Les Courses IV: Présentation des ânes montés par des enfants II
Italie: Départ de cavaliers pour une chasse
Italie: La Chasse: Traversée d’un gué à cheval
Italie: Florence: Attroupement devant un édifice pour une personnalité
Italie: Florence: Sortie d’une église
Italie: Florence: Monte et départ en voiture – vue prise de l’arrière d’un train
Italie: Revue militaire: Cavaliers
Italie: Cyclistes
Italie: Défilé d’automobiles et de vélos fleuris
Italie: Panorama pris d’un bâteau dans un port

Programma 3

Italie: Florence: Défilé de cyclistes devant le baptistère
Italie: Sienne: Le Palio
Italie: Sienne: Le Palio II
Italie: Sienne: Le Palio: La course
Italie: Sienne: Le Palio: La course II
Italie: Les Courses VI: Défilé de calèches fleuries II
Italie: Les Courses VI: La foule
Italie: Calèches et cyclistes
Italie: Les courses VII: La foule II
Italie: Les courses VIII: La foule III
Italie: Revue de pompiers: La couverture – la voiture – la grande échelle

Programma 4

Vues d’Italie: Fêtes à l’occasion de l’exposition de Turin: Les capitaines sur la tribune royale – le cheval d’arçon – les barres parallèles
Italie: Défilé de carrosses avec escortes
Italie: Défilé de carrosses avec escortes II
Italie: Une rue passante
Italie: Déraillement de plusieurs trains: Vue d’ensemble
Italie: Déraillement de plusieurs trains II: Sur la voie
Italie: Déraillement de plusieurs trains III: Locomotive et grue de déblaiement
Italie: Escadre maritime pavoisée
Italie: Escadre maritime II
Italie: Embarquement de personnalités dans des canots
Italie: Embarquement de personnalités dans des canots II
Italie: Les courses IX: La foule IV

MELIES 200 / MELIES L’ENCHANTEUR ****

The project of tracking down the 510 films of Georges Méliès has now reached the 200th title. Presented by Marie-Hélène Lehérissey-Méliès, piano accompaniment by Laurence Lehérissey-Méliès.

Escamotage d’une dame chez Robert Houdin (1896)
La Tentation de Saint Antoine (1899)
Le Diable noir (1905)
Le Voyage dans la lune (1902)
La Chrysalide et le papillon (1901)
Le merveilleux éventail vivant (1904)
L’Impressionniste fin de siècle (1899)
L’Homme orchestre (1900)
Les Cartes vivantes (1905)
L’Homme à la tête en caoutchouc (1902)
Les nouvelles luttes extravagantes (1900)
La Fée carabosse ou le poignard fatal (1906)
New Discoveries
Une partie de cartes (1896) – GM’s first film, shot in his garden in Montreuil – found by NFTVA – qf. Lumière’s Partie d’écarté
François Premier et Triboulet (1907) – found by Gosfilmofond. The King’s discarded jester finds new favour by conjuring a Grecian beauty.
A la Conquête du pôle (Die Entdeckung des ”Nordpols” I-II, 1912) – brilliant complete 31 min coloured print discovered by Filmarchiv Austria. One rarely gets to see GM in such perfect sharpness of detail. A funny subplot with suffragettes. This great print also is a reminder of how much Karel Zeman learned from GM

GERMAN AVANT-GARDE OF THE 1920S ****

A brilliant introduction to the German avant-garde by Enno Patalas. Many of these films are generally available on 16 mm, but it is something completely different to catch them on 35 mm.

Lotte Reiniger
Das Ornament des verliebten Herzens (1919) 5’
Aschenputtel (1922) 20’
Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (Prinssi Ahmedin seikkailut, 1926) 96’

Karl Heinz Martin
Von morgens bis mitternachts (1920) 65’ – brilliant print of the Expressionist work wilder than Caligari. Not a masterpiece, rather a fascinating cul-de-sac.

Oskar Fischinger
Wachs-Experimente (1924-1927) 11’
Münchner Bilderbogen: Pierrette Nr. 1 (1924) 8’
Spiralen (ca 1926) 5’
Seelische Konstruktionen (1927) 10’
R1 – Ein Formspiel (1927) 7’ scope
München-Berlin Wanderung (1927) 4’
Studie Nr. 1 (1929) 4’
Studie Nr. 2 (1930) 2’
Liebesspiel (1931) 3’
Tönende Ornamente (1932) 4’

Mary Wigman
Mary Wigman tanzt (1930) 11’

Piel Jutzi
Ums tägliche Brot (1929) – I caught the end

Walther Ruttmann
Der Aufstieg (1926) 3’
Spiel der Wellen (1926) 3’
Das wiedergefundene Paradies (1925) 6’
Lichtspiel Opus 1 (1921) 12’
Berlin. Die Sinfonie der Grosstadt (1927) 59’ – original music by Edmund Meisel conducted by Mark Andreas and performed by Camerata Strumentale
In der Nacht (1931) 7’

IL MONDO NEL 1900 / THE WORLD OF 1900

A tour around the world in motion pictures at the end of the 19th Century and the close of the Victorian Era, presented as if it were a programme compiled in January 1901, at the time of Queen Victoria’s death. Compiled and presented by Frank Gray and Luke McKernan. Music by Neil Brand.

The viewpoint of ”The World of 1900” was that of the British Empire in 1900, ”where the sun never set”. It is a legitimate viewpoint for a show such as this because of its universality and because of practical reasons: all prints were English.

The show even included the roots of the infamous Italian Mondo genre: Beheading a Chinese Boxer belongs to the early examples of shockumentary and splatter in the cinema.

The programme was screened too fast (at 24 fps?). Scheduled at 80 min, it lasted only about one hour.

Britain
Funeral of Queen Victoria (Hepworth, GB 1901)
Irish Mail L.&N.W. Railway – Taking up Water at Full Speed (British Biograph, GB 1898)
Thames River Scene (Hepworth, GB 1899)
Pont de la Tour (Lumière, FR 1896)
Entrée du Cinématographe (Lumière, FR 1896)
Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee (?, ? 1897)
Will Evans, The Musical Eccentric (Warwick, GB 1899)
Foundling Hospital Sports Day (Charles Goodwin Norton, GB 1899)
The Derby (Birt Acres / Robert Paul, GB 1895)
General Buller Embarking on the ’Dunottar Castle’ at Southampton (Warwick, GB 1899)
The ”Roslin Castle” (Troopship) Leaving for South Africa (Warwick, GB 1899)

English Channel
Entre Calais et Douvres (Georges Méliès, Star Film, FR 1897)

France
Panorama of the Paris Exposition No. 3 (Hepworth, GB 1900)
Loie Fuller (Pathé, FR 1900)
Dreyfus rencontre sa femme à Rennes (Georges Méliès, Star Film, FR 1899)
Madame Dreyfus Leaving the Prison (French Biograph, FR 1899)
Captain Alfred Dreyfus (French Biograph, FR 1899)

Portugal
A Sea Cave Near Lisbon (Paul’s Animatograph, GB 1896)

Spain
Courses de taureaux I (Lumière, FR 1897)

France
Cuirassé américain ”San Francisco” en rade de Villefranche (Lumière, FR 1897)

Netherlands
Coronation of Queen Wilhelmina of Holland at Amsterdam: The Queen and the Queen Mother on the Palace Balcony Responding (Dutch Biograph, NL 1898)

Germany
Battleship ”Odin” with All Her Guns in Action (British Biograph, GB 1900)
Cologne: Sortie de la cathédrale (Lumière, FR 1896)

Switzerland
Genève (Exposition 1896): Rentrée à l’étable (Lumière, FR 1896)

Italy
The Grand Canal, Venice (British Biograph, GB 1898)
Pope Leo XIII In His Chair (British Biograph, GB 1898)
Maestri di musica (Fregoligraph, IT 1898)
Panorama of Naples (?, ?, ca 1900)

Mediterranian
Combat naval en Grèce (Georges Méliès, Star Film, FR 1897)

Palestine
Départ de Jérusalem en chemin de fer (Lumière, FR 1897)

Egypt
Seaforth Highlanders’ Return to Cairo After the Fall of Omdurman (Warwick, GB 1898)

Indian Ocean
Churned Waters (Warwick, GB 1899)

South Africa
Troops Leaving Port Elizabeth Jetty (Warwick, GB 1900)
President Kruger (Warwick, GB 1898)
The Dispatch Bearer (Mitchell & Kenyon, GB 1900)
Battle of Spion Kop (British Biograph, GB 1900)

India
Panorama of Calcutta, India, from the River Ganges (Warwick, GB 1899)

Singapore
Coolie Boys Diving for Coins (Warwick, GB 1900)

Australia
Torres Strait (A.C. Haddon, GB 1898)
Arrivée d’un train à Melbourne (Lumière, FR 1896)
1897 Melbourne Cup (?, AU 1897)
Prince Ranjitsinhji Practising Batting in the Nets (Henry Walter Barnett, AU 1897)

China
Nankin Road, Shanghai (Warwick, GB 1901)
Beheading a Chinese Boxer (Mitchell & Kenyon?, GB 1900)
Attack on a Chinese Mission – Bluejackets to the Rescue (Williamson, GB 1900)

Pacific Ocean
Feeding the Seagulls (British Biograph, GB 1899)

Canada
In the Canadian Rockies, Near Banff (American Biograph, US 1899)
Great Ottawa Fire (American Biograph, US 1900)

United States
American Falls, Goat Island (American Biograph, US 1896)
The Leonard-Cushing Fight (Edison, US 1894)
Going to the Fire (Edison, US 1896)
Across Brooklyn Bridge (American Biograph, US 1896)
The Pickaninnies (Edison, US 1894)
Black Dance Scene (?, US, ca 1900)

Mexico
”Jarabe” Dance, Streets of Mexico, Pan American Exposition (American Biograph, US 1901)

Cuba
Visite sous-marine du ”Maine” (Georges Méliès, Star Film, FR 1898)

Atlantic Ocean
Jack’s Game of Cricket on Board H.M.S. Gibraltar (Warwick, GB 1900)

Ireland
Ligne de Belfast à Kingstown I-III (Lumière, FR 1897)

Britain
A Kiss in the Tunnel (G.A. Smith, GB 1899)
A Railway Collision (Paul’s Animatograph, GB 1900)
How It Feels to Be Run Over (Hepworth, GB 1900)
Lady Cyclists (Williamson, GB 1899)
The Big Swallow (Williamson, GB 1901)
Railway Traffic on the L.N.W.R. (Charles Goodwin Norton, GB 1897)
Funeral of Queen Victoria (Hepworth, GB 1901)

SILENT NORDIC ANIMATION ****

This was actually Part Two of Silent Nordic Animation, since the Finnish contribution (A Few Meters of Wind and Rain, etc.) was screened last year already.

The witty and ambitious programme was compiled by Gunnar Strøm. The hard-core pornographic animated film Liten årsak, stor virkning was shown in Good Night Silents, which I missed.

Kapten Groggs underbara resa (Victor Bergdahl, SE 1916) *
Gaasetyven (Robert Storm-Petersen, DK 1920)
Roald Amundsen paa Sydpolen (Sverre Halvorsen, NO 1913) *
Fanden i nøtten (Ola Cornelius, NO 1917/1920s)
Det nye aar? (Sverre Halvorsen, NO 1921)
Trolldrycken (Victor Bergdahl, SE 1915) *
Komisk entré av Pelle Jöns i Cirkus Fjollinski (Victor Bergdahl, SE 1916)
Tyverier fra Bagdad (Ottar Gladtvet, NO 1926)
Teddy paa biltur (Walter Fyrst / Niels Sinding-Hansen, NO 1927)
Teddy paa strandpromenaden (Niels Sinding-Hansen, NO 1927)
Fiinbeck har rømt (Victor Bergdahl?, NO 1927)
Reklamefilm for ”Hjemmet” (Robert Storm-Petersen, DK 1924)
Lille Kalles dröm om sin snögubbe (Emil Åberg, SE 1916)
Rex strykejern (Trygve Dalseg, NO 1924)
En verdensreise, eller da knold og tott vaskede negrene hvite med 13 sæpen (?, NO 1925)
Det mystiske kjøkken (Noget at glæde seg til) (Ottar Gladtvet, NO 1927)
Noahs ark (Ths. W. Schwartz / Martin Christoffersen, NO 1928)
Skjæbnen (Ths. W. Schwartz / Martin Christoffersen, NO 1928)
Dansk arbejde (?, DK ca 1925)
Le theatre du hula hula (?, DK ca 1925) *
Jernmixturen (Robert Storm-Petersen, DK 1921)
Stomatol tandcreme (?, SE 1926)
Stomatol (Missionären i Afrika) (Victor Bergdahl, SE 1926)
Stomatol (Neger’n) (Arvid Olson, SE 1926)
Stomatol (Tyngdlyftaren) (Arvid Olson, SE 1926)
Stomatol munnvatten (Baksmälla) (Arvid Olson, SE 1926)
När kapten Grogg skulle porträtteras (Victor Bergdahl, SE 1917) *

WALTER LANTZ

Walter Lantz (1899-1994) was celebrated a year too late for his centenary, due to errors in reference books. Duration of films 7-9 min. Compiled by Geoff Brown. No forgotten masterpieces in this compilation...

Colonel Heeza Liar
Colonel Heeza Liar in the African Jungle (1923)
Colonel Heeza Liar’s ”Forbidden Fruit” (1924)

Dinky Doodle
Captain Kid (1925)
Cinderella (1925)
Dinky Doodle in Lost and Found (1926)
The Giant Killer (1924)
Little Red Riding Hood (1925)
Peter Pan Handled (1925)
The Pied Piper (1924) *
Robinson Crusoe (1925)

Pete the Pup – Hot Dog Cartoons
The Lunch Hound (1927)
(I missed three further films)

GEORG AF KLERCKER

Five Klercker films not screened in the Le schiavi bianche allo specchio retrospective in 1986. Brilliant prints mostly struck from the original negative demonstrate how all Swedish should look like... but due to the SF fire of 1941 the original negatives of Sjöström and Stiller burned, and with them, we have to do with weaker definition prints. Breathtaking print quality courtesy of Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet. As a filmmaker, Klercker was a man of his times, not a pathbreaker like Sjöström and Stiller.

För fäderneslandet / L’Espion d’Oesterland (Swedish Films / Pathé Frères, SE 1914) – Cinémathèque française – titles missing – 51’
Nattens barn (Hasselbladfilm, SE 1916) – Cin/Sth 55’
I mörkrets bojor (Hasselbladfilm, SE 1917) – Cin/Sth 38’
Löjtnant ”Galenpanna” (Luutnantti Huimapää, Hasselbladfilm, SE 1917) – Cin/Sth 36’
Nattliga toner (Hasselbladfilm, SE 1918) – Cin/Sth 61’

REDISCOVERED COMEDIES ****

Four unknown comedies from the masters.

Get Out and Get Under (US 1920), D: Hal Roach, starring: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis. Norsk filminstitutt 20’. Car slapstick short.

La Nègre du Rapide No. 13 / Cretinetti e il mistero del Direttissimo n. 13 (FR 1923), D: Jacques Mandement, starring: André Deed. Didascalie in italiano – 52’. The last comedy vehicle of André Deed / Cretinetti has brilliant business in the railway yard.

Say Ah, Ed (US 1928), D+starring: Charley Bowers – second reel only 13’. Eggs are desperately wanted for breakfast on an ostrich farm. Charley feeds the ostriches with found objects resulting to an ”Archimboldo-like creature” (Paolo Cherchi Usai).

A Sleepless Night (US 1933?), D: Charley Bowers. The cat tries to sleep while the mice throw a party in this animated film (object animation) which was maybe never released.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Im Wannseebad (DE 1910) 5’

Der Schneeschuchläufer in Nöten (Oskar Messter, DE 1910) 7’

Der getäuschte Pierrot (Ludwig von Wich, DE 1917) 7’

Fast and Furious (Moottoripaholainen, US 1927, O: Melville W. Brown, starring Reginald Denny) – I saw the start only.

TECHNICAL MARVELS

[Dickson Experimental Sound Film] (W.K.L. Dickson, Raff & Gammon, US 1893-1894). Library of Congress, restored in 2000, synchronized with phonographic cylinder. 1’07”. The world’s first sound film, a test for Edison’s Kinetophone project, shot in Edison’s laboratory, was shown synchronized for the first time in 106 years. The two dancing men are not gay (although The Celluloid Closet the film starts with this image), and the violinist is revealed to be playing a theme from Cavalleria rusticana.

The Scarlet Letter (US 1913) /32 fps/ 9’. George Eastman House restoration of the only known Kinemacolor Company of America fiction production that survives.

Concerning One Thousand Dollars (US 1916) 6’. GEH restoration of the first fiction made in the Kodachrome process.

[Unid. Two-Color Additive System Test. Open Air Scene] (US 1916) /32 fps/ 12”. Unidentified early color system experiment restored by GEH.

Exhibition Reel of Two Color Film. Brewster Color Film Corporation, Newark, NJ. (US 1919). 9’. Brewster Color showreel restored by GEH

Example of Color Cinematography Produced by the Kodachrome Process (US 1925) 9’ GEH

[Mary Pickford Technicolor No. 2 Test] (US 1926) 10’ GEH

Plan B (US 1999) 2’ New film shot with a 1907 Charles Urban Bioscope camera.

Winner Take All (US 2000) 3’ New film shot with a 1907 Charles Urban Bioscope camera.

COLLEGIUM SACILENSIS

12 young experts got introduced to Le Giornate community in seven Dialogues.

I participated as a presenter in Dialogue IV ”Seeing With Others’ Eyes” with special reference to Jääkärin morsian (The Soldier’s Bride / Jägarens brud, FI 1931), shown in 1999, now re-shown on video.

Only three Finnish feature films were included in the 1999 selection, on a two month notice, with minimal preparation. Besides the obvious masterpiece Nummisuutarit (The Village Shoemakers) two films were selected. Laveata tietä (The Broad Way) became a favourite of the festival. Jääkärin morsian was a controversial choice. Many liked it, many were bored. Some were insulted – by the patriotism and the regrettable anti-semitic caricature already singled out in advance in the catalogue.

The complex history of a small country like Finland is little known abroad. There is no agreement on the interpretation of the main course of events in 1917-1918 in Finland, either. Instead, it is a field of a sensitive foundation myth. The presentation of the historical framework in Jääkärin morsian the film is so cavalier that it hardly bothers any Finnish viewer. It is a romantic musical adventure which is not expected to strain for historical accuracy. However, it is about fighting for freedom against oppression, a theme which has universal resonance. The film is not nationalistic in the sense that it claims one nation’s superiority or another’s inferiority. The Russians are the enemy, but the way the Russian Captain is portrayed is dignified, and in the most moving scenes of the film the Finnish hero finds his corpse and takes his last letter to his widow. There is no glorification of violence and no demonization of the enemy. The film is militant but not militaristic. The hero is also a soldier of love and peace.

As for the anti-semitic caricature, there is no excuse: it is a disgusting feature in the film. Maybe even more so since it has some affinity with figures like Max Davidson or Menachem Mendel interpreted by Solomon Mikhoels. There are many other racist caricatures in films shown in Le Giornate, and there is no excuse for them either. They must be shown, but critically. – For the Finnish viewer, Jääkärin morsian is a contradictory text as to the racism. Significantly, the title figure is portrayed by the Finnish Jewish Princess Hanna Taini, who was a major star in the 1930s and in the 1940s, also during the Holocaust. In Finland, Jews got citizenship rights first after the Declaration of Independence of 1917. During the Russian Empire, they could not get Finnish citizenship. On the other hand, there were no ghettoes nor pogroms in Finland. During the Holocaust, Finland was fighting with Germany against Russia, but no Finnish Jews were harassed or discriminated. Bizarrely, on the Finnish front Jewish soldiers found themselves fighting together with Germans. Most of the Jewish refugees fleeing through Finland were rescued, but eight were returned; seven of them murdered in Auschwitz. – The Jewish caricatures of pre-Holocaust Finnish films have become an embarrassment.

The discussion of Dialogue IV went on for two hours, and there were further interesting discussions with some of the Collegiates during the following days.

Leo Tolstoy said in What Is Art? that art is incompatible with nationalism and clericalism. It is the vocation of art to communicate universal feeling and cross boundaries, not erect them. Tolstoy was a friend of Finland, an opponent of Czarist tyranny. In his last years, he wrote a tale of the Chechen rebel Hadzhi Murat, celebrating the fight for freedom. To be redeemed in Jääkärin morsian is that same fighting spirit.

As for silent cinema, a more serious question for Finland about ”Seeing With Others’ Eyes” is why the wonderful Nummisuutarit never seems to cross over like Laveata tietä did.

The Wonders of the Biograph (GCM Sacile 2000) alphabetic checklist

"JARABE" DANCE, STREETS OF MEXICO, PAN AMERICAN EXPOSITION , USA , 1901
"JARABE" DANCE, STREETS OF MEXICO, PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION , USA , 1901
"KING" AND "QUEEN", THE GREAT HIGH DIVING HORSES , USA , 1899
"MAN OVERBOARD!" , GB , 1899
"SHAMROCK" AND "COLUMBIA" , USA , 1899
[AMERICAN BIOGRAPH AT THE PALACE] , GB , 1899
[AMERICAN BIOGRAPH IN CIRCUS O. CARR�] , Netherlands , [1898]
[BATTLESHIP "ODIN" WITH ALL HER GUNS IN ACTION, THE] , Germany , 1900
[BOULEVARD VAN SCHEVENINGEN, DE] , GB , 1898
[BRUG DER ZUCHTEN] , GB , 1898
[BUILDING BEING PULLED DOWN] , USA , [1900]
[CHARGE OF THE CARABINEERS - ALDERSHOT] , GB , [1898]
[CHARGE OF THE LANCERS - ALDERSHOT] , GB , 1898
[CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE] , GB , [1900]
[CONFERENCIER, DE] , USA? , [1900]
[DEEP SEA DIVERS] , GB? , [1898]
[DREYFUS, CAPTAIN ALFRED] , France , 1899
[FUN ON A SAND HILL] , Germany , [1899]
[FUN�RAILLES DE F�LIX FAURE] , France , [1899]
[GEEN BEDELAARS IN DE KEUKEN] , GB , [1898]
[GERMAN BATTLESHIP "KAISER WILHELM II"] , Germany , 1900
[HENLEY REGATTA, THE] , GB , 1901
[HERBERT CAMPBELL ALS "LITTLE BOBBIE"] , GB , 1900
[HOLLANDSE VISSERVLOOT] , GB , 1898
[HONDEKARREN] , Netherlands , [1898]
[HORSE RACE AT EPSOM] , GB , [1899]
[HUWELIJKSSTOET TER GELEGENHEID VAN HET HUWELIJK VAN WILHELMINA EN HENDRIK] , Netherlands , 1901
[IN THE FRIEDRICHSTRASSE] , Germany , [1899]
[INTERNATIONAL YACHT RACES ON THE CLYDE] , USA , [1901]
[INTERNATIONAL YACHT RACES ON THE CLYDE] , USA , [1901]
[INTERRUPTED KISS, AN] , GB , [1898]
[JACHT GAAT OVERSTAG, EEN] , USA , [1899]
[JACHT, EN PROFIL, EEN] , USA , [1900]
[KERSTMAN EN FEE] , GB , [1898]
[KINDERSPEL] , USA , [1899]
[KING EDWARD VII AT THE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF THE KING OF DENMARK] , France , 1901
[KONINKLIJK JACHT TIJDENS DE VISSERSVLOOTREVUE BIJ MUIDEN] , Netherlands , [1899]
[KONINKLIJKE FAMILIE] , Netherlands , [1902]
[MAIDENHEAD JUNCTION] , GB , [1898]
[MAN VAN DE WERELD, EEN] , GB , [1900]
[MOLENS VAN DE ZAANSTREEK] , GB? , [1899]
[NA DE RECHTZAAK] , France , 1899
[NAT PAK, EEN] , GB? , [1897]
[ONGEWENST VADER] , Germany , [1900]
[OP LEVEN EN DOOD] , GB , [1899]
[PARADE BRITSE TROEPEN] , GB , [1900]
[PAUL KRUGER IN GESPREK] , France , [1900]
[PRINSENGRACHT] , Netherlands , 1898
[RAILWAY TRIP THROUGH MOUNTAIN SCENERY AND TUNNELS] , USA , [1900]
[SAILORS OF HMS "BLACK PRINCE" FIRING CANNON AND RIFLES] , GB , [1900]
[SLAAPKAMERPRET] , France , [1899]
[STEALING A DINNER] , GB , [1898]
[TRAM JOURNEY THROUGH SOUTHAMPTON] , GB , [1900]
[TWEE CLOWNS BOKSEN ONDERSTEBOVEN] , GB , [1899]
[VENETI�-HAVENGEZICHT MET GONDELS] , GB , 1898
[WARSHIPS AT SUNSET] , GB? , [1900]
[WHY PAPA CAN'T SLEEP] , GB , [1898]
[WILHELM II OP KEIZERLIJK JACHT] , Germany , [1899]
AANKOMST DER VREDESCONFERENTIE TE HAARLEM, 4 JUNI 1899 , Netherlands , 1899
ACROSS BROOKLYN BRIDGE , USA , 1899
ACROSS BROOKLYN BRIDGE , USA , 1896
AGOUST FAMILY OF JUGGLERS , GB , 1898
ALBANY DAY BOATS, THE , USA , 1897
AMANN, THE GREAT IMPERSONATOR , GB , 1899
AMERICAN FALLS, GOAT ISLAND , USA , 1896
AMERICAN FALLS, GOAT ISLAND , USA , 1896
AMERICAN FALLS, LUNA ISLAND [REVERSED] , USA , 1896
AMOROUS GUARDSMAN, THE , GB , 1898
AMSTERDAMS VREEMDELINGENVERKEER , Netherlands , 1899
ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION - SIR GEORGE NEWNES' FAREWELL TO OFFICERS AND CREW , GB , 1898
APPLE BLOSSOMS , USA , 1899
ARMOR VS. AMOUR , USA , 1899
ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN AT THE PALACE, AMSTERDAM , GB , 1898
ARTIST'S DREAM, THE , USA , 1899
AWAKENING OF RIP , USA , 1896
AWAY ALOFT , GB , 1898
BAD (K)NIGHT, A , USA , 1899
BARBER SAW THE JOKE, THE , GB , [1902]
BATH SCENE - HOLLAND , GB , 1898
BATTLE OF SPION KOP , GB , 1900
BATTLESHIP "ODIN" WITH ALL HER GUNS IN ACTION , GB , 1900
BATTLESHIPS "MAINE" AND "IOWA" , USA , 1897
BAXTER STREET MYSTERY , USA , 1899
BAYONET VERSUS BAYONET - ALDERSHOT , GB , 1897
BLACK CAT AND THE DINNER FOR TWO, THE , GB , [1898]
BLOEMENCORSO TE HAARLEM OP 4 JUNI 1899 , Netherlands , 1899
BLOEMFONTEIN: UNFURLING THE FLAG , GB , 1900
BOMBARDMENT OF COLENSO BY 4.7 GUNS OF HMS "TERRIBLE" , GB , 1899
BOWERY CAFE, A , USA , 1897
BOYS BATHING - VENICE , GB , 1898
BRIDGING THE TUGELA RIVER BY ROYAL ENGINEERS SHOWING BRIDGE DESTROYED BY THE BOERS , GB , 1899
BUMPING RACE (CAMBRIDGE MAY RACES) , GB , 1899
CAMP OF ZINGAREE GYPSIES, A , GB , 1897
CAPTAIN ALFRED DREYFUS , France , 1899
CAPTAIN DEASY'S DARING DRIVE, ASCENT , Germany , 1903
CAPTAIN DEASY'S DARING DRIVE, DESCENT , Germany , 1903
CAPUCHIN MONKS , GB , 1898
CHANGING GUARD (BERLIN) , GB , 1897
CHARGE D'UN ESCADRON DU 27E DRAGONS, CONTRE UNE BATTERIE DU 11E R�GIMENT EN POSITION, FAISANT FEU SUR L'ENNEMI , GB , 1897
CHARGE PAR ESCADRONS, EX�CUT�E PAR LE 1ER R�GT. DE CUIRASSIERS , GB , 1897
CHARLIE WANTED THE EARTH , USA , 1899
CLIMBING JACOB'S LADDER , USA , 1899
COASTING ON SLEDS IN THE STOCKHOLM SPORT PARK ON SUNDAY , GB , 1902
CONWAY CASTLE - PANORAMIC VIEW OF CONWAY ON THE L. & N.W. RAILWAY , GB , 1898
CORONATION OF QUEEN WILHELMINA OF HOLLAND AT AMSTERDAM: THE QUEEN AND THE QUEEN MOTHER ON THE PALACE BALCONY RESPONDING , Netherlands , 1898
CORONATION OF THEIR MAJESTIES KING EDWARD VII AND QUEEN ALEXANDRA, FIRST SCENE , GB , 1902
CORONATION OF THEIR MAJESTIES KING EDWARD VII AND QUEEN ALEXANDRA, SECOND SCENE , GB , 1902
COUNTRY DANCE, A , USA , 1897
CROOKEDEST RAILROAD YARD IN THE WORLD, THE , USA , 1897
DAIRY MAID'S REVENGE, THE , USA , 1899
DANCING DARKIES , USA , 1896
DOWN MOUNT TOM , USA , 1899
DUEL TO THE DEATH (FROM THE MELODRAMA "WOMEN AND WINE") , GB , 1898
DUTCH FISHING BOATS , GB , 1898
ELEPHANTS AT THE ZOO , GB , 1898
EMPEROR AND EMPRESS OF GERMANY , Germany , 1899
EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS , USA , 1896
FACIAL EXPRESSIONS - THE FATEFUL LETTER , GB , 1898
FAMOUS PROCESSION OF THE CORPUS DOMINI , GB , 1898
FEEDING SEAGULLS OFF THE IRISH COAST , GB , 1899
FEEDING THE SEAGULLS , GB , 1899
FEESTELIJK BEZOEK VAN HM KONINGIN WILHELMINA AAN ROTTERDAM , Netherlands , 1899
FEMALE DRUMMER, THE , USA , 1899
FENCING CONTEST FROM THE PLAY "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" , GB , 1898
FERRYBOAT AND TUG PASSING GOVERNORS ISLAND, NEW YORK HARBOR , USA , 1897
FINISH OF MR. FRESH, THE , USA , 1899
FIRING THE MAXIM GUN , GB , 1897
FORT HILL FIRE STATION , USA , 1897
FOUR WARSHIPS IN ROUGH SEAS , GB , 1900
FROM MONTE CARLO TO MONACO , France , 1899
FROM VAUDREUIL TO ST. ANNE'S , USA , [1900]
FROM WAR TO PEACE - FIRST DEPARTURE OF SS "ST. LOUIS" FROM SOUTHAMPTON , GB , 1898
FUNERAL PROCESSION OF THE MISERICORDIA , GB , 1898
GEORGETOWN LOOP, THE , USA , 1901
GERMAN GARDE KURASSIERS , Germany , 1900
GERMAN LANCERS , Germany , 1899
GOOD STORY, A , GB , 1898
GORDON HIGHLANDERS IN LADYSMITH , GB , 1900
GORDON HIGHLANDERS, THE: RETURNING TO CAMP , GB , 1897
GRAND CANAL, VENICE, THE , GB , 1898
GRAND CANAL, VENICE, THE , GB , 1898
GREAT OTTAWA FIRE , USA , 1900
GREAT OTTAWA FIRE, THE , USA , 1900
HARD WASH, A , USA , 1896
HARVESTING CORN , USA , 1897
HAS HE HIT ME? , GB , 1898
HAVERSTRAW TUNNEL , USA , 1897
HAZING AFFAIR IN A GIRLS' BOARDING SCHOOL , USA , 1899
HE AND SHE , GB , 1898
HE DIDN'T FINISH THE STORY , USA , 1899
HE GOT MORE THAN HE BARGAINED FOR , GB , [1899]
HER FIRST CIGARETTE , USA , 1899
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN ARRIVING AT SOUTH KENSINGTON ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM , GB , [1899]
HOME LIFE OF A HUNGARIAN FAMILY , GB , 1897
HOTEL ON FIRE, PARIS (RESCUE WORK BY PARIS POMPIERS) , GB , 1898
HURDLE JUMPING BY TRAINED DOGS , USA , 1899
IN A GERMAN BATH , Germany , 1899
IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES, NEAR BANFF , USA , [1899]
IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES, NEAR BANFF , USA , 1899
INTERRUPTED SITTING, AN , USA , 1898
INTRIGUE IN A HAREM, AN , USA , 1899
IRISH MAIL - L. & N.W. RAILWAY - TAKING UP WATER AT FULL SPEED , GB , 1898
IRISH MAIL L. & N. W. RAILWAY - TAKING UP WATER AT FULL SPEED , GB , 1898
IRISH PEASANT SCENE, AN - FEEDING PIGS , GB , 1899
JUMBO, HORSELESS FIRE-ENGINE , USA , 1897
JUMPING HURDLES , USA , 1897
JUST CAUSE FOR DIVORCE, A , USA , 1899
KEYSTONE EXPRESS , USA , 1897
KINDERFEEST OP HET EILAND MARKEN, EEN , Netherlands , [1899]
KING JOHN , GB , 1899
LADYSMITH - NAVAL BRIGADE DRAGGING 4.7 GUNS INTO LADYSMITH , GB , 1900
LANDING AT VILLEFRANCHE FROM U.S. CRUISER "OLYMPIA" , GB , 1899
LANDING OF SAVAGE SOUTH AFRICA AT SOUTHAMPTON, THE , GB , 1899
LANE ON SUNDAY MORNING, THE , GB , 1899
LAUNCH OF H.M. BATTLESHIP "FORMIDABLE" AT PORTSMOUTH , GB , 1898
LAUNCH OF THE "OCEANIC" , GB , 1899
LAUNCH OF THE WORTHING LIFE-BOAT: COMING ASHORE , GB , 1898
LEIDSCHE STUDENTEN-FEESTEN, DE , Netherlands , 1900
LONDON FIRE BRIGADE, ALARM , GB , 1899
LORD KITCHENER'S ARRIVAL AT SOUTHAMPTON , GB , 1902
LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM , USA , 1897
M. GUERIN'S HEADQUARTERS - FORT CHABROL , France , [1899]
MADAME DREYFUS LEAVING THE PRISON , France , 1899
MARDI GRAS CARNIVAL, THE , USA , 1898
MARRIAGE OF THE EARL OF CREWE AND LADY "PEGGY" PRIMROSE AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY, THE , GB , 1899
MAXIM FIRING FIELD GUN - ALDERSHOT , GB , 1897
MCKINLEY AT HOME, CANTON, OHIO , USA , 1896
ME AND MY TWO FRIENDS , GB , 1898
MENAI BRIDGE, THE DAY IRISH MAIL FROM EUSTON ENTERING THE TUBULAR BRIDGE OVER THE MENAI STRAITS , GB , 1898
MIDNIGHT FANTASY, A , USA , 1899
MILITARY EXERCISE - ALDERSHOT , GB , 1898
MILITARY REVIEW AT ALDERSHOT , GB , 1897
MOUSE IN A GIRLS' DORMITORY, A , USA , 1897
MULTICYCLE RACE, A , USA , 1897
NAAR 'T TOLHUIS , Netherlands , 1899
NEAPOLITAN DANCE AT THE ANCIENT FORUM OF POMPEII , GB , 1898
NIAGARA FALLS STATION , USA , 1899
NINTH REGIMENT, N.G.N.S.Y. , USA , 1899
NURSE'S JOKE, THE , USA , 1899
OPERATIONS OF RED CROSS AMBULANCES AFTER SPION KOP , GB , 1900
ORIENTAL HIGHWAY, AN , USA , 1901
OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE BOAT RACE , GB , 1899
PANORAMA OF GRAND HARBOUR, MALTA , GB , 1901
PANORAMA OF THE GRAND CANAL, VENICE; PASSING THE VEGETABLE MARKET , GB , 1898
PANORAMIC VIEW OF FRERE CAMP TAKEN FROM THE FRONT OF AN ARMOURED TRAIN , GB , 1899
PANORAMIC VIEW OF WINDSOR CASTLE , GB , 1898
PARADE, AMERICUS CLUB, CANTON OHIO , USA , 1896
PARADE, SOUND MONEY CLUB, CANTON, O. , USA , 1896
PARISIENNES, LES , USA , 1897
PASSAGE DES PORTIQUES (�COLE DE GYMNASTIQUE DE JOINVILLE) , GB , 1897
PELICANS AT THE ZOO , GB , 1898
PHILLIS WAS NOT DRESSED TO RECEIVE CALLERS , USA , 1898
PILLOW FIGHT, A , USA , 1897
PLACE DE LA CONCORDE , GB , 1897
PLAYING DOCTOR , GB , 1898
PLECHTIGE INTOCHT VAN H.M. KONINGIN WILHELMINA IN AMSTERDAM , GB , 1898
POPE LEO XIII CARRIED THROUGH THE VATICAN LOGGIA ON HIS WAY TO THE SISTINE CHAPEL , GB , 1898
POPE LEO XIII IN HIS CARRIAGE, PASSING THROUGH THE VATICAN GARDENS , GB , 1898
POPE LEO XIII WALKING BEFORE KNEELING GUARDS , GB , 1898
POPE LEO XIII, IN HIS CHAIR , GB , 1898
POPE LEO XIII, IN HIS CHAIR, SURROUNDED BY SOME OF HIS COURTIERS, WITH SWISS GUARD IN REAR , GB , 1898
POPE LEO XIII, RESTING ON HIS WAY TO HIS SUMMER VILLA , GB , 1898
POSTER GIRLS AND THE HYPNOTIST, THE , USA , 1899
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND AND PRESIDENT MCKINLEY , USA , 1897
PRICE OF A KISS, THE , USA , 1899
PROCESSION OF ARMENIAN MONKS, INCLUDING THE ABBOT-ARCHBISHOP ST. LAZAR, VENICE , GB , 1898
QUEEN AND THE QUEEN MOTHER ON THE PALACE BALCONY RESPONDING TO THE CALL OF THE POPULACE, THE , GB , 1898
QUEEN MARGHERITA OF ITALY , GB , 1898
RARE FISH IN THE AQUARIUM , Germany? , [1899]
R�CEPTION DU PR�SIDENT KR�GER � L'H�TEL DE VILLE , France , 1900
RELIEVING THE GUARD AT ST. JAMES'S PALACE , GB , 1897
REVIEW OF THE ROYAL NETHERLANDS GUARDS IN THE COSTUMES OF THE MIDDLE AGES , GB , 1898
RIFLE HILL SIGNAL STATION NEAR FRERE CAMP , GB , 1899
RINGRIJDEN VOOR SJEEZEN TE HAARLEM , Netherlands , 1899
RIP LEAVING SLEEPY HOLLOW , USA , 1896
RIP MEETING THE DWARF , USA , 1896
RIP PASSING OVER THE MOUNTAIN , USA , 1896
RIP'S TOAST TO HUDSON AND CREW , USA , 1896
RIP'S TWENTY YEARS' SLEEP , USA , 1896
ROYAL LEINSTER REGIMENT, THE , USA , 1900
ROYAL PROCESSION FROM THE CHURCH AFTER THE CEREMONY, THE , GB , 1898
ROYAL PROCESSION TO THE CHURCH BEFORE THE CORONATION CEREMONY, THE , GB , 1898
RUDGE AND WHITWORTH, BRITAIN'S BEST BICYCLE , GB , 1902
RURAL COURTSHIP, A , USA , 1896
SAD SEA WAVES , USA , 1897
SANDWICH MAN, THE , USA , 1899
SCANDALOUS PROCEEDING, A , USA , 1899
SCHICKSAL DERER VON HABSBURG, DAS , Germany , 1928
SEIZING A KOPJE NEAR SPION KOP BY LORD DUNDONALD'S TROOPERS , GB , 1899
SHOOTING THE CHUTES , USA , 1896
SKATING IN CENTRAL PARK , USA , 1900
SMALLEST TRAIN IN THE WORLD, THE , USA , 1899
SORTIE DU CONGRES DE VERSAILLES, LA , France , 1899
SPANISH CORONATION BULLFIGHT , GB , 1902
SPIRIT OF HIS FOREFATHERS, THE , GB , 1900
STABLE ON FIRE, A , USA , 1896
STAR POWER: THE CREATION OF UNITED ARTISTS , USA , 1996
STILL WATERS RUN DEEP , USA , 1897
STOLEN STOCKINGS, THE , USA , 1898
SURF DASHING AGAINST ENGLAND'S ROCKY COAST , GB , 1897
TAKING ON A PILOT , USA , 1897
TAPPING A BLAST FURNACE - NEWCASTLE , GB , 1899
TARANTELLA, AN ITALIAN DANCE, THE , GB , 1898
TEN INCH DISAPPEARING CARRIAGE GUN LOADING AND FIRING, SANDY HOOK , USA , 1897
THREE LINOTYPE MACHINES , GB? , [1900]
THRESHING MACHINE AT WORK , USA , 1897
THROUGH MILLER'S DALE (NEAR BUXTON, DERBYSHIRE) MIDLAND RAIL , GB , 1899
TOLHUIS! KIELE! KIELE! , Netherlands , 1899
TRAMBESTORMING OP ZONDAG OP DEN DAM, EEN , Netherlands , 1899
TROUT POACHERS , USA , 1897
TUG IN HEAVY SEA, A , GB , 1898
UNION SQUARE - NEW YORK , USA , 1896
VATICAN GUARDS, ROME, THE , GB , 1898
VENICE, FEEDING THE PIGEONS IN ST. MARK'S SQUARE , GB , 1898
VICTORIA JUBILEE BRIDGE, ST. LAWRENCE RIVER , USA , 1900
VIEW ON BOULEVARD, NEW YORK CITY , USA , 1896
WATER POLO - WORTHING SWIMMING CLUB , GB , 1898
WATER POLO - WORTHING SWIMMING CLUB , GB , 1898
WATERSNOOD IN BUURT YY , Netherlands , 1899
WAY OF THE WORLD, THE , USA , 1910
WEESHUIS-QUAESTIE, DE , Netherlands , 1899
WHEN THE BUGLE SOUNDS "CHARGE" , Germany , 1899
WONDERFUL MUTOSCOPE, THE , GB , [1898]
WORTHING LIFE-SAVING STATION , GB , 1898
WRESTLING PONY AND MAN , USA , 1896
ZIEKE GEMEENTE-AMBTENAAR, DE , Netherlands , 1899
ZOLA-ROCHEFORT DUEL, PARIS, THE , GB , 1898

The Wonders of the Biograph (Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, Sacile 2000) restorations from Nederlands Filmmuseum

Feeding the Pigeons in St. Mark's Square, Venice (GB 1898). W. K.-L. Dickson, a female companion and a little girl. Photo: BFI National Archive.

THE WONDERS OF THE BIOGRAPH ****

A large collection of films shot in the Biograph format (68 mm) has now been successfully preserved on 35 mm. The projection speed is 30 fps. These films are true revelations that hardly anyone has seen in a hundred years. The films have been compiled into a witty and exciting touring show of 11 programmes by Nederlands Filmmuseum. The compilations were made by Nico de Klerk with the help of Mark van den Tempel and others at NFM. The films were identified by intertitles in English. The duration of the films is one minute on the average.

Biograph 1: Addressing the Audience (this program was not shown, at least not as scheduled)
Maxim Firing Field Gun – Aldershot (GB 1897)
[Herbert Campbell as "Little Bobbie"] (GB [1900])
[Een man van de wereld] / [A Man of the World] (GB [1900])
Naar 't Tolhuis / [To the "Tolhuis"] (NL 1899)
De zieke gemeente-ambtenaar / [Sick Municipal Clerk] (NL 1899)
Rudge and Whitworth, Britain's Best Bicycle (GB 1902)
He Didn't Finish the Story (US 1899)
Charlie Wanted the Earth (US 1899)
He and She (GB 1898)
A Good Story (GB 1898)
The Sandwich Man (US 1899)
The Barber Saw the Joke (GB [1902])
Water Polo - Worthing Swimming Club (GB 1898)
Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race (GB 1899)
A Multicycle Race (US 1897)
[Wilhelm II op keizerlijk jacht] / [Wilhelm II on Royal Yacht] (DE 1899)
Ferryboat and Tug Passing Governors Island, New York Harbor / [New York Harbor and South Brooklyn Ferry] (US 1897)
Panorama of Grand Harbour, Malta (GB 1901)
Through Miller's Dale (Near Buxton, Derbyshire) Midland Rail / Through the Chee Tor Tunnel in Derbyshire (GB 1899)
Climbing Jacob's Ladder (US 1899)
Down Mount Tom (US 1899)
Elephants at the Zoo (GB 1898)
Taking On a Pilot (US 1897)
A Tug in Heavy Sea (GB 1898)
A Blast at the Solvay Quarries (US 1898)

Biograph 2: Where to Place the Camera?
[Charge of the Carabiniers – Aldershot] (GB [1898])
[Hondekarren] (NL [1898])  *
Threshing Machine at Work (US 1897)  *
Feestelijk bezoek van HM Konigin Wilhelmina aan Rotterdam (NL 1899)
[Huwelijksstoet ter Gelegenheid van het huwelijk van Wilhelmina en Hendrik] (NL 1901)
Jumping Hurdles (US 1897)
When the Bugle Sounds ”Charge” (DE 1899)
Menai Bridge, the Day Irish Mail from Euston Entering the Tubular Bridge over the Menai Straits (GB 1898)
Launch of the ”Oceanic” (GB 1899)  *
The Albany Day Boats (US 1897)
[Een Jacht, en Profil] (US [1900])
”Shamrock” and ”Columbia” (US 1899)
[International Yacht Races on the Clyde] (US [1901])
[International Yacht Races on the Clyde] (US [1901])
Coasting on Sleds in the Stockholm Sport Park on Sunday (GB 1902)
Shooting the Chutes (US 1896)
Empire State Express (US 1896)
Battleships ”Maine” and ”Iowa” (US 1897)
Four Warships in Rough Seas (GB 1900)
[Tram Journey Through Southampton] (GB [1900])
Irish Mail – L. & N.W. Railway – Taking Up Water at Full Speed (GB 1898)
From Vaudreuil to St. Anne’s (US [1900])
[Railway Trip Through Mountain Scenery and Tunnels] (US [1900])
Across Brooklyn Bridge (US 1899)

Biograph 3: ”Twentieth-Century Damsel”
The Wonderful Mutoscope (GB [1898])
A Just Cause for Divorce (US 1899)  *
A Mouse in a Girls’ Dormitory (US 1897)
The Black Cat and the Dinner for Two (GB [1898])
Tolhuis! Kiele! Kiele! (NL 1899)
The Female Drummer (US 1899)
Hazing Affair in a Girls’ Boarding School (US 1899)
The Stolen Stockings (US 1898)
The Nurse’s Joke (US 1899)
An Interrupted Sitting (US 1898)
[Slaapkamerpret] (FR [1899])
The Finish of Mr. Fresh (US 1899)
[Ongewenst vader] (DE [1900])
[Geen bedelaars in de keuken] (GB [1898])
The Amorous Guardsman (GB 1898)
The Price of a Kiss (US 1899)
A Bowery Cafe (US 1897)
Her First Cigarette (US 1899)
Duel to the Death (GB 1898)
[An Interrupted Kiss] [GB (1898)]
Love’s Young Dream (US 1897)
Armor Vs. Amour (US 1899)
Union Square – New York (US 1896)  *
View on Boulevard, New York City (US 1896)  *
In a German Bath (DE 1899) Halensee

Biograph 4: ”Les feuilles remuaient au vent”
American Falls, Goat Island (US 1896)
Sad Sea Waves (US 1897)
Feeding Seagulls off the Irish Coast (GB 1899)
[Fun on a Sand Hill] (DE [1899])
Skating in Central Park (US 1900)
[Horse Race at Epsom] (GB [1899])
A Pillow Fight (US 1897)
[Kinderspiel] (US [1899])
Een kinderfeest op het eiland Marken (NL [1899])
An Irish Peasant Scene – Feeding Pigs (GB 1899)
A Stable on Fire (US 1896)
[Maidenhead Junction] (GB [1898])
Facial Expressions – The Fateful Letter (GB 1898)
Keystone Express (US 1897)
Haverstraw Tunnel (US 1897)
Place de la Concorde (GB 1897)
[In the Friedrichstrasse] (DE [1899])
Jumbo, Horseless Fire-Engine (US 1897)
[Molens van de Zaanstreek] (GB? [1899])
[Hollandse visservloot] (GB 1898)
American Falls, Luna Island (US 1896)
Ninth Regiment, N.G.N.S.Y. (US 1899)
German Garde Kurassiers (DE 1900)
Amsterdams vreemdelingenverkeer (NL 1899)
Still Waters Run Deep (US 1897)
Water Polo – Worthing Swimming Club (GB 1898)
[German Battleship ”Kaisere Wilhelm II”] (DE 1900)
Landing at Villefranche from U.S. Cruiser ”Olympia” (GB 1899)

17 Oct 2000 Donald Sosin played and sang "You All Know Those Biograph Pictures".

Ken Wlaschin: The Silent Cinema in Song 1896–1929, An Illustrated History and Catalog of Songs Inspired by the Movies and Stars, with a List of Recordings. McFarland, 2009: "Also in 1899 the first song about the movies was published by Feldman. It was 'The Biograph,' a British music-hall ditty introduced at the Palace Theater in London by composer / lyricist Frank Leo. The Biograph company was Edison’s principal competitor in the early years of the movie industry, and the British Mutoscope and Biograph Company was its English subsidiary. Biograph films were very popular in England, especially at the Palace Theater in Leicester Square, and the word “biograph” became a generic name for movies. The song begins: "

I’ll sing in praise of a modern invention
One of the greatest of this present age
It’s the Biograph I now allude to
And may be seen on most every stage.
First, all the lights must be low
Then commence with the show

"The sheet music includes a note suggesting that the lights be turned down while the chorus is sung, to create the mood of “flickering lime[light] à la Biograph.” There upon a white sheet we find Living pictures of ev’ry kind Some of them funny, and some of them sad Some make us sorrowful, some make us glad Ev’ry one must regret I’m sure That it wasn’t in vogue before So we might see our dead Heroes of yore On this wonderful Biograph."

"Subsequent verses talk about how people a hundred years in the future will be able to see events of the present time, including the queen on parade and the Prince of Wales winning the Derby “by the aid of a lime.” A humorous verse tells about a woman sitting in the stalls who faints when she sees her husband on screen courting another woman “on the wonderful Biograph.” (“The Biograph” was discovered and preserved by British film historian David Robinson). "

"In 1900 a second English music-hall song about the movies became popular. Like the earlier song, it was concerned with the Biograph company and its programs at the Palace Theater in London. Harry B. Norris’s “At the Top of the Tree or Biograph Pictures” focuses on celebrities, the people who have fame and are thus “at the top of the tree.”

You all know those Biograph pictures,
celebrities shown on a screen
The photos of notable people,
displayed as they daily are seen
Tho’ some may provoke wry grimaces,
and others no more than a smile
You’ll see all the popular faces,
applauded in vigorous style.
Lucky celebrities on the tree-top
They’ve climbed to the summit intending to stop
Honour and glory their portion shall be
Because they are right at the top of the tree.

"There are nine verses and choruses, each about a di›erent celebrity, including English statesman Joseph Chamberlain, the Lord Mayor of London, American jockey Tod Sloan and army commander Lord Roberts, plus an heiress, a golfer, a yachtsman and a wealthy drunkard who has “slipped from the top of tree.” The sheet music, published in 1900 in London by Frank Dean, shows a woman in white tie on the screen of a large theater, and it says that the song was “sung with great success by Miss Vesta Tilley” and “sung also by Horace Mills.”  Ken Wlaschin: The Silent Cinema in Song 1896–1929, An Illustrated History and Catalog of Songs Inspired by the Movies and Stars, with a List of Recordings. McFarland, 2009.

Biograph 5: Yesterday’s News
[American Biograph at the Palace] (GB 1899)
Plechtige intocht van H.M. Koningin Wilhelmina in Amsterdam (GB 1898)
Arrival of the Queen at the Palace, Amsterdam (GB 1898)
Review of the Royal Netherlands Guards in the Costumes of the Middle Ages (GB 1898)
The Royal Procession from the Church after the Ceremony (GB 1898)
The Queen and the Queen Mother on the Palace Balcony Responding to the Call of the Populace (GB 1898)
2Bloemencorso te Haarlem op 4 juni 1899 (NL 1899)
The Great Ottawa Fire (US 1900)  AA: panorama shot, 360° effect
Bumping Race (Cambridge May Races) (GB 1899)
La Sortie du Congrès de Versailles (FR 1899)
The Marriage of the Earl of Crewe and Lady ”Peggy” Primrose at Westminster Abbey (GB 1899)
From War to Peace – First Departure of SS ”St. Louis” from Southampton (GB 1898)
The Mardi Gras Carnival (US 1898)
The Dreyfus Case
[Dreyfus, Captain Alfred] (FR 1899)
[Na de rechtzaak] (FR 1899)
The Zola-Rochefort Duel, Paris (GB 1898)
Amann, the Great Impersonator (GB 1899)

Biograph 7: People in Front of the Camera too slow a speed in this screening
[Prinsengracht] (NL [1898])
”The Lane” on Sunday Morning (GB 1899)
[The Henley Regatta] (GB 1901)
[De Boulevard van Scheveningen] (GB 1898)
Een trambestorming op zondag op den dam (NL 1899)
[American Biograph in Circus o. Carré] (NL [1898])
Venice, Feeding the Pigeons in St. Mark’s Square (GB 1898)
The Georgetown Loop (US 1901)
Tapping a Blast Furnace – Newcastle (GB 1899)
Relieving the Guard at St. James’s Palace (GB 1897)
The Gordon Highlanders: Returning to Camp (GB 1897)
The Vatican Guards, Rome (GB 1898)
Funeral Procession of the Misericordia (GB 1898)
Capuchin Monks (GB 1898)
Procession of Armenian Monks, Including the Abbot- Archbishop St. Lazar, Venice (GB 1898)
Ringrijden voor sjeeten te Harlem (NL 1899)
Changing Guard (Berlin) (GB 1897)
[King Edward VII at the Birthday Celebration of the King of Denmark] (FR 1901)
Antarctic Expedition – Sir George Newnes’ Farewell to Officers and Crew (GB 1898)
[Koninklijk jacht tijdens de vissersvlootrevue bij muiden] (NL [1899])
[Paul Kruger in gesprek] (FR [1900])
Queen Margherita of Italy (GB 1898)
McKinley at Home, Canton, Ohio (US 1896)
POPE LEO XIII (five film cycle) screened in an order different from the following announced list
– Pope Leo XIII Carried Through the Vatican Loggia on His Way to the Sistine Chapel (GB 1898)
– Pope Leo XIII in His Carriage, Passing Through the Vatican Gardens (GB 1898)
– Pope Leo XIII, in His Chair (GB 1898)
– Pope Leo XIII, Resting on His Way to His Summer Villa (GB 1898)
– Pope Leo XIII Walking Before Kneeling Guards (GB 1898)

Biograph 8: How Shots Hang Together
Captain Deasy’s Daring Drive, Ascent (DE 1903)  * car drive on railway tracks
Worthing Life-Saving Station (GB 1898)
Launch of the Worthing Life-Boat: Coming Ashore (GB 1898)
Me and My Two Friends (GB 1898)
Spanish Coronation Bullfight (GB 1902)
RIP VAN WINKLE (six film cycle) *
– Rip Meeting the Dwarf (US 1896)
– Rip Leaving Sleepy Hollow (US 1896)
– Rip’s Toast to Hudson and Crew (US 1896)
– Rip’s Twenty Years’s Sleep (US 1896)
– Awakening of Rip (US 1896)
– Rip Passing Over the Mountain (US 1896)
Venice / Italy
The Grand Canal, Venice (GB 1898)  *
Panorama of the Grand Canal, Venice; Passing the Vegetable Market (GB 1898)
[Brug der Zuchten] (GB 1898)
Boys Bathing – Venice (GB 1898)
[Venetië-Havengezicht met gondels] (GB 1898)
Neapolitan Dance at the Ancient Forum of Pompeii (GB 1898)
Edward VII’s succession of Queen Victoria
Panoramic View of Windsor Castle (GB 1898)
Her Majesty the Queen Arriving at South Kensington on the Occasion of the Laying of the Foundation Stone of the Victoria & Albert Museum (GB [1899])
[Building Being Pulled Down] (US [1900])
Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, First Scene (GB 1902)
Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, Second Scene (GB 1902)
Captain Deasy’s Daring Drive, Descent (DE 1903)

Biograph 9: Staging the World
Three Linotype Machines (GB? [1900])  *
Agoust Family of Jugglers (GB 1898)  *
[Parade Britsetroepen] (GB [1900])
Charge d’un escadron du 27e dragons, contre une batterie du 11e régiment en position, faisant feu sur l’ennemi (GB 1897)
Fort Hill Fire Station (US 1897)
Hotel on Fire, Paris (Rescue Work by Paris Pompiers) (GB 1898)  * extraordinary multi-action
”Man Overboard!” (GB 1899)
A Camp of Zingaree Gypsies (GB 1897)
[The Battleship ”Odin” With All Her Guns in Action] (DE 1900)
[Why Papa Can’t Sleep] (GB [1898])
Dutch Fishing Boats (GB 1898)
[Een nat pak] (GB? [1897])
Bath Scene – Holland (GB 1898)  * boats, swimmers, horse
A Country Dance (US 1897)
”Jarabe” Dance, Streets of Mexico, Pan-American Exposition (US 1901)
[Sailors of HMS ”Black Prince” Firing Cannon and Rifles] (GB [1900])
A Bad (K)night (US 1899)
Playing Doctor (GB 1898)  a doll as a "patient"
The Dairy Maid’s Revenge (US 1899)  *
The Spirit of His Forefathers (GB 1900)
A Midnight Fantasy (US 1899)  *  a cigar store Indian comes alive
[Op leven en dood] / [On Life and Death] (GB [1899])  duel

Biograph 10: Visual Attractions
Apple Blossoms (US 1899)
King John (GB 1899) – Herbert Beerbohm Tree. David Robinson 2000: Tree was the first major English-speaking stage star to see the importance of motion pictures as record.
Fencing Contest from the Play ”The Three Musketeers” (GB 1898)
An Intrigue in a Harem (US 1899)
Baxter Street Mystery (US 1899)
[Twee clowns boksen ondersterboven] (GB [1899])
Has He Hit Me? (GB 1898)
[Stealing a Dinner] (GB [1898])
Hurdle Jumping by Trained Dogs (US 1899)
”King” and ”Queen”, the Great High Diving Horses (US 1899)
Wrestling Pony and Man (US 1896)
The Landing of Savage South Africa at Southampton (GB 1899)
Dancing Darkies (US 1896)
[Clifton Suspension Bridge] (GB [1900])
[Warships at Sunset] (GB? [1900])
The Artist’s Dream (US 1899)
Phillis Was Not Dressed to Receive Callers (US 1898)
A Scandalous Proceeding (US 1899)
A Rural Courtship (US 1896)
Les Parisiennes (US 1897)
Conway Castle – Panoramic View of Conway on the L. & N.W. Railway (GB 1898)
[Deep Sea Divers] (GB? [1898])
Rare Fish in the Aquarium (DE? 1899)
Watersnood in Buurt YY (NL 1899)
Surf Dashing Against England’s Rocky Coast (GB 1897)
The Tarantella, an Italian Dance (GB 1898)
Pelicans at the Zoo (GB 1898)
The Smallest Train in the World (US 1899)
From Monte Carlo to Monaco (FR 1899)

Biograph 11: Making Up a Programme
[De conferencier] / [The Comedian] (US? [1900])
Trout Poachers (US 1897)
An Oriental Highway (US 1901)
Bayonet Versus Bayonet – Aldershot (GB 1897)
Military Exercise – Aldershot (GB 1898)
He Got More Than He Bargained For (GB [1899])
[Een jacht gaat overstag] / [One Yacht Tacks] (US [1899])
Home Life of a Hungarian Family (GB 1897)
The Poster Girls and the Hypnotist (US 1899)
Harvesting Corn (US 1897)
A Hard Wash (US 1896)
[Kerstman en fee] / [Santa Claus and Fairy] (GB [1898])
[Koninklijke familie] / [Royal Family] (NL [1902])
[Funérailles de Félix Faure] / [President Faure's Funeral] (FR [1898])
M. Guerin's Headquarters – Fort Chabrol (FR [1899])
Aankomst der vredesconferentie te Haarlem, 4 Juni 1899 / [Arrival at the Peace Conference at Haarlem] (NL 1899)
Réception du Président Krüger à l'Hôtel de Ville (FR 1900)
Lord Kitchener's Arrival at Southampton (GB 1902)
Niagara Falls Station (US 1899)
The Crookedest Railroad Yard in the World (US 1897)
In the Canadian Rockies, Near Banff (US [1899])
Victoria Jubilee Bridge, St. Lawrence River (US 1900)

...

Production companies:
– American Mutoscope Company (US)
– American Mutoscope and Biograph Company (US)
– British Mutoscope and Biograph Company (GB)
– Nederlandsche Biograaf- en Mutoscope Maatschappij (NL)
– Deutsche Mutoskop und Biograph Gesellschaft (DE)
– Biograph and Mutoscope Company for France (FR)

...

THE WONDERS OF THE BIOGRAPH
LIVIO JACOB, DAVID ROBINSON:
THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE FESTIVAL

"The Giornate of the year 2000 is fortunate in being able to offer an appropriate and remarkable millennial presentation – literally hundreds of films made a century ago, and unseen by anyone since their first appearance. Some 240 films shot by the European branches of the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company and preserved in the National Film and Television Archive in London and the Nederlands Filmmuseum in Amsterdam have been transferred from their original 68 mm format to 35 mm. (...). "

...

THE WONDERS OF THE BIOGRAPH
LUKE MCKERNAN

"The word 'Biograph' is most strongly associated with D. W. Griffith, who joined American Biograph in 1908. But amid the welter of projectors with extravagant names that competed for the public's attention in the very first years of the cinema, the Biograph had established itself as a product above the others, with a sharper, steadier, and far larger screen image than any of its competitors, a true source of wonder in all who saw it."

"The key to this success was the unperforated film of approximately 70 mm width that the Biograph used, coupled with its choice of international subjects, and a policy of select and classy presentations, with the company controlling all exhibitions that used this unique system."

"There were, in fact, a number of Biograph companies, beginning in 1896 with the American Mutoscope Company (the Mutoscope being the flip-card viewer that employed the same images, and inspired the invention of the Biograph), but in 1897 they expanded into Europe, and it is the product of the British, Dutch, French, and German Biograph companies in particular that is the subject of the series of programmes featuring in this year's Giornate."

"The films come from two major collections of Biograph films in the National Film and Television Archive (London) and the Nederlands Filmmuseum (Amsterdam), though the final restorations were produced by the Filmmuseum alone."

"'70 mm' is a misleading term, as the film was originally described in inches – 2 and 23/32nds of an inch, to be precise – and the image was squarer than modern-day 70 mm, and is closer in fact to the IMAX format. The restorations, however, are on projectable 35 mm, with little or no image loss."

"The programmes have been compiled from the approximately 300 originals dating 1896–1903 held by the two archives, and have been arranged by the Filmmuseum in broadly thematic or stylistic themes, though they can be enjoyed just as easily taken as a varied and random selection of the kinds of films that first made the name Biograph famous."

"Low comedy (The Amorous Guardsman) mixes with classical drama (King John); ordinary folk ('The Lane' on Sunday Morning) with the high and mighty (Pope Leo XII); there is the salacious (Phillis Was Not Dressed to Receive Callers), the awe-inspiring (Battleship 'Odin' with All Her Guns in Action), the commercial (The Spirit of His Forefathers), and the simply beautiful (Pelicans at the Zoo)."

"There are important news reports on the Dreyfus trial and the Anglo-Boer War. There are many journeys by train. Even in their reduced, 35 mm form, these films show why journalist R. H. Mere called his article in Pearson's Magazine of February 1899 'The Wonders of the Biograph'". Such films, in their size, clarity and super-reality, were the wonders of their age. They are no less wondrous now".

"For this occasion, the Nederlands Filmmuseum has compiled the films into eleven programmes, in a way that does justice to the variety of the material, but which also presents several aspects of early film-making to the viewer. The programmes come in new 35 mm projection prints with English intertitles, to guarantee that these films will also have a life in cinematheques after the Giornate."

"The compilations were made by Nico de Klerk, with the help of Mark van den Tempel and others at the Filmmuseum. This presentation was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands (HGIS). Special thanks go out to Barry Anthony, who contributed to the identification of a large number of films, and to the Giornate del Cinema Muto, whose wish to present this collection was the starting point to make these programmes."

Oulu Music Video Festival 24-27 Aug 2000: National Competition

SEITSEMÄNSIEN OULUN MUSIIKKIVIDEOFESTIVAALIEN KOTIMAISEEN KILPAILUUN OSALLISTUVAT VIDEOT 24.-27.8.2000 (Tiedot: ohjaaja / artisti / kappale)

Kotimainen kilpailu 1

1.
Aalto Antti
Tyrävyö
Ei

2.
Alapuranen Samuli
Leo Love
Capsula de Rosca

3.
Andersson Finn
Waldo’s People featuring Herbie
Bounce (To the Rhythm Divine)

4.
Andersson Finn
Wilma
Siskot

5. Andersson Finn
Disco
Ilkeitä asioita

6.
Andersson Finn
Tunaflakes
Before You Hit the Ground

7.
Andersson Finn
Nerdie
Set me free

8.
Anttila Jarno
Impaled Nazarene
Cogito ergo sum

9.
Autio Jaakko
Jaakko Autio alias Bram Nelson
Happy Happy World

10.
Berghäll Joonas
Viikate
Kylymä

11.
Berghäll Joonas
Viikate
Alakulotettuja Tunnelmia

12.
Cadia Anna
Oscar H.O.T. Quartet
Singalulubyebyeswingalabama

13.
Cadia Anna
Oscar H.O.T. Quartet
A’la P.M.

14.
Cadia Anna
Pool
Come With Me

15.
Cadia Anna
Pool: Crash

16.
DSD
Double Score Dungeon
Paranoid


Kotimainen kilpailu 2

17.
Eerola Antti & Heikki
Zage
Walk With Me

18.
Grinister
Grinister
Talking to me?

19.
Haanpää Harri
No Shame
Song

20.
Haanpää Harri
Tehosekoitin
Kaikki nuoret tyypit

21.
Haanpää Harri
Twilight Ophera
Night Beholds the Secret Candestine

22.
Halonen Timo
To/Die/For
In the Heat of the Night

23.
Hara Pekka
Milla Alftan
Had E-nuff

24.
Haukkamaa Lauri
Trabant
Mustaa tai valkoista

25.
Heikkinen Petri
Reflex
The Party

26.
Jakonen Mikko
Boy Novice
Blues

27.
Jokinen Pekka
Eläkeläiset
Humppaa Saatanat

28.
Kallio Rami
Disco Ensemple
Alive

29.
Kallio Rami
Sara
Seuraa

30.
Kamula Mika & Kemppainen Perttu
Neverheard
CDPCVCR


Kotimainen kilpailu 3

31.
Karanka Jonna
Jonna Karanka
T14

32.
Karanka Jonna & Lonka Johanna
Office Building
Karaoke Star

33.
Kaukoranta Sökö
Stratovarius:
Hunting High & Low

34.
Kaukoranta Sökö
Nerdie
Burning 4 U

35.
Käyhkö Sami
Babylon Whores
Sol Niger

36.
Käyhkö Sami
Nightwish
Sleeping Sun

37.
Keihäs Antti-Juhani
Spoilsport
Control

38.
Kerman Sasu
Jaskas
Myrskytuuli

39.
Kiviharju Juha
Timo Lehtonen
Memories

40.
Kojonen Edward
Lowely Worm
Sweet

41.
Korpela Teemu
The Phantom Tones
You Didn’t Know Me

42.
Koskela Jari
Let Me Dream
The Maze


Kotimainen kilpailu 4

43.
Kuokkanen Kreetta & Virtanen Maija
Ovalki
Leslie Wants to Sleep...

44.
Leed Kimmo
Tempo-orchester
Das Monolith

45.
Lehtinen Mikko
Zen Café
Mies eikä poika enää

46.
Lehtinen Mikko
Nonstop
En voi sua unohtaa

47.
Lehtinen Mikko
Tik Tak
Lopeta

48.
Lehtinen Mikko
Unit
Lähden menemään

49.
Leino Antti
Thee Ultra Bimboos
Fool

50.
Liimakka Raine
Can Can Heads
Hot Blower Meat / I’m not a Tolerant Man / God Spoke…

51.
Liimakka Raine
Valse Triste
Palava koira

52.
Lommi Miikka
Fintelligens
Voittamaton

53.
Lommi Miikka
Kemopetrol
Child Is My Name

54.
Lommi Miikka
Bomfunk MC’s
B-boys & Flygirls

55.
Lommi Miikka
Bomfunk MC’s
Freestyler

56.
Lommi Miikka
Fintelligens
Kellareiden kasvatit


Kotimainen kilpailu 5

57.
Lommi Miikka
Mobiles
Disko tänä yönä

58.
Louhivuori Joona & Helariutta Matti
Velcra
Drained Out of Me

59.
Luttinen Kimmo
The Black League
Winter Winds Sing

60.
Maaranen Sami
Rapped Youth
Eipähän siinä mittään

61.
Manninen Mika & Ullvèn Lasse
Limonadi Elohopea
Liekkimaja

62.
Marjomaa Sampo
Honey England
The Old World Monkeys / MAO

63.
Mastomäki Markku
Alamaailman vasarat
Kebab tai henki!

64.
Mastomäki Markku
Vieraat Vieraat
Massamurhaaja

65.
Mastomäki Markku
Pohjannaula
Jääkannel

66.
Matikainen Katri
Stanislaw
Loss

67.
Matikainen Katri
Enerchy
No Guarantee

68.
Mustamäki Piia
Vuokkoset
Naisen orgasmi

69.
Mustonen Heikki
Änkilä
Paksut miehet puhaltavat

70.
Nikki Teemu
Y.U.P.
Meitä odotellaan mullan alla


Kotimainen kilpailu 6

71.
Nikki Teemu
Pauli Hanhiniemen perunateatteri
Vieraslista

72.
Nikki Teemu
69 Eyes
Gothic Girl

73.
Nikki Teemu
Hybrid Children
Urban White Boy Blues

74.
Nissi Esa
Radiopuhelimet
Takaisin

75.
Nissi Esa
Radiopuhelimet
Eläintarhaan

76.
Nummelin Numi
Maija Vilkkumaa
Tähti

77.
Nygren Anneli
Tanya Tamagochi
Nukke sohvalla

78.
Oikarinen Matti
Trustles
Looking for Keith

79.
Olsson Claes
M.A. Numminen
M.A. Numminen Turns Rabbit

80.
Pasanen Tuukka
Etelä puisto
Muukalaisvalvonta

81.
Pauni Pasi
HIM
Right Here in My Arms

82.
Pauni Pasi
LAB
‘Til You’re Numb

83.
Pauni Pasi
Sentenced
Killing You Killing Me

84.
Pauni Pasi & von Herzen Kie
Don Huonot
Suojelusenkeli

85.
Pellonpää Jussi & Salomäenpää Ilkka
Penniless
Beautiful

86.
Peltonen Timo Esaias
Puk
Yhtenä aamuna


Kotimainen kilpailu 7

87.
Peltonen Timo Esaias
Piski
Diagnoosi

88.
Penttilä Kaisa
Giant Robot
Jennifer Kissed Me

89.
Pietiläinen Tommi
Ultra Bra
Villiviini

90.
Pohjoispää Pekka
Poplarit
Seija

91.
Prusi Hiski
Wee People
This Thing We Do

92.
Puisto Anssi & Jarva Tomi
Fuzz
Junkie

93.
Puurunen Risto
Cleaning Women
Ricewestern

94.
Puustinen Viljami
The Protestants
Honesty Is the Worst Policy

95.
Rainio Kalevi
Keuhkot
Huipulla

96.
Rannikko Mervi
Kaija Koo
Tinakenkätyttö

97.
Riikonen Juha
Finnjävel
Ei paluuta

98.
Riionheimo Tomi
Come Inside
Follow Me

99.
Riionheimo Tomi
Oscar H.O.T. Quartet
Mörgzig

100.
Riionheimo Tomi
Tampere
Tallinna

101.
Riionheimo Tomi
Arto Muna & Millennium
Kesäyön unelma


Kotimainen kilpailu 8

102.
Riionheimo Tomi
Apulanta & Don Huonot with Itäsaksa
Viva La Torremolinos

103.
Riski Pete
Jonna Tervomaa
Yhtä en saa

104.
Riski Pete
Egotrippi
Koivuniemen herra

105.
Riski Pete
Waldo’s People
1000 Ways

106.
Riski Pete
Nylon Beat
Syytön

107.
Ristolainen Pasi
Yö
Kahvilassa kahden aikaan

108.
Rokosa Ninotchka
Candy Cane
Ladylike

109.
Rossi Mikko & Da Silva Fernando
Sissy Spacek
My Society of Soft Technology

110.
Saarela ja Ankia Pete
Ankia
Katulampun alla

111.
Salminen Susanna
Teränkeittäjä
Vävyn veisu

112.
Salo Matti
Cosmobile
Ride

113.
Särkiä O.P.
Rajuilma
Sada

114.
Staufenbiel Paul Anton
Cosmo Jones Beat Machine
Burnin’ Tires

115.
Syrjä Juuso
Darude
Sandstorm


Kotimainen kilpailu 9

116.
Taanila Mika
Maritta Kuula: Peltikatolla

117. Takalo Jukka
Aknestik
Ainoastaan toistaiseksi

118.
Takalo Jukka
Aknestik
Taivaan valuuttaa

119.
Takanen Juha
Aavikko
Seoul ‘88

120.
Takula Pasi
A. Aallon Rytmiorkesteri
Sun vain

121.
Tapaninen Janne
Nicole
Lahja

122.
Temonen Tuukka
Apulanta
Ei yhtään todistajaa

123.
Temonen Tuukka
Apulanta
Käännä se pois

124.
Temonen Tuukka
Tyrävyö
Ensisuudelma

125.
Temonen Tuukka
Maj Karman Kauniit Kuvat
Rinta

126.
Temonen Tuukka
Apulanta
Odotus

127.
Temonen Tuukka
Apulanta
Amerika

128.
Tiensuu Tuukka
Airi
Skeletons

129.
Tiensuu Tuukka
Sunny Otherside
Someone Must Have Seen


Kotimainen kilpailu 10

130.
Tiensuu Tuukka
Brainfade
The Bad Side

131.
Tiensuu Tuukka
Petri Nygård
Vitun suomirokki

132.
Tiensuu Tuukka
Poor Thing Lily
She’s a Good Girl

133.
Tissari Juha
Sokkelin kivittäjät
Tyyn

134.
Törmänen Olli
Toinen näytös
Pete

135.
Tuomaala Tomi
Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus
Rajaton rakkaus

136.
Vehmas Mikko
Adriane
Flesh

137.
Vuotila Antti
Kuollut etana
Kassara ja mies

138.
Vuotila Antti
Free Spirit
Cry of an Eagle

139.
Wright Timo T.
The Pansies
Take Solace

140.
Yli-Pihlaja Sami
INIS
Matkalla

141.
Yli-Pihlaja Sami
INIS
Virhe

142.
Yli-Suvanto Tomi
Seremoniamestari
Ihana päivä

143.
Yli-Suvanto Tomi
Myyt
Tuntematon

Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna, 1–8 July 2000

Friedrich Dalsheim: Die Insel der Dämonen / Island of Demons / Black Magic / Wajan – Son of a Witch / Bali – demonernas ö (DE 1933). Shot on Bali, a non-fiction festure worthy of Flaherty, Van Dyke and Murnau. Vintage poster by De Würbel [Franz Theodor Würbel?]. Photo from: Heritage Reproduction Posters, Maps & Art Prints (GB).

In the silents, expert piano accompaniment was provided by Alain Baents, Antonio Coppola, Deborah Silberer, Donald Sosin, and Gabriel Thibaudeau.

DIVINE APPARITIONS

Bologna’s film star project highlighted this year Pauline Frederick, Vilma Banky, Marion Davies, Clara Bow, Florence Vidor, Joan Crawford, Gloria Swanson, Pola Negri, and Lillian Gish.

Three Women (Kolme naista, US 1924), D: Ernst Lubitsch, starring Pauline Frederick. At last, a chance to see in the original this brilliant film which previously was available in French only. ****

Smouldering Fires (US 1925, never released in Finland), D: Clarence Brown, starring Pauline Frederick. This acclaimed love story has been almost impossible to see. Kevin Brownlow brought it to Bologna on Betacam. Visual flair and unconventional performances in the story of a fortysomething female boss who falls in love with a young employee. ****

The Night of Love (Rakkaudenyö, US 1926), P: Goldwyn, D: George Fitzmaurice, starring Vilma Banky. Beautiful print from Cinémathèque Royale of a glamourous film. In exotic Spain, Gypsy king Ronald Colman fights tyrannical Duke Montagu Love and ruins his wedding night with Vilma Banky in revenge. **½

The Patsy (Tulinen tyttö, US 1928), D: King Vidor, starring Marion Davies. A broad family farce with MD as Cinderella. ***

Going Hollywood (Kevään sävel, US 1933), D: Raoul Walsh, starring Marion Davies. A spirited musical. Bing Crosby is madly adored by Marion Davies, but tables turn, and he turns alcoholic pining for her. Lunatic plot turns backed with nice tunes by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. ***

Show People (Ilveilijöitä, US 1928), D: King Vidor, starring Marion Davies. The late performance of this brilliant film I almost completely lost to Morpheus.

Mantrap (Synti joka houkuttelee, US 1926), D: Victor Fleming, starring Clara Bow. Mantrap is actually the name of a place. The story is like Juha with Ernest Torrence as Juha, Clara Bow as Marja and Percy Marmont as Shemeikka; with the difference that PM tries to avoid falling for the seductions of CB ”the mantrap”. Erotic fun in rugged milieux. ***

It (Jokin, US 1927), D: Clarence Badger, starring Clara Bow. The definitive flapper movie is feather-light non-feministic entertainment. ***

The Marriage Circle (Avioliiton ilveilyä, US 1924), D: Ernst Lubitsch, starring Florence Vidor, with Adolphe Menjou. EL’s first American social comedy: the Cinémathèque Royale print is more beautiful than the ones I’ve seen before. ****

The Grand Duchess and the Waiter (Lainahöyhenissä, US 1925), D: Malcolm St. Clair, starring Florence Vidor, with Adolphe Menjou. 1920s Hollywood sophisticated comedy at its best: AM has to become a waiter in order to approach the Grand Duchess who has survived the Bolshevik Revolution. ***½

Paid (US 1930, banned in Finland in its day by the self-regulation office of the film industry), D: Sam Wood, starring Joan Crawford. A tough Pre-Code crime drama of a female convict and her revenge. ”You took my name and gave me a number... ”. ***

Our Dancing Daughters (Tanssivat tyttäremme, US 1928), D: Harry Beaumont, DP: George Barnes, starring Joan Crawford. A true Zeitgeist movie, this is a film of surprises, where the first impressions fail, and the second ones, as well. ***½

Zaza (Zaza, US 1923), D: Allan Dwan, starring Gloria Swanson. The story of a tempestuous French actress who once was a singing gamine of the streets; remade in 1939 by Cukor with Claudette Colbert. **½

Stage Struck (Teatteritauti, US 1925), D: Allan Dwan, starring Gloria Swanson. Farce on a waitress’s dreams of stardom starts with a Technicolor daydream sequence and climaxes with a disastrous performance on a showboat. Swanson shows great range as a comedienne. ***½

Tonight or Never (Hänen suurin yönsä, US 1921), D: Mervyn LeRoy, starring Gloria Swanson, with Melvyn Douglas. Brilliant UCLA print. A glamourous sophisticated erotic comedy with a witty script by Ernest Vajda, one of Lubitsch’s screenwriters. Shot by Gregg Toland. ****

Die Bergkatze (Vuorikissa, DE 1921), D: Ernst Lubitsch, starring Pola Negri, DP: Theodor Sparkuhl. Restored in 2000 by FWMS / Bologna / ARTE, music composed and conducted for an orchestra of eight by Marco Dalpane. Classic fantasy-comedy never looked better. ****

The Wind (Pohjoismyrsky, US 1928), D: Victor Seastrom, starring Lillian Gish, with Lars Hanson. Photoplay print with HiFi synchronization by Patrick Stanbury of the score by Carl Davis. For me, familiar with the original sonorized print and silent presentations, this was the most brilliant performance of the film, which grows every time. ****

TRIBUTE TO RODOLFO SONEGO

Rodolfo Sonego, one of Italy’s great screenwriters since WWII, is not a household name abroad, but he would deserve to be.

Rodolfo Sonego: Racconto orale a Tatti Sanguineti (IT 2000), video, extract.

Una lezione di anatomia (IT 1949), D: Rodolfo Sonego. RS’s only work as a director is a witty animated anatomy lesson.

Il sorpasso (IT 1962, never released in Finland, only shown in a special screening), D: Dino Risi, starring Vittorio Gassman. A brutal contemporary satire on ”what price success”, a road movie about an unscrupulous ”hero” who accompanies his outrageous lane changes with annoying horn signals. This became a memorial screening for Gassman, buried the day before in Rome. ***

Totò e Carolina (IT 1954, never released in Finland), D: Mario Monicelli, SC: Flaiano, Age, Scarpelli, Sonego, Monicelli, starring Totò, with Anna Maria Ferrero. Reconstructed presentation of the full version cut in its day by the censorship office. Silent portions shown with electronic subtitling, and a lengthy censored episode dubbed as a live performance. Totò is an elderly policeman on the verge of being fired. As his final mission he has to escort back home Carolina, a desperate young girl who has started to prostitute herself and is about to commit suicide. Totò has to keep Carolina alive to keep his job. Out of this black material, daring comedy is born. ***½

Un eroe dei nostri tempi (IT 1955, never released in Finland), D: Mario Monicelli, M: Nino Rota, starring Alberto Sordi. Sordi develops his classic ”vitellone” character, a master of evading responsibility, in a comedy full of droll incidents. ***½

Lo scopone scientifico (IT 1972, never released in Finland), D: Luigi Comencini, starring Alberto Sordi, Silvana Mangano, Bette Davis, and Joseph Cotten. Sordi and his wife Mangano want to get rich quick playing scopone against billionairess Bette Davis, who is in her death throes. Sordi’s performance is a literal definition of ”a loser”. ***

Il diavolo (IT 1962, never released in Finland), D: Gian Luigi Polidoro, starring Alberto Sordi. An Italian merchant wants to discover Swedish women on his trip to a fur market in Stockholm in December. A marvellously original comedy of manners, with Sordi in great form as the frustrated would-be-Latin-Lover. ***½

RITROVATI & RESTAURATI

Le Criminel (FR 1926, never released in Finland). D: Alexander Ryder. Restored in 2000 by La Cinémathèque Française. Beautiful images from Andalusia. (I only saw the start.)

La Folie du Docteur Tube (FR 1915). D: Abel Gance, DP: Léonce-Henry Burel. Beautiful 2000 restoration by La Cinémathèque française. I never saw a print this good of this film. **

Au secours! (FR 1924, never released in Finland), D: Abel Gance, starring Max Linder. ”Pochade funambulesque” restored in 2000 by La Cinémathèque Française. Daredevil Max has to keep his nerve for one hour in a haunted castle without crying ”Help!”. **

Paris qui dort (FR 1924, never released in Finland), P+D+ED: René Clair. Restored in 1999 by La Cinémathèque Française. The print excels in comparison to the ones that have been available during the last decades. ***

Cento anni dopo: omaggio ad Alessandro Blasetti. A Blasetti Centenary special in the presence of his daughter: two 1950s car commercials preserved on video

Fiat 600

50.000 per uno solo

Die Insel der Dämonen (DE 1933, never released in Finland), D: Dr. Dalsheim, M: Wolfgang Zeller. Restored in 2000 by Nederlands Filmmuseum, presented by Mark-Paul Meyer and Luciano Berriatua. A discovery in the spirit of Murnau and Flaherty, a powerful drama from the isle of Bali. Zeller’s music has the same kind of inspiration as his score for Vampyr, and the restoration succeeds interestingly with digital sound. ****

Hinter Schloss und Riegel – Trailer for the German version of Pardon Us (Mohikaanimonnit motissa, US 1931). Restored in 2000 by Det Danske Filmmuseum, this is the only known material where Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel dub themselves in German.

Marquis D’Eon, der Spion der Pompadour (Pompadourin vakooja, DE 1928), D: Karl Grune, starring Liane Haid and Fritz Kortner. Restored in 2000 by Cinemateca Portuguesa. Liane Haid as a cross-dressing spy and Fritz Kortner as mad czar Paul in a stately historical adventure. (I missed the middle.)

Maria do Mar (PT 1930, never released in Finland), D: José Leitão de Barros. Restored in 1998 by ANIM, Freixal (Portugal). Powerful images about the life of fishermen bring to mind The Man of Aran and La terra trema. (I saw only the start.)

Oevers der Viege (FR 1915) c.m.

The Source of the River Peschiera (IT 19--) c.m.

Les Fleurs dans les jardins (FR ca 1914) c.m.

Ideale Filmerzeugung (AT ca 1913) c.m.

Mademoiselle Lotus (FR 1914) c.m.

ORSON WELLES

Posthumous works of Orson Welles reconstructed in 2000 by Münchner Filmmuseum, presented by Stefan Droessler, co-copyrighted by Oja Kodar. These often incomplete sketches are a true Welles treasure. They have the same kind of a touch as F for Fake. ****

Orson Welles’ London (1968–1971). Five sketches:
– Churchill
– Swinging London
– Four Clubmen
– Stately Home
– Tailors

Orson Welles’ Vienna (1968). To the accompaniment of zither music, OW walks in Vienna and talks about everything from Sachertorte to espionage. With Senta Berger.

Orson Welles’ Magic Show (1976–1985). Sketches for a feature film on magic: The Light Box, Abu Khan’s Levitation Trick, The Magic Mummy, Chung Ling Soo, The Thread Trick, and The Duck Trick. With Angie Dickinson.

Orson Welles’ Moby Dick (1971). Six scenes of a one-man performance of Moby Dick: Call Me Ishmael, The Wharf in Nantucket, Ahoy the Pequod!, Here’s Little Pip, A Short Pause, and Give Me the Last Harpoon!

Orson Welles’ Unsung Heroes (1979). OW recites a poem by Earl Fultz: ”There Are No Heroes Anymore”.

Orson Welles’ The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh (1984). OW’s last film: recital of a passage from Lindbergh’s diary.

CINEMA LIBERO: OSKAR FISCHINGER IN AMERICA

Allegretto – Early Version (1936)

Allegretto – Late Version

An Optical Poem (1937) – Liszt

An American March (1940) – Sousa

Motion Painting No. 1 (1941) – Bach

Radio Dynamics (1943)

New restorations by the Academy Film Archive, presented by Bill Moritz. I saw these films, some of which are easily available on 16 mm, for the first time on 35 mm. Stirring pioneers of Visual Music. ****

PROGRAMME PICTURES DALLA CINEMATHEQUE ROYALE: B-MOVIES DEGLI ANNI VENTI

The Old Homestead (Lapsuuden koti, US 1922), D: James Cruze, DP: Karl Brown. Introduced by Gabrielle Claes and Kevin Brownlow, this is no B Movie but an important discovery from a director who was popular in his day (also in Finland) but forgotten now. The hit play on which the film is based has been opened out successfully: there is a feeling for the milieu, and the storm sequence is powerful. **

SPECIAL EVENTS

Peter Greenaway: Bologna Towers 2000 on the Piazza Maggiore. ”Writing on architecture”: an installation of sound, light and history for Bologna 2000, European city of culture. Like Prospero’s Books performed live, as environment art. **

Four Sons (Neljä poikaa, US 1928), D: John Ford. First screening of a 2000 restoration by Cinemateca Portuguesa etc. of Ford’s most popular though not best silent film. With a new score performed by an orchestra of 56 composed and conducted by Antonio Coppola. ”Saving Private Ryan of WWI”: the story of a Bavarian mother who loses three sons in the war, but the last one is saved. I saw this film for the first time on 35mm (it has been available on 16mm only). The Murnau influence is heavy. The theme of maternal love, seminal for Ford, is at its most explicit. The original music and effects track is very important; let’s hope they restore it on 35mm, as well. **½

Vedi Napule e po’ mori! (IT 1924, never released in Finland), P: Gustavo Lombardo, starring Leda Gys. Marvellous live guitar duet and vocals by Guido Sodo and François Laurent provided an authentic Neapolitan musical accompaniment for a memorable performance.

THE LIVING NICKELODEON

Rick Altman (director and pianist), Ann Lamond (soprano), Corey Creekmar (sound effects), and Lauren Rabinovitz (slide projection).

Dress Parade of Scouts, St. Louis Expo (US 1904), PC: Biograph.

The Cowboy and the Lady (US 1903), PC: Biograph, D: Billy Bitzer.

A Discordant Note (US 1903), PC: Biograph, D: Billy Bitzer.

Le Mélomane (FR 1903), D: Georges Méliès.

The Irresistible Piano (FR 1907), PC: Gaumont.

The Suburbanite (US 1904), PC: Biograph.

Schneider’s Anti-Noise Crusade (US 1909), PC: Biograph, D: D. W. Griffith.

Slim Jim and Jack Fat at Luna Park (US 1910)

Suspense (US 1913), D: Lois Weber.

Plus illustrated song slides.

An exciting discovery, for instance getting to listen to J. S. Zamecnik’s original 1912 movie tunes in the last two films. ****

Hanno rubato un tram (IT 1954, never released in Finland), D and starring: Aldo Fabrizi, SC: Luciano Vincenzoni, Ass.D.: Sergio Leone, DP: Mario Bava. In the presence of Luciano Vincenzoni. An open air special on the Piazza Maggiore packed with people. Inspired by a true incident, the film tells the same story as Luis Buñuel did in La ilusion viaja en tranvia: the rebel ride of a suspended tram driver in the nocturnal city. Filmed in Bologna, which so far had rarely been a film location. Full with charming detail. **½

Modern Times (Nykyaika, US 1936), Charles Chaplin. Premiere of the reconstructed score conducted by Timothy Brock and performed by the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna at the magnificent Teatro Comunale. The most elaborate and imaginative of Chaplin’s scores is more gripping and charming now. There’s more to the score than could be recorded on the soundtrack in the release year. ****