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| Raymond Bernard: Le Joueur d'échecs / The Chess Player (FR 1927). Do click on the image to enlarge it. |
Antti Alanen
Matkakertomus Bologna 30.6.-7.7. 2001
Il Cinema Ritrovato ja
ARCHIMEDIA Professional Seminar "Cinematic Heritage and Digital Technologies - Conservation and Promotion" (with the support of the MEDIA 2 programme of the EU)
Il Cinema Ritrovato vakiinnutti 1990-luvulla asemansa yhtenä johtavana elokuvahistoriallisena festivaalina, jolla on oma, ei päällekkäinen profiilinsa Le Giornate del Cinema Muton rinnalla. Siinä missä Le Giornate on profiililtaan tieteellinen ja systemaattinen il Cinema Ritrovato on populaarimpi ja monipuolinen näyteikkuna arkistojen uusille restauroinneille. Se ei ole myöskään rajautunut elokuvan historian varhaisimpiin 40 vuoteen vaikkakin painopiste on niissä.
Tänä vuonna Il Cinema Ritrovaton profiilissa oli tavallista selvempi painopiste: ranskalainen 1920-luvun elokuva. Festivaalin taiteellisena johtajana debytoiva Peter von Bagh juonsi korkeatasoisen kansainvälisen tapahtuman innostavaan tyyliinsä monella kielellä.
ARCHIMEDIA-SEMINAARI ELOKUVA-ARKISTON SUHTEESTA DIGITOINTIIN
Festivaalin yhteydessä pidetyn seminaarin teema oli elokuva-arkiston suhde digitointiin. Festivaaliin liittyvien ARCHIMEDIA-seminaarien taso on noussut. Viimevuotinen seminaari asetaatin hajoamisesta oli niin onnistunut, että järjestäjätkin taisivat yllättyä. Tänä vuonna seminaari järjestettiin isommissa tiloissa, ohjelma oli korkeatasoinen, ja Paul Readin, Peter Adelsteinin ja Thomas Christensenin esityksissä oli kiteytyksiä, joihin tultaneen viittaamaan jatkossakin. Brysselissä toimivaa ARCHIMEDIAA johtaa Gabrielle Claes (Cinémathèque Royale), ja sen sihteeri on suomalaissyntyinen Martina Kittilä.
Kahden päivän aikana kuultiin 13 esitystä ja nähtiin lukuisia näytteitä. Lähtökohtana oli todennäköinen tulevaisuuskuva, jossa elävän kuvan lähettämisen, levittämisen ja esittämisen kenttä muuttuu digitaaliseksi. Myös elävän kuvan tuottaminen ja editoiminen muuttuu kiihtyvällä vauhdilla digitaaliseksi. Digitoituminen merkitsee filmistä luopumista osittain tai kokonaan. Filmin kysynnän laskusta taas seurannee sen hinnan nousu ja valikoiman supistuminen. 35 mm:n elokuvakopioiden esittäminen 2010-luvulla saattaa olla lähinnä kinemateekkien ja festivaalien toimintaa.
Seminaarin puheenjohtajat Gabrielle Claes ja Nicola Mazzanti (L'Immagine Ritrovata), samoin kuin Thomas Christensen totesivat, että tämä asettaa elokuva-arkistot perustavien olemassaolon kysymysten ääreen. Monissa maissa niihin liittyy kysymys nimestäkin: "film archive" -nimen tilalle on vaihdettava "moving image archive". Suomen kielellä tuota ongelmaa ei ole, koska "elokuva" kattaa kaiken liikkuvan kuvan, mutta laitoksemme ruotsin- ja englanninkieliset nimet tullevat punnittaviksi.
Tiedämme filmin hauraaksi materiaaliksi, joka orgaanisesta luonteestaan johtuen on itsestään tuhoutuvaa ja jonka säilyttäminen vaatii ammattitaitoa ja korkeatasoisia varastotiloja. Mutta magneettiseen ja digitaaliseen materiaaliin verrattuna filmi on järeää aineistoa.
Vuodesta 1956 lähtien on ollut 74 eri video- ja dataformaattia, joista 68 ei ole enää käytössä.
Digitaalisen kohteen vahvuus on siinä, että siita voidaan tehdä identtinen kopio, toisin kuin filmissä, jossa kopio on aina alkuperäistä huonompi. Mutta digitaalisen kohteen heikkous on siinä, että jos digitaalinen signaali menetetään, koko kohde menetetään lopullisesti. Käytännön todellisuudessa filmiä digitoitaessa resoluutio ei yleensä vedä vertoja originaalille. Yleensä käytetään hukkaavaa pakkausta (lossy compression). Digitaalisessa videossa on omat rakenteelliset virheensä. Laitteissa on usein vikoja, nauhat ja levyt ovat melko epäluotettavia, ja kun digitoitu tallenne on pakattu, sen siirto on ongelmallista. Mitään dataformaattia ei voi pitää arkistotasoisena.
Niinpä vastuullinen elokuva-arkistointi perustuu edelleen 35 mm:n filmiin. Uusi polyesterkopio kylmässä varastossa säilyy 1000 vuotta, mutta asetaatti- ja nitraattifilmikin ovat kestävämpiä kuin digitaalinen kohde.
Hätkähdyttävimmän puheenvuoron piti Peter Z. Adelstein, joka on Rochesterin Image Permanence Instituten digitaalisen restauroinnin asiantuntija sekä International Standards Organizationin (ISO) jäsen. Sekä magneettisten nauhojen että optisten levyjen ISO-kestävyysstandardit ovat määrittelemättä, eivätkä valmistajat eivät ole innokkaita tutkimaan asiaa. Säilytysohjeet on voitu kirjoittaa (magneettiset nauhat: ISO 18923 ja optiset levyt: ISO 18925), samoin optisten levyjen testausnormit kosteuden ja lämpötilan osalta. Adelstein lausui, että magneettinen nauha ei ole arkistokelpoista aineistoa. Sen elinikä on sellainen, että uudelleenformatointi on tarpeen 15-20 vuoden välein. Tiedostomuotoisen kohteen uudelleenformatointia suositellaan 5-10 vuoden välein. Adelstein kiteytti, että digitoinnin vahvuuksia ovat aineiston helppokäyttöisyys, käsiteltävyys ja levitettävyys. Sen heikkous on puuttuva kestävyys. Digitointi ei ole keino, jota kannattaa harkita tiedon säilyttämisessä - digitizing information is not a preservation option.
Thomas Christensen, Det Danske Filminstitutin kuraattori, pohdiskeli digitaalisia menetelmiä käyttäen valmistetun elokuvateatterielokuvan säilyttämistä. Sen talletettavaan aineistoon saattaa sisältyä 1) 35 mm:n kameranegatiivi, 2) magneettinen kuvanauha johon sisältyvät digitaalisen editoinnin tulokset ja 3) 35 mm:n esityskopio. Ongelmallisin on kuvanauha, jota joudutaan usein uudelleenformatoimaan jotta sen sisältö olisi ylipäätään luettavissa. Niinpä esityskopio saattaa joutua todellisuudessa keskeisimmän referenssin asemaan. Aineiston monilaatuisuus asettaa arkistolle uusia haasteita ja lisää teoksen säilyttämisen kustannuksia. Hyvän filmitallenteen arkistoiminen on passiivista toimintaa, jossa riittää pääsääntöisesti oikea varastointi. Digitaalisen kuvan arkistoiminen on aktiivista, sillä aineisto on 5-10 vuoden välein kopioitava kolmea linjaa edeten: 1) Duplisointi, virkistäminen (refreshing: duplisointi samalle materiaalille/välineelle), 2) Siirto (migration: konvertointi uudelle materiaalille/välineelle) ja 3) Emulaatio (alkuperäisen asun tavoittelu uudella välineellä). Christensen arvioi, että tämä merkitsee tulevaisuuden näköalana, että Tanskan elokuva-arkiston on kopioitava tulevaisuudessa digitaalisesti 3-5 nimikettä päivittäin, kun tämänhetkinen filmikopiointivolyymi on 10-50 nimikettä vuosittain. Arkiston kannalta kyseessä on suuri kustannusten korotuspaine. Siihen nähden kopiointi 35 mm:n polyesterfilmille on tänä päivänä houkutteleva vaihtoehto.
Seminaarissa suositeltuja lähteitä:
Library of Congress: Guidelines for Electronic Preservation (1995)
http://lcweb.loc.gov/preserv/guide/guid_int.html
Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information (1996)
http://www.rlg.org/ArchTF/tfadi.index.htm
Francisca Frey: File Formats for Digital Masters (2000)
http://www.rlg.org/visguides/visguide5.html
Howard Besser: Information Longevity Sources (2001)
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Longevity/
The Diamant Project (2001)
http://diamant.joanneum.ac.at/
Howard Besser: Digital Preservation of Moving Image Material? (2001)
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard/Papers/amialongevity.html
Online encyclopedia related to computer technology
http://webopedia.internet.com/TERM/f/file_extension.html
Il Cinema Ritrovato ja ARCHIMEDIA-seminaari tarjosivat tilaisuuden moniin antoisiin tapaamisiin. Kuulin hyvää palautetta ARCHIMEDIA-projektista elokuva-arkistoilta muutenkin. Suomen elokuva-arkistosta kannattaa lähettää Bolognaan useita edustajia, jos määrärahat sallivat. Ruotsin veljesarkistomme vahvuus oli viisi henkilöä.
Screenings at Il Cinema Ritrovato
I concentrated on the main programme in Cinema Fulgor and on the night shows on the Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio and on Piazza Maggiore. I missed two of the best-loved shows: Raoul Walsh's The Loves of Carmen and Martin Scorsese's Il mio viaggio in Italia (four hours in 35mm). I also missed two afternoons' screenings because of the ARCHIMEDIA Digital Seminar.
In the silents, piano accompaniment was provided by Alain Baents, Antonio Coppola, Donald Sosin, Neil Brand, and Gabriel Thibaudeau. Special music highlights included:
- Napule... e niente cchiù - guitar duo Guido Sodo and François Laurent and female singer performing lovely Neapolitan repertoire
- A propos de Nice - accordion accompaniment by Marc Perrone
- A Night of Experimental Cinema conducted by Marco Dalpane, including Entr'acte with the original score by Eric Satie, and Le Ballet mécanique with the original score by George Antheil
- Joueur d'échecs - thrilling original Henri Rabaud score directed by Carl Davis, recorded and synchronized by Photoplay Productions
Translations of the electronic subtitled night screenings were good. In Cinema Fulgor, beautiful translation from Italian into English by Maria-Pia Falcone conveyed the nuance and the taste of the film.
DERRIERE LES SILENCES
Six et demi onze / 6½ X 11 (never released in Finland, FR 1927), D: Jean Epstein, SC: Marie-Antonine Epstein, DP: George Périnal. An anticipation of 1960s art cinema. The title refers to a Kodak camera, which mediates the double narrative of two brothers infatuated with the same woman. Restored by Cinémathèque française / Renée Lichtig in 1991. ***
Le Tourbillon de Paris (Pariisin pyörteissä, FR 1928), D: Julien Duvivier. I caught the end scene, where the great singer (Lil Dagover) overcomes her crisis and sings triumphantly. Rich use of montages and double exposures. Restored by Cinémathèque française in 1982.
Affaire classée (c.m., FR 1931), D: Charles Vanel. I caught the start, an atmospheric scene at a bistro. CNC Archives du film from the original negative in 1995.
Bal costumé (c.m., FR 1926). Non-fiction: turbulent scenes from Paris at night. Women wearing only eye masks drive men wild. Cinémathèque française. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.
Faits divers (c.m., FR 1923), D: Claude Autant-Lara, starring Paul Barthet, Louise Lara, and Antonin Artaud. The director's debut film experiments with the theme of the triangle drama. My recollection is weak due to fatigue. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.
Dans la nuit (never released in Finland, FR 1929), D: Charles Vanel. A film acclaimed by Bertrand Tavernier and Thierry Frémaux from Lyon. One of the last French silents, with nightmarish power of imagery, even horror images of mutilation. My recollection is weak due to fatigue. Restored by Cinémathèque française in 1983. Presenta Thierry Frémaux. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.
Les Aventures de Robert Macaire. I Une étrange nuit à la ferme de Sermèze. II Le Bal tragique. III Le Rendez-vous fatal. IV La Fille du bandit. V Cinquième et dernière des aventures de Robert Macaire. (Never released in Finland, FR 1925), D: Jean Epstein. A fine specimen from the golden age of the French serial. The format was so popular, in 1921, 40 serials were issued. This picaresque story is distinguished by fine actors and loving attention to detail (the story starts in 1825). Restored by Cinémathèque française in 1992. 44+26+26+30+34 = 160 min ***
Paris Cinéma (c.m., FR 1929), D: Pierre Chenal. A rich documentary on many aspects of contemporary film-making. Restored by Cinémathèque française in 1988. Presentano François Albera and Jean A. Gili. ****
La souriante Madame Beudet (c.m., FR 1923), D: Germaine Dulac. Subtle psychological image-driven piece on a marriage about to be shipwrecked. Cinémathèque française 2001 print no good. ***
L'Invitation au voyage (c.m., FR 1927), D: Germaine Dulac. A film poem on female desire inspired by Baudelaire. Beautiful tinted and toned print restored by Cinémathèque française in 1999. ****
La Cité foudroyée (never released in Finland, FR 1924), D. Luitz-Morat. Early cinéfantastique: a genius bent on revenge destroys Paris with a machine based on "la transformation des forces electriques naturelles". But Paris is saved thanks to a framing story. Preserved by Cinémathèque française in 1984. **
Carmen (Carmen, FR 1926), D: Jacques Feyder, AD: Lazare Meerson, starring Raquel Meller. Gaston Modot is the bandit chief. The design is impressive, and the star is good, but there is a problem with dynamics in the film. Tinted and toned 2001 restoration from Cinémathèque française. Presenta Claudia Kauffmann. 163 min **
Tire au flanc (never released in Finland, FR 1928), D: Jean Renoir, P: Pierre Braunberger, starring Michel Simon. This military farce is not very good, but fascinating for lovers of Jean Renoir and Michel Simon. Preserved by Cinémathèque française in 1963. **
En rade (never released in Finland, FR 1927), D: Cavalcanti, P: Pierre Braunberger. The powerful, melancholy mood piece was shown in a beautiful Italian print. Restored by Nederlands Filmmuseum and Fondazione Cineteca Italiana. Didascalie italiane. ***
Gribiche (never released in Finland, FR 1925), D: Jacques Feyder, AD: Meerson, starring Françoise Rosay as the wealthy lady - and Jean Forest as Gribiche. One of Feyder's major films starring children (along with Crainquebille and Visages d'enfants). This is the story of a wealthy, childless woman's ill-judged attempt to adopt a brilliant boy from working-class Paris. A pleasure to watch, but the tempo is needlessly slow. Preserved by Cinémathèque française in 1965 and restored in 1989. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.131 min ***
Les Nouveaux Messieurs (Uudet herrat, FR 1929), D: Jacques Feyder, DP: Maurice Desfassiaux, Georges Périnal, AD: Lazare Meerson, starring: Albert Préjean, Gaby Morlay, Henry Roussel. A triangle drama with a political angle: a conservative count's mistress falls in love with a trade union activist, who becomes a minister, "a New Monsieur". Glossy images, but again Feyder prolongs it all. Preserved by Cinémathèque française / Renée Lichtig in 1990. 126 min ***
Joueur d'échecs (never released in Finland, FR 1926), D: Raymond Bernard, DP: Joseph-Louis Mundviller, Marc Bujard, AD: Jean Perrier, costumes: Eugène Lourié, starring: Pierre Blanchar, Charles Dullin, Edith Jehanne, Pierre Batcheff. Thrilling original Henri Rabaud score directed by Carl Davis. A masterpiece of historical adventure. It starts in 1776 in Vilnius, under the yoke of Russia's Catherine the Great. The wounded leader of Polish resistance is hidden in a Chess Machine by the inventor-diplomat Baron von Kempelen. The climax takes place at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The film stands comparison with the best of Hugo and Dumas, and the synchronization of the remarkable music is excellent. Restoration by Photoplay Productions in 1990. 134 min ****
La Brière (Maaseutu kapitalismin kourissa, FR 1925), D: Léon Poirier. A strong rural drama from La Brière in the Marais region, interesting to see now with Jean Becker's recent Les Enfants de Marais in fresh memory. The powerful visual impact invites comparison to Swedish classics like Stiller. Black and white, unsharp 2167 m print. Preserved in 1980 and restored in 1982 by Cinémathèque française. ***½
Nène (never released in Finland, FR 1924), D: Jacques de Baroncelli, DP: Louis Chaix, starring Sandra Milowanoff, Edmond Van Daële, Gaston Modot. Rustic drama of a widowed farmer whose maid takes his children into loving care. Then, there is a bride-to-be... Excellent cinematography in another French rural film that brings to mind the Swedish classics, this time Sjöström. Beautiful tinted and toned print from Cinémathèque française / Renée Lichtig 1990. ***½
La Roue (never released in Finland, FR 1922), D: Abel Gance, DP: Léonce-Henry Burel etc., starring: Séverin-Mars (Sisif), Ivy Close, Gabriel de Gravone, Pierre Magnier. This is the third version of La Roue I get to see. It is a work of genius, but also a catastrophe because of the megalomania and lack of self-awareness of the author. With each successive reconstruction, the film becomes easier to follow, but at the same time its repetitiveness and monotony are more glaringly highlighted. Still it's a major vision of mechanized world and an allegory of the human waste of the Great War. Because of its furor, not to be ignored. 2001 restoration from Cinémathèque française in collaboration with Cinémathèque Suisse. Tinted, toned, with multi-colour effects, but monochrome shots look best. Neil Brand did a Sisyphos job on the piano during the four and a half hours. 6219 m /20 fps/ 270 min On the Maltin scale I rate this both BOMB and ****
A Night of Experimental Cinema conducted by Marco Dalpane. Piazza Maggiore ****
Entr'acte (c.m., FR 1924), D: René Clair. Nederlands Filmmuseum. Original score by Eric Satie, four hand piano transcription by Darius Milhaud, performed live by Virginia Guastella and Marco Dalpane.
Un chien Andalou (Andalusialainen koira, c.m., FR 1929), D: Luis Buñuel.1993 reconstruction by Yasha David and Luis Buñuel Foundation in collaboration with Cinémathèque française, without the original title design and with a new soundtrack: a civilized version of Wagner's Liebestod and an authentic Argentinian tango by Gardel. I am grateful for the chance to see for the first time a full silent-aperture print, but I prefer Buñuel's own authorized soundtrack with its wildly passionate Wagner and the French pastiche "Tango argentinien".
Le Retour à la raison (c.m., FR 1923), D: Man Ray. MOMA. Music by Marco Dalpane
Studie 5 - Ein Spiel in Linien (DE 1930), D: Oskar Fischinger
Studie 6 (DE 1930), D: Oskar Fischinger
Le Ballet mécanique (c.m., FR 1924), D: Fernand Léger. Music by George Antheil performed by Playground Ensemble. Very good, although this is a soft arrangement, without the airplane engines. Print with colour elements from Nederlands Filmmuseum.
Hara-kiri (never released in Finland, FR 1928), D: Marie-Louise Iribe. Tragedy of the Caucasian woman's marriage to an Eurasian man and affair with a Shogun Prince, climaxing in the Alps. Visions of alienation bring to mind the contemporary Epstein and Dulac and Pabst's Abwege. Reconstituée 1985 de Cinémathèque française / Renée Lichtig. ***
Le Lion des Mogols (never released in Finland, FR 1924), D: Jean Epstein, starring Ivan Mosjoukine. Hindu prince flees tyranny and meets French film crew on board a ship. Escapist entertainment should be even crazier. Printed from an original nitrate print by Cinémathèque française in 1986. **
ROWLAND V. LEE
Barbed Wire (Aseet pois, US 1927), P: Erich Pommer for Paramount, starring Pola Negri, SC by Jules Furthman based on the novel by Hall Caine. Powerful pacifist story shown in a 35mm Cinémathèque Royale print duplicated from Gosfilmofond. Previously the film has been available on 16mm only. ***
Zoo in Budapest (Seikkailu Budapestissa, US 1933), P: Jesse L. Lasky, DP: Lee Garmes, AD: William Darling, starring Loretta Young and Gene Raymond. L'amour fou - a naivist nocturnal romance of two outsiders in a city zoo. All elements blend into a delicate whole. A flat black and white print from MOMA, made from a dupe acetate negative which was made from a tinted nitrate print. ****
OSSERVATORIO DEL CINEMA MUTO ITALIANO
Il fiacre N. 13. Ultimo episodio: "Giustizia!" (IT 1917), PC: Ambrosio, D: Alberto A. Capozzi, Gero Zambuto, based on the novel by Xavier de Montépin. The final 73 minute episode of a lively popular four-episode serial. Of interest for the Nordic viewer are the extended lumberjack scenes. 2001 restoration at L'Immagine Ritrovata from materials in Turin and Milan. **
La grande passione (never released in Finland, IT 1922), D: Mario Almirante, starring Italia Almirante-Manzini. A star vehicle for one of the great divas of Italy: the mother of two children is neglected by her husband. One night of love with another man brings destruction for all. Preserved by: Filmoteca de la UNAM. Presenta Francisco Gaetan. **
RITROVATI & RESTAURATI
Alsace (FR 1916), D: Henri Pouctal. An exciting WWI drama of Alsace, focusing on a French-German love affair. Restored by Nederlands Filmmuseum in 2001. Presenta Mark Paul Meyer. ***
Napule... e niente cchiù (never released in Finland, IT 1928), P: Gustavo Lombardo, D: Eugenio Perego, based on a song by Gaetano Lama and Francesco Fiore, starring Leda Gys. A star vehicle for Leda Gys, the popular Neapolitan comedienne. Restored by L'Immagine Ritrovata in 2001 from materials in Bologna and Milan. Alla presenza di Goffredo Lombardo (film producer, Gustavo Lombardo and Leda Gys's son). Charming guitar accompaniment from popular Neapolitan repertoire by Guido Sodo and François Laurent, together with a female singer. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio. **
The Big Heat (Gangsterikuningas, US 1953), D: Fritz Lang. Grover Crisp (Sony Columbia) presented a print of the new restoration: even a negative of a seminal film this recent has started to deteriorate. ****
Jean Vigo ****
A propos de Nice (c.m., FR 1930) By Jean Vigo & Boris Kaufman. World premiere on Piazza Maggiore of a restored version by Cinémathèque Gaumont in 2001. Accordion accompaniment by Marc Perrone.
L'Atalante (L'Atalante, FR 1934), D: Jean Vigo. World premiere on Piazza Maggiore of a restored version by Cinémathèque Gaumont in 2001. Presentano Luce Vigo e Martine Offroy.
Le Chaland qui passe (FR 1934), D: Jean Vigo. A Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique print from the 1970s based on a Jugoslovenska Kinoteka print. Presentano Luce Vigo, Martine Offroy, Bernard Benoliel e Bernard Eisenschitz. In Finland we have seen three different versions of L'Atalante. My initial non-expert opinion about the 2001 version: beautiful to watch but does not bring anything radically new. The big surprise is Le Chaland qui passe, the first release version: in spite of the received idea in film history books, it is not a travesty of the original, but very much L'Atalante, with minor changes. "Le Chaland qui passe" is the French title of Bixio's song "Parlami d'amore Mariù", Vittorio De Sica's hit in Gli uomini, che mascalzoni.
Cinema programming in 1928
Directeur's zorgen (c.m., A Manager's Worries, NL 1928)
Amstel bier (c.m., NL 1928)
De bioscoop is geen fietsenstalling (c.m., The Cinema is No Bike Shed, NL 1928)
Berzoek van 300 amerikaansche hoteliers aans ons land (c.m., Visit of 300 American Hotel Managers to Our Country, NL 1928)
An attractive Dutch reconstruction of short film exhibition in the 1920s. Musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin. Compiled by Nico de Klerk, Nederlands Filmmuseum. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio. ****
Maria Denis special
Maria Denis e le sue prigioni (c.m., IT 1948), D: Giorgio Bianchi. Documentary on the ordeal of actress Maria Denis, imprisoned under accusations of having been a collaborationist. Her name was cleared, but she then abandoned cinema. Scuola Nazionale de Cinema - Cineteca Nazionale.
La maestrina (never released in Finland, IT 1942), D: Giorgio Bianchi, starring Maria Denis. A warm, charming period drama from the 1910s, an appeal for individuality and tolerance under the pressure of a small community and the old-fashioned leadership of a girls' school. Scuola Nazionale de Cinema - Cineteca Nazionale. Alla presenza di Maria Denis. Presenta Tatti Sanguineti. Beautiful translation into English by Maria-Pia Falcone conveyed the nuance and the taste of the film. ***
Shorts preceding Gribiche. Nederlands Filmmuseum. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.
Pathé Revue n:o 23: Le Sphinx en réparation (c.m., FR 1926). Beautiful newsreel on a still topical subject; the restoration of the Sphinx. ***
Alice Helps the Romance (c.m., US 1926), D: Walt Disney. ***
Irene. Colleen Moore presents the World's Greatest Fashion Show (US 1926), D: Alfred E. Green. Tinted + Technicolor print. **
Tribute to Max Ophuls
Valse brillante de Chopin (c.m., FR 1936), D: Max Ophuls, featuring Alexandre Braïlowski
Ave Maria de Schubert (c.m., FR 1936), D: Max Ophuls, featuring Elisabeth Schumann
Two simple, elegant music shorts realized with a beautiful moving camera. 35mm blow-ups from original 16mm. Filmmuseum München
The Exile (Säilät säihkyvät, US 1947), D: Max Ophuls, DP: Franz Planer, AD: Russel A. Gausman, Ted Offenbecker, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Paule Croset and Henry Daniell. A swashbuckling version of Charles II Stuart in Dutch exile during the regime of Cromwell. Preserved with two different endings by Library of Congress from original negatives in 2000. **
Les bonnes femmes (Kuumat suhteet, FR 1960), D: Claude Chabrol, SC: Paul Gégauff, DP: Henri Decaë, starring Bernadette Lafont, Stéphane Audran, Mario David. 2001 reconstruction of the director's cut by Le Studio Canal+. Also in Finland the standard short version was seen. Presenta Jean Douchet. ****
US PROGRAMME PICTURES OF THE 1920S FROM CINEMATHEQUE ROYALE
Forbidden Woman (Kielletty nainen, US 1927), D: Paul L. Stein
The Promise (US 1917), D: Fred J. Balshofer
His Own Law (never released in Finland, US 1920), D: John Parker Read, Jr.
Of these films, I caught beginnings and ends.
UNKNOWN WELLES
The Orson Welles Sketch Book II: Critics. (c.m., GB 1955)
The Orson Welles Sketch Book IV: Houdini. (c.m., GB 1955)
The Orson Welles Sketch Book V: The War of the Worlds. (c.m., GB 1955)
The Orson Welles Sketch Book VI: Bullfighting. (c.m., GB 1955)
The talking head of Orson Welles and sketches on India ink, that's all it takes for some charming achievements of early television. Orson Welles has a talent in storytelling, and here we have nothing but. Beta SP restorations from Filmmuseum München, 2000-2001. ****
OMAGGIO AL FESTIVAL DU FILM MAUDIT
Forgotten Village (never released in Finland, US 1941), D: Herbert Kline, SC: John Steinbeck - based on his book, narrator: Burgess Meredith, M: Hanns Eisler. A fine study on the introduction of modernity - medicine - in a Mexican village. Presentano Jean-Charles Tacchella & Jean Douchet. Beautiful print from MOMA. ***
La Circoncision (c.m., FR 1949), D: Jean Rouch. The colour 16mm documentary on circumcision among the Songhay people in Niger schocked members of the audience. Beautiful print from CNC Archives du film. ***
Roma città libera (La notte porta consiglio) (never released in Finland, IT 1946), D: Marcello Pagliero, SC: Ennio Flaiano, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Cesare Zavattini, etc, M: Nino Rota, starring Andrea Checchi, Valentina Cortese, Vittorio De Sica. A nocturnal adventure in Rome on the verge of demoralization. A boy is tempted to crime, a girl to prostitution, and a drunk gentleman turns out to be a minister. **
OMAGGIO A LON CHANEY
I missed most of the six-film Lon Chaney tribute, which was mainly based on Sala Gino Gervi.
Of Chaney's 160 films, some 30 remain.
The Scarlet Car (US 1917), D: Joe De Grasse. A dynamic mainstream thriller, an example of the many successful films Chaney did for Universal. Chaney is unrecognizable as an old bearded cashier who exposes fraud at his bank, but gets demented in a fight that leads into a car accident. An ingenious trick that's related to his ancestor Paul Revere brings back his memory. Photoplay Productions. **
Tell It to the Marines (Idässä palaa, US 1927), D: George Hill, co-starring William Haines and Eleanor Boardman. It starts as a military farce and turns into a war film. Lon Chaney is the tough sergeant with a hidden sensitivity in the same classic vein as John Wayne in The Sands of Iwo Jima. **
PROGETTO CHAPLIN
Monsieur Verdoux (Ritari Siniparta, US 1947). Italian premiere of the version restored in 2001 by L'Immagine Ritrovata. Presenta Joséphine Chaplin. A new good print from Cineteca del Comune di Bologna and Roy Export Company Establishment. 123 min. Piazza Maggiore. ****
Le Cinéma des Cahiers. Cinquante ans d'histoire d'amour du cinéma (FR 2001), D: Edgardo Cozarinsky, featuring a who's who of people involved with the magazine during many decades. Alla presenza di Edgardo Cozarinsky. Beta SP ***
OMAGGIO A MAN RAY
Essais cinématographiques de Man Ray. 16 mm except the first. Short home movies without artistic purpose. Featuring famous friends from Meret Oppenheim to Pablo Picasso. Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou. Presenta Jean-Michel Bouhours
Rue Campagne-Première (FR ca 1923-1929)
Poison (FR ca 1933-1935)
Corrida (1929)
Autoportrait ou ce qui nous manque à nous tous (1930)
L'Atelier du Val-de-Grace (ca 1935)
Course Landaise (ca 1937)
La Garoupe (ca 1937)
Ady (1938)
Dance (1938)
Juliet (1945)
Two Women (senza data) - hard core Lesbian scenes
THE FILMS OF HY HIRSH: ABSTRACTION AND JAZZ ****
Brilliant short animated "études jazzographiques". 16 mm from iotaCenter. Presenta Cindy Keefer.
Eneri (US 1953)
Gyromorphosis (NL 1954)
Autumn Spectrum (NL 1957)
Défense d'afficher (FR 1958)
Chasse des touches (FR 1959)
Scratch Pad (FR 1960)
Colour de la forme (FR 1961)
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