Luca Comerio 2 – Compassion and Love: The Pre-War Films of Luca Comerio

Cocciutelli in guerra (IT 1912), photo: La Cineteca del Friuli.

Luca Comerio 2 – Compassion and Love: The Pre-War Films of Luca Comerio
    A cura di Sergio M. Germani.
    Le Giornate del Cinema Muto: Luca Comerio.
    Teatro Verdi, Pordenone, with e-subtitles in English and occasionally in Italian by Sub-Ti, grand piano: Mauro Colombis, 2 Oct 2016.

IL TERREMOTO DI MESSINA (Messina im Gegenwartigen Zustande) (IT 1909). 35 mm, 138 m, 7' (16 fps); titles: GER. Source: Cineteca Italiana, Milano. – AA: Non-fiction after the earthquake in Messina. Silent dignity, a sense of integrity in bearing witness to the catastrophe. There are long, slow panoramic shots, including ones that are almost 360 degrees. Yellow tint. Impressive.

L’AVVENTURA GALANTE DI UN PROVINCIALE (IT 1908). 35 mm, 63 m, 3' (16 fps); no titles. Source: La Cinémathèque française, Paris. – AA: Fiction, a farce with a sense of vitality in café scenes. The man from the province picks up a lady at the café and takes her to his hotel room, only to discover artificial limbs, air balloons doubling as breasts, and a wig – all this disguising a man in drag. Rude fun. Print heavily duped. A Cinémathèque française print from 2000.

IL CARNEVALE DI MILANO DEL 1908. (IT 1908). 35 mm, 55 m, 3' (16 fps); no titles. Source: Cineteca di Bologna. – AA: Non-fiction, a colour-driven view of the Milan Carnival with a Cinematograf billboard prominent in the background. Carnevalesque, with a fascinating pageant. Stable camera. Elaborate stencil colour.

GRANDE CERIMONIA PER LA POSA DELLA PRIMA PIETRA DELLO ZUCCHERIFICIO A CASALMAGGIORE (IT 1910). 35 mm, 146 m, 8' (16 fps); titles: ITA. Source: Cineteca di Bologna. – AA: Non-fiction on laying the first stone of a sugar factory in a grand ceremony at Casalmaggiore, near a bridge on the Po River. An epic vision, a brass band, a huge number of people. There is a remarkable atlas of faces of people, caught in meaningful and characteristic detail. Fascinating.

LE OFFICINE DELLA “FIAT” (IT 1911). DCP (from 35 mm, 230 m.), 12' (transferred at 18 fps); titles: ITA. Source: Fondazione CSC - Archivio Nazionale Cinema d’Impresa, Ivrea. – AA: Non-fiction on the FIAT factory (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino): engine assembly line, gearbox assembly line, chassis assembly line, car testing, mezzogiorno: lunch break. The workers are aware of the camera and react curiously. There is a heavy orange tint and beautiful tonings. Long, impressive pans seem to be a Luca Comerio hallmark. A beautiful print. A quality film.

[INCONTRO DEI REALI A VENEZIA, I]: INCONTRO DELLE LL. MM. IL RE D’ITALIA E L’IMPERATORE DI GERMANIA IL 25 MARZO 1908 (IT 1908). 35 mm, 132 m, 7' (16 fps); titles: ITA. Source: Cineteca Italiana, Milano. – AA: Non-fiction, official, the first film of the meeting of the King of Italy and the Emperor of Germany in Venice. A voyage on the gondola. A lively approach, a pleasing sense of movement. From a duped source with scratches.

[Incontro dei Reali a Venezia, III]: Incontro delle LL. MM. Il Re d'Italia e l'Imperatore di Germania il 25 marzo 1908 (IT 1908), photo: Associazione culturale Hommelette, Trieste.

[Incontro dei Reali a Venezia, III]: Incontro delle LL. MM. Il Re d'Italia e l'Imperatore di Germania il 25 marzo 1908 (IT 1908), photo: Associazione culturale Hommelette, Trieste.

[INCONTRO DEI REALI A VENEZIA, III]: L’ARRIVO DI GUGLIELMO II A VENEZIA (IT 1908). DCP, 4'; titles: ITA. Source: Associazione culturale Hommelette, Trieste. – AA: Non-fiction, the third film of the meeting of the sovereigns in Venice. Piazza San Marco: a huge crowd, feeding pigeons. Imposing ships, a tracking shot from a boat shaken by heavy waves.

RESIDENCE ROYALE A SANT’ANNA DI VALDIERI (IT 1910). 35 mm, 110 m, 6' (16 fps); titles: FRA. Source: Cineteca di Bologna. – AA: Non-fiction. Royal hunting on the Alps: chamois hunting. Splendid views. The royal hunters have special stands for reading books and newspapers on horseback while riding on mountain paths. They have beaters to scare the chamois. They get a royal catch: dozens of chamois. There are some damage marks from the source. The colour has a Desmet look. A 2003 print from Bologna. Memorable.

EXCELSIOR! (IT 1913). 35 mm, 350 m, 17' (18 fps); titles: ITA. Source: Fondazione CSC - Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. – AA: Non-fiction, a straight record of a performance of a huge spectacle with about a hundred participants in the choreography. Tableaux, pageants of the past, the story of civilization. A prima ballerina appears in this fragment from a movie of originally 2000 meters. Red tinting in the scene of the volcanic eruption. Fascinating.

GARE DI PALLONE ALL’ARENA DI MILANO (IT 1912). 35 mm, 25 m, 1' (16 fps); no titles. Source: Cineteca Italiana, Milano. – AA: Non-fiction: the camera is installed in the basket of a huge balloon which rises to the sky over Milan and provides us a magnificent epic vista of the city. Fine.

IDROPLANO FORLANINI (IT 1911). 35 mm, 180 m, 10' (16 fps); titles: GER. Source: Cineteca Italiana, Milano. – AA: Non-fiction about a hydroplane emerging from the hangar and being put into action. The essence of speed. Interesting machines. A charming sepia toning. Fine.

Cocciutelli in guerra (IT 1912), photo: La Cineteca del Friuli.

COCCIUTELLI IN GUERRA (Kelly in Battle) (IT 1912). 35 mm, 117 m, 6' (18 fps); titles: ENG. Source: La Cineteca del Friuli, Gemona. – AA: Fiction, comedy, perhaps a parody on militarism. To impress his girlfriend Cocciutelli (called Kelly in this print) arms himself for the war against the Ottoman Empire. His adventures take him to Africa. He gets into full military gear and even carries his personal cannon with him. It is a one man's war in the context of the Italian armed forces. Cocciutelli returns with war loot including a flag of the Ottoman Empire? and an arab child. Partly damaged (water or nitrate decay). Intriguing. A slight association runs to Les Carabiniers.

La grande giornata storica italiana: 20 maggio 1915 (IT 1915), photo: La Cineteca del Friuli.

La grande giornata storica italiana: 20 maggio 1915 (IT 1915), photo: La Cineteca del Friuli.

LA GRANDE GIORNATA STORICA ITALIANA: 20 MAGGIO 1915 (La grande journée historique italienne: 20 mai 1915) (IT 1915). 35 mm, 175 m, 9' (16 fps); titles: FRA. Source: La Cineteca del Friuli, Gemona. – AA: Non-fiction, official record, a historical session of the Italian Parliament. Dignitaries are introduced with their family names. The King joins them. Viva l'Italia! A huge crowd of people. The Minister of War gives a passionate presentation. A document of a crucial meeting when Italy was about to join the First World War which had started the year before. A good print (perhaps with a slightly high contrast).

[MAN SOLL DEN TAG NICHT VOR ABEND LOBEN] (IT 191?). DCP (from 35 mm, c.100 m), 4' (transferred at 16 fps); titles: GER. Source: Cineteca Italiana, Milano. – AA: Fiction, comedy, farce, a catastrophe comedy of escalating disasters. There is a man in an impeccable white suit about to impress his fiancé on a decisive rendez-vous. Immediately there is a black stain which won't go away. He falls on the ground. A cargo of coal is dumped on him. He perishes utterly in his attempt to impress. Long shots and long takes. Not bad in its genre.

L'eclisse parziale di sole del 7 aprile 1912 (IT 1912), photo: Cineteca di Bologna.

L'eclisse parziale di sole del 7 aprile 1912 (IT 1912), photo: Cineteca di Bologna.

L’ECLISSE PARZIALE DI SOLE DEL 7 APRILE 1912 (IT 1912). 35 mm, 91 m, 5' (16 fps); titles: ITA. Source: Cineteca di Bologna. – AA: Non-fiction, scientific, a documentary on the partial eclipse of the sun. Times of the day appear as intertitles. Impressive coverage of the functioning of the observatory and the huge telescope. Beautiful footage of the partial eclipse itself. In colour. A duped look. Bologna 2003. Impressive.

I SOLENNI FUNERALI DELL’AVIATORE CHAVEZ (IT 1910). 35 mm, 100 m, 5' (16 fps); no titles. Source: Cineteca Italiana, Milano. – AA: Non-fiction, official, a state funeral for the aviator Chavez. – "Jorge Antonio Chávez Dartnell, anche conosciuto come Geo Chávez (Parigi, 13 giugno 1887 – Domodossola, 27 settembre 1910), è stato un aviatore peruviano che per primo riuscì a trasvolare le Alpi." (Wikipedia l'enciclopedia libera).

[GIORNALE LUCE C0057 DEL 15 LUGLIO 1940]: LA MORTE DI LUCA COMERIO FOTOGRAFO DEL RE D’ITALIA (IT 1940) (extract). DCP, 2', sd.; narr. ITA. Source: Istituto Luce, Roma. Newsreel item, including footage from [Incontro dei reali a Venezia], 1908. – AA: A newsreel item on the death of Luca Comerio. His footage on the meeting of the Italian and German sovereigns in Venice in 1908 is revisited in a contemporary nationalistic and militaristic framework.

[IL BACIO DI LUCA COMERIO] (IT 1910?). DCP, 50"; no titles. Source: Cineteca Italiana, Milano. – AA: A home movie. An attractive view of Luca Comerio kissing his wife several times. Beats the May-Irwin Kiss in charm.

AA: A wonderfully programmed screening of some 110 minutes of the pre-war films of the great Italian pioneer Luca Comerio, curated by Sergio M. Germani. It covers everything from official and scientific views to comedy and farce. One of the most impressive shows of early Italian cinema that I have seen. There is a Belle Époque sense of the sweetness of life in these films, like in the films of the Lumière Brothers, Méliès, and Léonce Perret, and a premonition of the participation in the Great War. A refined piano interpretation in many moods was provided by Mauro Colombis.