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

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

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

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

Oliver Twist (Roman Polanski 2005)

Oliver Twist / Oliver Twist. FR/GB/CZ (c) 2005 Oliver Twist Productions LLP. P: Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde, Roman Polanski. D: Roman Polanski. SC: Ronald Harwood - based on the novel by Charles Dickens (1838). DP: Pawel Edelman - shot on Super 35mm - digital intermediate - 35mm print 2,35:1. PD: Allan Starski. M: Rachel Portman. ED: Hervé de Luze. Studio: Barrandov (Prague). CAST: Barney Clark (Oliver Twist), Ben Kingsley (Fagin), Jamie Foreman (Bill Sykes), Harry Eden (Artful Dodger), Leanne Rowe (Nancy), Edward Hardwicke (Mr. Brownlow), Ian McNeice (Mr. Limbkins), Mark Strong (Toby Crackit), Jeremy Swift (Mr. Bumble). 130 min. The NFI / Columbia Norway release print with Norwegian subtitles by Harald Ohrvik viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 7 Dec 2008. - A print without signs of wear, the image slightly too dark and soft. - Film Indexes Online synopsis: "Adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel. Young orphan Oliver Twist escapes from the workhouse and working for an undertaker and runs away to London. There he is taken under the wing of Fagin, who operates a gang of young thieves, and is taught to steal." - In Polanski's oeuvre, this can be seen as a companion piece to The Pianist: the ordeal of the protagonist, the survival against all odds. - In Ronald Harwood's oeuvre, this can be seen as a part of a trilogy with Ivan Denisovich, and The Pianist; all share similarities of imagery and situations of humiliation and terror. - Charles Dickens' second novel has been filmed some 20 times. David Lean's version (1948) is still superior. - Both Lean and Polanski were inspired visually by Gustave Doré's London: A Pilgrimage (1872). - The lush Romantic score by Rachel Portman can be compared with the composers of Hollywood's Golden Era. - Polanski's special emphasis is on the terror of the 10-year old protagonist, with which he could identify, having been a Holocaust fugitive in Nazi-occupied Poland at the same age. - Another special emphasis is Fagin's death row agony. No clue to Fagin's Jewishness.

Great Expectations (1997)

100585 / 12 / US / 1997 / Cuarón, Alfonso / drama
Great Expectations / Loistava tulevaisuus. © 20th Century Fox. P: Art Linson. D: Alfonso Cuarón. SC: Mitch Glazer - based on the novel by Charles Dickens. DP: Emmanuel Lubezki. Artwork: Francesco Clemente. CAST: Ethan Hawke (Finnegan Bell), Gwyneth Paltrow (Estella), Anne Bancroft (Ms. Dinsmoor). 111’. Scope. MPAA 35333. Rated R = 17. Finnish subtitles: Timo Porri. DIST: Columbia TriStar Egmont Finland. Viewed in Helsinki, VET, Wednesday 4 February 1998. *** Classic story modernized and set to a fishing village in Florida and the art scene of New York. It’s a feast for the eyes, and the art itself is in high class.