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

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

From Mariann Lewinsky's introduction:

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

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

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

Cento anni fà 9 – Sogni, incubi e censura

Segundo de Chomón: Le Voleur invisible (FR 1909). Based on The Invisible Man (1897) by H. G. Wells.

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

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

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

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

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

Cento anni fà 5 – Un cinema di distrazione

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

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

Cinema – Città – Affinità / Cinema – City – Affinity

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

Quattro film Lux / Four Lux Productions

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

Distrazioni e sorprese / Distractions and Surprises

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

Cento anni fà 3 (Anno 1909) – Pronti per il lungometraggio

Albert Capellani: L'Assommoir (FR 1909) based on the novel by Émile Zola (1877) starring Alexandre Arquillière (Coupeau), Jacques Grétillaat (Lantier), Eugène Nau (Gervaise) and Catherine Fontenay (Virginie).

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

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

Roman d’une bottine et d’un escarpin. FR 1909. D: Georges Monca. CAST: Georges Tréville, Suzanne Demay; PC: Pathé. 35 mm. 170 m. English intertitles. B&w. From: BFINA. – The meeting of the shoes tells the love story. Partially a good definition of light.

Les deux devoirs / Berufspflicht. FR 1909. D: Louis Feuillade. PC: Gaumont. 35 mm. 172 m. B&w. Deutsche Zwischentitel. From: AFF/CNC. – The calling of the doctor. The demonstration. Partially a good definition of light. 10 min.

Roman d’une écuyère / Der abgewiesene Verehrer. FR 1909. D: Camille de Morlhon. PC: Pathé. 35 mm. 240 m. Tinted. From: NFM. – Deutsche Zwischentitel. The circus world: the husband is a clown, the wife is an acrobatic rider. Of course there is the triangle drama, the clown falls from the trapeze, falls into the gutter, takes care of the child, but the wife begs to return. 13 min.

Une corderie / Seilerei. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. 35 mm. 82 m. B&w. No intertitles. From: BFINA. – Fascinating non-fiction of the many phases of producing rope. 5 min. *

L’Assommoir. FR 1909. D: Albert Capellani. Based on the novel by Emile Zola (1877); SC: Albert Capellani, Michel Carré; CAST: Eugène Nau (Gervaise), Catherine Fontenay (Virginie), Alexandre Arquillière (Coupeau), Jacques Grétillaat (Lantier); PC: S.C.A.G.L. – Pathé. 35 mm. 740 m. B&w. From: Archives Gaumont-Pathé.
    A fascinating discovery. Interesting visual space, full of life, lively tableaux.
    The women's fight in the laundry. The wedding in 1872 (Gervaise, Coupeau).
    Excellent cinematography.
    The jealous Virginie sets the trap for Coupeau at the scaffold of the building site.
    During his long invalid period Coupeau becomes an alcoholist.
    A fine dinner banquet scene.
    Virginie revenges by fuelling Coupeau's alcohol addiction.
    Coupeau loses the wager on strong drink at the tavern. The fight over the woman.
    Coupeau is hospitalized, and is forbidden to drink strong alcohol. Virginie's last revenge leads to an extended danse macabre.
    This episodic film, based on tableaux, follows reportedly the popular theatre adaption of the grim novel. 40 min. *

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

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

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

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

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

Aviazione e cinegiornale / Aviation and newsreels

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

Fait divers / Miscellaneous

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

Star di Cinema / Movie Stars

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

Chapellerie et charcuterie automatiques

FR 1908. P: Gaumont. D: Alice Guy. Print preserved at Svenska Filminstitutet. Short film projected from the dvd Gaumont Box: Le Cinéma premier Vol 1 (1897-1913) Guy - Feuillade - Perret. Viewed at the Nordic meeting, Bio Carl, Filmens Hus, Copenhagen, 5 September 2008. - A fantasy comedy of the marvellous machine that produces hats and sausages.

La Fée aux choux / The Cabbage Patch Fairy

Alice Guy: La Fée aux choux / The Cabbage Patch Fairy. Three versions: 1896 (58 mm without perforations, lost), 1900 (35 mm, aka Une fée dépose des bébés vivants qu'elle retire des choux) and 1902 (35 mm, aka Sage-femme de première classe).

FR 1900. P: Gaumont. D: Alice Guy. Conte fantastique. This version (Une fée dépose des bébés vivants qu'elle retire des choux) was identified in 1996 at Svenska Filminstitutet. Short film projected from the dvd Gaumont Box: Le Cinéma premier Vol 1 (1897-1913) Guy - Feuillade - Perret. Viewed at the Nordic meeting, Bio Carl, Filmens Hus, Copenhagen, 5 September 2008. - Charming fantasmagoria: children are born from cabbages.

Cento anni fà: i film del 1908: 12: Visions du réel - visions d'art

Charles Decroix: Dans l'Hellade / In Ancient Greece (FR 1909). 

Presenta Mariann Lewinsky. Grand piano: Alain Baents. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 5 July 2008.

VISIONS DU RÉEL

L'Enfance charitable. FR 1908. PC: Gaumont. 6 min. - Visions of poverty as children come to the help of the poor.
A Day in the Dog's Home. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 3 min. - A rich lady selects a dog in the dog shelter, where we meet an old woman in the yard. Documentary look.
Une noce en Bretagne. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 5 min. - A documentary on a country wedding in Brittany, with banquet tables, musicians, and dances, and separate tables for the poor. Beautiful AFF / CNC print.
Le Culture des huîtres / The Oyster from Bed to Table. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 7 min. - A documentary account on the cultivation of oysters, ending with a shot of a gourmand. Low contrast, heavily duped BFINA print.
Ich habe keinen Frack. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 8 min. - A funny comedy about the alcoholic pianist and the "Roman officer" sculptor's model.
RECONSTRUCTING THE PREMIERE OF L'ASSASSINAT DU DUC DE GUISE
VISIONS D'ART (SALLE CHARRAS, 17 NOVEMBER 1908)
1. LE SECRET DE MYRTO (REGINA BADET)
Dans l'Hellade. / In Ancient Greece / Hellaassa / I Hellas. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. Starring Stacia Napierkowska. 4 min. - Ancient Greek dance scene. Finnish premiere 30 Aug 1909. See below.
2. SERIE VENETIENNE DE PLAQUES AUTOCHROME
Venice, Reine de l'Adriatique. FR 1912. PC: Gaumont. Widescreen (ca 1:2), Tricromia colour. 3 min. - Venetian scenes very beautifully photographed, composed, and in pleasant colours. From Archives Gaumont-Pathé.
3. M. LE BARGY, LECTURE DE VERS D'EDMOND ROSTAND
Benoît Constant Coquelin dans Cyrano de Bergerac. FR 1900. PC: Phono-Cinéma Théâtre. Starring Ainé Coquelin, Desjardin. With synchronized sound. 2 min. Digibeta, alas. Print: Lobster. - A very moving scene from the legendary original performance of Edmond Rostand's play.
La Valse chaloupée. [A scene from L'Empreinte.] FR 1908. PC: Le Film d'Art. D: Paul Henry Burguet. Starring Mistinguett, Max Dearly. 2 min. Print: AFF / CNC. - A startling performance by the stars of the Moulin Rouge.
L'Empreinte / L'Empreinte ou la Main Rouge. FR 1908. PC: Le Film d'Art. D: Paul Henry Burguet. Based on the pantomime Conscience. Starring Gaston Severin (Pierrot). Print: AFF / CNC. 14 min. - A "mimodrame cinématographique" on the murderer Pierrot's rise into high society, his nightmare, and the voice of his conscience.

...

CATALOGO

PROGRAMMA 12 / PROGRAMME 12: VISIONS DU RÉEL – VISIONS D’ART

Popular Opposites: High and Low

Film historians watch films to school themselves in belle epoque cinematography; if they choose a ‘panoptic perspective’ (A. Gaudreault), they can place the cinematic images within the synchronic panorama of belle epoque cultural production in their ‘cultural order’, linking them with photography, music hall, painting and juvenile literature.

Conversely, cinematography transports current contents, fashions and imaginations. When looking at the films made in 1907, I was struck by the genuinely looming presence of hunger and poverty in the scènes dramatiques (think of La lutte pour la vie and Le bagne des gosses); this inspired the first part of the programme. An image as unforgettable as a photograph: the old woman in the yard of the dog shelter (where the rich lady visits to choose a dog).

Given our experience nowadays, when media mix, scarcely an opera production dispenses with the projection of moving images on stage and the most interesting theatre directors have their actors dance silently one moment and sing a cappella the next, we would not make a bad audience for the historic gala premiere of L’assassinat du Duc de Guise on 17 November 1908 at the Salle Charras. It consisted of filmed dances in the fashionable ancient Greek style (Le secret de Myrto) to a poème musicale by Bérardi, a “Venetian Series” of projected autochrome images with music by Scarlatti and Monteverdi, the recitation of a poem by Rostand illustrated with a (filmed) pantomime and the two films L’empreinte ou la main rouge (“mimodrame cinématographique”) and L’assassinat du Duc de Guise (“Piece cinématographique”), each accompanied by original compositions. Both films rely on body performance. Alongside the mime Gaston Séverin, who plays the leading role of Pierrot, the highlights of L’empreinte are the valse chaloupée by the music-hall stars Mistinguette and Max Dearly (who had been causing a sensation with this Apache dance at the Moulin Rouge since 27 July 1908) and the performance of the dancer Stacia Napierkowska. The tension and coherence of L’assassinat du Duc de Guise are rooted in the powerful presence of Charles Le Bargy as the black perpetrator and Albert Lambert as his white victim; the quality of the performance is immediately apparent to us. Thankfully, film historians have stopped measuring the quality of a film by the number of shots and the movement of the camera.

Mariann Lewinsky

Visions du réel

MARCHÉ AU VILLAGE ! FRANCIA, 1908 ! PROD.: THEOPHILE PATHÉ ! 35 MM. L.: 94 M. D.: 5’ A 16 F/S. COL ! DA: CNC-ARCHIVES FRANÇAISES DU FILM

L’ENFANCE CHARITABLE ! FRANCIA, 1908 ! PROD.: GAUMONT ! 35 MM. L.: 111 M. D.: 6’ A 16 F/S. BN ! DA: CNC-ARCHIVES FRANÇAISES DU FILM

A DAY IN A DOG’S HOME ! FRANCIA, 1908 ! PROD.: PATHÉ ! 35 MM. L.: 50 M. D.: 2’44’’ A 16 F/S. BN ! DA: BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE

CLIFF CLIMBING; THE EGG HARVEST OF FLAMBOROUGH HEAD ! GRAN BRETAGNA, 1908 ! PROD.: CRICKS AND MARTIN ! 35 MM. L.: 132 M. D.: 7’ A 16 F/S. BN ! DA: BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE

NOCE EN BRETAGNE ! FRANCIA, 1908 ! PROD.: PATHÉ ! 35 MM. L.: 153 M. D.: 5’ A 24 F/S. BN ! DA: CNC-ARCHIVES FRANÇAISES DU FILM

LE CULTURE DES HUÎTRES ! FRANCIA, 1908 ! PROD.: PATHÉ ! 35 MM. L.: 127 M. D.: 7’ A 16 F/S ! DA: BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE

ICH HABE KEINEN FRACK ! FRANCIA, 1908 ! PROD.: PATHÈ ! 35 MM. L.: 135 M. D.: 7’22’’ A 16 F/S. BN E IMBIBITO. DIDASCALIE TEDESCHE / GERMAN INTERTITLES ! DA: DEUTSCHE KINEMATHEK ! RESTAURATO NEL 2008 PRESSO L’IMMAGINE RITROVATA A PARTIRE DA UN POSITIVO NITRATO IMBIBITO / RESTORED IN 2008 AT L’IMMAGINE RITROVATA FROM A TINTED NITRATE PRINT

Visions d’art (Salle Charras, 17.11. 1908) : 

1. Le secret de Myrto (Régina Badet)

DANS L’HELLADE ! FRANCIA, 1909 ! INT.: STACIA NAPIERKOWSKA; PROD.: PATHÉ ! 35 MM. L.: 74 M. D.: 3’30’’ A 18 F/S. BN ! DA: NEDERLANDS FILMMUSEUM

2: Série vénetienne de plaques autochrome:

VENICE, REINE DE L’ADRIATIQUE ! FRANCIA, 1912 ! PROD.: GAUMONT ! 35 MM. D.: 3’. TRICROMIA ! DA: ARCHIVES GAUMONT-PATHÉ

3: M. Le Bargy, lecture de vers d’Edmond Rostand

BENOÎT CONSTANT COQUELIN DANS CYRANO DE BERGERAC ! FRANCIA, 1900 REGIA: CLÉMENT MAURICE ! PROD.: PHONO-CINEMA THÉÂTRE; INT.: AINÉ COQUELIN, DESJARDIN ! DIGIBETA. D.: 2’. COL ! DA: LOBSTER FILMS

LA VALSE CHALOUPÉE ! FRANCIA, 1908 REGIA: PAUL HENRY BURGUET ! ESTRATTO DA: L’EMPREINTE OU LA MAIN ROUGE; INT.: MISTINGUETT, MAX DEARLY; PROD.: LE FILM D’ART ! 35 MM. L.: 51 M. D.: 2’ A 18 F/S. COL ! DA: CNC-ARCHIVES FRANÇAISES DU FILM 

L’EMPREINTE OU LA MAIN ROUGE ! FRANCIA, 1908 REGIA: PAUL HENRY BURGUET ! SOG.: DALLA PANTOMIMA “CONSCIENCE”; INT.: GASTON SÉVERIN (PIERROT), MAX DEARLY, MISTINGUETT, STACIA NAPIERKOWSKA, HENRI ETIÉVANT, ALBERT DIEUDONNÉ; PROD.: LE FILM D’ART ! 35 MM. L.: 265 M. D.: 14’ A 16 F/S. BN ! DA: CNC-ARCHIVES FRANÇAISES DU FILM

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR ! FRANCIA, 1908 ! FONOSCENA CANTATA DA: ENRICO CARUSO, MARCELLA SEMBRICH; PROD.: GEORGES MENDEL ! 35 MM. L.: 118 M. D.: 4’18’’ A 24 F/S. BN ! DA: LOBSTER FILMS

Cento anni fà: I film del 1908: 11: Visions sensuelles

Nuit de Noël (FR 1908). Pathé Frères: "A sailor on the eve of Christmas, leaves for a dangerous voyage. His wife accompanies him. Then, after crying and praying with a pardon, she goes back to the farm and goes through the mill to get a bag of flour. The miller woos her, which she seems to accept with good grace. They meet at Midnight Mass. Then the mass ended, they go by car to the young woman. There they leave the cart at the door and enter. But the sailor returns unexpectedly and, seeing the cart, understands his misfortune. He bursts into the house but the miller tries to flee with his cart. Joined by the furious sailor, he is knocked unconscious and then the cuckold leads the crew to the cliff and throws them into the sea."       

Presenta: Mariann Lewinsky. Grand piano: Maud Nelissen. Viewed in Bologna, at Cinema Lumière 1, 4 July 2008.

Aeroplane Gliding. GB 1908. 1 min. – Brief runs of a biplane glider.
[Auf hoher See] / [Oberland und Berna]. IT? 1908?. 5 min. – High wind in the ocean, the beauty of the surf.
Nuit de Noël / Christmas Eve Night / Christmas Eve Tragedy. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 12 min. – Tragedy of the fisherman who sets out to sea on Christmas Eve, his wife seduced by another man, with a terrible revenge, including a shocking image of the horse falling down the bluff.
Repas du serpent. FR 1908. PC: Gaumont. 3 min. – A big snake strangles and eats in one piece a live rabbit.
Society Wedding. FR 1908. PC: Gaumont. 5 min. – Actuality footage at the entrance of the wedding banquet showing the magnificent carriages of the society people.
Eine kleine Mutter. FR 1908. PC: Lion. 9 min. – Mother on his deathbed, the children facing the destiny of being orphans.
La Fabrication du charbon de bois. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 7 min. – Documentary on the production of wood charcoal.
Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs. GB 1908. D: George Albert Smith. 1 min.
Visite à Stockholm. FR 1908.
Dans le sous-marin. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 8 min. – Fiction with sets and effects resembling Méliès. A tragic story of a submarine accident ending with fantasy visions of peace and webs with babies.

Cento anni fà: i film del 1908: 10: Visions impossibles - presente e futuro dei trucchi cinematografici

Camille de Morlhon: Les Reflets vivants (FR 1908). Pathé Frères. Distributor: Internationaal Filmverhuurkantoor Jean Desmet (Amsterdam). Auteur: Cândido Aragonez de Faria (Laranjeiras (Brésil), 12 août 1849 - Paris, 17 décembre 1911). Source: Eye Filmmuseum. Fichier: Le reflet vivant - Cândido de Faria - 1908 - EYE A05149.jpg. From: Wikipédia: Camille de Morlhon. Please click on the image to expand it.

Presented by Mariann Lewinsky. Grand piano: Donald Sosin. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 3 July 2008.

The Dog Outwits the Kidnappers. GB 1908. PC: Hepworth. D: Fitzhamon Lewin. 7 min. - A comedy reversal of Rescued by Rover: the dog conducts the car with the kidnapped child back home.
Papillons japonais / Japanische Schmetterlinge. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 5 min. - An exceptionally beautiful trick film full of transformations.
L'Etang enchanté. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. D: Segundo de Chomon. 4 min. - Another exquisite trick film with transformations of water nymphs.
[Pathé Trick Film 1908 No. 2]. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 4 min (or longer?). - An astounding succession of transformations with interesting puppet animation, even with macabre touches in the style of Tim Burton.
L'insaisissable pickpocket. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 5 min. - A truly wonderful comedy of transformations of the elusive pickpocket, who can change into almost anything in the style of Méliès or animation: even into a snake or into a pile of bricks.
Le bon invalide et les enfants. FR 1908. PC: Gaumont. 4 min. - Weird children's play with a benevolent invalid who borrows his limbs for them.
Auteur à la mode / Ein spannend fesselnder Roman. FR 1908. PC: Gaumont. 8 min. - A wonderful comedy of exaggeration as everybody reads the best-selling novel, at the expense of everything else. A big disappointment awaits the female fans in the end.
Les Reflets vivants / Lebende Spiegelbilder. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. D: Camille de Morlhon. 4 min. - Scifi-cinefantastique-comedy about the inventor who invents a kind of hologram mirror images. Everybody gets doubled.
Reve des marmitons. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. D: Segundo de Chomon. 7 min. - A dream in the kitchen: all the kitchen work gets done by the disjected hands.
Fantasmagories. FR 1908. PC: Gaumont. D: Emile Cohl. 3 min. - Animation: drawn white lines on black.
The Acrobatic Fly. GB 1908. PC: Urban. D: Percy Smith. 3 min. - The miraculous powers of flies in what looks like a documentary.

Cento anni fà: I film del 1908: 1: Donne del 1908

FORZE IRRESISTIBILI: ATTRICI COMICHE E SUFFRAGETTES (1910-1915) 1
Presentano Mariann Lewinsky & Monica Dall'Asta. Grand piano: Neil Brand. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 28 June 2008.
PRIMA PARTE: L'ORDINE NATURALE
Le Sarrasin en Bretagne. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 5 min. - A farming documentary, harvesting. +
La Fille de l'armateur. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 17 min. - Beautiful definition of light. +
SECONDA PARTE: CHI LAVA I PIATTI?
Madame l'avocate / La signora avvocatessa. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 7 min. - A story of the woman's place. Beautiful definition of light. *
Is Marriage a Failure? FR 19o8. PC: Pathé. 6 min. - Beautiful pantomime at the coffee table. *
The Nervous Kitchen Maid. FR 1908. PC: Pathé.
La Fabrication de la colle / Herstellung des Leims. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. +
TERZA PARTE: SPAURACCHI
La Journée d'une suffragette. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 7 min. - A farce making fun of suffragettes.
La neuropatologia. IT 1908. PC: Ambrosio. D: Camillo Negro, Roberto Omegna. 6 min. - The cure of grand hysteria.
QUARTA PARTE: DONNE PROFESSIONALI NEL CINEMA
[Madame fait du sabotage]. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 3 min. - Comedy about the husband and his mistress, who have to run as the floor of their carriage falls down, and the wife is awaiting at the destination.
Sculpture moderne. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. D: Segundo de Chomón. 6 min. - Beautiful multi-colour print from AFF / CNC, ending with a fantastic sequence of clay animation. *
Une heroïne de quatres ans. FR 1908. PC: Gaumont. D: [Alice Guy]. 9 min. - The little girl saves three drunkards and a dog from getting under the train with his skipping rope trap.
Demain matinée. FR 1908. 1 min.