Täältä tullaan elämä!

A-23752 / 16 / FI / 1980 / Suominen, Tapio / drama

Täältä tullaan elämä! PC: Sateenkaari-Filmi. P+D: Tapio Suominen. SC: Yrjö-Juhani Renvall, Pekka Aine. M: Pelle Miljoona, Maukka Perusjätkä. CAST: Esa Niemelä (Jussi), Tony Holmström (Pete), Kati Outinen (Lissu), Pertti V. Reponen (Pappa). 1,66. 117’. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Wednesday 12 November 1997. **** I saw this Finnish Zeitgeist film of 17 years ago for the first time. The teenage audience watched it with total concentration. It is difficult to make a film about a contemporary generation, but these people succeeded. It is a coming-of-age story worthy of Nicholas Ray and Francois Truffaut. All performances ring true. The Finnish punk classics ”Täältä tullaan elämä” and ”Säpinää” still sound great.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Elia Kazan: A Streetcar Named Desire (US 1950).

035123 / 16 / US / 1950 / Kazan, Elia / / drama

Viettelysten vaunu / Linje Lusta. PC: Charles K. Feldman Group. A 20th Century Fox release. P: Charles Feldman. D: Elia Kazan. Based on the play by Tennessee Williams. M: Alex North. CAST: Vivien Leigh (Blanche Dubois), Marlon Brando (Stanley Kowalski), Kim Hunter (Stella), Karl Malden (Mitch). MPAA Production Code Seal 14871. B&w Academy. 122’. Swedish subtitles by Kerstin Landfeldt. A Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet print. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Wednesday 12 November 1997. *** From Scarlett to Blanche: the track of the Southern Belle. Legendary performances realized through great photography and backed by a stirring New Orleans influenced score. But the play itself is dated.

…ja minä pelkään yötä / [... And I'm Afraid of the Night]

A-27794 / 10/7 / FI / 1997 / Hassinen, Tomi / / thriller

…ja minä pelkään yötä / I’m Afraid Of the Dark. PC: Technofilm. D: Tomi Hassinen, Marko Nirhola. M: Tomi Hassinen. CAST: Mikko Ehnqvist, Elina Aho, Ilkka Ruutu, Anna-Maria Balk. VHS PAL 60’. DIST: Technofilm. VHS PAL big screen projection in Helsinki, VET, on Wednesday, 12 November 1997. Interesting non-professional mystery thriller about five young friends negotiating their relationships while trying to solve the mystery of a mind-altering toxic gas.

Metallica: Poor Touring Me

100446 / G / US / 1997 / Metallica / / tour documentary

Metallica: Poor Touring Me. PC: E-M Ventures. A PolyGram release. D: Wayne Isham. DP: Daniel Pearl. Featuring: Metallica = James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Jason Newsted, Kirk Hammett. 35mm Academy print with brilliant sound. 52’. DIST: PolyGram Finland. Viewed in Helsinki, VET, Wednesday 12 November 1997. **** Excellent documentary. Laconic photography, clean lighting, rhythmic montages. There is nothing to distract from the performance of dark tribal sound. There is at the end, however, the inevitable catastrophe sequence.

Trees Lounge

100447 / 16 / US / 1996 / Buscemi, Steve / / drama

Trees Lounge / Trees Lounge. PC: Live Film and Mediaworks. D+SC+starring: Steve Buscemi. 96’. 1,85. MPAA 34420. Rating: R = 17. Finnish/Swedish subtitles by Hannele Vahtera. DIST: Finnkino. Viewed in Helsinki, VET, Wednesday 12 November 1997. ** Steve Buscemi’s strongly felt tale of what would have happened ”if I would have become an alcoholic”. Trees Lounge is the name of a bar in a working-class New York suburb. Each member of the cast does a splendid job.

Jäänmurtaja / The Icebreaker

Heikki Kujanpää: Jäänmurtaja / The Icebreaker (FI 1997). Tommi Korpela (Rauno Mutanen, ice hockey defenceman at Sinimailat), Sampo Borgar (Petri Lönnström, 14, dreaming of an ice hockey career).

A-27793 / 10/7 / FI / 1997 / Kujanpää, Heikki / drama

Jäänmurtaja / Isbrytaren / The Icebreaker. PC: Silva Mysterium. D: Heikki Kujanpää. CAST: Sampo Borgar, Siiri Nordin, Tommi Korpela. 63’. 16 mm. Viewed on VHS PAL big screen projection in Helsinki, VET, Monday 10 November 1997. Ice hockey drama featuring adult and young players and a drama of a split family involving a coach and a lunatic hockey player who gets extraordinary powers when driven angry.

Rovioiden ritarit

/ / FI / 1997 / Östling, Tom / / TV documentary

Rovioiden ritarit / Knights of the Bonfires. PC: Yleisradio TV 1. D+SC: Tom Östling. Featuring (film related interviewees): Arvo Salo, Kari Uusitalo, Matti Kassila, Aito Mäkinen, Jörn Donner, Hannu Leminen, Claes Olsson, Leo Stålhammar, Seppo Rustanius, Jarmo Jääskeläinen, Markku Jokipii, Maarit Pietinen, Gunnel Arrbäck, Birgit Bruun, James Ferman, Clifford Christians. 90’. PAL TV transmission. Viewed in Helsinki, Sunday, 9 November 1997. This was a summing-up of Östling’s trilogy on Finnish censorship (on banned books, films, and TV and radio programmes, originally produced in 1994-1996). It is an important survey in cultural history, and the abundant old clips are highly entertaining for today’s viewer. My five major criticisms would focus on: 1) the failure to recognize the difference between voluntary self-control and government censorship (in Finland first since 1946), 2) the neglect to mention that all the banned films mentioned in the lists have since been passed, often a long time ago, 3) most of the clips shown were never banned or cut in the first place: some were hypothetical illustrations, others were of films that got a higher rating than the distributor demanded, 4) the current large problem of criminal matter was only hinted at, and 5) there was no discussion of the Finnish video law, the severest in the world, which causes most of the programmes available to be banned on video distribution. That is a major censorship offense, a blatant infringement in a basic civil liberty.

Oi kallis Suomenmaa 2

/ / FI / 1997 / Bagh, Peter von, etc. / TV documentary

Oi kallis Suomenmaa 2 - On aivan kuin runon takaa kaikuisivat marssin tahdit. 1930 - 1939. PC: Nosferatu; Yleisradio TV1. Concept and direction by Peter von Bagh, Elina Katainen, Iikka Vehkalahti. 60’. PAL TV transmission, viewed in Helsinki, Sunday 8 November 1997. Better than the first installment, this one scans the decade of political extremism, the Great Depression, and growing prosperity. It has to be admitted that the availability of original sounds makes this kind of chronicle more effective.

Djöflaeyjan / The Devil’s Island

Friðrik Þór Friðriksson: Djöflaeyjan / The Devil’s Island (IS 1996).

100443 / 12 / IS / 1996 / Friðrik Þór Friðriksson / drama

Pirunsaari / Djävulsön. PC: Islendska Kvikmyndasamsteypan; Filmhuset; Peter Rommel Filmproduktion. D: Friðrik Þór Friðriksson. 104’. 1,85. In Icelandic. Finnish subtitles by Lars Lundsten. DIST: Senso Films. Viewed at VET, Helsinki, Thursday 6 November 1997. A grungy family saga covering the 1950s and the 1960s in the US military area of Iceland: violence, booze, romance, rock’n’roll and airplane adventures. I would criticize it for miserabilism and for the fact that the characters remain too unsympathetic or indifferent.

Eurodisc Playlist for 12.40.10

100441 / G / US etc. / 1997 / various / / music video

Eurodisc Playlist for 12.40.10 / Musiikkikooste 12-40-10. Compiled by Pioneer Video Manufacturing. DIST: Ulkokaupat Oy. Laserdisc. Viewed on big screen at VET, Helsinki, Thursday 6 November 1997.
Elton John: Something About the Way You Look Tonight *
Jon Bon Jovi: Queen of New Orleans *
Chumbawamba: Tubthumping ***
Boyz II Men: 4 Seasons Of Loneliness **
Mariah Carey: Honey *
All Saints: I Know Where It’s At ***
Genesis: Congo **
En Vogue: Too Gone, Too Long *
Jam & Spoon Featuring Plavka: Kaleidoscope Skies ***
Diana King: I Say A Little Prayer *

German Natdisc Playlist for 19.77.10

100440 / G / DE etc. / 1997 / various / / music video

German Natdisc Playlist for 19.77.10 / Musiikkikooste 19-77-10. Compiled by Pioneer Video Manufacturing. DIST: Ulkokaupat Oy. Laserdisc. Viewed on big screen at VET, Helsinki, Thursday 6 November 1997.
Down Low: Moonlight *
Bandits: Catch Me *
Blacknuss: Last Night A DJ Saved My Life *
Caught In The Act: Babe *
C-Block: Summertime *
Plastic Voice: Los niños del parque ***
Bell Book & Candle: Rescue Me **
Object One: Typewriter ***
‘N Sync: For The Girl Who Has Everything *
Bed & Breakfast: All I Wanna Do *

Otto e mezzo

066600 / G / IT / 1963 / Fellini, Federico / dreamfilm

Otto e mezzo / 8½. PC: Cineriz. A Titanus release. P: Angelo Rizzoli. D: Federico Fellini. SC: FF, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi. DP: Gianni Di Venanzo. M: Nino Rota. CAST: Marcello Mastroianni (Guido Anselmi), Anouk Aimée (Luisa Anselmi), Sandra Milo (Carla), Claudia Cardinale (Claudia). 138’. 1,85 b&w. Swedish subtitles by Stig Almqvist. Worn print from Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet. In Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Thursday 6 November 1997. **** Still an elusive experience. Having seen it three times on the small box (horrors for a Fellini) I now saw it for the first time on the big screen. A musical dream-film, fascinating, but too indulgent, too narcissistic. This is the turning-point in FF’s films where all other characters become just visions of the mind. There is no depth in them anymore. There is only the first person, the dreamer. The film now to be seen three times more on the big screen. To study the music of light. It is a huge launching pad for a film under construction.

Slaves to the Underground

Kristine Peterson: Slaves to the Underground (US 1996).

100438 / 14 / US / 1996 / Peterson, Kristine / drama

Slaves To the Underground / Slaves To the Underground. PC: Overseas Filmgroup. D: Kristine Peterson. SC: Bill Cody. CAST: Molly Gross, Marisa Ryan, Jason Bortz. 93’. 1,85. MPAA 34998. DIST: Soma Distribution. Viewed in Helsinki, VET, Wednesday 5 November 1997. US indie drama on Seattle twentysomething subcultures: a riot girl band called The No Exits, and a publisher of ”zines”. There is a bisexual triangle drama. The characters are boring and no visual style is in evidence.

Gentleman’s Agreement

Elia Kazan: Gentleman's Agreement (US 1947) with Dorothy McGuire, Gregory Peck and John Garfield.

028979 / G / US / 1947 / Kazan, Elia / / drama
Gentleman’s Agreement / Hiljainen sopimus.
PC: 20th Century-Fox. P: Darryl F. Zanuck.
D: Elia Kazan. SC: Moss Hart – based on the novel by Laura Z. Hobson (1946).
CAST: Gregory Peck, Dean Stockwell, Anne Revere, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Sam Jaffe, June Havoc.
118’.
B&w.
MPAA Production Code Seal of Approval 12488.
A worn 16 mm print from Rosebud (Spain).
Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Tuesday 4 November 1997.

*** Intelligent, dialogue-based thesis film with a great cast of a dozen interesting characters. No visual flair and no cinematic dynamism (further injustice in this department due to the flat 16 mm print). Gregory Peck is the crusading, investigative reporter who takes a special project called ”I Was Jewish For Six Months”. The experience is surprising. He gets to experience discrimination immediately, his fiancée becomes estranged, and even his little son gets beaten as ”a dirty kike”. And this is New York.

The Devil’s Advocate

100435 / 16 / US / 1997 / Hackford, Taylor / fantasy thriller

Devil’s Advocate, The / Paholaisen asianajaja. PC: Warner Bros.; Monarch; Regency. P: Arnold Kopelson, Anne Kopelson, Arnon Milchan. D: Taylor Hackford. SC: Jonathan Lemkin, Tony Gilroy - based on the novel by Andrew Neiderman. CAST: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Connie Nielsen. 144’. Scope. Finnish subtitles by Jari Niittylä. DIST: Warner Bros. Finland. Viewed in Helsinki, VET, Monday 3 November 1997. *** Faust modernization starts promisingly with brilliant satire, excellent dialogue, and sharp performances. Towards the end, however, it grows overblown, when one twist after another renders everything previously established meaningless. It is a stupefying waste of talent. The special effects may be state of the art, but I would have left them all on the cutting room floor, pruning the film to a 90 minute masterpiece, trying to get rid of the misogyny in the process.

Oi kallis Suomenmaa 1

Photo not from the movie. 1924 Summer Olympics, Paris, 12 July 1924. The "Flying Finns" dominated the long-distance running. Finland's trio at men's individual cross country: Edvin Wide, Ville Ritola and Paavo Nurmi. The first three runners for each nation to finish the event also counted towards the cross country team result. At the lead: Paavo Nurmi. The course was 10,650 meters. "The course was unusually difficult, including stone paths that were covered in knee-high thistles and weeds. This, combined with extreme weather conditions of over 40 °C and noxious fumes emitted from a power plant near the course, resulted in only 15 of the 38 starters crossing the finish line. After the event, both the Red Cross and local police spent hours searching for runners who had passed out on the course." (Text from Wikipedia: Athletics at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's individual cross country). Photo: KTLA 5 News. Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Please click on the image to expand it.

/ / FI / 1997 / Bagh, Peter von, etc. / TV documentary

Oi kallis Suomenmaa 1 – Syvä iskumme on, viha voittamaton. 1917–1929. PC: Nosferatu; Yleisradio TV1. Concept and direction by Peter von Bagh, Elina Katainen, Iikka Vehkalahti. 60’. PAL TV telecast by Yleisradio TV1, viewed in Helsinki, Sunday 2 November 1997. The first part of the 80th Anniversary TV documentary series by the well-known team. They have unearthed exciting unknown / forgotten footage, and many of the interviews are invaluable: it has still been possible to talk with living witnesses to the fight for the independence in 1917. Then again, the result is sloppier than their best work. And I resent vintage footage being reduced to ridiculous jerkiness with wrong speed and the silent frame being cropped mercilessly by the sound aperture. Too much haste this time.

Marcello Mastroianni: mi ricordo si io mi ricordo

/ / IT / 1997 / Mastroianni, Marcello / documentary

Marcello Mastroianni: mi ricordo si io mi ricordo / Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember Yes I Remember. PC: Mikado; Istituto Luce; Cinecitta; RAI; Telepiu. D: Anna Maria Tato. DP: Giuseppe Rotunno. Featuring: Marcello Mastroianni. 95’. Viewed in Helsinki, Sunday 2 November 1997. **** Mastroianni caught in a filmed interview in Portugal shortly before his death in 1996. This is the cinema version of a four-hour TV production. It is a wise, humorous memoir of the self-deprecating star who insists that life has been good and easy for him. The modest man of the people keeps quoting Proust, Kafka, and Chekhov. His own insights are worthy of theirs.

Larmar och gör sig till

/ / SE / 1997 / Bergman, Ingmar / TV drama

Larmar och gör sig till. PC: Sveriges Television. P: Måns Reutersward, Pia Chronwall. D+SC: Ingmar Bergman. M: Franz Schubert - performed by Käbi Laretei. CAST: Börje Ahlstedt, Marie Richardson, Erland Josephson, Pernilla August, Anita Björk, Peter Stormare. 120’. TV PAL transmission by TV4 Finland / Sveriges Television, viewed in Helsinki, Saturday, 1 November 1997. Minimalistic, intimate TV drama. The title is from Macbeth: ”Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. ”En skugga blott, en saga berättad av en dåre, låter stort, betyder intet”. ”Walking shadows” is a perfect image for the cinema, especially for the silent one, and here IB tells the imagined story of his crazy uncle, who wanted to mount ”talking pictures” in 1925. The uncle’s film is about the death of Schubert, and is meant to be lipsynched by actors behind the screen. Everything goes awry. It is the story of a loser, a companion piece to Det sista skriket (The Last Shriek). It is also worth comparing with Tim Burton’s Ed Wood. IB and TB share the conviction that the step from a genius to a loser is a small one.

La Fête à Henriette / Henriette (GB) / Holiday for Henrietta (US)

Julien Duvivier: La Fête à Henriette (FR 1952). Hildegarde Knef (Rita Solar) and Dany Robin (Henriette).

040366 / 16 / FR / 1952 / Duvivier, Julien / / romance

Henrietten juhlat / Fest i Paris. PC: Regina Filmsonor. D: Julien Duvivier. SC: Henri Jeanson, JD. DP: Roger Hubert. M: Georges Auric, theme ”Sous le pavé de Paris”. CAST: Dany Robin (Henriette), Michel Roux, Hildegarde Neff. 108’. B&w. Swedish subtitles. A beautiful print from Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Thursday 30 October 1997. *** The Bastille Day is also the calendar day for Henriette. The film takes place during the 24 hours of le Quatorze Juillet. It is a meta-film, based on the argument of two screenwriters who develop two alternative storylines which we see happening on screen. Too tricky for its own good, and too much in love with words. Less would be more. But the photography and the music are beautiful, Dany Robin is charming as the innocent Henriette and Hildegarde Neff plays her role as the seductress with style and sense of humour worthy of Dietrich.

How Green Was My Valley

John Ford: How Green Was My Valley (US 1941). Walter Pidgeon and Roddy McDowall.

024943 / G / US / 1941 / Ford, John / / drama
How Green Was My Valley / Vihreä oli laaksoni. PC: 20th Century-Fox. P: Darryl F. Zanuck. D: John Ford. Based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn. DP: Arthur Miller. CAST: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Donald Crisp, Roddy McDowall. 119’. B&w. MPAA Production Code Seal of Approval 7480. A beautiful NFTVA print. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Thursday 30 October 1997. **** I knew the film previously only from TV. I had had trouble with the idealization and sentimentalism, and was now able to look through them for the first time. The idyll now seems like a sugar coating to the bitter story. The conditions in the mine are harsh, causing death and suffering. The central romance remains unrequited as the bride marries money. Because of his humble origins the boy-protagonist is brutally harassed at school both by the teacher and by his classmates. All this is acknowledged, and still the film is a praise to the triumph of the spirit, about never giving up. The climax is the final sermon of the preacher portrayed by Walter Pidgeon. It is a highlight in the whole Ford oeuvre. Among the joys of the film: the faces are wonderful down to the smallest parts. They all live the drama.

Daavid - tarinoita kunniasta ja häpeästä / David - Tales of Honour and Shame

A-027791 / G / FI / 1997 / Mäkelä, Taru / / documentary

Daavid - tarinoita kunniasta ja häpeästä / David - Tales of Honour and Shame. PC: For Real Productions. D+SC: Taru Mäkelä. Narration and theme song performed by Seela Sella. ”Gefilte fish”, ”Liturgical Song”, ”S’dremlen voiglen”. Featuring: Scholem Bolotowsky, Leo Jakobsson, Leo Skurnik, Ben Zyskowicz. 94’. English subtitles by Outi Kainulainen. Viewed at VET, Helsinki, Tuesday, 28 October 1997. ****

”In the history of the Shoah there is but one exception: Finland”. In the twists of history, Finland found itself fighting with Hitler against Stalin during the very years of the Final Solution. In spite of this, not a single Finnish Jew was harassed, and Finland managed to save a few hundred Jewish refugees from Central Europe. The moral dilemma now is: could more have been done? Seven refugees perished in Auschwitz because Finland returned them. The film tells the tales of Finnish Jews and the refugees who survived here: three were awarded the Iron Cross by the Wehrmacht - who did not realize at first they were Jewish. The only field synagogues on this side of the front were in Finland. There are several prominent public figures amongst the interviewees. Ben Zyskowicz is a major figure in the Finnish Parliament. In the final scene he tells that his father was the only survivor of his family. All others were murdered. The film is made with an austere style without effects of any kind. It does not need any.

Eurodisc Playlist For 11.39.09

100430 / G / US etc. / 1997 / various / / music video

Eurodisc Playlist For 11.39.09 / Musiikkikooste 11-39-09. PC: Pioneer Video Manufacturing. DIST: Ulkokaupat. Laserdisc. Viewed on big screen projection in Helsinki, VET, Monday 27 October 1997.
Backstreet Boys: Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) **
Will Smith: Men In Black **
Boyzone: Picture Of You **
Hanson: Where’s The Love **
Bellini: Samba De Janeiro **
Texas: Black Eyed Boy **
U2: Last Night On Earth ***
R. Kelly: Gotham City **
The Verve: Bitter Sweet Symphony **
Mark Owen: I Am What I Am **

German Natdisc Playlist For 18.01.09

100429 / G / DE etc. / 1997 / various / / music video

German Natdisc Playlist For 18.01.09 / Musiikkikooste 18-01-09. PC: Pioneer Video Manufacturing. DIST: Ulkokaupat. Laserdisc. Viewed on big screen projection in Helsinki, VET, Monday 27 October 1997.
Dr. Motte & Westbam: Sunshine *
Tic Tac Toe: Mr Wichtig *
Rammstein: Du hast *
Garcia: Bamboleo *
Nena: Let It Rain *
DJ Sammy & Carisma: Prince Of Love *
Masterboy: La Ola Hand In Hand *
No Mercy: Kiss You All Over *
Strike: I Have Peace *
Age Of Love: The Age Of Love *

The Four Feathers

028019 / 12 / GB / 1939 / Korda, Zoltan / / war

Four Feathers, The / Neljä sulkaa. PC: London Film Productions. P: Alexander Korda. D: Zoltan Korda. PD: Vincent Korda. CAST: John Clements (Harry Faversham), Ralph Richardson (Capt. John Durrance), Jack Allen (Ltn. Willoughby), Donald Gray (Peter Burroughs). 114’. MPAA Production Code Seal of Approval 2457. Viewed as a VHS PAL video cassette big screen projection in Helsinki, VET, Monday 27 October 1997. **** Good old-fashioned war adventure on loyalty and honour in the African territories of the British Empire. Breathtaking photography by Georges Perinal, Osmond Borradaile, and Jack Cardiff. A lean, dynamic screenplay by R.C. Sherriff, Lajos Biro, and Arthur Wimperis. A producer’s dream, its Rolls Royce parts seamlessly fitted together in the factory of Alexander Korda.

Les Travailleurs de la mer (1918) (1997 restoration La Cinémathèque française)

André Antoine: Les Travailleurs de la mer (FR 1918). Collection Jean-Pierre Berthomé.

/ / FR / 1918 / Antoine / / drama

Travailleurs de la mer, Les / Havets arbetare. PC: S.C.A.G.L. D+SC: Antoine – based on the novel (1866) by Victor Hugo, in English Toilers of the Sea, in Finnish Meren ahertajat. DP: Paul Castanci, René Guichard. CAST: Romuald Joubé, Andrée Brabant, Armand Tallier. 35 mm restored tinted from La Cinémathèque française. 1854 m /18 fps/ 90’. Rehearsed Finnish earphone translation by Lena Talvio. Synthetizator accompaniment by Johannes Raumonen. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Orion, Sunday 19 October 1997. *** Good solid drama made vigorous by real location shooting by the wild ocean. The photography is exquisite, and the film archives made a good job in rescuing the film that was on the border of extinction.

Also filmed by Raoul Walsh as Sea Devils (US 1953) with Rock Hudson and Yvonne De Carlo.

Henry de Hem: Les Travailleurs de la mer (FR 1866). Gravure sur bois. Illustration de périodique. Maison de Victor Hugo - Hauteville House. 2017.0.2965.2. Paris Musées: Les Travailleurs de la mer.

The Jazz Singer (1927)

016110 / G / US / 1927 / Crosland, Alan / / music

Jazz Singer, The / Jazzlaulaja. PC: Warner Bros. EX: Jack Warner. D: Alan Crosland. Based on the play by Samson Raphaelson and his short story ”Day of Atonement”. Music performed by the Vitaphone Orchestra. CAST: Al Jolson (Jakob Rabinowitz / Jack Robin), Eugenie Besserer (Mammy - Sara Rabinowitz), Warner Oland (Cantor Rabinowitz), May McAvoy (Mary Dale), Cantor Josef Rosenblatt. 89’. 1,2. Originally a silent film with sound on disc. The Israeli Film Archive print screened had sound on film. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Saturday 18 October 1997. *** 70th Anniversary Celebration. Bad direction, bad acting, and bad camerawork. Even Al Jolson does not help. Pop dinosaurs don’t project in films even now in the age of Madonna, and that curse started with Jolson: charisma magnetic to a huge live audience does not transfer automatically to a great film performance. I don’t even like Jolson’s songs, although I’d love to see a feature-length concert documentary of him. He is perhaps even after Elvis and The Beatles the most legendary performer of the century. To sum up, here is a rare instance where a magnificent screenplay shines through a clumsy mise-en-scene. The story is strong and simple. It is the story of popular culture: the reconciliation of the sacred and the profane. ”In show business we have our own religion, too”. The calling of show business can also be holy. Jack says that performing is now more important to him than anything else. The Jazz Singer is one of the most blatant Oedipal stories of the screen. Challenging his father, disowned by him, but never forgotten by mother, Jakob / Jack wanders through the world searching for his soul. Jakie’s first song is dedicated to ”Mother Divine”. ”He is not my boy anymore. He belongs to the whole world now”, says the mother crying in the audience. The father falls on his deathbed, and on Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, Jack takes his place singing the ”Kol Nidre”. The father’s ghost blesses the son and vanishes. The scene is one of the most electrifying in film history. Musically, it’s Jolson’s best in the film. The other religious performances are great, as well, especially that of Cantor Josef Rosenblatt.

A Corner In Wheat (1997 screening of a 35 mm print from Münchner Filmmuseum)

D. W. Griffith: A Corner in Wheat (US 1909). The wheat king (Frank Powell) is found crushed under his wheat just when he has achieved total control of the world market.

/ / US / 1909 / Griffith, D. W. / / drama

Corner In Wheat, A. PC: Biograph. D: D. W. Griffith. CAST: James Kirkwood, Linda Arvidson, Frank Powell. 292 m /15 fps/ 17’. Münchner Filmmuseum print. Grand piano: Donald Sosin. Le Giornate Muto (GCM), Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, on Saturday, 18 October 1997. **** The title means wheat monopoly. As I knew previously only a 16 mm paper print transfer of the film, the discovery was startling. Firstly, in contrast to the clumsy and pedestrian Griffiths of only a year earlier. Secondly, in comparison to any modern filmmaking. The laconic force, the immediacy, the boldness of the idea. Lastly, there is the theme of exploitation: the power of the grain speculators versus the suffering of the have-nots.

...

Russell Merritt (GCM 1997): "A Corner in Wheat, shot mid-November 1909, occupies a pivotal role in Griffith's career at Biograph, and more generally, in early motion picture history. It is fair to say that film audiences had never seen anything quite like it: a movie that brought principles of parallel editing to new levels of abstraction, stretched narrative form as never before, and above all, used the power of moving images to express outrage over an ongoing social injustice." -RM

Pabst wieder sehen

/ / DE / 1997 / Pabst, G.W. / / documentary

Pabst wieder sehen / Revoir Pabst. PC: ZDF. D: Wolfgang Jacobsen, Martin Koerber, René Perraudin. ARTE Betacam PAL big screen projection 60’. Deutsche Fassung. Pordenone, Ridotto del Verdi, Saturday 18 October 1997. **** A first rate documentary on the elusive and erratic genius. Lots of exciting new footage from recently discovered materials and the latest restorations of Münchner Filmmuseum.

Julius Pinschewer’s Commercials Part II: Kupferberg Gold Champagne

/ / DE / 1912-1922 / Pinschewer, Julius / commercial

Brilliant prints from Bundesarchiv Berlin. 18 fps. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Friday, 17 October 1997.
Pierrot auf dem Eise! (1920)
Marionetten (1922)
Schmuggler-Jagd (1920)
Feindlichen Brüder, Die (1920)
Faun und Mädchen. Ein Schattenspiel von Julius Pinschewer (1920)
Ahnenbild, Das (1920)
Colombinchen (1920)
Tanz der Flaschen II (1912)
Sekt-Zauber (1920) DP: Guido Seeber.

Will Day IV – Points de vue sur le monde

Cecil M. Hepworth: Panorama of the Paris Exhibition nº 3 (GB 1900). My screenshot from: / view movie at: YouTube: 1900 – Panorama of the Paris Exhibition nº 3.

The Prince of Wales on the Deck of the ”Britannia” on the Riviera. GB 1897.

John Tester Queen Victoria’s State Visit to Ireland. GB 1900
Panoramic View on the Thames. GB 1900. Cecil Hepworth
Panoramic View of the Paris Exhibition. GB 1900. Cecil Hepworth
London Prepared to Make the Coronation of Edward VII a Wonderful Spectacle. GB 1901
Edward VII’s Delhi Durbar. GB 1902.
Memorial to Indian Prince at Bexhill. GB 1910. Gaumont Graphic
St. Martin-De-Ré. A Convoy of Convicts Departs For a French Penal Settlement. GB 1912. Pathé War The War of the Five Nations. GB 1912. Pathé’s Animated Gazette
State Visit of Their Majesties to Berlin for the Wedding of the Kaiser’s Daughter. GB 1910. Gaumont Graphic
French Train Disaster at Melun. GB 1913. Gaumont Graphic
London Wants a Dreadnought. The Great Demonstration in Trafalgar Square. GB 1913. Gaumont Graphic
A Trip to the White Sea Fisheries. GB 1909. Rosie Films. D: Joe Rosenthal

Der weisse Teufel / The White Devil

Alexandre Volkoff: Der weisse Teufel (1930). Ivan Mosjoukine as Hadzhi Murat.

Alexandre Volkoff: Der weisse Teufel (1930). Hadzhi Murat (Ivan Mosjoukine) and his son (Kenneth Rive). Quelle: Murnau-Stiftung, DIF, © Horst von Harbou - Deutsche Kinemathek.

Alexandre Volkoff: Der weisse Teufel (1930). Hadzhi Murat (Ivan Mosjoukine). Quelle: Murnau-Stiftung, DIF, © Horst von Harbou - Deutsche Kinemathek

016331 / G / DE / 1929 / Volkoff, Alexandre / drama

Weisse Teufel, Der / The White Devil / Valkoinen paholainen.
    PC: Ufa. P: Noé Bloch, Gregor Rabinovich.
    D: Alexandre Volkoff. Based on the story Hadzhi Murat by Leo Tolstoy. DP: Curt Courant, Nikolai Toporkoff. M performed by Ufaton-Orchester.
    C: Ivan Mozzhuhin (Hadzhi Murat), Betty Amann (Saira), Lil Dagover (Nelidova). B&w silent with music track. Sonorized SDK print 96’.
    In the presence of Kenneth Rive, who plays Hadzhi Murat’s son.
    Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Friday 17 October 1997.

**** Another forgotten masterpiece from the last years of the silent era. Marvellous production has great dramatic force and an excellent performance by the great Mozzhuhin… in his best role? I have seen some 10-15 of his films, from his early Russian farces to Casanova, from Father Sergius to Michael Strogoff, and this beats them all. This is also one of the best Tolstoy film adaptations.

Abwege / The Devious Path (Munich print GCM 1997)

G. W. Pabst: Abwege / The Devious Path (DE 1928) with Gustav Diessl (Rechtsanwalt Dr. Thomas Beck) and Brigitte Helm (Irene Beck).

015431 / 16 / DE / 1928 / Pabst, G. W. / / drama

Abwege / Harhateillä / Hett blod / Crisis / Desire / Crise / Crisi. PC: Erda-Film. D: G. W. Pabst. DP: Theodor Sparkuhl. CAST: Brigitte Helm, Gustav Diessl, Hertha von Walther. Silent b&w. Münchner Filmmuseum print /20 fps/ 96’. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Friday 17 October 1997. *** A discovery: a forgotten Pabst film that was 25 years ahead of its time, charting the same areas of alienated relationships as Rossellini and Antonioni in the 1950s. Brigitte Helm ”in her best performance”? Maybe.

There It Is

/ / US / 1928 / Bowers, Charles R. / comedy

There It Is. PC: Educational Pictures. D: Charles R. Bowers. CAST: Charles R. Bowers. GEH print /22 fps/ 20’. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Friday 17 October 1997. **** Weird comedy featuring Scotland Yard and Daffydil Sanitarium.

At The Villa Rose

/ / GB / 1920 / Elvey, Maurice / / crime

At The Villa Rose. PC: Stoll Film. D: Maurice Elvey. Based on the novel by A.E.W. Mason. CAST: Manora Thew, Langhorne Burton, Norman Page. 1877 m /18 fps/ 91’. Silent, tinted + toned by Harold Brown. NFTVA print presented by Clyde Jeavons. Piano by Edward von Past. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Thursday, 16 October, 1997. ** Dull detective mystery.

High Treason

016464 / 16 / GB / 1929 / Elvey, Maurice / / science fiction

High Treason / Sodan uhka vuonna 1940. PC: Gaumont British. D: Maurice Elvey. CAST: Jameson Thomas, Benita Hume, Basil Gill. 2056 m /24 fps/ 75’. Silent version. NFTVA. Piano by Neil Brand. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Thursday 16 October 1997. * Utterly boring.

Nathan der Weise / Nathan the Wise (1922)

Manfred Noa : Nathan der Weise / Nathan the Wise (DE 1922) starring (right) Werner Krauss.

/ / DE / 1922 / Noa, Manfred / / historical drama
Nathan der Weise / Die Erstürmung Jerusalems. PC: Filmhaus Bavaria. D: Manfred Noa. Based on the play (1779) by Lessing. CAST: Werner Krauss (Nathan), Carl de Vogt, Max Schreck. 

    2675 m /18 fps/ 128 min
    Unreleased in Finland.

    Münchner Filmmuseum / Gosfilmofond. 

    Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Thursday 16 October 1997. 

*** Epic adaptation of Lessing’s play made during the Golden Era of German cinema presents exciting mass scenes and a striking mise-en-scène based on symmetry and graphic forms, including masks and vignettes. The film is faithful to the concept of the play - the tragedy of the ”Holy War” of Jerusalem. The staging of the tale of the three rings is impressive. Each of the sons (symbolising Judaism, Christianity and Islam) is given ”the only true ring” by the father. ”He who has the true ring will be revealed by his love of humanity”. It is a tale no less relevant today than when it was written. The film’s release in Munich led to the earliest anti-semitic riots of the Nazi Party.

Will Day III - Le Cinéma des origines

/ / GB / 1890 / Friese-Greene, William / non-fiction
Hyde Park, London. Vertical 65mm transferred to 35mm. 1’.
King’s Road, Chelsea, London. 60mm transferred to 35mm. 1’.
Stereoscopic Film: Hyde Park. 155mm transferred to 35mm. 1’. The greatest treasures of the Will Day collection: the Friese-Greene fragments probably represent ”the world’s first films on celluloid, the first perforated films, and the first films shot on outside locations” (DR). They look beautiful today transferred to the standard film format.
/ / FR / 1896 / Demenÿ, Georges / non-fiction PC: Gaumont-Demenÿ, Comptoir Générale de Photographie. 58mm transferred to 35mm.
Station Ménilmontant, chemin de fer de ceinture
Dancing Girl No. 2
Débarcadère du bateau à vapeur Wilhelm Tell
Dispute espagnole / / US / 1897 / Mutoscope and Biograph / non-fiction PC: Mutoscope and Biograph Company. 68mm transferred to 35mm
[Halle au vin, No 1]
[Halle au vin, No 2]
[Cachette, La] / / GB / 1898 / Biokam camera / / non-fiction Short movies filmed on Biokam camera. 17,5mm transferred to 35mm.
Bain de mer No 1
Bain de mer No 2
Rival Clothiers, The / / GB / 1903 / Jumeaux & Davidson / non-fiction
Trichrome Experimental Film. Colour system by Benjamin Jumeaux and William Norman Lascelles Davidson. / / GB / 1912 / Friese-Greene, William / non-fiction
Posters On Hoarding. Colour system by William Friese-Greene, produced by Lascelles Davidson. / / GB / 1896 / Paul, Robert William / non-fiction
Engineer’s Shop At Nelson Dock
Westminster
Blackfriars Bridge / / GB / 1896 / Collings, Esme / / non-fiction
Children Paddling / / GB / 1899 / Bennett-Stanford, John / non-fiction
Troops Passing Over Mooder River / / GB / 1899 / Hepworth, Cecil / non-fiction
Arrival of Train-Load of Visitors at Henley Station

Will Day II - Comiques et dramas

Devil In the Studio, The. GB 1901. PC: Paul’s Animatograph Works. 2’. Mephistopheles does tricks in an artist’s studio.
How To Stop a Motor Car. GB 1902. PC: Hepworth Manufacturing. 3’. A wild trick film.
Village Fire Brigade, The. GB 1907. PC: Williamson Kinematograph. 6’
That Fatal Sneeze. GB 1907. PC: Hepworth Manufacturing. 5’. Apocalyptic sneezes.
Why Girls Leave Home. US 1908. PC: Edison. 7’. A parody of melodrama histrionics.
If We Only Knew. US 1913. PC: Biograph. D: Anthony Sullivan. CAST: Blanche Sweet, Henry B. Walthall, Harry Carey. 13’. Visually beautiful short in the Griffith style. Interesting to see Carey’s signature gesture here.

Will Day I - Autour de Will Day (1997 Pordenone screening)

"Cinematograph (Robert Royou Beard). R. R. Beard cinematograph projector with Maltese cross mechanism, ca 1897. Operated by Will Day, ca 1930." Photo and caption from: Who's Who of Victorian Cinema. © 2025 Stephen Herbert, Luke McKernan and individual contributors.

The Evolution of the Film. GB 1924. PC: Pathé Pictorial. 11’.
Will Day shows off his collection: Le Thaumatrope, Anorthoscope, Phenakistiscope, Zootrope, Praxinoscope, Praxinoscope Theatre, The Kinora, Animatograph, Méliès Projector, Cinématographe Lumière, Matagraph 1897.

The Inventor of the Kinematography. GB 1921. PC: Gaumont Graphic. 4’. Film obituary of William Friese-Greene including funeral footage: the bouquet is in the form of a projector and screen bearing the words ”The End”.

Whitewashing the Ceiling. GB 1914. P: Will Day. D: Joe Rosenthal. 13’ excerpt. Adaptation of a famous music hall sketch by Will Evans.

Will Day Home Movies. GB 1913. 2’

Hommage à Will Day 1873-1936

”Will Day was the world’s first collector of everything pertaining to archaeology and beginnings of cinema, and also a pioneer collector of actual films” (DR). Presented by Michelle Aubert and David Robinson. The films of the Will Day collection, restored by the Archive du Film du CNC, were shown publicly for the first time in Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, 16-17 October 1997. **** = invaluable.

Agadati

/ / IL / 1997 / Agadati, Baruch / documentary

Agadati: Screen of an Artist. PC: Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive. D+SC: Hillel Tryster. Betacam PAL big screen projection. 37’. Pordenone, Ridotto del Verdi, Wednesday, 15 October 1997. Portrait of Baruch Agadati (1895-1976), versatile pioneer filmmaker of Israel. An exciting melange of many kinds of rare old film footage.

Enrico Caruso: Lucia Di Lammermoor

/ / FR / 1908 / Caruso, Enrico / / opera

Enrico Caruso: Lucia Di Lammermoor. P: George Mendel. Gaetano Donizetti. CAST: Enrico Caruso. Print: Lobster Film. B&w with synchronized sound. 4’. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Wednesday, 15 October 1997. **** "Chi mi frena in tal momento". A sensational opera discovery: the grande finale of the second act of Lucia Di Lammermoor performed by six opera singers - among them Enrico Caruso as Edgardo. The primitive recording conveys the timbre of Caruso’s voice. Its conquering power is well-known from Caruso records. Here we get to witness his noble carriage and commanding presence, as well. - Comment 2008: the synchronization has been made afterwards, but it is faithful to the original sound and image of the era.

Yvette (1928) (1997 La Cinémathèque française print)

Cavalcanti: Yvette (FR 1927).

/ / FR / 1927 / Cavalcanti / / drama

Yvette. PC: Néo-Films. P: Pierre Braunberger. D: Cavalcanti. Based on the short story by Guy de Maupassant. CAST: Catherine Hessling, Ica de Lenkeffy, Blanche Bernis. /22 fps/ ca 90’. Beautiful print from La Cinémathèque française. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Tuesday 14 October 1997. * Cavalcanti’s riposte to Renoir’s Nana. Print beautiful, film boring.

What a Whooper

/ / US / 1921 / Pollard, Snub / / comedy

What a Whooper. PC: Hal Roach Studios. P: Hal Roach. CAST: Harry ”Snub” Pollard. Lobster Film. /18 fps/ 13’. French titles. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Tuesday, 14 October 1997. **** Harry returns from the bar telling his wife he was fishing. His friend tells his spouse he was hunting. Unfortunately, the fish and the duck have traded places.

Une femme a passé

/ / FR / 1928 / Jayet, René / / drama

Femme a passé, Une. D: René Jayet. CAST: Suzanne Talba, Camille Bardou, Gilbert Perigneaux. /24 fps/ 54’. Silent, toned. Brilliant print from Lobster Film. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Tuesday 14 October 1997. *** A visually charming French barge story in the lines of L’Hirondelle et la Mesange and L’Atalante. Fickle woman ruins lives of men and leaves them all. Suzanne Talbe: ”tous les désirs, toute la volupté résumés dans un sourire”.

A Hundred Years Of Boxing In Cinema

Enoch J. Rector: The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (1897).

Fred C. Quimby: The Battle of the Century (1921) with Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier.

A special programme compiled and commented by Luke McKernan (NFTVA) for Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 1997. Piano: Neil Brand. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Tuesday, 14 October 1997. ***

”Boxing was an essential component of the birth of the cinema, forming the subject of some of the first Kinetoscope films, forcing films to be first projected on a screen, and encouraging the production of longer films” (LM).

Leonard-Cushing Fight (US 1894). PC: Edison. D: W. K. L. Dickson. /30 fps/ 1’ excerpt. The first boxing and sporting film ever made, filmed in the Black Maria, featuring Mike Leonard and Jack Cushing. One of the six rounds filmed.

The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (US 1897). PC: Veriscope. 63 mm transferred to 35 mm 1,75. /24 fps/ 7’ excerpt. Gentleman Jim Corbett meets Bob Fitzsimmons. The world’s first feature film lasted over 90’.

The Great Boxing Contest (GB 1907). PC: Charles Urban Trading Company. /18 fps/ 5’.
English heavyweights Gunner Moir vs. Tiger Smith.

Sights and Scenes from the Johnson-Jeffries Fight (US 1910). PC: J.&J. Company. D: J. Stuart Blackton. Short GB version /18 fps/ 16’. The black champion Jack Johnson and the ”white hope” Jim Jeffries. Fear of racial unrest caused an interstate anti-fight film law to be passed that remained in force until the 1930s.

Bill’s Day Out (FR 1911). PC: Lux. Patouillard (Bill in English-speaking countries) visits a fairground boxing booth featuring two black boxers - Bob Scanton and P. Warren.

Trainings for the Great Boxing Contest (GB 1911). /18 fps/ 2’ excerpt. Newsreel footage of two great black heavyweight boxers: Sam McVey and Sam Langford.

The Man To Beat Jack Johnson (GB 1910). PC: Walter Tyler. /18 fps/ 3’. Four-year old Willie Saunders as a boxing monster. On the strength of this film he became a child star in Eclair’s Willy comedy series.

Jack Johnson Paying a Visit to the Manchester Docks (GB 1916). /18 fps/ 2’. Newsreel footage on Johnson when he was a fugitive from American justice, having been convicted on a ”white slavery” charge.

The Battle of the Century (US 1921). PC: Fred C. Quimby. /18 fps/ 35’. **** America’s world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey meets France’s Georges Carpentier. One of the all-time great boxing documentaries, standing up to comparison with When We Were Kings.

Taohua qi xue ji / Peach Blossom Weeps Tears of Blood

Wancang Bu (Richard Poh): 桃花泣血記 / Taohua qi xue ji / Peach Blossom Weeps Tears of Blood (CN 1931). Ruan Lingyu (Miss Lim), Jin Yan (King Teh-en), S. Y. Li = Lili Zhou (Mrs. King).

/ / CN / 1931 / Poh, Richard (= Bu, Wancang) / / melodrama

桃花泣血記 / Tao hua qi xue ji / The Peach Girl / Сборщица персиков. PC: Lianhua Film Company. D: Richard Poh. DP: Huang Shaofen. CAST: Ruan Lingyu, Jin Yan. Print from Zhongguo Dianying Ziliaoguan. /20 fps/ 100’. Silent b&w. Grand piano: Philip C. Carli. Chinese and English titles. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Tuesday, 14 October 1997. *** Melodrama about love across the tracks is full of exciting detail on the everyday life. The cinematography is first rate, and Ruan Lingyu is charismatic as the peach blossom girl. The peach tree is withered as we reach the end but the spineless son of the opium-addicted landlady-mother receives the dying heroine’s baby: ”I shall live for her sake”. ”Like teardrops petals from the peach blossoms fall upon her grave”.

Julius Pinschewer’s Commercials Part I: Ads of the Avantgarde

/ / DE / 1912-1930 / Pinschewer, Julius / commercial

Showcase of the pioneering producer of experimental commercials. Brilliant prints from Bundesarchiv Berlin. 18 fps. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Monday, 13 October, 1997.

Nähkasten, Der (1912) Prym push-buttons. A living sewing-kit.

Tanz der Flaschen I (1912) Maggi sauce. Dance of Maggi bottles.

”Dort wo der Rhein…” (1927) AN: Walther Ruttmann. Hand-coloured. Kölnische Zeitung. Newsworld montage.

Am Nil (1921) Excelsior tyres. Even crocodile’s teeth fail to damage them.

Wunder, Das. Ein Film in Farben (1922) AN: Walther Ruttmann. Hand-coloured. Kantorowicz liquor. Two faces. *

Wiedergefundene Paradies, Das (1925) AN: Walther Ruttmann. Hand-coloured. Florists. ”Lasst Blumen sprechen”.

Aufstieg, Der (1925) AN: Walther Ruttmann, Lore Leudesdorff. Hand-coloured. GESOLEI exposition. Bauhaus.

Spiel der Wellen (1926) AN: Walther Ruttmann, Lore Leudesdorff. Hand-coloured. AEG. Radio waves.

KIPHO (1925) FX: Guido Seeber. Kino-Photo-Ausstellung. A vision of the cinema.

Im Filmatelier (1927) AN: Hedwig Otto, Gerda Otto. Bayer’s Aspirin. Puppet animation.

Kirmes in Hollywood. Ein Puppenspiel (1930) AN: Hedwig Otto, Gerda Otto. Nestlé’s chocolate. Keaton vs. Jannings.

Barcarole, Die (1924) AN: Lotte Reiniger. Mauxion chocolate. Romeo and Juliet as silhouettes.

Chinesische Nachtigall, Die (1929) Tri-Ergon disks of Tonbild-Syndikat. 42mm transfer to 16mm. *

En rade / Stranded

Cavalcanti: En rade / Stranded (FR 1927).

/ / FR / 1927 / Cavalcanti / / drama

En rade. Un rêve irréalisé – un drame sans dénouement. PC: Néo-Films. P: Pierre Braunberger. D: Cavalcanti. SC: Claude Heyman. CAST: Catherine Hessling (la servante), Nathalie Lissenko (la blanchisseuse). Ca 80’. Silent b&w. La Cinémathèque française. Piano: Neil Brand. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Monday, 13 October 1997. ** Melancholy, dreamy scenes at a port. A fragile film in the tradition of Fièvre might work better with careful musical accompaniment. Hessling is not a versatile actress.

Howard Hawks: American Artist

/ / GB / 1997 / Hawks, Howard / / documentary

Howard Hawks: American Artist. PC: BFI. D: Kevin McDonald. Consultant: Todd McCarthy. Narrator: Stephen Frears. Featuring: Lauren Bacall, Angie Dickinson, James Caan, Harry Carey, Jr., Peter Bogdanovich, William Friedkin. Archival footage of Howard Hawks and his films. VHS PAL big screen projection. 60’. Pordenone, Ridotto del Verdi, Monday, 13 October 1997. **** A good lean documentary mixing the familiar and the unfamiliar. No new revelations for readers of the biography by Todd McCarthy. But a perfect joy all the same. - Comment 2008: the Hawks women realize they were saying the same lines from one decade to another. They also realize they resemble Hawks, himself.

La Vengeance du Gâte-Sauce / The Cook's Revenge

Georges Méliès: La Vengeance du Gâte-Sauce / The Cook's Revenge (FR 1900).

/ / FR / 1900 / Méliès, Georges / fantasy
La Vengeance du Gâte-Sauce. PC: Star-Film. P+D: Georges Méliès. 17 m /16 fps/ 53”. Silent b&w. GEH/Vevey. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Monday 13 October 1997. Loose flying heads. - Georges Méliès: The 1997 Discoveries

Le Repas fantastique

/ / FR / 1900 / Méliès, Georges / fantasy

Repas fantastique, Le. PC: Star-Film. P+D: Georges Méliès. 28 m /16 fps/ 1’32”. Silent b&w. GEH/Vevey. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Monday 13 October 1997. The dinner table and other furniture rebel against men. - Georges Méliès: The 1997 Discoveries

Spiritisme abracadabrant / Up-to-Date Spiritualism

Georges Méliès: Spiritisme abracadabrant (FR 1900).

/ / FR / 1900 / Méliès, Georges / fantasy 

Spiritisme abracadabrant / Amazing Spiritism. PC: Star-Film. P+D: Georges Méliès. 21 m /16 fps/ 1’08”. Silent b&w. GEH/Vevey. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Monday 13 October 1997. The unsuccessful attempt to remove one’s hat. - Georges Méliès: The 1997 Discoveries

Edison Motion Pictures, 1890 - 1900

/ / US / 1890-1900 / Edison, Thomas A. / non-fiction

PC: The Edison Manufacturing Company. Print source: Library of Congress.

World premiere in Pordenone of restored 35mm film prints copied from 35mm paper prints. Speed varies. The early ones were to be viewed at 20-40 fps. Until 1895 the films were meant for Kinetoscope viewing. Since 1896 they were manufactured to be projected. The duration was typically one minute. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, piano accompaniment, 12-18 October 1997.

The viewing prints based on the paper prints do no do justice to the photographic quality of the originals. Of the 936 films, 539 survive. I saw close to a hundred of them. The films are non-fiction if not otherwise indicated.

Edison was the only motion picture producer in the world before 1895 and the leading American producer and distributor of 35mm films through 1900. He built the world’s first motion picture studio, Black Maria, for his productions.

The Pordenone retrospective was mounted to accompany the publication of Charles Musser’s seminal book - Edison Motion Pictures, 1890-1990. An Annotated Filmography (1997).

Mr. Edison At Work In His Chemical Laboratory (1897) - Edison # 344

Giant Coal Dumper (1897) - Edison # 353

Corner Madison and State Streets, Chicago (1897) - Edison # 354

Armour’s Electric Trolley (1897) - Edison # 355

Sheep Run, Chicago Stockyards (1897) - Edison # 356

Cattle Driven To Slaughter (1897) - Edison # 357

Racing At Sheepshead Bay (1897) - Edison # 358

Free-For-All Race At Charter Oak Park (1897) - Edison # 360

Philadelphia Express, Jersey Central Railway (1897) - Edison # 361

Admiral Cigarette (1897) - Edison # 362. Commercial: ”We all smoke”.

Overland Express Arriving At Helena, Montana (1897) - Edison # 363

Coaches Arriving At Mammoth Hot Springs (1897) - Edison # 365

Tourists Going Round Yellowstone Park (1897) - Edison # 366

Lower Falls, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone (1897) - Edison # 371

S.S. Queen Loading (1897) - Edison # 373

Loading Baggage For Klondike, No. 5 (1897) - Edison # 374

S.S. Queen Leaving Dock (1897) - Edison # 375

Horses Loading For Klondike, No. 9 (1897) - Edison # 376

Loading Baggage For Klondike (1897) - Edison # 376.1

S.S. Williamette Leaving For Klondike (1897) - Edison # 377

First Avenue, Seattle, Washington (1897) - Edison # 378

Fast Mail, Norther Pacific Railroad (1897) - Edison # 379

Dancing Darkey Boy (1897) - Edison # 385 - dance

Fisherman’s Luck (1897) - Edison # 386 - comedy

Bowery Waltz (1897) - Edison # 387- dance

Charity Ball (1897) - Edison # 388 - dance

Leander Sisters (1897) - Edison # 390 - dance

Cupid And Psyche (1897) - Edison # 391 - dance

Sutro Baths No. 1 (1897) - Edison # 392

Sutro Baths No. 2 (1897) - Edison # 393

Lurline Baths (1897) - Edison # 394

Fisherman’s Wharf (1897) - Edison # 395

Fishing Smacks (1897) - Edison # 396

Arrest In Chinatown, San Francisco (1897) - Edison # 397

S.S. Coptic At Dock (1897) - Edison # 398

S.S. Coptic Sailing Away (1897) - Edison # 399

S.S. Coptic In The Harbor (1897) - Edison # 400

Stanford University , California (1897) - Edison # 401

Hotel Vendome, San Jose, Cal. (1897) - Edison # 402

Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, Cal. (1897) - Edison # 403

Surf At Monterey (1897) - Edison # 404

Hotel Del Monte (1897) - Edison # 405

Launch Of Life Boat (1897) - Edison # 410

Capsize Of Lifeboat (1897) - Edison # 411

Return Of Lifeboat (1897) - Edison # 414

Chrissie Sheridan (1897) - Edison # 427 - dance

What Demoralized The Barber Shop (1897) - Edison # 443? - comedy: women’s feet

Wash Day In Mexico (1897) - Edison # 450?

South Spring Street, Los Angeles (1898) - Edison # 470

Going Through The Tunnel (1898) - Edison # 477

Sunset Limited, Southern Pacific Railway (1898) - Edison # 478

Freight Train (1898) - Edison # 479

Launch of Japanese Man-Of-War Chitose (1898) - Edison # 480

Launching, No. 2 (1898) - Edison # 481

After Launching (1898) - Edison # 482

Union Iron Works (1898) - Edison # 483

Feeding Sea Gulls (1898) - Edison # 484

Procession Of Floats (1898) - Edison # 485

Native Daughters (1898) - Edison # 486

Parade of Chinese (1898) - Edison # 487

Mount Tamalpais R.R., No. 1 (1898) - Edison # 488

Mount Tamalpais R.R., No. 2 (1898) - Edison # 489

Mount Taw, R.R., No. 3 (1898) - Edison # 490

Hockey Match On Ice (1898) - Edison # 495

Burial Of The ”Maine” Victims (1898) - Edison # 533

N.Y. Journal Despatch Yacht ”Buccaneer” (1898) - Edison # 535

Wreck Of The Battleship ”Maine” (1898) - Edison # 536

U.S. Battleship ”Indiana” (1898) - Edison # 540

Street Arab, A (1898) - Edison # 551 - breakdance

Cuban Refugees Waiting For Rations (1898) - Edison # 563

Troops Embarking At San Francisco (1898) - Edison # 576

Troop Ships For The Philippines (1898) - Edison # 577

Roosevelt’s Rough Riders Embarking For Santiago (1898) - Edison # 590

Cuban Volunteers Embarking (1898) - Edison # 591

U.S. Troop Landing At Daiquiri, Cuba (1898) - Edison # 595

Pack Mules With Ammunition On The Santiago Trail (1898) - Edison # 599

U.S. Cruiser ”Olympia” Leading Naval Parade (1899) - Edison # 735

Admiral Dewey Leading Land Parade, No. 1 (1899) - Edison # 741

Columbia Winning The Cup (1899) - Edison # 761

2nd Special Service Battalion, Canadian Infantry, Parade (1899) - Edison # 763

2nd Special Service Battalion, Canadian Infantry, Embarking For South Africa (1899) - Edison # 764

Automobile Parade (1899) - Edison # 767

Dick Croker Leaving Tammany Hall (1899) - Edison # 769

Why Jones Discharged His Clerks (1899) - Edison # 776 - comedy

Why Mrs. Jones Got A Divorce (1899) - Edison # 777 - comedy

Dull Razor, A (1900) - Edison # 784 - comedy

Animated Luncheon, An (1900) - Edison # 785 - magic

Faust and Marguerite (1900) - Edison # 786 - magic

Magician, The (1900) - Edison # 787 - magic

Ching Ling Foo Outdone (1900) - Edison # 788 - magic

Kiss, The (1900) - Edison # 789 - remake of the May Irwin Kiss

Artist’s Dream, An (1900) - Edison # 795 - magic

Mystic Swing, The (1900) - Edison # 796 - magic

Uncle Josh In A Spooky Hotel (1900) - Edison # 797 - magic

The Flag Lieutenant (1927)

Maurice Elvey: The Flag Lieutenant (GB 1927).

Maurice Elvey: The Flag Lieutenant (GB 1927).

Maurice Elvey, Britain’s Forgotten Man Maurice Elvey, Britain’s forgotten man, directed 180 films between 1913 and 1957. He deserves to stay forgotten, to judge by The Flag Lieutenant, At The Villa Rose, and High Treason.

015270 / 16 / GB / 1926 / Elvey, Maurice / / war

Lippuluutnantti. PC: Astra-National. D: Maurice Elvey. CAST: Henry Edwards, Dorothy Seacombe, Fred Raynham. 1950 m /20 fps/ 76’. Silent b&w. Somnambulistic piano accompaniment by Edward von Past. NFTVA print. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Sunday, 12 October 1997. * Pedestrian tale of noble sacrifice in military service.

Within Our Gates

Oscar Micheaux: Within Our Gates (US 1920). A milestone of African- American cinema. Photo from IMDb, Please click on it to enlarge.

/ / US / 1920 / Micheaux, Oscar / drama

Within Our Gates. PC: Micheaux Book and Film Co. D: Oscar Micheaux. CAST: Evelyn Preer, Charles D. Lucas, Jack Chenault. 1809 m /16 fps/ 98’. Silent. LoC reconstruction based on Spanish print. Piano by Donald Sosin. Pordenone, Cinema Verdi, Sunday, 12 October 1997. * Important example of militant African-American filmmaking, screened as an antidote to Birth of a Nation. Clumsy film contains harrowing scenes of racial violence.