Sadie Thompson (1928)

 

Sadie Thompson (US 1928). Raoul Walsh directs Gloria Swanson.

ANTTI ALANEN: PROGRAM NOTE, 15 NOV 2001

SUOMEN ELOKUVA-ARKISTO / FINLANDS FILMARKIV

35 mm print: George Eastman House, 2620 m /24 fps/ 95 min

The missing finale (5 min) was screened in the 1987 Dennis Doros / Kino International reconstruction with a video projector. Peter von Bagh generously let us access his personal LaserDisc (LD) and player.

Screened at Orion, Helsinki, 15+18 Nov 2001

Sadie Thompson

Lankeemus / Sadie Thompson

 

USA © 1928 Gloria Swanson Productions. Alkuperäinen levitys: United Artists. Ohjaus ja käsikirjoitus: Raoul Walsh – W. Somerset Maughamin novellista "Sade" ("Rain") teoksessa The Trembling of a Leaf (1921) sekä John Coltonin ja Clemence Randolphin siihen perustuvasta näytelmästä Rain: a Play in Three Acts (1923). Maughamin novelli ilmestyi alun perin Smart Set -aikakauslehdessä nimellä Miss Thompson (1921). Apulaisohjaaja: William Tummel. Kuvaus: Oliver Marsh, George Barnes, Robert Kurrle. Lavastus: William Cameron Menzies. Välitekstit ja leikkaus: C. Gardner Sullivan. Tuotantopäällikkö: Pierre Bedard. Pääosissa: Gloria Swanson (Sadie Thompson), Lionel Barrymore (Alfred Atkinson), Raoul Walsh (kers. Tim O'Hara), Blanche Frederici (rouva Atkinson), Charles Lane (tri McPhail), Florence Midgley (rouva McPhail), James A. Marcus (Joe Horn, kauppias), Sophia Artega (Ameena), Will Stanton (aliperämies Bates). Kuvauspaikka: Catalinan saari. Helsingin ensiesitys: 1.12.1929 Kino-Palatsi – maahantuoja: United Artists – tarkastusnumero 15294 – K16 – 8600 ft / 2620 m / 95 min

Restauroitu versio © 1987 Kino International. Johto: Dennis Doros. Aineisto: George Eastman House. Elokuvan viimeinen viisiminuuttinen, joka sisältää ratkaisevan käänteen, tuhoutui 1950-luvulla. Vuonna 1983 Kino International osti oikeudet Gloria Swansonin elokuviin. Vuodeksi 1987, Raoul Walshin syntymän 100-vuotisjuhliksi, loppujakso rekonstruoitiin video- ja laserlevyjulkaisuun filmikatkelmien, stillkuvien ja välitekstien avulla. Kino Internationalin versioon sävelsi musiikin Joseph Turrin. 97 min

Muita filmatisointeja: Sade (Rain, 1932, N: Joan Crawford, O: Lewis Milestone), Sade (Miss Sadie Thompson, 1953, N: Rita Hayworth, O: Curtis Bernhardt).

Paramount-sopimuksensa tultua päätökseen Gloria Swanson ryhtyi itsenäiseksi tuottajaksi, ensimmäisenä elokuvanaan Kohtalon kuvastin (The Love of Sunya, 1927). Todellista rohkeutta hän osoitti valitsemalla seuraavaksi aiheekseen Sadie Thompsonin. Jo tieto filmausaikeesta saattoi hänet riitoihin koko Amerikan sensorien ja ahdasmielisten ryhmien kanssa. Swanson halusi kuitenkin jatkaa kaikista esteistä huolimatta, ja tuloksena oli elokuva, joka on monien mielestä yksi hänen ansiokkaimmistaan.

Vertailu on vääjäämätön Swansonin vuoden 1928 version, Joan Crawfordin vuoden 1932 tulkinnan ja Rita Hayworthin vuoden 1953 yrityksen välillä. Swanson itse piti versiotaan parhaana siksi, että se oli mykkä, eikä Sadien puhetta siksi ollut tarvis sensuroida, ja eräin varauksin se tosiaan on paras. Raoul Walshilla oli enemmän "tuntumaa" aiheeseen kuin Lewis Milestonella, ja vaikka Crawfordin tulkinta tämän ohjauksessa oli mainettaan parempi, hän vaikuttaa myös väkinäiseltä ja vaivautuneelta siinä. Rita Hayworthin versio on värikäs ja rehevä, mutta se on melkeinpä musikaali, ei vailla ansioitaan sekään.

Swanson kertoi usein vaikeuksista joita hän kohtasi saadakseen Sadien valkokankaalle. Kuvaajaa oli vaihdettava monta kertaa, Hays Office tuotti vaivaa puritaanisen pappi Davidsonin suhteen: hänestä oli tehtävä saarnaaja, joka ei kuulu mihinkään tiettyyn kirkkoon. Rahoituksessa ja levityksessä oli vaikeuksia, joiden ratkaisemisessa Joseph P. Kennedy auttoi. Swanson oli nähnyt kuolemattoman Jeanne Eagelsin tulkinnan teatterissa ja murehti miten itse lihallistaisi unohtumattoman Sadien.

Kriitikot olivat innoissaan. Tyypillinen esimerkki elokuvan saamista pohdituista arvosteluista julkaistiin National Board of Review Magazinessa (Films in Reviewin edeltäjässä), jossa Swansonin osasuorituksesta sanottiin seuraavaa: "Vähäisin varauksin hän on erittäin hyvä Sadie. Aluksi hän tuntee houkutusta näytellä, mutta pian hän elää ja on Sadie. Emotionaalisesti hänellä on oikea sointu. Hänen muotokuvansa onnet-tomasta, kovaksikeitetystä, urheasta Sadiesta joka kamppailee pienistäkin onnen murusista, joka löytää itsensä karatessaan elämänsä mustimmasta verkosta – tämä muotokuva on Swan-sonin parhaita. Ensi kertaa tuntuu, että hänellä on arvoisensa henkilöhahmo ja tarina. Sadien aitoon, rehevään luonteeseen hän kohoaa hienovaraisella taiteellaan, joka on niin hienovaraista, että Sadie näyttäytyy paitsi myötätunnon kohteena myös sulokkaana olentona, ihmisenä, joka kamppailee täysi-painoisemman elämän puolesta ja joka on sen arvoinen."

Sadie Thompson, prostituoitu, joka yrittää salata henkilöllisyytensä, kohtaa merisotilaan (ohjaaja Raoul Walsh näytteli tämän osan) ja suostuu naimaan hänet, mutta fanaattinen saarnaaja Alfred Atkinson (jota esittelee väkevästi ja vakuuttavasti Lionel Barrymore) astuu hänen tielleen, houkuttelee naista "tekemään parannuksen" ja "sovittamaan syntinsä" ja sitten paljastaa tekopyhyytensä tempautumalla oman halunsa valtaan ja raiskaamalla naisen, minkä jälkeen hän tekee itsemurhan. Palattuaan kyynisesti hetkeksi vanhaan elämäänsä Sadie päättää aloittaa uuden elämän muualla kersantin kanssa.

Kyseessä oli Raoul Walshin viimeinen näyttelijäsuoritus (edellinen oli vuodelta 1917). Raoul Walsh oli viriili ja maskuliininen O'Hara, mutta kolmesta O'Harasta – Raoul Walsh, William Gargan, Aldo Ray – moni pitää viimeistä parhaana. Kolmesta saarnaajasta – Lionel Barrymore, Walter Huston, José Ferrer – taas keskimmäinen tuntuu vakuuttavimmalta. Ilman muuta Raoul Walsh, jonka jymymenestys What Price Glory? (1926) sai Swansonin valitsemaan hänet ohjaajakseen, suoriutui tehtävästään mukaansatempaavasti. Swanson sai ensimmäisen Academy Award -ehdokkuutensa tästä osasuori-tuksesta.

– Lawrence J. Quirkin mukaan (The Films of Gloria Swanson, 1984)

W. Somerset Maugham itse oli innoissaan tulkinnasta, ja ohjausta kiitettiin yhtenä Raoul Walshin parhaimmista. Hän teki elokuvasta kostean erotiikan merkkiteoksen, jonka miljöötä hallitsee pakkomielteen lailla trooppinen sade. Kaikkialla tuntuu Etelämeren saaren (Samoan Tutuila ja Pago Pago kuvattiin Catalinan saarella) sadekauden aistillinen, raskas, liukas ja märkä atmosfääri, jossa hämäräperäiset ja monimieliset henkilöhahmot kohtaavat toisensa. Muistelmissaan Walsh julkaisee innostuneita kirjeitä, joita lähettivät hänelle Sadien ammatin harjoittajat kaikkialta maailmasta. Niiden aitous jää lukijan pohdittavaksi.

AA 15.11.2001. Raoul Walshin muistelmissa Each Man in His Time (1974) s. 201-213 on mehevä kuvaus elokuvan tuotannosta.

Film concert Napoléon vu par Abel Gance, 2001 Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine, day trip by steam train, Kevin Brownlow restoration, conductor Carl Davis, Camerata Labacensis (Ljubljana)

Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (FR 1927). Albert Dieudonné (Napoléon Bonaparte). Gina Manès (Joséphine de Beauharnais). The final Polyvision sequence. Credit: Photoplay Productions Ltd. From: Paul Cuff: "A monumental reckoning: how Abel Gance’s Napoleon was restored to full glory". Sight & Sound December 2016. Updated 3 August 2017. Please click on the image to expand it.

LE GIORNATE DEL CINEMA MUTO 20TH ANNIVERSARY CLOSING GALA

Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine - 1230 posti

Transport: an old steam train Sacile - Pordenone - Udine. Departure: 12.25 pm. Return: 1.00 am.

Triple screen - triple projection Polyvision

The 2000 restoration (the third by Kevin Brownlow)

NAPOLÉON VU PAR ABEL GANCE

NAPOLEON

NAPOLEONE

Country France

Release Date 1927

Production Co. Consortium Westi/(Ciné-France-Films) / Films Wengeroff / Pathé Consortium / Films Abel Gance, 1925, Societé Générale de Film (1926)

Director Gance, Abel

35 mm 18 / 20 fps

24745 ft 333' (5 h 33 min)

Archive Source BFI Collections (National Film and Television Archive)

   

Speed is 20 fps except first 2 reels, episode 1, Brienne, which is 18 fps.

tinted and toned

English intertitles.

E-subtitles in Italian

Cast

Albert Dieudonné (Napoléon Bonaparte)

Vladimir Roudenko (Napoléon Bonaparte da bambino / as a boy)

Nicolas Koline (Tristan Fleuri)

Petit Roblin (Picot de Peccaduc)

Petit Vidal (Phélippeaux)

Robert Vidalin (Camille Desmoulins)

Francine Mussey (Lucille Desmoulins)

Harry Krimer (Rouget de Lisle)

Alexandre Koubitsky (Danton)

Antonin Artaud (Marat)

Edmond Van Daële (Maximillian Robespierre)

Maryse Damia (La Marseillaise)

Gina Manès (Joséphine de Beauharnais)

Max Maxudian (Barras)

Andrée Standard (Thérèse Cabarrus [Mme. Tallien])

Suzy Vernon (Mme. Récamier)

Carrie Carvalho (Mademoiselle Lenormond)

Louis Sance (Louis XVI)

Suzanne Bianchetti (Marie Antoinette)

Yvette Dieudonné (Elisa Bonaparte)

Eugénie Buffet (Lætitia Bonaparte)

Georges Lampin (Joseph Bonaparte)

Sylvio Cavicchia (Lucien Bonaparte)

Henri Baudin (Santo-Ricci)

Acho Chakatouny (Pozzo di Borgo)

Maurice Schutz (Pascale Paoli)

Marguerite Gance (Charlotte Corday)

Annabella (Violine Fleuri)

Serge Freddy-Karll (Marcellin Fleuri)

Léon Courtois (Général Carteaux)

Philippe Hériat (Salicetti)

Adrien Caillard (Thomas Gasparin)

Alexandre Bernard (Général Dugommier)

Gilbert Dacheux (Général du Teil)

Jean Henry (Sergent Junot)

Pierre Danis (Muiron)

Jack Rye (Général O'Hara)

Henry Krauss (Moustache)

Pierre De Canolle (Capitaine August Marmont)

W. Percy Day (Admiral Hood)

Abel Gance (Louis Saint-Just)

François Viguier (Couthon)

Janine Pen (Hortense de Beauharnais)

Georges Hénin (Eugène de Beauharnais)

Pierre Batcheff (Général Lazare Hoche)

G. Cahuzac (Vicomte de Beauharnais)

Philippe Rolla (Général Masséna)

Jean d'Yd (La Bussière)

Jean Gaudray (Jean Lambert Tallien)

Alexandre Mathillon (Général Schérer)

Mme. Blanche Baume (domestica di Marat /Marat's servant)

ballerine del /dancers from the Casino de Paris, Apollo, Moulin Rouge, Folies-Bergère (ballerine/dancing girls)

 

Other Credits

Krauss, Henry (asst. dir.)

Tourjansky, Vladimir (asst. dir.)

Andréani, Henri (asst. dir.)

Volkoff, Alexandre (asst. dir.)

Nalpas, Marius (asst. dir.)

Danis, Pierre (asst. dir.)

Kruger, Jules (dir. ph.)

Mundviller, Joseph-Louis (chief cam.)

Burel, Léonce-Henry (addtl. ph.)

Beaugé, Marguerite (ed. assoc.)

Pinson, Henriette (ed. (montaggio negativo /negative))

Benois, Alexandre (art dir.)

Schildknecht, Pierre (art dir.)

Lochakoff, Alexandre (art dir.)

Jacouty, Georges (art dir.)

Meinhardt, Vladimir (art dir.)

Feldman, Michel (tec. spec.)

Feldman, Simon (tec. spec.)

Dalotel, Maurice (tec. spec.)

Day, W. Percy (tec. spec.)

Scholl, Edward (tec. spec.)

Wilcke, Nicolas (spec. eff.)

Minine, Paul (spec. eff.)

de Chomon, Segundo (spec. eff.)

Charmy (cost.)

Sauvageau, Alphonse (cost.)

Mme Augris (cost.)

Mme Neminsky (cost.)

Lanvin, Jeanne (Mme. Manès' cost.)

Muelle & Souplet (fornitore costumi/cost. supplier)

Galvin (calzature/footwear)

Pontet-Vivant (parrucche/wigs)

Kwanine, Vladimir (make-up)

de Fast, Boris (make-up)

Ruggieri (esplosivi/explosives)

Lemirt (armi/weapons)

Mitry, Jean (stagiaires/trainee assistants)

Arroy, Jean (stagiaires/trainee assistants)

Purnal, Sacher (stagiaires/trainee assistants)

Cendrars, Blaise (stagiaires/trainee assistants)

 

Other Information

orig. dist.: Gaumont-Metro-Goldwyn; première: 7.4.1927, Théâtre National de l'Opéra, Paris

Music composed, arranged, and conducted by Carl Davis; performed by Camerata Labacensis, Ljubljana. Additional orchestrations by Colin Matthews, David Matthews, Christopher Palmer, Nic Raine.

 

Program Notes: Kevin Brownlow and Napoleon

" I first encountered the film when I was a schoolboy. I saw two reels on my 9.5 mm home movie projector. I was stunned by the cinematic flair - I had never seen anything comparable - and I set out to find more of it, and more about it. I was puzzled by the antipathy the film aroused among critics and historians who remembered the original release. I expected with each rediscovered sequence that they would be proved right, and the quality would take a plunge. But the more I added to the film, the better it became. And eventually I discovered that most of those writers had seen one of the butchered versions. "

" When I became a feature-film editor, I began to earn enough to do a proper restoration. I was given facilities by the National Film Archive (who eventually took the project over). Whenever the work-in-progress was screened at the National Film Theatre, the place was always packed, the reaction always very strong. People stayed up allnight to watch it at the Telluride Film Festival, Colorado, in 1979, even though it was projected outdoors in freezing temperatures. Watching from his hotel window was Abel Gance himself, then in his ninetieth year. "

" The climax came in 1980, when David Gill and I staged the first performance with live orchestra for Thames Television and the British Film Institute at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square, London. Carl Davis created the massive score in three months and he conducted the Wren Orchestra. We wereall intensely nervous before the show. What right had we to expect the public to sit still for an old silent film lasting five hours? Of course, they did not sit still. They rose to their feet and gave it a standing ovation. It was the most moving occasion I have ever attended in the cinema. (Extract from Kevin Brownlow's introduction to Napoléon -Abel Gance, edited by Bambi Ballard, Faber and Faber, 1990.) "

" This is the third full-scale restoration of Napoleon. Based on the 1980 version, an extended version was produced by Bambi Ballard using all the material held by the Cinémathèque française. This extra material was brought over to the National Film and Television Archive and copied by João Oliveira. Thanks to the financial support of Erik Anker-Petersen,a new restoration was begun in l999. This latest restoration was first shown at the Royal Festival Hall as the gala opening of the 56th Annual Congress of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) in London in June 2000. "

" The material imported from France has been copied and cut into the cutting copy. It makes a difference - the additional footage is of high quality and with the additional titles makes the narrative easier to follow, and more interesting. "

" The titles for the old restoration were made very cheaply, and had no connection with the bold l8th-century typefaces used in the original. We have reshot (and retranslated) all the titles using the original typefaces - Roman for descriptive and italic for dialogue - and this makes a considerable difference to the look of the film. We have found the original main titles and most of the credits, and can reproduce these exactly. We are sticking to the French title Napoléon vu par Abel Gance, as it is difficult to translate. "

" The first episode - Napoleon's schooldays in Brienne - was photographed by a different cameraman from the rest of the film, and several people complained that we were running it slightly too fast. So we are now projecting Brienne at 18 fps, and the music has been adjusted accordingly. (The remainder goes at 20 fps.) "

" Where we have found better quality material for the identical scene, we have used it - but in some cases we have found scenes of superior photographic quality, but the performance is inferior. These have not been used. For instance, in the Toulon section, Napoleon is seen dismounting from his horse twice - a bad piece of editing by an assistant trying to make up yet another negative. We have remained with the better scene - in which he dismounts once, very professionally - even though it is marred by having the soundtrack area blanked out. In the wedding, the new material is of much better quality, and we have used it for the first half - but Dieudonné's performance is not as good in the latter half of the sequence, and we have returned to the original, despite the signs of decomposition. "

" There are some substitutions of complete sequences - such as the Marseillaise - because the reels discovered are clearly definitive. These reels also indicated where tinting should start and end, and provided samples so we can reproduce these exactly. "

" Some of the new material simply did not fit. How can you use the Corsican gendarmerie chasing Napoleon uphill at the opening of the chase across Corsica sequence, when the opening we have shows the horsemen in completely different terrain? In the Double Storm, it is odd how the new negative matches the old one shot for shot, yet with each one differing by a few frames. "

" The first time I did the restoration, I felt lucky to find anything extra. This time I often had three versions of the same scene, but played or directed in a slightly different way. Sometimes, the decision was made for me. Mme. Tallien arrives at the Baldes Victimes and simply stands there, looking elegant. In another - probably reshot - version, Mme. Tallien arrives and is showered with rose petals. " 

" Sometimes the playing was better, but the camera angle slightly inferior, or vice versa. I therefore had enormous difficulty in deciding which to use. The most taxing of these sequences was a brand-new "Death of Marat" sequence - twice as long as the old one. I decided to go with this new one, but when we projected it we realised there was something seriously wrong with the makeup on Marat, which obviously had caused Gance to cut it down himself. In one or two other places, Gance had made cuts rather than additions, and I generally followed him. Sometimes it was necessary to use an extra scene of no particular merit in order to explain the excellent scene that follows - as with Josephine playing the harpsichord, which is followed by a delightful scene of her daughter talking to her pet parrot about her mother and Napoleon. " - KB

AA: CLOSING GALA

The most ambitious event in the Festival's history was a fitting way to celebrate its 20 glorious years.

Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (FR 1927). Restored by Kevin Brownlow / Photoplay, music compiled, composed and directed by Carl Davis. The latest restored print was shown for the first time as a special all day spectacle in Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine. What was new in it? Better pictorial quality, and especially better tinting. And real polyvision via three projectors. A steam train took the audience from Sacile to Udine and back. Departure: at 12.25 pm. Return: at 1.00 am.

This was the best experience I have had of the film. The fine-editing of the film brings new charms to it. The extremely difficult tinting is uniquely successful (tinting nowadays almost always fails, which is why I prefer straight black-and-white to most modern tinting). I belong to the defenders of Carl Davis: lifting bodily large chunks from Beethoven is absolutely justified in this film. Beethoven is evidently the Napoleon composer, and why settle for anything less? Most importantly, all the efforts in restoration and music serves to bring Abel Gance's vision alive for modern audiences. It's still one of the most breathtaking films of all times, a magnificent combination of epic and intimacy, of terror and comedy. It's almost impossible to make a successful film (or novel, or play) of a great modern historical figure as the protagonist. Abel Gance succeeded in showing the bravado, the vision, the weakness and the vulnerability of Napoleon. ****

LE GIORNATE DEL CINEMA MUTO, SACILE, 13-20 OCTOBER 2001

Daisuke Ito: Chuji tabi nikki: Shinshu kessho hen / [Chuji's Travel Diary Part 2: Shinshu Blood Laughter] (JP 1927).

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto presented in 2001 a formidable programme with difficult and ambitious retrospectives.

The Festival took place for the third time in Sacile, a town north of Venice full of beauty and short of hotel rooms. Most visitors spent their nights in the original festival site Pordenone. The festival office's successful efforts with transport and schedules made shuttling easier than during the last two years, but it was still tough for any ambitious visitor without accommodation in Sacile. Many of us suffered from fatigue. I needed a week to recover.

The programmes of 1999 and 2000 were the most abundant ever, with a generous share of audience-pleasing and easily digested films to keep an upbeat mood. 2001, too, had its share of immediately gratifying highlights, but as a whole it was much more hard work: more difficult and arduous. All the major retrospectives this year – Japan, Black America, Griffith Part Five – had to a large extent a fragmentary character and actually required extensive study of literature to really understand what was going on. The festival organizers and the curators of the retrospectives had done a tremendous work of reconstruction, but in addition, each viewer had to do his/her own mental reconstruction for him/herself.

To sum up: it was hard but awesome.

OPENING EVENT

Tusalava (GB 1929). Celebrating the Len Lye centenary, his first experimental film was shown with live music by Neil Brand and John Sweetey. ****

Finis Terrae (FR 1929), D: Jean Epstein, featuring: inhabitants of the Ile d'Ouessant. Musical accompaniment by Breton artists Kristen Noguès (Celtic harp), Jacques Pellen (guitars), Patrick Molard (Uillean pipe, Kozh bagpipe, Scottish bagpipes), Jacky Molard (violin). Restored in 2001 by la Cinémathèque française. The first film of Epstein's Breton cycle, facing the sublime of the elements. The unique musical accompaniment would deserve to be made available on a permanent basis. ****

THE GRIFFITH PROJECT V – FILMS PRODUCED IN 1911

The first complete D.W. Griffith retrospective ever presented a year which is surprisingly "a terra incognita" (Paolo Cherchi Usai) in the maestro's career. DWG had quickly developed to a master in 1909-1910. In 1911 he continued to produce brilliant short films for Biograph in the states of California and New York. He honed his cross-cutting skill in thrillers like The Lonedale Operator, developed magnificently his sense of landscape and action in Civil War films (The Battle) and Westerns (Fighting Blood, The Last Drop of Water), and had a keen eye on contemporary New York street life (Bobby the Coward). He replaced the lost "old" Biograph stock company of actors with newcomers such as Blanche Sweet and Robert Harron. He continued to excel directing children in films like The Sunbeam. The Biblical paradigm reigns in many scripts; DWG's Biblical ethos was at its most moving in films like A String of Pearls.

(Because of train trouble I missed a particularly interesting show with A Country Cupid, The Ruling Passion, The Rose of Kentucky, and Swords and Hearts.)

Although almost all Griffith's films survive and even many original negatives exist, of the 73 DWG films of 1911 only 52 were shown. 3 are lost, and of 18 no viewing print is available. Print quality has been a problem of the project from the start, but it is surprising that so many 1911 titles were missing because there is no viewing copy at all though masters exist. Most prints shown were horribly disfigured 16mm; a few were too dark or light, bordering on the invisible. The films originally famous for their tinting and toning were almost invariably seen in black and white prints. As the original intertitles have been lost, at best they have been reconstructed, in many cases they were missing. Some films were seen in unassembled workprints, which were interesting to study but whose plot and montage and flow of movement were impossible to follow. Of the few beautiful 35mm prints shown we could guess what we were missing from the others.

To put it in another way: we are looking forward to see them, too, as they should be seen. Which really means: we are looking forward to actually see them. Good prints should be made available of all DWG films of which good masters exist! Let's hope it takes place during our lifetime.

An excellent companion to the retrospective is The Griffith Project series of books, edited by Paolo Cherchi Usai, with a top team of writers. It is becoming a model for this kind of work.

* marks my favorites, + other interesting ones.

Fisher Folks 16 mm, unassembled, intertitles missing (DWG 320)

His Daughter (DWG 321)

Conscience 16 mm (DWG 323)

Was He a Coward? (DWG 324)

Teaching Dad to Like Her 16 mm (DWG 325)

The Lonedale Operator (DWG 326) *

The Spanish Gypsy 16 mm (DWG 327)

The Broken Cross 16 mm, intertitles missing (DWG 328)

The Chief's Daughter 16 mm, unassembled workprint (DWG 329)

A Knight of the Road 16 mm (DWG 330)

His Mother's Scarf 16 mm (DWG 332)

The Two Sides 16 mm, intertitles missing (DWG 334)

In the Days of '49 16 mm (DWG 335)

Enoch Arden Part 1 16 mm, intertitles missing (DWG 336)

Enoch Arden Part 2 16 mm, intertitles missing (DWG 337)

Enoch Arden (1915), D: Christy Cabanne, Sup: DWG, featuring Lillian Gish, second reel. A fascinating occasion to comparison.

The New Dress 16 mm (DWG 338)

A Romany Tragedy (DWG 340)

The Crooked Road 16 mm (DWG 341)

The Primal Call 16 mm (DWG 343)

The Indian Brothers 16 mm (DWG 345)

The Blind Princess and the Poet (DWG 348)

Fighting Blood GEH 2001 (DWG 349) *

The Last Drop of Water (DWG 350) *

Bobby, the Coward (DWG 351) *

The Squaw's Love (DWG 360)

The Eternal Mother 16 mm (DWG 362) *

The Making of a Man 16 mm (DWG 365)

Her Awakening 16 mm (DWG 366)

The Adventures of Billy 16 mm (DWG 368)

The Long Road 16 mm, intertitles missing (DWG 369)

The Battle (DWG 370) *

Love in the Hills 16 mm (DWG 371)

Through Darkened Vales 16 mm, intertitles missing (DWG 373)

A Woman Scorned (DWG 374)

The Miser's Heart intertitles missing (DWG 375)

The Failure intertitles missing (DWG 376)

As In a Looking Glass unassembled print, intertitles missing (DWG 378) +

A Terrible Discovery 16 mm, unassembled reversal print, intertitles missing (DWG 380)

The Baby and the Stork 16 mm, intertitles missing (DWG 382) +

The Voice of the Child (DWG 383)

For His Son 16 mm (DWG 384) +

The Old Bookkeeper 16 mm, intertitles missing (DWG 385)

Billy's Stratagem Dutch intertitles (DWG 387) +

A Blot in the 'Scutcheon 16 mm (DWG 388)

The Transformation of Mike 16 mm, shown both in an unassembled print with missing intertitles and an assembled print with reconstructed intertitles. An impressive demonstration. (DWG 389) +

The Root of Evil 16 mm (DWG 390) +

The Sunbeam 16 mm (DWG 391) *

A String of Pearls 16 mm, intertitles missing (DWG 392) *

JAPAN

The most ambitious attempt ever to screen Japanese silent cinema was showcased in Sacile 2001, curated by Hiroshi Komatsu and Tomonori Saiki. Only 1–5% of Japanese silent cinema survives. The retrospective was to an exceptionally high degree a jigsaw puzzle. Many films were extremely fragmentary, and print quality was often awful. However, we are looking forward to a continuation of this retrospective, as many important films were not shown. I saw less than a half of the retrospective. Special thanks to many fine translations in this retrospective.

SPECIAL EVENT

Kurutta ippeiji (A Page of Madness, 1926), D: Teinosuke Kinugasa. This legendary film has lost none of its power to shock. Its audacious montage and furious dance patterns feel contemporary in the techno age. Teho Teardo's live electronic music accompaniment was bold and successful. ****

BENSHI

Orochi (The Monster, 1925), D: Bunaro Futagawa. 16 mm, benshi commentary: Miss Midori Sawato, music: Coloured Monotone. One of the oldest jidai geki to have survived complete and in good condition. Furious action among the samurai and the yakuza. ***

BETWEEN FICTION AND NON-FICTION

Une rue à Tokyo I (FR/JP 1898) Lumière, PH: Tsunekichi Shibata

Une rue à Tokyo II (FR/JP 1898) Lumière, PH: Tsunekichi Shibata

Une avenue à Tokyo (FR/JP 1898) Lumière, PH: Tsunekichi Shibata

Une place publique à Tokyo (FR/JP 1898) Lumière, PH: Tsunekichi Shibata

Station de chemin de fer de Tokyo (FR/JP 1898) Lumière, PH: Tsunekichi Shibata

Five precious views of city life. ****

Momijigari (Maple Viewing, 1899) PH: Tsunekichi Shibata, featuring the famous Kabuki actors Danjuro IX and Kikugoro V. 16mm, no translation. Of great value as a record of the Kabuki theatre.

Taikoki judanme (The Tenth Act of Taikoki, 1908). Kabuki style in a fiction film.

Nippon nankyoku tanken (Japanese Expedition to Antarctica, 1912)

Sendaihagi (JP 1916) fragment of a part of a Kabuki play.

Sesshonomiya denka katsudo shashin tenrankai gotairan jikkyo (The Prince Regent's Visit to the Motion Picture Exhibition, 1921)

Shigeki nanko ketsubetsu (The Historical Drama, the Farewell Scenes of Kusunoki Masahige and His Son, 1921)

The Prince Regent, the future Emperor Hirohito, visited a motion picture exhibition. Both his visit and a Kabuki performance for him were filmed.

JIDAI GEKI (HISTORICAL DRAMA)

In the film production in the Kansai Region after the great Kanto earthquake of 1923, the small independents contributed especially to the genre of jidai geki - films set in the feudal period, before the Meiji Restoration of 1868.

Keyamura rokusuke (Rokusuke of Keya Village, 1926), D: Tamizo Ishida. Too fast at 24 fps. A furious swordplay film.

Tekketsudan (Iron Blood Gang, 1928), D: Ryota Kawanami. Very physical action film, beautifully toned, excellent wrestling scenes.

Roningai daiichiwa (Ronin Street I, 1928), D: Masahiro Makino. Fragmentary, too fast at 24 fps, no translation.

Roningai dainiwa (Ronin Street II, 1929), D: Masahiro Makino. Fine action scenes in parts I-II of the samurai story. Part III has not survived.

Kokushi muso (Peerless Patriot, 1932), D: Mansaku Itami. Fragments restored from an abridged 9,5 mm Pathé-Baby version, from an evidently stylish film, with fine humoristic scenes and comic fights.

GENDAI GEKI (MODERN DRAMA)

After the 1923 earthquake the Shinpa play became anachronistic, at least in the motion picture. The tragic destiny of young people no longer suited the mood of contemporary life. Now the audience demanded more plausible content in motion picture drama. The mood and taste of the times transformed Shinpa into gendai geki (modern drama). (HK)

Nasake no hikari (Lights of Sympathy, 1926), D: Henry Kotani. Beautiful print of a story of social education: poor boy helps sick mother while father is in jail. Fine cinematography influenced Japanese film production.

Nippon (DE 1932) – German compilation by Carl Koch incorporating material from: Tempei jidai-kaito Samimaro (JP 1928, The Time of the Tempei Shamimaro, D: Eichi Koishi), Kagaribi (JP 1928, Torches, D: Tetsuroku Hoshi), Daitokai rodoshahen (JP 1930, The Great Metropolis: Chapter on Labour, D: Kiyohiko Ushihara). Beautiful sonorized 16 mm print from Cinémathèque française of a compilation combining jidai geki and gendai geki, bringing us from historical Japan to the present. Spectacular scenes from three lost films.

THE MASTERS

Furusato no uta (The Song of Home, 1925), D: Kenji Mizoguchi. The earliest surviving film by KM in a beautiful print. The story of a young boy who rejects the frivolous company of the city people and chooses to become a farmer, instead. KM's first socially conscious "message film" shows a direct but naively digested influence of Tolstoy. The strength: the joy of light. Music would be necessary to this silent film, which is apparently inspired by a song. **

Chokon (1926), D: Daisuke Ito. Only the last reel of the eight-reel feature survives, but it is the brilliant climactic swordfight with virtuoso montage, subjective camera, and breathtaking action as the protagonist enters his final battle.

Chuji tabi nikki (A Diary of Chuji's Travels, 1927), II: Shinshu kessho hen (Bloody Laughter in Shinshu), III: Goyo hen (In the Name of the Law), D: Daisuke Ito. Of the original 6540 meters of the legendary masterpiece, 1800 meters survive. Beautiful calligraphy of the intertitles. The shocking trajectory of the protagonist from the invincible samurai to the paralysed body on the stretcher.

Jujiro (Crossroads / Im Schatten des Yoshiwara, 1928), D: Teinosuke Kinugasa. English version. For decades virtually the only Japanese silent film known in the West. Visual brio and grotesque stylization in an exposé of the empty seductions of Yoshiwara. ***

Akeyuku sora (The Dawning Sky, 1929), D: Torajiro Saito. A bad 16mm print. A woman's film, a melancholy modern story of a woman who has to leave her baby with her husband's parents. Emotionally powerful. ***

Ishikawa Goemon no hoji (A Buddhist Mass for Goemon Iskikawa, 1930), D: Torajiro Saito. A blow-up from 9,5 mm Pathé Baby. A ghost comedy.

Kuma no deru kaikonchi (The Reclaimed Land Where Bears Live, 1932), D: Shigeyoshi Suzuki. A not-brilliant print of a film with apparent epic grandeur. Using the sweeping landscapes of Hokkaido the saga depicts the revenge of two generations of farmers. ***

OSCAR MICHEAUX & HIS CIRCLE: AFRICAN-AMERICAN FILMMAKING AND RACE CINEMA OF THE SILENT ERA

Pearl Bowser, Jane M. Gaines and Charles Musser have compiled an ambitious seven-part touring show covering the little known early decades of African-American cinema. Most of the early African-American films have been lost, and the rest survives often in disfigured prints. The book to the tour by Bowser, Gaines, and Musser, Oscar Micheaux & His Circle, meets the highest standards, and is an inspiring basis for all future research. I saw only two samples. Within Our Gates and Black and Tan I had seen previously.

Midnight Ramble: Oscar Micheaux and the Story of Race Movies (1993, D: Pearl Bowser, Bestor Cam). Video projection. A fine introduction to early African-American cinema with lots of excerpts. ***

Body and Soul (1925, D: Oscar Micheaux). The young Paul Robeson is stunning in the starring double role: electrifying presence and great versatility as a heavy, as a preacher, and as a regular guy. We know his voice; here he impresses in a silent film. Charles Musser's essay in the book reveals the surprising background to the film and the reason why Robeson never mentioned this film (his best?). ***

EVENTI MUSICALI

Mitä on tekeillä sirkus Beelyssä? (Was ist los in Zirkus Beely?, DE 1926), D+starring: Harry Piel, based on two novels by Max Bauer. Harry Piel had an amazingly successful career as the "German Fairbanks", and this is one of his most extravagant adventure films. The ambitious musical accompaniment by the double bass virtuoso Nicola Perricone and his orchestra had the unfortunate side effect of putting the audience to sleep due to the heavy use of the double-bass. **?

Nykyajan Babylon (East Side, West Side, US 1927) D: Allan Dwan, starring George O'Brien. A great contemporary spectacle of metropolitan life, including a Titanic episode. Great-looking and a bit superficial. Wonderful music by Donald Sosin and his orchestra. Brilliant MoMA restoration. **

SAVING THE SILENTS

A Western Girl (US 1911), D: Gaston Méliès, starring Francis Ford. GEH restoration. OK Western is a love story in a mining camp.

West of Hot Dog (US 1924), UCLA restoration starring Stan Laurel as an "Eastern tenderfoot adrift in a rough-and-tumble Wild West town" (Charles Hopkins).

Hands Up (US 1918), D: James W. Horne, starring Ruth Roland, Louis Gasnier. Promotional special trailer for a lost serial.

Yhteiskunnan vihollinen (The Penalty, US 1920), D: Wallace Worsley, starring Lon Chaney. Brilliant GEH restoration 2001 from camera negative. The incredible melodrama of the revenge of the crippled king of the underworld of San Francisco. Full of weird observations. ***

CENTENARIES

Maldone (FR 1928), D: Jean Grémillon, DP: Georges Périnal, AD: André Barsacq. One of the great discoveries of the Festival was this Grémillon Centenary special, a picaresque story of a rambling man called Maldone. A masterpiece of the same class as Gardiens de phare. ****

MITCHELL AND KENYON

The British Film Institute's Peter Worden Collection of Mitchell and Kenyon Films (GB 1899-1913) consists of some 780 nitrate negatives. The ambitious preservation and restoration project is now starting to be showcased. Brilliant pictorial quality, but for a foreigner somewhat boring and repetitious subject matter.

(Mitchell and Kenyon 49: Fish's Waterfall Mill, Blackburn) 1900?

(Mitchell and Kenyon 6: Haslam's Ltd. Colne, 29.1.1900)

(Mitchell and Kenyon 28: Lumb and Sons, Huddersfield) 1900?

(Mitchell and Kenyon 24: Pilkington Glass Works, St. Helen's 3.10.1900)

(Mitchell and Kenyon 25: Pilkington Glass Works, St. Helen's 3.10.1900)

(Mitchell and Kenyon 26: Pilkington Glass Works, St. Helen's 3.10.1900)

(Mitchell and Kenyon 39: Ormerod's Mill, Great Moor Street, Bolton) 1900?

(Mitchell and Kenyon 43: Brooks & Doxey, 7/1901)

(Mitchell and Kenyon 35: Armstrong's Elswick Works, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne) 1900?

(Mitchell and Kenyon 109: Newcastle United Vs. Liverpool No. 1) 1900?

(Mitchell and Kenyon 110: Newcastle United Vs. Liverpool No. 2) 1900?

FUORI QUADRO

L'eruzione dell'Etna (IT 1909), PC: Ambrosio. Tinted and toned, Lobster Films

Tremblement de terre en Italie (? 1905), Lobster Films

VIDEO SHOWS

Chomón (ES 2001), D: M. Dolors Genovès. One of the best documentaries on silent cinema, a fascinating story of Segundo de Chomón, one of cinema's first masters of animation, cinematography, special effects, pyrotechnics, and fantasy. Covers film history from Pathé to Napoléon with lots of juicy excerpts. ****

CLOSING GALA

The most ambitious event in the Festival's history was a fitting way to celebrate its 20 glorious years.

Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (FR 1927). Restored by Kevin Brownlow / Photoplay, music compiled, composed and directed by Carl Davis. The latest restored print was shown for the first time as a special all day spectacle in Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine. What was new in it? Better pictorial quality, and especially better tinting. And real polyvision via three projectors. A steam train took the audience from Sacile to Udine and back. Departure: at 12.25 pm. Return: at 1.00 am.

This was the best experience I have had of the film. The fine-editing of the film brings new charms to it. The extremely difficult tinting is uniquely successful (tinting nowadays almost always fails, which is why I prefer straight black-and-white to most modern tinting). I belong to the defenders of Carl Davis: lifting bodily large chunks from Beethoven is absolutely justified in this film. Beethoven is evidently the Napoleon composer, and why settle for anything less? Most importantly, all the efforts in restoration and music serves to bring Abel Gance's vision alive for modern audiences. It's still one of the most breathtaking films of all times, a magnificent combination of epic and intimacy, of terror and comedy. It's almost impossible to make a successful film (or novel, or play) of a great modern historical figure as the protagonist. Abel Gance succeeded in showing the bravado, the vision, the weakness and the vulnerability of Napoleon. ****

Oulu Music Video Festival 23-26 Aug 2001: National Competition

The 69 Eyes: Brandon Lee (FI 2000). D: Tuukka Temonen.

KAHDEKSANSIEN OULUN MUSIIKKIVIDEOFESTIVAALIEN KOTIMAISEEN KILPAILUUN OSALLISTUVAT MUSIIKKIVIDEOT 2001 (Tiedot: ohjaaja / artisti / kappale)

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 1

1
Aaltonen Sami
Fintelligens
Pää pystyyn

2
Aaltonen Sami
Maija Vilkkumaa
Totuutta ja tehtävää

3
Aaltonen Sami
Nollaseiska
Mun Hollywood

4
Andersson Finn
Anssi Kela
Mikan faijan BMW

5
Andersson Finn
Disco
Voinko

6
Andersson Finn
Supperheads
Mad About The Girl

7
Antila Marko
Kwan
Padam

8
Anttila Jarno
YUP
Rakkaus on pesti hulluuteen

9
Asikainen Pia / Ilmola Sari
Villit Pippelit
Poikien välisestä toveruudesta

10
Bardy Aleksi
Maija Vilkkumaa
Ingalsin Laura

11
Behm Tomi
Mental Market
Insults

12
Berg Miska
Kwan
Microphoneaye

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 2

13
Berg Miska
KMA
Pommeja

14
Berghäll Joonas
Viikate
Korutonta

15
Bräysy Juha / Remes Jukka
Mary
Tie

16
Cantell Saara
Pekka Ryhänen
Hetki jolloin


17
Enqvist Mikko
Puk
Sellaista ei tapahdu

18
Eräsaari Jenni / Suhonen Anu
Harry Hunks
Graceland

19
Godley Kevin
HIM
Pretending

20
Haanpää Harri
No Shame
Lovepunk

21
Haanpää Harri
Ratas
Lentävä Poika

22
Haanpää Harri
Drive
Circles

23
Haanpää Harri
United Underworld
Into the Sun

24
Haaranen Antti
Tidal Wave
Here We Go

25
Halmela Mikko
Flegmaatikot
Jotain pientä

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 3

26
Ijäs Jan
Fridge
Seventeen 64

27
Ijäs Jan
The Surftones
Bumber To Bumber

28
Järvinen Eija
Nicole
Pysähdy

29
Jeskanen Jussi
Minerva
Paha uni

30
Joutsi Laura / Saarela Saara
Aika
Hear Me Now

31
Juntunen Mikko
Terveet Kädet
Non Ultra Descriptica

32
Juntunen Mikko
Plan E
Deep 2000

33
Juntunen Mikko
Submerged
No Motive

34
Juntunen Petri / Salo Jari / Salonen Marko
Eon Project 2
Joy of Sorrow

35
Juustinen Jeata
Avanti! & J. Huimapää
Puhu minulle rakkaudesta

36
Kakko Aki
Viral Plunger
Viral Theme

37
Kaplar Mikael
Aki Sirkesalo
Senat sakaisin

38
Karanka Jonna
Office Building
Lighthouse Girl

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 4

39
Karanka Jonna
Kiila
Set the Strom Aside

40
Kärenlampi Jari
Substance
Starblast

41
Kärki Eppu
Kapasiteettiyksikkö
A-ay

42
Kärkkäinen Jukka
Kukka
Hot Light

43
Kaskela Taku
Fu-Tourist
King Kong Of The Dance Floor

44
Kaskela Taku
Emmi
Breakable

45
Kaskela Taku
SubUrban Tribe
Frozen Ashes

46
Kilpeläinen Niklas / Väänänen Ville
Sonic Hedgehog
I Know A Girl

47
Kiviharju Juha
Eläkeläiset
Jenkkapolkkahumppa

48
Koskela Jari
Ancient Rites
Victory or Valhalla (Last Man Standing)

49
Koskela Jari
Lootus
I Will Stay

50
Kustila Sami
Downfall
Dark Parade

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 5

51
Kyttälä Petri
Tulenkantajat
Rollofunk

52
Lähteinen Jari
Passionworks
Prisoner

53
Lähteinen Jari
Maj Karman Kauniit Kuvat
The Best of Mozart

54
Lahtinen Markus
Simo Naapuri
Puun Juuret

55
Lahtinen Antti
Gandalf
Morning Sun

56
Lahtinen Antti
Spoon
Half A Man

57
Lassinaro Kaisa / Seppä Sari
Lost Weight
Safe House

58
Latva-Nikkola Jarno
Tohtori Rex Morgan
Tapahtumaasi käsitellään

59
Leino Antti
The Flaming Sideburns
Blow The Roof

60
Leinonen Jari
Prof. Heikerö
Join niin

61
Liljendal Carita
Damet
Newest Gear

62
Lommi Miikka
Pepe Deluxé
Before You Leave

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 6

63
Lommi Miikka
Bomfunk MC's
Uprocking Beats (JS16 Radio Mix

64 Lommi Miikka
Marlo
Dust

65
Lommi Miikka
The Rasmus
F-F-F-Falling

66
Lommi Miikka / Andersson Finn
Tehosekoitin
Kaukaisimmalle Rannalle

67
Lommi Miikka / Penttilä Kaisa
Eternal Erection
You Can Make Me Dance

68
Malkki Tomi
Sweatmaster
Too Much Love

69
Malviniemi Jarkko
Frank
Toinen puoli

70
Mattson Jani
Rosa
Sininen

71
Mustonen Jomppa
Done
Rejection

72
Nieminen Mattijuhani
Voimaryhmä
Jalankulkija maantiellä

73 Nikki Teemu
Francine
Shebop

74
Nikki Teemu
Ismo Alanko Säätiö
Sisäinen solarium

75
Nikki Teemu
YUP
Ihana elämä

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 7

76
Nissinen Erkka
Erkka Nissinen
A Man and A Robot

77
Nybacka Anu / Eskelinen Pekka
Maryland
If I Knew Everything

78
Nygren Anneli
Cicca
Farewell, Jeff Koons

79
Nyyssönen Tuomo
Setä Tuomon Kammari
Ensimmäinen kevätpäivä

80
Ojala Pauli
Lackluster
13/10/99

81
Ojanen Santeri
Daisy
Five Days

82
Päivinen Jappe / Pauni Pasi
Emmi
Crashing Down

83
Pasanen Tuukka
Virtuaalipaavi
Minä ja Kekkonen

84
Pauni Pasi
Avain (feat. Sofia Chaichee)
Yhdessä iltaan

85
Pauni Pasi
Manboy
A Bore

86
Pauni Pasi
Zen Cafe
Mies, jonka ympäriltä tuolit viedään

87
Pauni Pasi
LAB
'Til You're Numb

88
Pauni Pasi
Cliché
Even You

89
Pauni Pasi
Ville Pusa
Ingen vinner

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 8

90
Pauni Pasi
Neljä Ruusua
Popmuseo

91
Pietiläinen Tommi
Ultra Bra
Vesireittejä

92
Pietiläinen Tommi
Paleface
Back to Square One

93
Pietiläinen Tommi
Ultra Bra
Kaunis ja ylpee

94
Piili Noora
Silentium
Painless

95
Pohjosmäki Marko
Koneveljet
Romulus

96
Pöllänen Teemu
Varjo
Tänä kesänä

97
Pöllänen Teemu
Klaani
Hämäräniemeen

98
Pöllänen Teemu / Salminen Jukka
Inis
Myrkkyleppäkerttu

99
Puromäki Ville
Aenima
Stuck

100
Puurunen Risto
Cleaning Women
Clean Up Your Body

101
Pylkkö Tommi
Jori Hulkkonen
Whispers

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 9

102
Rabinovich Samuli
Reprinted
Unexpected Heart

103
Rämä Ilkka
Echo Is Your Love
Black And Red Lies On Yellow

104
Rämö Risto
Eero Magga
Pohjoisesta tuulee

105
Ratia Mattipekka
Omppu ja Jukka
Vaatekomerossa

106
Reini Antti
Janne Haavisto
Wellcome Tourist

107
Riski Pete
Z-MC
The Drum and The Bass

108
Riski Pete
Paleface
The Ultimate Jedi Mind Trick -episode IV

109
Rope Jenni
Lost Weight
Healthy Obsession

110
Rope Jenni
Mallisto
The Blue Man

111
Ruth Merja
PJ March Group
Missing

112
Salomäenpää Ilkka
Penniless
Never Forget You

113
Särkkä O.P
Cerubi
Kerubi

114
Seppälä Taneli
Lurido
Little Moments

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 10

115
Siippainen Santtu
Sonata Arctica
Wolf and Raven

116
Siirtola Juha
Dixi
Stalker

117
Sourander Riitta / Takula Pasi
I'Dees
Wicked 'n' Wild

118
Sundell Jon
Op:l Bastards
Scorpius

119
Syrjä Juuso
Caater
Dance With You

120
Syrjä Juuso
Fintelligens
Stockholm-Helsinki

121
Syrjä Juuso
Darude
Out Of Control (back for more)

122
Takanen Juha
The Sugarrush
Stereo

123
Takanen Julle
Seremoniamestari
Pysähtyy ja kysyy

124
Takanen Juha
Ville Leinonen & Valumo
Enkeli

125
Takanen Juha
The 69 Eyes
The Chair

126
Takula Pasi
Wimme
Bambu miehta

127
Takula Pasi
Moovon
The Teacher

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 11

128
Tappola Onni
Arto Muna ja Millenium
Sä voit tehdä mitä vaan

129
Temonen Tuukka
Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus
Nyt on mies

130
Temonen Tuukka
Children of Bodom
Every Time I Die

131
Temonen Tuukka
Maj Karman Kauniit Kuvat
Valaiden Laulu

132
Temonen Tuukka
Cliché
Why Is It So Beautiful

133
Temonen Tuukka
Apulanta
Viivakoodit

134
Temonen Tuukka
Mokoma
Rajapyykki

135
Temonen Tuukka
Tuula
Find A Way

136
Temonen Tuukka
To/Die/For
Hollow Heart

137
Temonen Tuukka
The 69 Eyes
Brandon Lee

138
Temonen Tuukka
Bitch Alert
Monday

139
Temonen Tuukka
Tyrävyö
1000x

140
Temonen Tuukka
Apulanta
Reunallat

141
Temonen Tuukka
Amorphis
Alone

KOTIMAINEN KILPAILU 12

142
Temonen Tuukka
Lumo
Riisu pois

143
Temonen Tuukka
Flegmaatikot
Hallitse ja hajoita

144
Tuomaala Tomi
Fridge
Detroit Detroit

145
Tuominen Risto LJ
Myllärit
Kulkijapojan rakkaus

146
Valtonen Juha-Matti / Kouhia Leena
RinneRadio
Affluenza

147
Veijalainen Pete
Black Audio
Something Good

148
Veijalainen Pete
Marky
The Groove Is Back (Again)

149
Vesanen Jouni
Faerghail
Kun veri peittää maan

150
Viitanen Jani
Jukkis Järvinen
Puhu hiljaa rakkaudesta

151
Viitanen Jani
Jukkis Järvinen
Bonanza Theme

152
Vitikainen Hannu-Pekka
Penniless
Imbecile

153
Vuotila Antti
Free Spirit
Strangers of Love

154
Ylönen Petri
Cosmic Girls
Learning To Belong To Me

IL CINEMA RITROVATO, BOLOGNA, 30 JUNE - 7 JULY, 2001

Raymond Bernard: Le Joueur d'échecs / The Chess Player (FR 1927). Do click on the image to enlarge it.

Antti Alanen

Matkakertomus Bologna 30.6.-7.7. 2001

Il Cinema Ritrovato ja

ARCHIMEDIA Professional Seminar "Cinematic Heritage and Digital Technologies - Conservation and Promotion" (with the support of the MEDIA 2 programme of the EU)

Il Cinema Ritrovato vakiinnutti 1990-luvulla asemansa yhtenä johtavana elokuvahistoriallisena festivaalina, jolla on oma, ei päällekkäinen profiilinsa Le Giornate del Cinema Muton rinnalla. Siinä missä Le Giornate on profiililtaan tieteellinen ja systemaattinen il Cinema Ritrovato on populaarimpi ja monipuolinen näyteikkuna arkistojen uusille restauroinneille. Se ei ole myöskään rajautunut elokuvan historian varhaisimpiin 40 vuoteen vaikkakin painopiste on niissä.

Tänä vuonna Il Cinema Ritrovaton profiilissa oli tavallista selvempi painopiste: ranskalainen 1920-luvun elokuva. Festivaalin taiteellisena johtajana debytoiva Peter von Bagh juonsi korkeatasoisen kansainvälisen tapahtuman innostavaan tyyliinsä monella kielellä.

ARCHIMEDIA-SEMINAARI ELOKUVA-ARKISTON SUHTEESTA DIGITOINTIIN

Festivaalin yhteydessä pidetyn seminaarin teema oli elokuva-arkiston suhde digitointiin. Festivaaliin liittyvien ARCHIMEDIA-seminaarien taso on noussut. Viimevuotinen seminaari asetaatin hajoamisesta oli niin onnistunut, että järjestäjätkin taisivat yllättyä. Tänä vuonna seminaari järjestettiin isommissa tiloissa, ohjelma oli korkeatasoinen, ja Paul Readin, Peter Adelsteinin ja Thomas Christensenin esityksissä oli kiteytyksiä, joihin tultaneen viittaamaan jatkossakin. Brysselissä toimivaa ARCHIMEDIAA johtaa Gabrielle Claes (Cinémathèque Royale), ja sen sihteeri on suomalaissyntyinen Martina Kittilä.

Kahden päivän aikana kuultiin 13 esitystä ja nähtiin lukuisia näytteitä. Lähtökohtana oli todennäköinen tulevaisuuskuva, jossa elävän kuvan lähettämisen, levittämisen ja esittämisen kenttä muuttuu digitaaliseksi. Myös elävän kuvan tuottaminen ja editoiminen muuttuu kiihtyvällä vauhdilla digitaaliseksi. Digitoituminen merkitsee filmistä luopumista osittain tai kokonaan. Filmin kysynnän laskusta taas seurannee sen hinnan nousu ja valikoiman supistuminen. 35 mm:n elokuvakopioiden esittäminen 2010-luvulla saattaa olla lähinnä kinemateekkien ja festivaalien toimintaa.

Seminaarin puheenjohtajat Gabrielle Claes ja Nicola Mazzanti (L'Immagine Ritrovata), samoin kuin Thomas Christensen totesivat, että tämä asettaa elokuva-arkistot perustavien olemassaolon kysymysten ääreen. Monissa maissa niihin liittyy kysymys nimestäkin: "film archive" -nimen tilalle on vaihdettava "moving image archive". Suomen kielellä tuota ongelmaa ei ole, koska "elokuva" kattaa kaiken liikkuvan kuvan, mutta laitoksemme ruotsin- ja englanninkieliset nimet tullevat punnittaviksi.

Tiedämme filmin hauraaksi materiaaliksi, joka orgaanisesta luonteestaan johtuen on itsestään tuhoutuvaa ja jonka säilyttäminen vaatii ammattitaitoa ja korkeatasoisia varastotiloja. Mutta magneettiseen ja digitaaliseen materiaaliin verrattuna filmi on järeää aineistoa.

Vuodesta 1956 lähtien on ollut 74 eri video- ja dataformaattia, joista 68 ei ole enää käytössä.

Digitaalisen kohteen vahvuus on siinä, että siita voidaan tehdä identtinen kopio, toisin kuin filmissä, jossa kopio on aina alkuperäistä huonompi. Mutta digitaalisen kohteen heikkous on siinä, että jos digitaalinen signaali menetetään, koko kohde menetetään lopullisesti. Käytännön todellisuudessa filmiä digitoitaessa resoluutio ei yleensä vedä vertoja originaalille. Yleensä käytetään hukkaavaa pakkausta (lossy compression). Digitaalisessa videossa on omat rakenteelliset virheensä. Laitteissa on usein vikoja, nauhat ja levyt ovat melko epäluotettavia, ja kun digitoitu tallenne on pakattu, sen siirto on ongelmallista. Mitään dataformaattia ei voi pitää arkistotasoisena.

Niinpä vastuullinen elokuva-arkistointi perustuu edelleen 35 mm:n filmiin. Uusi polyesterkopio kylmässä varastossa säilyy 1000 vuotta, mutta asetaatti- ja nitraattifilmikin ovat kestävämpiä kuin digitaalinen kohde.

Hätkähdyttävimmän puheenvuoron piti Peter Z. Adelstein, joka on Rochesterin Image Permanence Instituten digitaalisen restauroinnin asiantuntija sekä International Standards Organizationin (ISO) jäsen. Sekä magneettisten nauhojen että optisten levyjen ISO-kestävyysstandardit ovat määrittelemättä, eivätkä valmistajat eivät ole innokkaita tutkimaan asiaa. Säilytysohjeet on voitu kirjoittaa (magneettiset nauhat: ISO 18923 ja optiset levyt: ISO 18925), samoin optisten levyjen testausnormit kosteuden ja lämpötilan osalta. Adelstein lausui, että magneettinen nauha ei ole arkistokelpoista aineistoa. Sen elinikä on sellainen, että uudelleenformatointi on tarpeen 15-20 vuoden välein. Tiedostomuotoisen kohteen uudelleenformatointia suositellaan 5-10 vuoden välein. Adelstein kiteytti, että digitoinnin vahvuuksia ovat aineiston helppokäyttöisyys, käsiteltävyys ja levitettävyys. Sen heikkous on puuttuva kestävyys. Digitointi ei ole keino, jota kannattaa harkita tiedon säilyttämisessä - digitizing information is not a preservation option.

Thomas Christensen, Det Danske Filminstitutin kuraattori, pohdiskeli digitaalisia menetelmiä käyttäen valmistetun elokuvateatterielokuvan säilyttämistä. Sen talletettavaan aineistoon saattaa sisältyä 1) 35 mm:n kameranegatiivi, 2) magneettinen kuvanauha johon sisältyvät digitaalisen editoinnin tulokset ja 3) 35 mm:n esityskopio. Ongelmallisin on kuvanauha, jota joudutaan usein uudelleenformatoimaan jotta sen sisältö olisi ylipäätään luettavissa. Niinpä esityskopio saattaa joutua todellisuudessa keskeisimmän referenssin asemaan. Aineiston monilaatuisuus asettaa arkistolle uusia haasteita ja lisää teoksen säilyttämisen kustannuksia. Hyvän filmitallenteen arkistoiminen on passiivista toimintaa, jossa riittää pääsääntöisesti oikea varastointi. Digitaalisen kuvan arkistoiminen on aktiivista, sillä aineisto on 5-10 vuoden välein kopioitava kolmea linjaa edeten: 1) Duplisointi, virkistäminen (refreshing: duplisointi samalle materiaalille/välineelle), 2) Siirto (migration: konvertointi uudelle materiaalille/välineelle) ja 3) Emulaatio (alkuperäisen asun tavoittelu uudella välineellä). Christensen arvioi, että tämä merkitsee tulevaisuuden näköalana, että Tanskan elokuva-arkiston on kopioitava tulevaisuudessa digitaalisesti 3-5 nimikettä päivittäin, kun tämänhetkinen filmikopiointivolyymi on 10-50 nimikettä vuosittain. Arkiston kannalta kyseessä on suuri kustannusten korotuspaine. Siihen nähden kopiointi 35 mm:n polyesterfilmille on tänä päivänä houkutteleva vaihtoehto.

Seminaarissa suositeltuja lähteitä:

Library of Congress: Guidelines for Electronic Preservation (1995)

http://lcweb.loc.gov/preserv/guide/guid_int.html

Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information (1996)

http://www.rlg.org/ArchTF/tfadi.index.htm

Francisca Frey: File Formats for Digital Masters (2000)

http://www.rlg.org/visguides/visguide5.html

Howard Besser: Information Longevity Sources (2001)

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Longevity/

The Diamant Project (2001)

http://diamant.joanneum.ac.at/

Howard Besser: Digital Preservation of Moving Image Material? (2001)

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard/Papers/amialongevity.html

Online encyclopedia related to computer technology

http://webopedia.internet.com/TERM/f/file_extension.html

Il Cinema Ritrovato ja ARCHIMEDIA-seminaari tarjosivat tilaisuuden moniin antoisiin tapaamisiin. Kuulin hyvää palautetta ARCHIMEDIA-projektista elokuva-arkistoilta muutenkin. Suomen elokuva-arkistosta kannattaa lähettää Bolognaan useita edustajia, jos määrärahat sallivat. Ruotsin veljesarkistomme vahvuus oli viisi henkilöä.

Screenings at Il Cinema Ritrovato

I concentrated on the main programme in Cinema Fulgor and on the night shows on the Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio and on Piazza Maggiore. I missed two of the best-loved shows: Raoul Walsh's The Loves of Carmen and Martin Scorsese's Il mio viaggio in Italia (four hours in 35mm). I also missed two afternoons' screenings because of the ARCHIMEDIA Digital Seminar.

In the silents, piano accompaniment was provided by Alain Baents, Antonio Coppola, Donald Sosin, Neil Brand, and Gabriel Thibaudeau. Special music highlights included:

- Napule... e niente cchiù - guitar duo Guido Sodo and François Laurent and female singer performing lovely Neapolitan repertoire

- A propos de Nice - accordion accompaniment by Marc Perrone

- A Night of Experimental Cinema conducted by Marco Dalpane, including Entr'acte with the original score by Eric Satie, and Le Ballet mécanique with the original score by George Antheil

- Joueur d'échecs - thrilling original Henri Rabaud score directed by Carl Davis, recorded and synchronized by Photoplay Productions

Translations of the electronic subtitled night screenings were good. In Cinema Fulgor, beautiful translation from Italian into English by Maria-Pia Falcone conveyed the nuance and the taste of the film.

DERRIERE LES SILENCES

Six et demi onze / 6½ X 11 (never released in Finland, FR 1927), D: Jean Epstein, SC: Marie-Antonine Epstein, DP: George Périnal. An anticipation of 1960s art cinema. The title refers to a Kodak camera, which mediates the double narrative of two brothers infatuated with the same woman. Restored by Cinémathèque française / Renée Lichtig in 1991. ***

Le Tourbillon de Paris (Pariisin pyörteissä, FR 1928), D: Julien Duvivier. I caught the end scene, where the great singer (Lil Dagover) overcomes her crisis and sings triumphantly. Rich use of montages and double exposures. Restored by Cinémathèque française in 1982.

Affaire classée (c.m., FR 1931), D: Charles Vanel. I caught the start, an atmospheric scene at a bistro. CNC Archives du film from the original negative in 1995.

Bal costumé (c.m., FR 1926). Non-fiction: turbulent scenes from Paris at night. Women wearing only eye masks drive men wild. Cinémathèque française. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.

Faits divers (c.m., FR 1923), D: Claude Autant-Lara, starring Paul Barthet, Louise Lara, and Antonin Artaud. The director's debut film experiments with the theme of the triangle drama. My recollection is weak due to fatigue. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.

Dans la nuit (never released in Finland, FR 1929), D: Charles Vanel. A film acclaimed by Bertrand Tavernier and Thierry Frémaux from Lyon. One of the last French silents, with nightmarish power of imagery, even horror images of mutilation. My recollection is weak due to fatigue. Restored by Cinémathèque française in 1983. Presenta Thierry Frémaux. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.

Les Aventures de Robert Macaire. I Une étrange nuit à la ferme de Sermèze. II Le Bal tragique. III Le Rendez-vous fatal. IV La Fille du bandit. V Cinquième et dernière des aventures de Robert Macaire. (Never released in Finland, FR 1925), D: Jean Epstein. A fine specimen from the golden age of the French serial. The format was so popular, in 1921, 40 serials were issued. This picaresque story is distinguished by fine actors and loving attention to detail (the story starts in 1825). Restored by Cinémathèque française in 1992. 44+26+26+30+34 = 160 min ***

Paris Cinéma (c.m., FR 1929), D: Pierre Chenal. A rich documentary on many aspects of contemporary film-making. Restored by Cinémathèque française in 1988. Presentano François Albera and Jean A. Gili. ****

La souriante Madame Beudet (c.m., FR 1923), D: Germaine Dulac. Subtle psychological image-driven piece on a marriage about to be shipwrecked. Cinémathèque française 2001 print no good. ***

L'Invitation au voyage (c.m., FR 1927), D: Germaine Dulac. A film poem on female desire inspired by Baudelaire. Beautiful tinted and toned print restored by Cinémathèque française in 1999. ****

La Cité foudroyée (never released in Finland, FR 1924), D. Luitz-Morat. Early cinéfantastique: a genius bent on revenge destroys Paris with a machine based on "la transformation des forces electriques naturelles". But Paris is saved thanks to a framing story. Preserved by Cinémathèque française in 1984. **

Carmen (Carmen, FR 1926), D: Jacques Feyder, AD: Lazare Meerson, starring Raquel Meller. Gaston Modot is the bandit chief. The design is impressive, and the star is good, but there is a problem with dynamics in the film. Tinted and toned 2001 restoration from Cinémathèque française. Presenta Claudia Kauffmann. 163 min **

Tire au flanc (never released in Finland, FR 1928), D: Jean Renoir, P: Pierre Braunberger, starring Michel Simon. This military farce is not very good, but fascinating for lovers of Jean Renoir and Michel Simon. Preserved by Cinémathèque française in 1963. **

En rade (never released in Finland, FR 1927), D: Cavalcanti, P: Pierre Braunberger. The powerful, melancholy mood piece was shown in a beautiful Italian print. Restored by Nederlands Filmmuseum and Fondazione Cineteca Italiana. Didascalie italiane. ***

Gribiche (never released in Finland, FR 1925), D: Jacques Feyder, AD: Meerson, starring Françoise Rosay as the wealthy lady - and Jean Forest as Gribiche. One of Feyder's major films starring children (along with Crainquebille and Visages d'enfants). This is the story of a wealthy, childless woman's ill-judged attempt to adopt a brilliant boy from working-class Paris. A pleasure to watch, but the tempo is needlessly slow. Preserved by Cinémathèque française in 1965 and restored in 1989. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.131 min ***

Les Nouveaux Messieurs (Uudet herrat, FR 1929), D: Jacques Feyder, DP: Maurice Desfassiaux, Georges Périnal, AD: Lazare Meerson, starring: Albert Préjean, Gaby Morlay, Henry Roussel. A triangle drama with a political angle: a conservative count's mistress falls in love with a trade union activist, who becomes a minister, "a New Monsieur". Glossy images, but again Feyder prolongs it all. Preserved by Cinémathèque française / Renée Lichtig in 1990. 126 min ***

Joueur d'échecs (never released in Finland, FR 1926), D: Raymond Bernard, DP: Joseph-Louis Mundviller, Marc Bujard, AD: Jean Perrier, costumes: Eugène Lourié, starring: Pierre Blanchar, Charles Dullin, Edith Jehanne, Pierre Batcheff. Thrilling original Henri Rabaud score directed by Carl Davis. A masterpiece of historical adventure. It starts in 1776 in Vilnius, under the yoke of Russia's Catherine the Great. The wounded leader of Polish resistance is hidden in a Chess Machine by the inventor-diplomat Baron von Kempelen. The climax takes place at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The film stands comparison with the best of Hugo and Dumas, and the synchronization of the remarkable music is excellent. Restoration by Photoplay Productions in 1990. 134 min ****

La Brière (Maaseutu kapitalismin kourissa, FR 1925), D: Léon Poirier. A strong rural drama from La Brière in the Marais region, interesting to see now with Jean Becker's recent Les Enfants de Marais in fresh memory. The powerful visual impact invites comparison to Swedish classics like Stiller. Black and white, unsharp 2167 m print. Preserved in 1980 and restored in 1982 by Cinémathèque française. ***½

Nène (never released in Finland, FR 1924), D: Jacques de Baroncelli, DP: Louis Chaix, starring Sandra Milowanoff, Edmond Van Daële, Gaston Modot. Rustic drama of a widowed farmer whose maid takes his children into loving care. Then, there is a bride-to-be... Excellent cinematography in another French rural film that brings to mind the Swedish classics, this time Sjöström. Beautiful tinted and toned print from Cinémathèque française / Renée Lichtig 1990. ***½

La Roue (never released in Finland, FR 1922), D: Abel Gance, DP: Léonce-Henry Burel etc., starring: Séverin-Mars (Sisif), Ivy Close, Gabriel de Gravone, Pierre Magnier. This is the third version of La Roue I get to see. It is a work of genius, but also a catastrophe because of the megalomania and lack of self-awareness of the author. With each successive reconstruction, the film becomes easier to follow, but at the same time its repetitiveness and monotony are more glaringly highlighted. Still it's a major vision of mechanized world and an allegory of the human waste of the Great War. Because of its furor, not to be ignored. 2001 restoration from Cinémathèque française in collaboration with Cinémathèque Suisse. Tinted, toned, with multi-colour effects, but monochrome shots look best. Neil Brand did a Sisyphos job on the piano during the four and a half hours. 6219 m /20 fps/ 270 min On the Maltin scale I rate this both BOMB and ****

A Night of Experimental Cinema conducted by Marco Dalpane. Piazza Maggiore ****

Entr'acte (c.m., FR 1924), D: René Clair. Nederlands Filmmuseum. Original score by Eric Satie, four hand piano transcription by Darius Milhaud, performed live by Virginia Guastella and Marco Dalpane.

Un chien Andalou (Andalusialainen koira, c.m., FR 1929), D: Luis Buñuel.1993 reconstruction by Yasha David and Luis Buñuel Foundation in collaboration with Cinémathèque française, without the original title design and with a new soundtrack: a civilized version of Wagner's Liebestod and an authentic Argentinian tango by Gardel. I am grateful for the chance to see for the first time a full silent-aperture print, but I prefer Buñuel's own authorized soundtrack with its wildly passionate Wagner and the French pastiche "Tango argentinien".

Le Retour à la raison (c.m., FR 1923), D: Man Ray. MOMA. Music by Marco Dalpane

Studie 5 - Ein Spiel in Linien (DE 1930), D: Oskar Fischinger

Studie 6 (DE 1930), D: Oskar Fischinger

Le Ballet mécanique (c.m., FR 1924), D: Fernand Léger. Music by George Antheil performed by Playground Ensemble. Very good, although this is a soft arrangement, without the airplane engines. Print with colour elements from Nederlands Filmmuseum.

Hara-kiri (never released in Finland, FR 1928), D: Marie-Louise Iribe. Tragedy of the Caucasian woman's marriage to an Eurasian man and affair with a Shogun Prince, climaxing in the Alps. Visions of alienation bring to mind the contemporary Epstein and Dulac and Pabst's Abwege. Reconstituée 1985 de Cinémathèque française / Renée Lichtig. ***

Le Lion des Mogols (never released in Finland, FR 1924), D: Jean Epstein, starring Ivan Mosjoukine. Hindu prince flees tyranny and meets French film crew on board a ship. Escapist entertainment should be even crazier. Printed from an original nitrate print by Cinémathèque française in 1986. **

ROWLAND V. LEE

Barbed Wire (Aseet pois, US 1927), P: Erich Pommer for Paramount, starring Pola Negri, SC by Jules Furthman based on the novel by Hall Caine. Powerful pacifist story shown in a 35mm Cinémathèque Royale print duplicated from Gosfilmofond. Previously the film has been available on 16mm only. ***

Zoo in Budapest (Seikkailu Budapestissa, US 1933), P: Jesse L. Lasky, DP: Lee Garmes, AD: William Darling, starring Loretta Young and Gene Raymond. L'amour fou - a naivist nocturnal romance of two outsiders in a city zoo. All elements blend into a delicate whole. A flat black and white print from MOMA, made from a dupe acetate negative which was made from a tinted nitrate print. ****

OSSERVATORIO DEL CINEMA MUTO ITALIANO

Il fiacre N. 13. Ultimo episodio: "Giustizia!" (IT 1917), PC: Ambrosio, D: Alberto A. Capozzi, Gero Zambuto, based on the novel by Xavier de Montépin. The final 73 minute episode of a lively popular four-episode serial. Of interest for the Nordic viewer are the extended lumberjack scenes. 2001 restoration at L'Immagine Ritrovata from materials in Turin and Milan. **

La grande passione (never released in Finland, IT 1922), D: Mario Almirante, starring Italia Almirante-Manzini. A star vehicle for one of the great divas of Italy: the mother of two children is neglected by her husband. One night of love with another man brings destruction for all. Preserved by: Filmoteca de la UNAM. Presenta Francisco Gaetan. **

RITROVATI & RESTAURATI

Alsace (FR 1916), D: Henri Pouctal. An exciting WWI drama of Alsace, focusing on a French-German love affair. Restored by Nederlands Filmmuseum in 2001. Presenta Mark Paul Meyer. ***

Napule... e niente cchiù (never released in Finland, IT 1928), P: Gustavo Lombardo, D: Eugenio Perego, based on a song by Gaetano Lama and Francesco Fiore, starring Leda Gys. A star vehicle for Leda Gys, the popular Neapolitan comedienne. Restored by L'Immagine Ritrovata in 2001 from materials in Bologna and Milan. Alla presenza di Goffredo Lombardo (film producer, Gustavo Lombardo and Leda Gys's son). Charming guitar accompaniment from popular Neapolitan repertoire by Guido Sodo and François Laurent, together with a female singer. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio. **

The Big Heat (Gangsterikuningas, US 1953), D: Fritz Lang. Grover Crisp (Sony Columbia) presented a print of the new restoration: even a negative of a seminal film this recent has started to deteriorate. ****

Jean Vigo ****

A propos de Nice (c.m., FR 1930) By Jean Vigo & Boris Kaufman. World premiere on Piazza Maggiore of a restored version by Cinémathèque Gaumont in 2001. Accordion accompaniment by Marc Perrone.

L'Atalante (L'Atalante, FR 1934), D: Jean Vigo. World premiere on Piazza Maggiore of a restored version by Cinémathèque Gaumont in 2001. Presentano Luce Vigo e Martine Offroy.

Le Chaland qui passe (FR 1934), D: Jean Vigo. A Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique print from the 1970s based on a Jugoslovenska Kinoteka print. Presentano Luce Vigo, Martine Offroy, Bernard Benoliel e Bernard Eisenschitz. In Finland we have seen three different versions of L'Atalante. My initial non-expert opinion about the 2001 version: beautiful to watch but does not bring anything radically new. The big surprise is Le Chaland qui passe, the first release version: in spite of the received idea in film history books, it is not a travesty of the original, but very much L'Atalante, with minor changes. "Le Chaland qui passe" is the French title of Bixio's song "Parlami d'amore Mariù", Vittorio De Sica's hit in Gli uomini, che mascalzoni.

Cinema programming in 1928

Directeur's zorgen (c.m., A Manager's Worries, NL 1928)

Amstel bier (c.m., NL 1928)

De bioscoop is geen fietsenstalling (c.m., The Cinema is No Bike Shed, NL 1928)

Berzoek van 300 amerikaansche hoteliers aans ons land (c.m., Visit of 300 American Hotel Managers to Our Country, NL 1928)

An attractive Dutch reconstruction of short film exhibition in the 1920s. Musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin. Compiled by Nico de Klerk, Nederlands Filmmuseum. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio. ****

Maria Denis special

Maria Denis e le sue prigioni (c.m., IT 1948), D: Giorgio Bianchi. Documentary on the ordeal of actress Maria Denis, imprisoned under accusations of having been a collaborationist. Her name was cleared, but she then abandoned cinema. Scuola Nazionale de Cinema - Cineteca Nazionale.

La maestrina (never released in Finland, IT 1942), D: Giorgio Bianchi, starring Maria Denis. A warm, charming period drama from the 1910s, an appeal for individuality and tolerance under the pressure of a small community and the old-fashioned leadership of a girls' school. Scuola Nazionale de Cinema - Cineteca Nazionale. Alla presenza di Maria Denis. Presenta Tatti Sanguineti. Beautiful translation into English by Maria-Pia Falcone conveyed the nuance and the taste of the film. ***

Shorts preceding Gribiche. Nederlands Filmmuseum. Cortile di Palazzo d'Accursio.

Pathé Revue n:o 23: Le Sphinx en réparation (c.m., FR 1926). Beautiful newsreel on a still topical subject; the restoration of the Sphinx. ***

Alice Helps the Romance (c.m., US 1926), D: Walt Disney. ***

Irene. Colleen Moore presents the World's Greatest Fashion Show (US 1926), D: Alfred E. Green. Tinted + Technicolor print. **

Tribute to Max Ophuls

Valse brillante de Chopin (c.m., FR 1936), D: Max Ophuls, featuring Alexandre Braïlowski

Ave Maria de Schubert (c.m., FR 1936), D: Max Ophuls, featuring Elisabeth Schumann

Two simple, elegant music shorts realized with a beautiful moving camera. 35mm blow-ups from original 16mm. Filmmuseum München

The Exile (Säilät säihkyvät, US 1947), D: Max Ophuls, DP: Franz Planer, AD: Russel A. Gausman, Ted Offenbecker, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Paule Croset and Henry Daniell. A swashbuckling version of Charles II Stuart in Dutch exile during the regime of Cromwell. Preserved with two different endings by Library of Congress from original negatives in 2000. **

Les bonnes femmes (Kuumat suhteet, FR 1960), D: Claude Chabrol, SC: Paul Gégauff, DP: Henri Decaë, starring Bernadette Lafont, Stéphane Audran, Mario David. 2001 reconstruction of the director's cut by Le Studio Canal+. Also in Finland the standard short version was seen. Presenta Jean Douchet. ****

US PROGRAMME PICTURES OF THE 1920S FROM CINEMATHEQUE ROYALE

Forbidden Woman (Kielletty nainen, US 1927), D: Paul L. Stein

The Promise (US 1917), D: Fred J. Balshofer

His Own Law (never released in Finland, US 1920), D: John Parker Read, Jr.

Of these films, I caught beginnings and ends.

UNKNOWN WELLES

The Orson Welles Sketch Book II: Critics. (c.m., GB 1955)

The Orson Welles Sketch Book IV: Houdini. (c.m., GB 1955)

The Orson Welles Sketch Book V: The War of the Worlds. (c.m., GB 1955)

The Orson Welles Sketch Book VI: Bullfighting. (c.m., GB 1955)

The talking head of Orson Welles and sketches on India ink, that's all it takes for some charming achievements of early television. Orson Welles has a talent in storytelling, and here we have nothing but. Beta SP restorations from Filmmuseum München, 2000-2001. ****

OMAGGIO AL FESTIVAL DU FILM MAUDIT

Forgotten Village (never released in Finland, US 1941), D: Herbert Kline, SC: John Steinbeck - based on his book, narrator: Burgess Meredith, M: Hanns Eisler. A fine study on the introduction of modernity - medicine - in a Mexican village. Presentano Jean-Charles Tacchella & Jean Douchet. Beautiful print from MOMA. ***

La Circoncision (c.m., FR 1949), D: Jean Rouch. The colour 16mm documentary on circumcision among the Songhay people in Niger schocked members of the audience. Beautiful print from CNC Archives du film. ***

Roma città libera (La notte porta consiglio) (never released in Finland, IT 1946), D: Marcello Pagliero, SC: Ennio Flaiano, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Cesare Zavattini, etc, M: Nino Rota, starring Andrea Checchi, Valentina Cortese, Vittorio De Sica. A nocturnal adventure in Rome on the verge of demoralization. A boy is tempted to crime, a girl to prostitution, and a drunk gentleman turns out to be a minister. **

OMAGGIO A LON CHANEY

I missed most of the six-film Lon Chaney tribute, which was mainly based on Sala Gino Gervi.

Of Chaney's 160 films, some 30 remain.

The Scarlet Car (US 1917), D: Joe De Grasse. A dynamic mainstream thriller, an example of the many successful films Chaney did for Universal. Chaney is unrecognizable as an old bearded cashier who exposes fraud at his bank, but gets demented in a fight that leads into a car accident. An ingenious trick that's related to his ancestor Paul Revere brings back his memory. Photoplay Productions. **

Tell It to the Marines (Idässä palaa, US 1927), D: George Hill, co-starring William Haines and Eleanor Boardman. It starts as a military farce and turns into a war film. Lon Chaney is the tough sergeant with a hidden sensitivity in the same classic vein as John Wayne in The Sands of Iwo Jima. **

PROGETTO CHAPLIN

Monsieur Verdoux (Ritari Siniparta, US 1947). Italian premiere of the version restored in 2001 by L'Immagine Ritrovata. Presenta Joséphine Chaplin. A new good print from Cineteca del Comune di Bologna and Roy Export Company Establishment. 123 min. Piazza Maggiore. ****

Le Cinéma des Cahiers. Cinquante ans d'histoire d'amour du cinéma (FR 2001), D: Edgardo Cozarinsky, featuring a who's who of people involved with the magazine during many decades. Alla presenza di Edgardo Cozarinsky. Beta SP ***

OMAGGIO A MAN RAY

Essais cinématographiques de Man Ray. 16 mm except the first. Short home movies without artistic purpose. Featuring famous friends from Meret Oppenheim to Pablo Picasso. Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou. Presenta Jean-Michel Bouhours

Rue Campagne-Première (FR ca 1923-1929)

Poison (FR ca 1933-1935)

Corrida (1929)

Autoportrait ou ce qui nous manque à nous tous (1930)

L'Atelier du Val-de-Grace (ca 1935)

Course Landaise (ca 1937)

La Garoupe (ca 1937)

Ady (1938)

Dance (1938)

Juliet (1945)

Two Women (senza data) - hard core Lesbian scenes

THE FILMS OF HY HIRSH: ABSTRACTION AND JAZZ ****

Brilliant short animated "études jazzographiques". 16 mm from iotaCenter. Presenta Cindy Keefer.

Eneri (US 1953)

Gyromorphosis (NL 1954)

Autumn Spectrum (NL 1957)

Défense d'afficher (FR 1958)

Chasse des touches (FR 1959)

Scratch Pad (FR 1960)

Colour de la forme (FR 1961)

Traffic

Steven Soderbergh: Traffic (US 2000).

USA © 2000 Compulsion. USA Films esittää. TJ: Richard Solomon, Mike Newell, Cameron Jones, Graham King, Andreas Klein. T: Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Laura Bickford. O: Steven Soderbergh. KS: Stephen Gaghan – Simon Mooren tv-sarjasta Traffik (1989). KU (digivideo>35 mm, Ektachrome, 1,85): Peter Andrews (= Soderbergh). LA: Philip Messina (PD), Keith P. Cunningham (AD). ET: Kevin Hannigan. PU: Louise Frogley, Cliff Martinez. M: Cliff Martinez. Ä: Larry Blake. LE: Stephen Mirrione. N: Michael Douglas (Robert Wakefield), Benicio Del Toro (Javier Rodriguez), Luis Guzman (Ray Castro), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Helena Ayala), Don Cheadle (Montel Gordon), Dennis Quaid (Arnie Metzger), Erika Christensen (Caroline Wakefield), Tomas Milian (kenr. Salazar). 147'

DVD (Suomi): Scanbox (2001) lisäaineistoin.

Vuonna 2000 Soderbergh nousi uransa huipulle kahdella yhteiskunnallisella elokuvalla (toinen: Erin Brockovich). Trafficissa Soderbergh esitti ensi kertaa yhteiskunnallisen näkemyksen, joka kohosi tragiikan ja epiikan mittoihin ja tarjosi näkökulman globalisaatioon. Huumeteeman käsittely kohosi allegoriseen voimaan samoin kuin ajankohtaisissa elokuvissa >Unelmien sielunmessu ja Blow. Elokuva seuraa huumeliikennettä Tijuanassa USA:n rajan tuntumassa (Milian, Del Toro), huumekuninkaita ja heitä seuraavia etsiviä San Diegossa ja La Jollassa (Guzman, Cheadle, Zeta-Jones) sekä huumeiden vastaista sotaa Washingtonissa (Douglas, Christensen). Taistelun epätasaisuutta kuvaa se, että huumebisnes on suurempi kuin liittovaltion budjetti. Digikuvaus oli tuovinaan elokuvaan sekä realismia että värinkäsittelyn epärealismia, mutta isolla kankaalla jälki oli rumaa katseltavaa.

Antti Alanen

MMM Elokuvaopas

2005

2000

Checklist: some of the films I saw theatrically in 2000

7.1.2000 Random Hearts
8.1.2000 Tyttö sillalla
22.1.2000 American Beauty

3.2.2000 Levottomat

4.3.2000 Kuudes aisti

7.4.2000 Magnolia

6.5.2000 Oman elämänsä sankari
6.5.2000 Erin Brockovich
12.5.2000 Man on the Moon
13.5.2000 Lahjakas herra Ripley
13.5.2000 Minä päivänä tahansa
20.5.2000 Stuart Little
20.5.2000 The Million Dollar Hotel
20.5.2000 Boys Don't Cry
27.5.2000 Happiness

2.6.2000 Pokemon
9.6.2000 Tango kolmelle

15.7.2000 Les Enfants du Marais
15.7.2000 M:I-2 Vaarallinen tehtävä 2
21.7.2000 Peeping Tom
22.7.2000 Tarzan (Disney)

2.9.2000 Silta
2.9.2000 Buena Vista Social Club
23.9.2000 Palaa luokseni

7.10.2000 Kananlento
28.10.2000 Rakkaudella Maire

9.12.2000 Yksinäinen sydän
9.12.2000 Dinosaurus
13.12.2000 Goya
23.12.2000 Peppi Etelämerellä
29.12.2000 Toisen kerroksen lauluja
30.12.2000 Apua! Olen kala