20.000 Years in Sing Sing

20.000 vuotta Sing Singissä / 20.000 år i Sing Sing. US 1932. PC: Warner Bros. D: Michael Curtiz. Based on the book by the warden Lewis E. Lawes. AD: Anton Grot. Starring Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Arthur Byron, Louis Calhern. 78 min. Print: LoC. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 2, 4 July 2008. - Based on the true stories of the great prison reformer. Curtiz is getting to find his true groove in this grim story of the hard-boiled criminal (Spencer Tracy) and his experience of the "honour system". Semi-documentary scenes add to the authenticity.

Man of Cinema: Pierre Rissient

Todd McCarthy: Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema (US 2007).

US 2007. D: Todd McCarthy. Digibeta (original format). 110 min. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 2, 4 July 2008. - A wonderful and affectionate portrait of the Grand Ambassador of cinema. My favourite movie of the Bologna festival.

Dossier The Sea Gull

Linda Wada: The Sea Gull: "A Woman of the Sea". The Chaplin Studio's Lost Film Starring Edna Purviance. Bend, Oregon: Leading Ladies, 2010. On: Josef von Sternberg's unreleased film A Woman of the Sea also known by its working title Sea Gulls (US 1926). Missing believed lost.

Presenta Janet Bergstrom. Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 4 July 2008. – Traces of Josef von Sternberg's lost film, produced by Charles Chaplin. I saw the beginning of this presentation only.

Chaplin in visita al Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia [1952]

Photo not from the movie. Fondo DIAL / Chaplin Charlie – in visita al Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. Charlie Chaplin in visita al Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia incontra le studentesse – totale. Data: 22.10.1952. Luogo della ripresa: Roma. – Dettagli: colore: b/n – materia e tecnica: gelatina bromuro d'argento/pellicola (poliestere) – formato: 6x6 – oggetto: materiale vario – codice foto: DAD028-8. From: Luce Archivio.

IT 1952. 10 min silent. Cineteca Nazionale. Presenta Cecilia Cenciarelli. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 4 July 2008. – Chaplin visited Rome to promote Limelight on 22 December, 1952. Prominent Italian film people appear, such as Zavattini and Fellini.

Bad Day at Black Rock

John Sturges: Bad Day at Black Rock (US 1955). Spencer Tracy as John J. Macreedy, the one-armed stranger, who arrives at Black Rock in the year 1945 to give a posthumous military award to a Japanese-American farmer named Kamoko whose son has died as an American war hero in WWII.

Mies astui junasta / En man steg av tåget. US 1955. Print: GEH. The beginning viewed in Bologna, Cinema Arlecchino, 4 July 2008. - A clean print with somewhat flat and lifeless colour and definition (in the beginning at least).

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

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

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

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

I topi grigi 7: 6.000 volts

The Grey Mice 7: 6.000 Volts. IT 1918. D+starring Emilio Ghione. 760 m /16 fps/ 42 min. Grand piano: Donald Sosin. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 4 July 2008. - Za la Mort rescued on a cannibal island, becoming the witch doctor. The evil countess's henchmen disguised as old people steal the address of the million lira cache. But there is the deadly electric shock of 6.000 volts. The corpse of Musoduro is staged as a victim of Za la Mort. He is arrested on arrival to the railway station.

La Bandera

Kuoleman pataljoona. FR 1935. PC: Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie. D: Julien Duvivier. SC: Duvivier, Charles Spaak, Pierre Mac Orlan - based on the novel by Mac Orlan. DP: Jules Kruger, Marc Fossard. Starring Jean Gabin, Annabella, Robert Le Vigan, Pierre Renoir, Gaston Modot, Viviane Romance. 102 min. Restored by AFF / CNC. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Arlecchino, 3 July 2008. - Gabin's first signature role as a fatal, tragic man who tries to escape his dark past of crime and murder - in this story, in the Foreign Legion, meeting and marrying in a strange tattoo and blood marriage Aicha (Annabella) too late. There is a compelling flow in the film, a milestone in the French 1930s crime fantasy film, one of the models of American film noir. A colonialistic film, but in fantasy mode. Clearly Pépé le Moko built on this.

Man of the West

Anthony Mann: Man of the West (1958) with Gary Cooper and Julie London.

Mies lannesta / Mannen fran vastern. US © 1958 Ashton Productions. Originally released by United Artists. D: Anthony Mann. SC: Reginald Rose - based on the novel The Border Jumpers by Will C. Brown. DP: Ernest Haller - CinemaScope - De Luxe. Starring: Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb, Arthur O'Connell. 100 min. Print: Cin. fr. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Arlecchino, 3 July 2008. - The print is a mixed bag from brilliant to mediocre colour and definition. - A masterpiece revisited in a magnificent scope presentation. Anthony Mann had fallen out with James Stewart, and the aged Gary Cooper brought his own tragic charisma into the part (interesting to see this soon after Morocco, made 28 years earlier). - There is Dostoyevskian grandeur in this story of the man's return to his criminal past, and conquering the evil father figure. - Lee J. Cobb's barking may get a bit monotonous. - Humoristic touches in the beginning, as the man of the West boards a train for the first time in his life. - Julie London presents a romantic interest which remains only a beautiful, unrealized opportunity. - This film is a noble entry in the "good-bad man / woman" tradition of the Western. The story would have been perfect for William S. Hart.

Morocco

US 1930. PC: Paramount. D: Josef von Sternberg. Starring Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou. Print: UCLA. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Arlecchino, 3 July 2008. - The last 30 minutes. - The film is spellbinding, and the print probably the best there is (but Paramount burned the negatives and the best original materials in the 1950s).

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

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

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

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

I topi grigi 6: Aristocrazia canaglia

The Grey Mice 6: Rogue Aristocracy. IT 1918. D+starring Emilio Ghione. 826 m /16 fps/ 46 min. Grand piano: Antonio Coppola. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 3 July 2008. - Full speed ahead in the action serial. Za la Mort and Leo learn to wear a tail suit for the reception at the Countess Giovanna di Saint Valentin. As a result of her poison cigarettes the two wake up in a nailed box in the bowels of a cargo boat to Singapore. However, a submarine crosses their way, and the episode ends in a shipwreck. Meanwhile, Za la Vie contacts the underworld and cashes at Crédit Lyonnais the million franc cheque, and in the last minute rescue the evil Countess's car is stopped by broken glass planted on the road by our friends.

Herzog Blaubarts Burg

Bluebeard's Castle / Herttua Siniparran linna.
    DE 1964. PC: Norman Foster Productions.
    D: Michael Powell. A film of the Bela Bartok opera with the libretto by Bela Balazs, A Kekszakallu herceg vara (1911). Design: Hein Heckroth. Starring Norman Foster (Bluebeard) and Ana Raquel Satre (Giuditta). 60 min.
    Telecast in Finland: Herttua Siniparran linna. Yleisradio TV1, 25 Dec 1968 at 21:25 (update from Jouko Hanhinen, 16 April 2021).
    Ashbrittle Film Foundation. Presented by Mrs. Sibylle Nabel-Foster (Mrs. Norman Foster).
    Technicolor print. Sparse English subtitles. Viewed in Bologna, Arlecchino, 2 July 2008.

AA: An impressive film of the fascinating opera, on the same level as Hoffmann's Tales, brilliant design by Hein Heckroth. Behind the seventh door death waits Giuditta. A parallel film to Peeping Tom.

Cento anni fà: i film del 1908: 9: Italia 1908 - catastrofi

Curated by Luigi Virgolin. Grand piano: Antonio Coppola. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 2 July 2008.
Tremblement de terre de Messine. FR 1909. PC: Pathé. Newsreel on the terrible earthquake of Messina and Reggio Calabria: the ruins.
L'orfanella di Messina / Die Waise von Messina. IT 1909. PC: Ambrosio. D: Giovanni Vitrotti. Fiction: a lost child replaced by an orphan from Messina.
Cocò e il terremoto. FR 1910. A funny farce of Cocò's terrible nightmares of earthquakes.
Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei. IT 1908. PC: Ambrosio. D: Luigi Maggi. Starring Lydia De Roberti. An impressive NFM print with strong colours of the first significant film adaptation of the Bulwer-Lytton novel.
Visit to Pompei. FR [1913?]. Newsreel of the contemporary Pompei site.

Gembaku no ko

Children of Hiroshima. JP 1952. PC: Kindai Eiga Kyokai, Mingei. D+SC: Kaneto Shindo. Starring Nobuko Otowa (Takako Ishikawa). 97 min. Kawakita Memorial print. Viewed in Bologna, Lumière 2, 2 July 2008. - A strong fictional approach to the Hiroshima disaster through a young lady teacher who returns to her home town and wants to take to her island a young boy whose parents died in the disaster and whose grandfather is blind and horribly burned. Direct, effective, emotional, with lots of documentary interesting passages.

Hiroshima Nagasaki - August 1945

US 1970. P: Eric Barnouw. D: Akira Iwasaki. 16mm, 17 min, PFA. Viewed in Bologna, Lumière 2, 2 July 2008. - Original Hiroshima and Nagasaki footage, kept secret for decades, and then barely released. Essential images.

Cento anni fà: i film del 1908: 8: Italia 1908 - il cinema italiano nel 1908

Il duello dei paurosi / Timid Duellers (IT 1908).

L'incontro dei reali a Venezia. IT 1908. P: Luca Comerio. Documentary on Vittorio Emanuele and Franz Joseph in Venice.

Topolini riconoscenti / Les Souris reconnaisants. IT 1908. PC: Ambrosio. Beautiful print of the comedy-fairytale.
L'abbandonata. IT 1908. PC: Cines. D: Mario Caserini. Starring Maria Caserini-Gasparini. The tragedy of the girl seduced and abandoned by the gamekeeper, with fatal results of a gunshot, the blame taken by the girl. A fine sense of histrionic melodrama in the gestures.
Giuditta e Oloferne / Judith and Holofernes. IT 1908. PC: Cines. D: Mario Caserini. A rather clumsy interpretation of the Biblical story.
Un dramma al Marocco. IT 1908. PC: Itala. A beautiful print of the pictorially pleasant film.
Le manovre navali italiane. IT 1908. PC: Ambrosio. Documentary of the great manoeuvres of the Italian navy.
Il duello dei paurosi / The Duel of Cowards. IT 1908. PC: Itala. A funny comedy with perfect convulsive, exaggerated gestures.

I topi grigi 5: Corsa al milione / The Grey Mice 5: The Race to the Millions

Emilio Ghione: I topi grigi 5: Corsa al milione / The Grey Mice 5: The Race to the Millions (IT 1918). Emilio Ghione (Za la Mort).

Les Souris grises / As Ratas Pardas / Los ratones grises.

    IT 1918. D+starring Emilio Ghione. 762 m /16 fps/ 42 min. Grand piano: Maud Nelissen. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 2 July 2008. Believed dead, Za la Mort meets his family after a long break, and the reception is strange because of the romance between Za la Vie and Leo. The shock is almost fatal for Za la Vie, but Za la Mort is ready to face the reality. After the death of Saint Valentin the last will with the huge inheritance for Leo is burned by the evil countess. Ingenuously Za la Mort gets to meet her, and Za la Vie gets a job as the chambermaid in the mansion. – There is a special visual intensity in this episode, and a true strangeness in Emilio Ghione's star persona.

...

IL CINEMA RITROVATO 2019

I TOPI GRIGI. 

IT 1919. Director: Emilio Ghione

8 episodes. Sog.: Pio Vanzi. F.: Cesare Cavagna. Int.: Emilio Ghione (Za la Mort), Kally Sambucini (Za la Vie), Alfredo Martinelli (Pierino), Alberto Francis Bertone (Grigione), Nello Carotenuto (Musoduro), Ida Carloni Talli (duchessa Giovanna di Saint Valentin), H. Fiorin, B. Pasquali, Oreste Bilancia (il poliziotto). Prod.: Tiber-Film.

35 mm. L.: 5869 m. D.: 321’ a 16 f/s. Bn. The Black Envelope (L.: 632 m. D.: 35’), The Torture (L.: 743 m. D.: 41’), The Hideaway (L.: 682 m. D.: 37’), The Rope Net (L.: 590 m. D.: 32’), The Hunt for a Million Francs (L.: 762 m. D.: 42’), Crooked Aristocracy (L.: 826 m. D.: 45’), 6.000 Volts (L.: 760 m. D.: 42’), Lent Festival (L.: 874 m. D.: 48’)

"I topi grigi, an eight-part serial produced by Tiber Film in Rome, is part of the complex saga of Za la Mort, an apache and outlaw who was the protagonist of 12 films, four serials, three novels and various theatrical shows created between 1914 and 1930 by Emilio Ghione (1879-1930)."

"Thanks to his alter ego Za, Ghione would eventually become a genuinely popular star. On one hand he incarnated the role of fearless hero and was the emblem of muscular masculinity. On the other he was also a natural performer in the role of a dandy in several melodramas set in the salons of the decadent, contemporary nobility – a setting reflecting the D’Annunzio-inspired atmosphere of the period."

"The serial is made up of diverse narrative ingredients. It could be defined as a broad polyptych, presenting the public with stories derived from crime fiction; the exotic settings of Emilio Salgari and the farandole in which the fantastical goes hand-in-hand with the naturalistic; and Za la Mort’s desire for a Horatian peaceful retirement following the trans­formations demanded by his extraordinary adventures. Sometimes different genres coexist in the same episode, with Ghione inserting stereotypical digressions and details from different literary currents (feuilletons, adventure stories, children’s fiction, etc.) in order to distract audiences hungry for dramatic revelations from the slender plot. The serial takes spectators to the four corners of the world, revealing a hitherto unseen, Ulysses-like Za la Mort."

"I topi grigi is still the only one of Za’s serials to be conserved more or less intact in relation to its original length. Incomplete but still legible traces of Za remain in the feature-length Anime buie (1916) and the Berlin-shot L’incubo di Za la Vie (Der Traum der Zalavie, 1924) while fragments of Il triangolo giallo (1917), Dollari e fracks and S.E. la Morte (both 1919) are known to exist in public and private archives."

Episode 5: The Hunt for a Million Francs. 

IT 1919. 42 min. Director: Emilio Ghione

Il Cinema Ritrovato 2019: One Hundred Years Ago: 1919.

Tuesday 25/06/2019 - 19:00 Cinema Modernissimo

Wednesday 26/06/2019 - 09:30 Cinema Modernissimo

Restored by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, Cineteca Italiana – Milano and Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique with funding provided by Proyecto Lumière from the original nitrate negative without intertitles, recovered by Cineteca Italiana at Pittaluga Archive, and a safety positive copy printed in the Fifties from the same negative preserved at Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique with scenes decomposed in the nitrate print. Intertitles of La busta nera have been invented based on the plot proceeding since no materials of that period was available. For the other episodes intertitles have been reconstructed based on the production company lists held by Cineteca Italiana.

"Paris. Za locates his family. Sometime later, he learns that Leo’s mother has died, raising the question of who will inherit the million Francs she left behind. This sum risks ending up in the hands of Duchess Giovanna, who has killed her sister in order to secure the inheritance. Thanks to a ruse, Za is received by the noblewoman and offers her three days to leave the inheritance to Leo, or else he will report the matter to the police."

Denis Lotti

ITALIAN WIKIPEDIA

I TOPI GRIGI 5: CORSA AL MILIONE (EPISODIO 5)

"Za la Mort rintraccia i suoi, a Parigi. L'incontro con loro è meno allegro di quanto potesse immaginare, in parte perché i suoi famigliari lo avevano ormai dato per morto, e si erano abituati ad una nuova vita senza di lui, in parte perché, in questa nuova prospettiva Za la Vie e Leo, confessa la zia in un colloquio con Za "avevano iniziato ad accarezzare un progetto…", ovvero una loro unione, "senza che nulla di sconveniente sia comunque successo". Il trambusto causato dal ritorno di Za la Mort è tale che Za la Vie ingerisce un quantitativo eccessivo di medicinali, e viene portata in ospedale. Za la Mort, magnanimamente, riconosce che Za la Vie, una volta ripresasi, avrà pieno diritto di seguire i dettami del suo cuore, quali che siano, a favore proprio o di Leo; per intanto, egli continua a perseguire il fine di ottenere la presumibile eredità spettante a Leo."

"La duchessa Arabella Maria di Saint Valentin muore. La sorella Giovanna ne dissigilla illecitamente il testamento, da dove appare che Leo, di cui viene descritto il particolare neo identificatorio, era figlio naturale di Arabella, rapitale diciotto anni prima mentre portava al collo un medaglione (quello contenuto nella busta nera aperta da Za la Mort in precedenza). A Leo veniva fatto lascito di un milione. La duchessa Giovanna, altrettanto illecitamente, sentito il proprio intendente Romilles, distrugge il testamento: nessuno scandalo, convengono, avrebbe dovuto colpire la casata dei Saint Valentin."

"Za la Mort, saputo della morte della duchessa Arabella, decide che è giunto il momento di condurre indagini sulla casa nobiliare dei Saint Valentin. Cerca di farsi ricevere da Giovanna, ma invano: costei aveva dato ordine agli uscieri di non ammettere nessuno all'infuori di Romilles. Za la Mort mette in atto un suo piano. Innanzitutto fa assumere Za la Vie come cameriera nella magione della duchessa, in modo da avere una testa di ponte in territorio nemico. Poi escogita un brillante espediente per farsi ricevere dalla duchessa Giovanna: provoca a bella posta un incidente con Romilles, che egli aveva seguito; in tal modo, com'era d'uso, i due si scambiano i biglietti da visita, a fini di risarcimento."

"Presentando il biglietto da visita di Romilles all'usciere, non riesce difficile a Za la Mort farsi ricevere da Giovanna di Saint Valentin, sorpresa nel trovarsi innanzi uno sconosciuto. Za la Mort non ha elementi probatori, e si affida al suo fiuto e alla fortuna. Sventola davanti alla duchessa il medaglione e qualche carta compromettente che trae dalla busta nera - per consegnare la quale carta ricatta la donna (chiedendo propriamente un milione) -, fa allusioni, provoca, minaccia di mandarla in galera, ed intanto osserva il comportamento guardingo ed impacciato di Giovanna, il che gli dà conferma di essere sulla pista giusta. Non si addiviene a nulla, ma Za se ne va lasciando alla duchessa un ultimatum: tre giorni di tempo per decidere, dopodiché egli avrebbe agito (in un modo a lui stesso sconosciuto)."

Film concert Blackmail (2008 Bologna, composed by Neil Brand, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale conducted by Timothy Brock)

Alfred Hitchcock: Blackmail (GB 1929). The date rape sequence. Alice White (Anny Ondra) has killed the would-be rapist.

Puhtauden lunnaat / Kiristys / Utpressning. GB 1929. PC: British International Pictures. P: John Maxwell. D: Alfred Hitchcock. SC: AH, Benn W. Levy, Charles Bennett – based on the play by Bennett. DP: John J. Cox. Starring: Anny Ondra (Alice White), John Longden (detective Frank Weber), Donald Calthrop (the blackmailer Tracy), Cyril Ritchard (the artist). 2056 m /24 fps/ 75 min. Print: BFI. E-subtitles in Italian. Viewed at Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, 1 July 2008

PREMIERE OF THE NEW SCORE COMPOSED BY NEIL BRAND
CONDUCTOR: TIMOTHY BROCK
ORCHESTRA DEL TEATRO COMUNALE (BOLOGNA), 56 artists

Neil Brand's new full-blooded Hitchcockian score stands up to comparison with Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman, Dimitri Tiomkin, and Ron Goodwin.

An American Tragedy

Amerikkalainen murhenäytelmä / En amerikansk tragedi. US (c) 1931 Paramount. P+D: Josef von Sternberg. SC: Samuel Hoffenstein - based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser (1925). DP: Lee Garmes. Starring: Phillips Holmes (Clyde Griffiths), Sylvia Sidney (Roberta /Bert/ Alden), Frances Dee (Sondra Finchley). 95 min. E-subtitles in Italian. Print: UCLA. Viewed at Arlecchino, Bologna, 1 July 2008. - I had seen this film previously on TV only, and it was very moving to experience it on the big screen. The print bears the marks of the Paramount tragedy. The UCLA print has been lovingly prepared but looks at least partly like a 16mm blowup. - Sternberg made the film with great feeling and commitment against the grain, as Dreiser is a naturalist and Sternberg an anti-naturalist. - The coldness of the performance of Phillips Holmes may have distanced audiences. Montgomery Clift was more successful in making the tragic protagonist both emotionally engaging and terrible in his calculation.

Gamperaliya / The Changing Village

ගම්පෙරලිය / Forgotten Village [translated title on print] / A Family Chronicle. LK 1965. PC: Cinelanka. D: Lester James Peries. SC: Reggie Siriwardena - based on the novel by Martin Wickremasinghe. DP: William Blake.
    C: Wickrema Bogoda (Tissa), Gamini Fonseka (Jinadasa), Punya Hiendeniya (Nanda), Henry Jayasena (Pryal Weliweli). In Sinhala language [sous-titres francais?], e-subtitles in Italian and English. 105 min.
    Print: UCLA. Special thanks: Pierre Rissient.
    Viewed in Cinema Arlecchino, Bologna, 1 July 2008.

A beautiful, sensitive portrait of a young woman in the beginning of the 20th century in the vast villas of a vanishing upper caste. Paraphrasing Isabelle Jordan's text in Positif, quoted in Bologna's programme book: she is caught between two ages, two centuries, two cultures, where women wear European lace bodices with Sri Lankan cotton skirts. A quiet, intensive, refined interpretation of a heartbreaking story. In the same league with Satyajit Ray.

I topi grigi 4: La rete di corda

IT 1918. D+starring: Emilio Ghione. 48 min. With earphone commentary in English. Grand piano: Alain Baents. - I saw the beginning only of this episode. It takes place in America, in Diamond City, in the Wild West.

Heroes for Sale

Suurinta elamassa. US 1933. PC: First National Pictures, The Vitaphone Corporation. D: William A. Wellman. SC: Robert Lord, Wilson Mizner. Starring Richard Barthelmess (Thomas Holmes), Loretta Young (Ruth Loring Holmes). 76 min. Print: LoC. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 2, 30 June 2008. - A hard hitting social melodrama, to be compared with I'm a Fugitive from a Chain Gang and Wild Boys of the Road. Also an ironic tale in Voltaire's Candide tradition. The true war hero becomes a morphine addict and the wrong man gets the decorations. A picaresque story of social adversity from 1918 until 1932. The technical innovation in the laundry leads to unemployment, and our Candide who tries to prevent the Luddite reaction gets to prison believed to be a Communist, and he will be forever under the control of the state police. He donates his fortune from his partnership in the laundy innovation to feeding the poor in the ever expanding lines of the hungry and jobless and disappears underground as a tramp, being chased from state to state like the fugitive from the chain gang.

Korol Parizha

The King of Paris. RU 1917. PC: Hanzhonkov. D: Jevgeni Bauer, Olga Rahmanova. Based on the novel by Georges Ohnet (1898). Art director: Lev Kuleshov. A dvd screening at Cinema Lumière 1, Bologna, 30 June 2008. The Hyperkino project presented by Nikolai Izvolov. I followed the presentation and the beginning of the dvd screening only. The English intertitles have been prepared for the film in 2008 by Nikolai Izvolov, the current generations having seen the film previously without intertitles only.

Cento anni fà: i film del 1908: USA 1908 - Edison e altri

Curator: Tom Gunning. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 30 June 2008. Piano: Donald Sosin.
The Sculptor's Nightmare. US 1908. PC: Biograph. SC: Joseph Golden. 16mm. /16 fps/ 11 min. Print: LoC (from paper print?). Interesting clay animation in the sculptor's dream.
The Thieving Hand. US 1908. PC: Vitagraph. 107 m /16 fps/ 6 min. Print: GEH. - The loose arm has an independent, criminal mind of its own. This comedy has the same concept as Orlacs Hande, Die Hand (Unheimliche Geschichten), and The Beast with Five Fingers.
Fireside Reminiscences. US 1908. PC: Edison. D: J. Searle Dawley, Edwin S. Porter. /16 fps/ 7 min. Deutsche Zwischentitel. NFM. - A complex flashback as moving images projected in the flames of the fireplace.
Francesca di Rimini. US 1908. PC: Vitagraph. D: J. Stuart Blackton. /16 fps/ 10 min. Print: LoC. - The Dante story in tableau style.
Cupid's Pranks. US 1908. PC: Edison. D: J. Searle Dawley. 183 m /16 fps/ 10 min. Print: MoMA. - Funny comedy of Cupid interfering in romantic moments.
The Hebrew Fugitive / Im Lande der Unterdruckung. US 1908. PC: Lubin. 200 m /16 fps/ 11 min. Deutsche Zwischentitel. Print: BFINA. - A stark mini-drama of pogroms in the Pale of Settlement, and the flight to the land of liberty. Final scene of arriving in the USA can be compared with Chaplin (The Immigrant), Kazan (America, America), and Coppola (The Godfather Part II), I heard the Nino Rota score swelling in my mind.

Cento anni fà: i film del 1908: USA 1908 - Biograph prima e dopo Griffith

Curator: Tom Gunning. Viewed in Bologna, Lumière 1, 30 June 2008. Piano: Gabriel Thibaudeau.
Old Isaacs the Pawnbroker. US 1908. PC: Biograph. SC: D.W. Griffith. 274 m /16 fps/ 15 min. Print: MoMA. - Against the racial stereotype: a kindly Jewish pawnbroker helps a little girl and her mother.
Bobby's Kodak. US 1908. PC: Biograph. Starring Bobby Harron. 183 m /20 fps/ 8 min. Print: MoMA. - The rascal takes embarrassing snapshots and shows them in the family and office viewing.
The Adventures of Dollie. US 1908. PC: Biograph. D: Griffith. 235 m /16 fps/ 13 min. Print: LoC. - The Gypsies steal the little daughter, who barely survives in the barrel that gets into the river and the waterfall.
The Guerrilla. US 1908. PC: Biograph. D: Griffith. 300 m /16 fps/ 16 min. Print: LoC & Cineteca Nazionale. - DWG's first Civil War film.
After Many Years. US 1908. PC: Biograph. D: Griffith. 340 m /16 fps/ 18 min. Print: LoC. - DWG's first adaptation of Tennyson's Enoch Arden on film.

I topi grigi 3: Il covo

The Grey Mice 3: The Den. IT 1918. D+starring Emilio Ghione. Cineteca di Bologna / Fondazione Cineteca Italiana / Cinémathèque Royale: Lumière Project 1994 print. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 30 June 2008. Earphone translation in English. Piano: Neil Brand. - The family escapes the bandits by the river. The police catches the gang in the sewers. There is a new branch in the adventure in America, under disguise. - Fairly interesting and stylish progress of the serial.

Forze irresistibili: Le suffragette al cinema: spazio pubblico e privato

Presenta Madeleine Bernstorff. Grand piano: Maud Nelissen. Viewed at Lumière 1, Bologna, 29 June, 2008.
Die Suffragette. DE 1913. D: Urban Gad, starring: Asta Nielsen. DVD Fragment 2 min. Electrifying.
La Grève des cuisinières. FR 1906. PC: Pathé. 8 min. A stereotypical farce.
Robinette nihilista. IT 1913. PC: Ambrosio, starring Nilde Baracchi. 6 min. A farce with witty choreography.
La Journée d'une musulmane / La Journée de Lily. FR 1913. PC: Eclair. Fine print: CNC. 5 min
Tilly in a Boardinghouse. GB 1911. PC: Hepworth. Print: NFM. Starring Alma Taylor (Tilly), Chrissie White (Sally). 7 min. - Wild girls escape in boys' clothing.
Bobby bei den Frauenrechtlerinnen. DE 1911. PC: Messter. 6 min. - Man dresses as woman, infiltrates into a women's meeting, and is chased.
Rêve d'une féministe. FR 1919. PC: Pathé. - Farce about the role reversal.
La Femme doit voter. FR 1912. Print: AFF/CNC. 2 min
Scenes in the Record: Demonstration of Suffragettes 19 June 1910. FR 1910. PC: Pathé. 3 min.
Scenes from Suffragette Demonstration in Newcastle 8 October 1909. FR 1909. PC: [Warwick]. 1 min. Print: BFI
The Suffragette Derby 4 June 1913. FR 1913. PC: Gaumont. 6 min. - Emily Davison throws herself under the King's horse.
Miss Davison's Funeral. FR 1913. PC: Gaumont. 3 min. - "I have fought the good fight".
Suffragettes? Yarmouth Pier and Pavillon Burnt Down 7 April 1914. FR 1914. PC: Eclair. 1 min.
Milling the Militants: A Comic Absurdity. GB 1918. PC: Clarendon. D: Percy Stow. 7 min. - Mother is a suffragette, father stays with children, windows shattered, fire breaks out, a cruel revenge in a dream.
An exciting compilation programme on the social impact of the suffragette. For a Finnish viewer this is a bit strange, as in Finland in 1905-1906 women got full political rights.

Cento anni fà: i film del 1908: 2: Uomini del 1908

Presentano Mariann Lewinsky & Vladimir Bosenko. Grand piano: Antonio Coppola. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 29 July 2008.
PRIMA PARTE: LA CLASSE AGIATA
1908 London Olympics: Track and Field. FR 1908. PC: Pathé. 9 min. - Low contrast, no titles explaining who is who.
Kaiser Wilhelm II Hunting. DE 1908. 2 min. - A catch of deer. Good print.
Les Dragées du grand-père. FR 1908. 7 min. - The virile grandfather buys power pills from the pharmacy, but his rascal grandson takes them, too, and amazes the world with his miracle power. +
Avventura galante di un provinciale. IT 1908. PC: Milano Films. D: Luca Comerio. 4 min. - The provincial gentleman picks up a woman who turns out to be a fake.
SECONDA PARTE: DA LOCALE A NAZIONALE ED INTERNAZIONALE; NUOVI PAESI PRODUTTORI
[Alexander Girardi singt]. DE 1908. PC: Messter. 2 min. - A silent print of a singing head.
Die Beerdigung der Opfer des Grubenunglücks auf der Zeche Radbod I.W. den 16 Nov. 1908. DE 1908. PC: Welt-Kinematograph. 7 min. - An endless march.
Hänsel und Gretel. DE 1908. PC: Fita-Film. 3 min.
TERZA PARTE: CENTO ANNI DI CINEMA RUSSO
GOSFILMOFOND 60 YEARS
[A. Drankoff. St. Petersburg]. RU 1908. P: Alexander Drankov. 7 min. - The fire brigade in manouvres, red tinting.
Lev Nikolaevic Tolstoi. RU 1908. P: Alexander Drankov. 12 min. - The NFM Filmliga print with English subtitles. High contrast. Tolstoy at Jasnaja Poljana, meeting crowds at the station, visiting his Moskow home Kanovniki, Koslova station, Briansk station, morning walk in the snow, horseback riding in the winter.
Stenka Razin. RU 1908. P: Alexander Drankov. 10 min fragment. - Ponizovaja Volnitsa = liberation of the lower Volga sequence. A lot of Russian intertitles, not translated. The maid is thrown into the Volga.
St. Petersburg. DK 1908. 2 min.

I topi grigi 2: La tortura

The Grey Mice 2: The Torture. IT 1918. D+starring Emilio Ghione. 743 m /16 fps/ 41 min. Grand piano: Alain Baents. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 29 June 2008. - The Grey Mice catch Za la Mort and put him in a torturous trap where he cannot move his head. A lady saves Za. A bomb destroys the building. The crooks capture the black envelope.

I topi grigi 1: La busta nera / The Grey Mice 1: The Black Envelope (1994 Lumière Project restoration)

Emilio Ghione: I topi grigi 1: La busta nera / The Grey Mice 1: The Black Envelope (IT 1918).

IT 1918. PC: Tiber-Film. D+starring Emilio Ghione (Za la Mort) with Kally Sambucini (Za la Vie), Alfredo Martinelli (Pierino), Alberto Francis Bertone (Grigione), Nello Carotenuto (Muso Doro), Ida Carloni Talli (La duchessa Giovanna). Restored from the camera negative: Lumière Project 1994. 632 m /16 fps/ 35 min. Presenta Denis Lotti. Grand piano: Antonio Coppola. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 28 June 2008. - Za la Mort steals the black envelope from the Grey Mice gang in the sewers (of Paris?). Za la Mort's adopted son Leo is revealed to be the inheritor of an immense fortune.

The Salvation Hunters

US 1925. PC: Academy Photoplays. D: Josef von Sternberg. Starring George K. Arthur (the boy), Georgia Hale (the girl), Bruce Guerin (the child). 1814 m /20 fps/ 79 min. Print: UCLA. Presenta: Janet Bergstrom & Nicholas von Sternberg. Grand piano: Donald Sosin. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Lumière 1, 28 June 2008. - Sternberg's first film is boldly personal and visually expressive. It's about three human beings that are about to fall into the gutter. The recurrent image is the dredge. It's a film about thought, as Sternberg announces: the thought of salvation, redemption, transcendence.

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

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

Suomalaistyttöjä Tukholmassa

Finska flickor i Stockholm / [Finnish Girls in Stockholm]. FI 1952. PC: Fennada. P: Mauno Mäkelä. D: Roland af Hällström. SC: Kaarlo Nuorvala. DP: Esko Töyri. M: Tapio Ilomäki, Josef Kaartinen. Starring Toini Vartiainen (Rauha), Eija Inkeri (Kirsti), Maija Karhi (Liisa) - Esko Saha (Olavi Peltola), Åke Lindman (Erik), William Markus (Sven) - Henake Schuback (Italian engineer), Elvi Saarnio (Finnish streetwalker). 102 min. Vintage print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 18 June 2008. - Beautiful definition of light, but a focus problem in the old print. - Fun to compare with Sex and the City the movie. - This small and unpretentious film has unintended documentary value for the modern viewer. It records the very start of the "Ruotsinlaiva" syndrome of tenement-building-sized cruisers shuttling between Stockholm and Helsinki or Turku (Åbo). The drama is based on the abysmal difference in the living-standard of affluent Sweden and poor Finland still struggling in the aftermath of three terrible wars. (First in the 1980s the gap was getting even, and still Sweden has the superior lead in cultural heritage, manners and mores.) - We see in a cheerfully superficial mood different strategies of experiencing Stockholm, and a selection of stereotypical male responses to the unexperienced girls.

Ansiktet

Kasvot. SE 1958. PC: Svensk Filmindustri. D+SC: Ingmar Bergman. DP: Gunnar Fischer. Starring Max von Sydow (Albert Emanuel Vogler), Ingrid Thulin (Manda Vogler / Aman), Gunnar Björnstrand (Dr. Vergérus, Minister of Health), Erland Josephson (Consul Egerman), Gertrud Fridh (Ottilia Egerman), Toivo Pawlo (Police Superintendent Starbeck), Ulla Sjöblom (Henrietta Starbeck), Åke Fridell (Tubal), Bibi Andersson (Sara), Bengt Ekerot (Johan Spegel), Lars Ekborg (Simson). 100 min. Vintage print with Finnish subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 17 June 2008. - Beautiful definition of light in the print that looks like it's struck from the negative. - My previous impression was that this is light and artificial entertainment compared with Bergman's best films. Now I tend to see the strong sides only. - Yes, this is an entertainment film, an excursion into the mystery, horror, and fantasy side of life that always fascinated Bergman. - The theme of the Laterna Magica. The world of The Magic Flute. Tubal and Sara as Papageno and Papagena. - The Caligari influence in the mask of Vogler (a Caligari who looks like Cesare), the mute magnetist who starts to speak at 65 minutes of the film's duration. - Confessions as in Enskilda samtal ("my man died eight years ago").

Naisenkuvia / Portraits of Women and Yhdeksän tapaa lähestyä Helsinkiä / Nine Ways to Approach Helsinki (2008 dvd)

Jörn Donner: Naisenkuvia / Portraits of Women (FI 1970).

Naisenkuvia ja Yhdeksän tapaa lähestyä Helsinkiä

Antti Alanen

Dvd-klassikko

Helsingin Sanomat

13.6.2008

NAISENKUVIA / Kvinnobilder / Portraits of Women. Suomi © 1970 Jörn Donner Productions. TJ+O+KS+LE: Jörn Donner. T: Arno Carlstedt. Apulaisohjaaja: Jaakko Talaskivi. KU: Heikki Katajisto. Kameramiehet: Kaj Lall, Eero Salmenhaara. M: Claes af Geijerstam. Ä: Paul Jyrälä. N: Ritva Vepsä (Saara Suominen, biologian opettaja), Jörn Donner (Pertti, pornoelokuvien tekijä, "Pertsa"), Kirsti Wallasvaara (Liisa, voimistelunopettaja), Aarre Elo (Jussi, Valmetin insinööri). Väri, 1,66:1, mono, 88 min Svenska texter / English subtitles. 13.6.2008

Kolmannessa suomenkielisessä pitkässä näytelmäelokuvassaan Naisenkuvia Jörn Donner löi lekkeriksi. Mustaa valkoisella ja  Sixtynine -elokuvissa oli ollut viistosti hymyilevä, satiirinen ja narsistinen ote. Naisenkuvia on niitä selvemmin komediaa ja itseparodiaa. Donner itse näyttelee pornoelokuvien tekijää Pertsaa, joka Yhdysvalloista Suomeen palatessaan saapuu rapujuhlille. Saara (Ritva Vepsä) torjuu hänet. Onneksi vanha heila Liisa (Kirsti Wallasvaara) päästää hänet vällyjen alle. Pertsan harmiksi nuoria näyttelijöitä kiinnostaa enemmän politiikka kuin porno. Elokuvan sovittava piirre on sen rento ja itseironinen ote. Aikanaan rohkeina pidetyillä rakkauskohtauksillaan Naisenkuvia pääsi sensuurin kynsiin ja sai siitä markkinointihyötyä. Naisenkuvissa on suomalaisen elokuvan kauneimmin eroottinen julistekuva. Sen upea alastonmalli ei esiinny itse elokuvasssa. Naisenkuvien dvd-masterointi on pehmeähköä, hieman nuhruista, mutta ei aivan surkeaa. 

Levyllä on pääkuvaa huomattavasti parempi lisäelokuva, Yhdeksän tapaa lähestyä Helsinkiä (1982). 64-minuuttisen upean dokumenttielokuvan kuvasivat Pirjo Honkasalo ja Eero Salmenhaara. Se on Donnerin persoonallinen ja visuaalisesti unohtumaton näkemys kotikaupungistaan. Näkökulmat ovat omaperäisiä ja mielenkiintoisia. Vaikka elokuva kuvattiin 16 mm:n filmille, sen dvd-masterointi on koko Donner-sarjan hienointa.

Sommarnattens leende

Kesäyön hymyilyä. SE 1955. PC: Svensk Filmindustri. D+SC: Ingmar Bergman. DP: Gunnar Fischer. Starring Ulla Jacobsson (Anne Egerman), Eva Dahlbeck (Désirée Armfelt), Margit Carlquist (Charlotte Malcolm), Harriet Andersson (Petra), Gunnar Björnstrand (Fredrik Egerman), Jarl Kulle (Count Carl Magnus Malcolm), Åke Fridell (the groom Frid), Björn Belvenstrand (Henrik Egerman). 109 min. Vintage print with Finnish subtitles by Aito Mäkinen. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 12 June 2008. - Beautiful definition of light, as if struck from the negative. - My previous impression of this was that Bergman tries hard to do a sophisticated comedy of manners, and the world of the leisure classes is slightly too boring to care. - This time I have more the sense of something affected, forced, and cynical in a slightly shallow way. This film does not flow from the heart (like Bergman's masterpieces of the decade and also several of his lesser films). - But the mechanism in the style of the French 19th century plays is brilliantly and cinematically realized, the actor ensemble is perfect, the cinematography is lovely. - Comparing with Lubitsch: in my opinion, the secret of the Lubitsch touch is a cinematic crystallization of an insight that is simultaneously ironic and cordial. Here Bergman is a bit too smug and not cordial enough.

Джентльмены удачи

Dzhentlemeny udatshi (Finnish transliteration) /Dzhentlmeny udachi (English transliteration) / Onnensoturit / Tre äventyrare / Gentlemen of Fortune. SU 1971. PC: Mosfilm. D: Aleksandr Seryi. SC: Georgi Danelia, Viktorija Tokareva. Starring Jevgeni Leonov (Troshkin / the Docent). 88 min. A vintage print with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Ulla-Liisa Heino / Jutta Leffkowitsch viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 10 June 2008. - Clean print, soft definition, colour intact. - I watched the funny start only of the comedy, where a tender kindergarten teacher gets the mission to go undercover into jail masking as a tough gangster, who is his identical double. An original variation of the idea familiar from the Columbia classic The Whole Town's Talking (1935) written by Robert Riskin and W.R. Burnett, and directed by John Ford.

Sex and the City

Sex and the City - sinkkuelämää / Sex and the City. DE/US (c) IFP Westcoast Erste GmbH & Co. KG. New Line Productions, Inc. D+SC: Michael Patrick King - based on characters from the book by Candace Bushnell and the TV series created by Darren Star. DP: John Thomas - shot on 35mm KodakVision - digital intermediate 2K - 35mm Fuji print 1:1,85. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw), Kim Cattrall (Samantha Jones), Kristin Davis (Charlotte York), Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes). 145 min. Released in Finland by FS Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Taina Komu / Joanna Erkkilä. Viewed in Tennispalatsi 1, Helsinki, 6 June 2008. - This was my introduction to the Sex and the City phenomenon. I had only caught little glimpses of it on tv. My reliable lady friends report that this film is watered-down in comparison with the tv series. - I sat in the first row in Finland's biggest cinema in a sold-out screening on the premiere night in a cinema filled with almost only women. It was clear that they enjoyed it, and so did I. - The Finnish title of the series is "Singles' Life", and this film spells the end of that, as everyone is married / getting married / going steady except Kim Cattrall's Samantha. - Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda are all very different, and they are going their separate ways, but friendship is forever. - "Labels and love". The project has been noted for its particularly blatant product placement. It can also be seen as satirical, but the satire is too gentle to bite. - It certainly is interesting to compare this with the golden days of the woman's film in the 1930s and in the 1950s. The material would have been ideal for George Cukor.

Brilliantovaya ruka / The Diamond Arm

Leonid Gaidai: Бриллиантовая рука / Brilliantovaya ruka / The Diamond Arm (SU 1969) starring Yuri Nikulin.

Бриллиантовая рука / Brilliantovaja ruka (translitteration FI) / (translitteration EN) / Briljanttikäsi / Briljanthanden. SU 1968, premiere 1969. PC: Mosfilm. D: Leonid Gaidai. DP: Igor Tshernyh – Sovcolor – Sovscope 1:2,35. Starring Juri Nikulin, Nina Grebeshkova, Andrei Mironov, Anatoli Papanov. 99 min. Vintage print with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Ulla-Liisa Heino / Eirik Udd. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki 5 June 2008. – Colour fading in this print. – The protagonist takes an Adriatic cruise and in Istanbul is mistaken for a smuggler. As the police get wind of this they let him continue as their bait to catch the whole smuggler gang. A Russian answer to the Pink Panther films, a lightweight, ludicrous farce with satirical quips about the status symbols of the rising standard of life. One of the great box office hits in the USSR.

Tukkijoella (1951)

Timmerflottarna / [Timber River]. FI 1951. PC: Fennada. P: Mauno Mäkelä. D: Roland af Hällström. Based on the musical play by Teuvo Pakkala and Oskar Merikanto (1899). DP: Esko Töyri. M: Oskar Merikanto (the original play) and Tapio Ilomäki (additional score). Starring Tauno Palo (Turkka), Rauni Ikäheimo (Katri Pietola), Sirkka Hirvonen (Anni), Helge Herala (Huotari), Rakel Laakso (Maija Rivakka), Kalle Viherpuu (Tolari), Lasse Pöysti (Pölhö-Kustaa), Ema Vinermo (rättäri), Anton Soini (the master of Pietola), Irja Viherpuu (Pahna-Maija), Kerttu Salmi (Poro-Pirkko), Ritva Putkonen (Lenkka-Leena), Leo Jokela (Oterma the lumberjack). 97 min. 16mm. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 3 June 2008. - A faulty 16mm print struck with dirt on the upper part of the gate, leaving a distracting veil on the image.
"Vielä niitä honkia humisee"
"Tukkilaisten laulu"
"Ei meitä suruilla ruokita"
"Tukkipoika se lautallansa"
"Tuulen henki, lemmenhenki" sung by Rauni Ikäheimo
"Turkan laulu"
"Tolarin laulu"
"Tukkilaisjenkka" sung by Tauno Palo
"Voi minun nuorta sydäntäni" sung by Palo, Ikäheimo
"Sun kanssasi kahden kun soudan" sung by Palo
"Hih, hih, huh, hei, meijän Maija keittää kahvit"
"Katkera on kahvia juoda ilman sokeritta" sung by Helge Herala and the girls
"Tuulan tei" sung by Palo, Ikäheimo
Oskar Merikanto is the favourite composer of the Finnish homes, where Sibelius is the favourite composer of the Finnish concert halls.
This all-time big favourite Finnish music play has been filmed three times, never very successfully, always interestingly. Hällström would have been the ideal director, but also he did a sloppy job with it. Maybe he felt the material was too obvious and familiar. Tauno Palo is not in top form, only very good. His song performances in this film are not absolutely brilliant, but still to be cherished, including the lovely duets with Rauni Ikäheimo. I would select their "Voi minun nuorta sydäntäni" and "Tuulan tei" to my Merikanto anthology.

La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo / Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man

Bernardo Bertolucci: La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo / Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (IT 1981). Ugo Tognazzi as Giovanni Spaggiari.

Naurettavan miehen tragedia / Dåren [Swedish video title]. IT 1981. PC: Fiction Cinematografica, Ladd Company. P: Giovanni Bertolucci. D+SC: Bernardo Bertolucci. DP: Carlo Di Palma - Technicolor. M: Ennio Morricone. LOC: Parma. Starring Ugo Tognazzi (Giovanni Spaggiari), Anouk Aimée (Barbara Spaggiari), Laura Morante (Laura), Victor Cavallo (Adelfo). 116 min. Not released in Finland. Vintage print with e-subtitles in Finnish by Lena Talvio. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 3 June 2008. - This print has not been brilliant to begin with, from one intermediate too many, with focus problems. And now the colour has started to fade. - The film can be compared with Kurosawa's High and Low, with the big industrialist as the main figure. The son has been kidnapped, but it is a trick plot of the young radical terrorists with the son's collaboration. - The drama of the Parmese cheese factory facing bankruptcy, the hard challenges also seen from the industrialist's viewpoint. As in Kurosawa's film, he's a self-made man. - A lively Ennio Morricone score. - Autumnal cinematography by Carlo Di Palma.

Adorable menteuse

Tyttö pyjamassa / Flickan i pyjamas. FR 1961. D: Michel Deville. Starring Marina Vlady (Juliette), Macha Méril (Sophie). 110 min. A vintage print with Finnish / Swedish subtitles viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 3 June 2008. - Lovely definition. - I saw the last half hour only, with the remarkable Marina Vlady at her most charming, also as a singer-guitarplayer. "Unconventional" editing, maybe prompted by the nouvelle vague.

The Last Hurrah

John Ford: The Last Hurrah (US 1958). Spencer Tracy (Frank Skeffington).

Viimeinen koetus / Det sista försöket. 

    US © 1958 Columbia. P+D: John Ford. SC: Frank Nugent – based on the novel by Edwin O'Connor (1956). DP: Charles Lawton. Starring Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, Pat O'Brien, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, John Carradine, Willis Bouchey, Ricardo Cortez, Anna Lee, Jane Darwell. 121 min. Vintage print with Finnish / Swedish subtitles. Viewed at Suomen elokuva-arkisto, Orion, Helsinki, 1 June 2008.

AA: Good definition of light in this daringly darkly photographed film. Works fine in the Academy ratio. – Due to an overlapping schedule, I watched a portion only of this moving farewell film about the elderly Boston politician. It portrays American political life with a special blend of satire and tenderness.

...

SUOMEN ELOKUVA-ARKISTO

FINLANDS FILMARKIV

PROGRAM NOTE BY MATTI SALO

The Last Hurrah

Viimeinen koetus / Det sista försöket

Yhdysvallat 1958. Tuotanto: Columbia, A John Ford Production, Ford. Ohjaus: John Ford. Apulaisohjaajat: Wingate Smith, Sam Nelson Käsikirjoitus: Frank Nugent – Edwin O'Connorin romaanista. Kuvaus: Charles Lawton, Jr.. Lavastus: Robert Peterson. Leikkaus: Jack Murray. Pääosissa: Spencer Tracy (Frank Skeffington), Jeffrey Hunter (Adam Caulfield), Dianne Foster (Maeve Caulfield), Pat O' Brien (John Gorman), Basil Rathbone (Norman Cass, Sr.), Donald Crisp (The Cardinal), James Gleason (Cuke Gillen), Edward Brophy (Ditto Boland), John Carradine (Amos Force), Willis Bouchey (Roger Sugrue), Basil Ruysdael (Bishop Gardner), Ricardo Cortez (Sam Weinberg), Wallace Ford (Charles J. Hennessey), Frank McHugh (Festus Garvey), Anna Lee (Gert), Jane Darwell (Delia Boylan), Frank Albertson (Jack Mangan), Charles Fitzsimons (Kevin McCluskey), Carleton Young (Mr. Winslow), William Leslie (Dan Herlihy). Helsingin ensiesitys: 6.3.1959 Corona – televisioesityksiä: 6.5.1967 MTV1, 15.6.1997 YLE TV2 – VET 50274 – S – 3320 m / 121 min  

The Last Hurrah on kuvaus vanhan suunnan poliitikon viimeisestä kamppailusta. Frank Skeffington on tyypillinen "self made man", joka oveluudella, kovalla työllä ja taiteeksi kehittyneellä kyvyllään käsitellä kanssaihmisiä on noussut urallaan. Hän on toiminut pormestarina Uuden Englannin kaupungissa – ei suinkaan kaikkien rakastamana, sillä itsepintaisena, sentimentaalisena irlantilaisena hän tuskin on aina ollut puolueeton ja nuhteeton. Tutustumme Skeffingtoniin, kun hän asettuu viimeisen kerran kaupunkinsa pormestariehdokkaaksi: edessämme on yksinäinen, ihailtu ja vihattu, vanha mutta energinen veteraani, jota kohtaan Ford tuntee samaa hellyyttä kuin kirjailija lievästi verhottua autobiografian keskushahmoa kohtaan. Frankin tapaisia patriarkkoja ja suurmiehiä Ford on kuvannut ennenkin: muistamme tuomari Priestin (Ja aurinko paistoi) ja sheriffi Wyatt Earpin (My Darling Clementine).

  

Skeffington tietää, että hänen aikansa on päättymässä, mutta haluaa johtaa vielä yhden vaalikampanjan vanhanaikaiseen klassilliseen tyyliin. Hän kutsuu sisarenpoikansa, urheilureportteri Adam Caulfieldin seuraamaan "sisältä käsin" kamppailun kulkua. Frank on leskimies, hänen poikansa elää nuoruuden kepeissä iloissa ja mahdollisimman kaukana politiikan huuruista, mutta Caulfieldin kautta väistyvän ja tilalle astuvan elämäntavan ristiriidat saavat syvempiä vivahteita kuin tietoisesti karrikoidut vastakohtaisuudet toisaalta Frankin ja hänen vastustajiensa, toisaalta Frankin ja hänen poikansa välillä.

   

Pilapiirrokset Skeffingtonin vihollisista – pankkiireista, entisestä klaanilaisesta ja muista taantumuksellisista sekä heidän ehdokkaastaan McCluskey'sta – palvelevat ensi sijassa Fordin burleskin ko-miikan purkautumisteinä. Ford on itse irlantilainen ja yhtä haluton kuin sankarinsa tasapuolisen kilttiin ihmisten käsittelyyn, joten Skeffingtonin kilpailijat joutuvat Fordin satiirisen näkemyksen kohteiksi. Ford erittelee konservatiivisuuden luonnetta: hänellä on sisältänäkijän mahdollisuudet niin sympaattiseen kuvaukseen kuin purevaan kritiikkiin. Skeffingtonin henkilössä Ford suorittaa jälleen kunnian-osoituksen perinteelle ja humanistisille arvoille, joille edistys ja suvaitsevaisuus eivät ainakaan periaatteessa merkitse vihollista; mutta Skeffingtonin vastustajista Ford on ollut oikeutettu piirtämään pilakuvia, sillä vaikka nämä väittävätkin Frankin "poliittisesti katsoen elävän kivikaudella", he itse asiassa edustavatkin joustamatonta vanhoillisuutta.

   

Ford ei kaihda esittää Frankia häikäilemättömänä kyynärpääpoliitikkona ja "tarkoitus pyhittää keinot" -metodin antaumuksellisena harjoittajana. Frankin periaate kuuluu, "Kompromissi on miehen lähin ystävä". (Vrt. Truffautin elokuvaa Ampukaa pianistia, jossa pistooli todetaan miehen parhaaksi ystäväksi.) Lämmöllä muistelevan kaipuun värittämänä poliitikon ja ihmisen kuvana Skeffington on Fordin, runoilijan ja traditionalistin vastaus edistyksellisen tendenssin läpitunkemille turmeltuneiden poliitikkojen paljastuksille kuten Willie Starkille Robert Rossenin tulkinnassa Warrenin romaanista Kaikki kuninkaan miehet.

   

Frankin uskollisten kannattajien ja apulaisten parvesta on ennen muita mainittava Ditto Boland, jonka sydän on lämmin, ja katse vilpitön kuin bernhardilaisen. Tämä liikuttavan koominen hahmo, joka muistuttaa monia Victor McLaglenin unohtumattomia kersantteja Fordin lännen filmeissä, toteaa itsekseen Adamista: "That's a nice boy." Skeffingtonin tappion tultua vihdoinkin selväksi Dittolle Ford viivyttää lähikuvaa Frankin uskollisimman aseenkantajan surullisista kasvoista – ja luo yhden tenhoavimmista "rapport"-tuokioistaan.

   

Valloittavan omalaatuisia sivuhenkilöitä The Last Hurrah on täynnä: vanha täti Delia Boylan, jonka "läsnäolo hautajaisissa on melkein yhtä välttämätön kuin ruumiin", ja joka estottomasti käyttää sateenvarjoa antamaan puhtia sanoilleen; The Honorable Charles J. Hennessey, yksityispoliitikko ja eräänlainen totuudentorven edustaja, josta sanotaan, että hän "on pähkähullu ja tulee aina hullummaksi". Miehen ääni on kuin ukkosen jylinä eikä hiljene hautajaisissa eikä kuolinvuoteen äärellä. Entä Johnnie Deegan, hautajaisurakoitsija? Hän on tottunut järjestämään viimeiset jäähyväiset sellaisiksi, että vainaja itse olisi niistä ylpeä, mutta joutuu Skeffingtonin toiminnan ansiosta hoitamaan Knocko Minihanin viimeisen matkan loisteliaat järjestelyt tavallista huokeammalla.

   

Knocko Minihan lienee kuulunut kaupungin vähiten suosittuihin kansalaisiin, mutta Skeffington muo-dostaa hänen valvojaisistaan muistettavan tilaisuuden, eikä Knockolla ole mahdollisuutta esittää vastalausetta, jos ihmiset eivät surekaan häntä "yhtä pyhästi kuin Pyhää Fransiskusta". Fordin herkälle tunnelmien vivahteiden ja vaihdosten tajulle kuvaavasti Knockon riemulliset maahanpanijaiset seu-raavat välittömästi Frankin nostalgista lyhyttä vierailua lapsuuden kortteleihin Adam Caulfieldin kanssa.

   

Miehen ja legendan ihannoinniksi on Penelope Houston nimittänyt elokuvaa. Tuskin mikään kohtaus osoittaa luonnehdinnan sattuvuuden niin hyvin kuin lyhyt jakso, jossa tappion kärsinyt Frank yksinään kulkee päinvastaiseen suuntaan kuin McCluskeyn voittokulkue. Tämä jalo hetki seuraa Frankin ja Ditton tuskallista eroa ja muodostaa autenttisen runollisen säkeistön ihmiselon katoavuudesta.

   

Loppujakson muodostavat pitkät jäähyväiset Skeffingtonille. Se on muunnelma hautajaiskulkueesta elokuvassa Ja aurinko paistoi, häpeämättömällä, kuitenkin arvokkaalla tavalla sentimentaalinen ja fordilaisen huumorin sovittama päätös, saman sentimentin ilmausta kuin Tom Doniphonin arkun äärellä vietetty hiljainen hetki elokuvassa Mies joka ampui Liberty Valancen tai sateinen joulujuhla hök-kelikappelissa Etelämerellä Fordin uudessa filmissä Donovan's Reef. John Ford on Conradin lainausta käyttäen "one of the old lot", tosi tunteellinen irlantilainen romantikko, joka haluaa liikuttaa yleisöään iloon ja suruun. Harva pystyy häntä vastustamaan, varsinkin kun kuvat, joissa tämä vetoaminen suoritetaan, ovat niin puhtaita.

– Matti Salo

Shine a Light

Shine a Light / Shine a Light. US/CA (c) 2007 Shine a Light L.L.C. and Grand Entertainment (ROW) L.L.C. and Paramount Classics. Premiere 2008. D: Martin Scorsese. M: The Rolling Stones. DP: Robert Richardson - negative/original format HDCAM, 16mm, 35mm - digital intermediate - prints 35mm and IMAX 70mm. Handheld camera: Albert Maysles. The Rolling Stones. A Bigger Bang Tour. The Rolling Stones with Christina Aguilera, Buddy Guy, Jack White III. The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger (voc/gtr/ harmonica), Keith Richards (gtr/voc), Charlie Watts (dr), Ronnie Wood (gtr), Darryl Jones (bass gtr). 122 min. Released in Finland by Nordisk with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Timo Porri /Saliven Gustavson. Viewed in Tennispalatsi 5, Helsinki, 30 May 2008. - Heavy digital video look. - My favourite numbers in this concert film: "She Was Hot", "All Down The Line", "Champagne And Reefer". The Rolling Stones are in very good form in this film, they built a momentum, and they don't hide their age. Visually it's no treat on a big screen, and Scorsese is not one of the best directors of live concerts (my favourite: David Mallet), although for him filming the Stones is certainly a labour of love.

Kvinnodröm

Naisten unelmia. SE 1955. PC: Sandrews. P: Rune Waldekranz. D+SC: Ingmar Bergman. DP: Hilding Bladh. Starring Eva Dahlbeck (Susanne), Harriet Andersson (Doris), Gunnar Björnstrand (consul Sönderby), Ulf Palme (Henrik Lobelius). 87 min. A vintage print with Finnish subtitles by Aito Mäkinen. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 29 May 2008. - Beautiful definition of light. - This is one of the small films of Bergman, yet with big themes and motifs (mirrors, smoke, the wound, the wolf). Bach's Sarabande. The visually sharp film has a memorable train sequence.

La Chambre ardente / The Burning Court

Julien Duvivier: La Chambre ardente / The Burning Court (FR/IT 1962). Nadja Tiller as Myra Schneider.

Noiduttu yö / Nattens demoner. FR / IT 1962. PC: UFA / Comacico / Taurus / Laura Cinematografica. D: Julien Duvivier. SC: Duvivier, Charles Spaak – based on the novel The Burning Court (1937) by John Dickson Carr, in Finnish: Noita palaa aina (Viihdeviikarit / Risto Raitio 1987). DP: Roger Fellous. M: Georges Auric. Starring Nadja Tiller (Myra Schneider), Jean-Claude Brialy (Marc), Claude Rich (Stéphane Desgrez), Edith Scob (Marie). 114 min. A vintage print by Valio-Filmi with Finnish / Swedish subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 29 May 2008. – Good definition of light. – The greedy relatives just waiting for the heritage of the old uncle. The curse of the witch dating to the year 1676. The Black Forest. The counterfeit priest. The library focused on witchcraft. A murder mystery involving ingenious disguises and deceptions. The bizarre funeral instructions of the eccentric uncle. – There are so many double bottoms in this story that it loses something of its impact.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones ja kristallikallon valtakunta / Indiana Jones och kristalldödskallens rike. US (c) 2008 Lucasfilm. EX: Kathleen Kennedy, George Lucas. P: Frank Marshall. D: Steven Spielberg. SC: David Koepp - story: George Lucas, Jeff Nathanson - characters: George Lucas, Philip Kaufman. DP: Janusz Kaminski - negative: 35mm KodakVision - digital intermediate 2K - Panavision - DeLuxe - print: 35mm 1:2,35. M: John Williams. Starring Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Cate Blanchett (Col. Dr. Irina Spalko), Karen Allen (Marion Ravenwood), Shia LaBeouf (Mutt Williams), Ray Winstone (George "Mac" McHale), John Hurt (Prof. Harold "Ox" Oxley), Jim Broadbent (Dean Charles Stanforth). 122 min. Released in Finland by Finnkino (Paramount) with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Marko Hartama / Saliven Gustavson. Viewed in Bristol, Helsinki, 23 May 2008. - Digital intermediate look. - The film received an applause. - He's back, and he's old. Last time, he brought his dad. This time, he discovers a son. - It's cold war, and Indiana Jones gets to fight Stalinists, but that does not rescued him from being blacklisted at his university. - Cate Blanchett is a memorable Stalinist ice woman, she can be compared with Greta Garbo!

Karnavalnaya noch / Carnival Night

Eldar Ryazanov: Карнавальная ночь / Carnival Night (SU 1956) starring Lyudmila Gurchenko as Lena Krylova.

Карнавальная ночь / Karnavalnaja notsh (translitteration FI) / Karnevaaliyö / Karnevalsnatten.
    SU 1956. PC: Mosfilm. D: Eldar Rjazanov / Ryazanov. SC: Boris Laskin, Vladimir Poljakov / Polyakov. DP: Arkadi Koltsaty - Magicolor. M: Anatoli Lepin. Conductor: Eddie Rozner. Lyrics: V. Lifshits, V. Korystylev.
    Starring Igor Iljinski / Ilyinsky (Serafim Ivanovitsh Ogurtsov), Ljudmila Gurtshenko / Lyudmila Gurchenko (Lena Krylova), Juri Belov / Yuri Belov (Grisha Koltsov), Georgi Kulikov (Serjozha Usikov).
    78 min.
    An import print of Kosmos-Filmi with Finnish / Swedish subtitles.
    Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 22 May 2008.

An old print with soft image, bleak colour and old subtitles photographed from glass.
    A backstage revue film, a cavalcade of entertainment and a satire of bureaucracy. The directive to have fun at New Year, "the carnival is no laughing matter". Debates about culture and entertainment. Catchy tunes conducted by Eddie Rozner.
    Igor Iljinsky hams it up perfectly as the stuffy and overbearing bureaucrat, who is completely out of touch. The debut of the popular star Ljudmila Gurtshenko. The breakthrough of the popular comedy director Eldar Rjazanov.
    This film is famous as the thaw era response to Volga Volga, also starring Iljinski. Jevgeni Dobrenko comments that the carnival has been made official. It is not spontaneous, it does not threaten the official order. Only the dull Ogurtsov is satirized, but he is a symbol of the past, and the present and the future belong to the new officials. There are no two cultures. This is the celebration of the state-owned carnival show.

Ylijäämänainen (16 mm print screened at Orion in 2008)

Roland af Hällström: Ylijäämänainen (FI 1951). Asta Backman (Laura Kari) and Tauno Palo (Lennart Qvist). 

Stulen kärlek / [Surplus Woman]. FI 1951. PC: Fennada. P: Mauno Mäkelä. D: Roland af Hällström. SC: Jussi Talvi. DP: Esko Töyri. M: Tapio Ilomäki. "Otshi tshorni" is the theme song. Starring Asta Backman (Laura Kari), Tauno Palo (Lennart Qvist), Kyllikki Forssell (Ella Qvist), Harri Sinijärvi (department manager Harri Suvanne). 77 min. A 16 mm print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 21 May 2008. – Ok for 16 mm. – A poignant, satirical drama of a single woman with relevance to feminism. – Laura Kari's suicide attempt opens the life-story seen in flashback. – Tauno Palo as a ladies' man, for Laura, the great love of her life; for him, she is just one of his lovers. – She works in the Stockmann department store, sexually harassed by her department manager. – The lonely woman sees the happiness of others' families. There is a biting Mother's Day scene with the mothers' anthem "Maan päällä paikka yksi on" ("There is but one place on earth"). – Strong cinematography by Esko Töyri. – The flashback within the flashback takes us to 1939 and a montage of the war years. – Kyllikki Forssell is the frustrated wife of Tauno Palo; she takes the knowing risk of getting pregnant, with fatal results. – "Dark Eyes" is the theme song sung by Tauno Palo with a voice of velvet. – The solidarity of women at the department store. – "Welcome, aunt Laura", a sunny smile at the end of the film. The acceptance of singlehood and childlessness.

My blog entries on Ylijäämänainen

10 April 2005  Ylijäämänainen (35 mm nitrate print at Turku Festival of Finnish Film, in person: Kyllikki Forssell)

21 May 2008  Ylijäämänainen (16 mm print at Orion)

Le 8ème jour

Le huitième jour / le 8ème jour [opening title formulation]. FR 1959. PC: Films Art et Science. D: Marcel Hanoun. DP: Marcel Fradetal. M: Joseph Kosma. Starring Emmanuelle Riva (Francoise), Félix Marten (Georges). 82 min. Vintage print from Kino Filmi with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Pentti Linnonen / Maj-Britt Törnquist. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 20 May 2008. - Beautiful definition of light. - "Le Chat qui s'en va tout seul". - An intimate film of moods, discovering new ways of seeing, focusing on the little gesture and detail. - An unconventional story of the relationship developing between Francoise and Georges. - The Joseph Kosma score is an interesting blend of the rococo and modernity.

Muumi ja vaarallinen juhannus

Mumintrollens farliga midsommar. [Moomin and His Dangerous Midsummer.] FI/PL/AT (c) 2008 Oy Filmkompaniet Alpha / Filmoteka Narodowa / Jupiter-Film. P: Tom Carpelan. D: Maria Lindberg. A felt cloth puppet animation compilation from the original Polish tv series Opowiadania Muminkow (1977-1982). Co-screenwriter in the original series: Tove Jansson - based on her novel Farlig midsommar (Vaarallinen juhannus, 1954). Voice talent: Tapani Perttu (Muumipappa), Johanna Viksten (Muumimamma), Jasper Pääkkönen (Muumipeikko), Elsa Saiso (Niiskuneiti /Miska), Taneli Mäkelä (Nuuskamuikkunen), Outi Alanen (Pikku Myy), Ilpo Mikkonen (Homssu), Jarmo Koski (park guard), Vuokko Hovatta (Mymmelin tytär /Vahdin serkku), Leena Rapola (Vilijonkka / Emma). 88 min. Distributed by FS Film in the Finnish-speaking version. Viewed at Kinopalatsi 5, Helsinki, 16 May 2008. - A surprisingly charming and wonderful interpretation, faithful to the Tove Jansson spirit. Visually good-looking, stylish puppet animation, a refreshing alternative to the visually boring digital animations.

Sonic Mirror

Sonic Mirror / Sonic Mirror. FI/CH/DE (c) 2007 Marco Forster Productions / Marianna Films Oy / Uwe Dresch Film / Doc Productions. Premiere 2008. P: Uwe Dresch, Marco Forster, Mika Kaurismäki, Rose-Marie Schneider. D: Mika Kaurismäki. DP: Jacques Cheuiche - 1:1,85 - 35mm print. M: Bill Cobham. Music documentary featuring Bill Cobham, Big Band Espoo, Randy Brecker, Debalê Malê, Peu Meurray (Tire Percussion), Percussion Okuta (Nigerian band), Brito Rasta (drum artisan). 82 min. In English, German, and Portuguese. Distributed in Finland by Future Film, with Finnish subtitles only. Viewed in Kinopalatsi 3, Helsinki, 16 May 2008. - Digital video look. - Engaging music documentary about Bill Cobham, his experiences in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil - Switzerland - Espoo. - There is also an important aspect of music therapy.

Nous sommes tous des assassins

Hiipivät askeleet / Smygande steg / We Are All Murderers. FR / IT 1952. PC: UGC / Labor Film / Jolly Film. D: André Cayatte. SC: Cayatte, Charles Spaak. DP: Jean Bourgoin. M: Raymond Legrand. Starring Marcel Mouloudji (René Le Guen), Georges Poujouly (Michel Le Guen), Raymond Pellegrin (Gino Bollini), Yvonne Sanson (Yvonne Le Guen). 117 min. A vintage print from Valio-Filmi with Finnish / Swedish subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 15 May 2008. - "Un film à thèse". Subject: capital punishment. - A worn print with several joins but also with a beautiful definition of light. - Seeing this film for the first time I expected a mechanical study in social criticism. Surprise! - The lively portrayal of the Occupation. - The milieu of crime and brutalization. - We come to understand the mind of the killer. - A classic portrayal of Death Row. - The convicts are not sentimentalized or softened. We take steps to understand criminals in a way that would have fascinated Dostoyevsky.

ARKISTOJEN AARTEET 2008 1 - KISKOT VIEVÄT JA KAMERAT KÄYVÄT

Skatter ur arkivet 2008 1 - Rälerna dra och kamerorna surra / Treasures from the Archive 2008 1 - Cameras Rolling on Rails. Compiled by Raimo Silius, Lauri Tykkyläinen for Tampere Film Festival. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 14 May 2008.
Rautateiden synty Suomessa [The Birth of Finnish Railways]. FI 1962. D: Esko Töyri. 13 min. 35mm - wonderful reconstruction of the epoch from 1850 until 1918.
Tampereen asemakomennuskunta [Tampere Depot Detachment]. FI 1942. D: Reino Tenkanen. 5 min. Beta. Silent. Rare documentary footage from WWII.
Sota ja rautatiet [Railways and War]. FI 1943. D: Koivumäki, Huotari. 30 min. Beta. Almost unknown wartime footage, never released.
Pikajuna pohjoiseen traileri. FI 1947. D: Roland af Hällström. 4 min. Beta
Kouvolan miesten kyydissä [Riding with the Men of Kouvola]. FI 1950. D: Jaakko Kuusisto. 15 min. Beta. The first production of Fennada company. A valuable depiction of its epoch.
Kiitäen kiskoja pitkin [Speeding on the Tracks]. FI 1954. D: Felix Forsman, Yrjö Ollikainen. 8 min. Beta. The first "fast trains".
Rautatiet itsenäisessä Suomessa [Railways in Independent Finland]. FI 1962. D: Esko Töyri. 13 min. More marvellous reconstructions of the epoch, now from 1918 until 1962.
Selvä junalle 61 [Train 61 Is Clear for Departure]. FI 1955. D: Osmo Lampinen. 11 min. A great documentary about the various professions on the railways.

Okraina / Outskirts

Boris Barnet: Окраина / Okraina / Outskirts (SU 1933) starring Sergei Komarov (Greshin) and Yelena Kuzmina (Manka Greshina). Poster design: Israel Bogdan / Израиль Давидович Боград (1899—1938).

Окраина / Laitakaupunki / Hat och kärlek.
    SU 1933. PC: Mezhrabpomfilm.
    D: Boris Barnet. SC: Boris Barnet, Konstantin Finn. DP: Mihail Kirillov, A. Spiridonov - 1:1,2. M: Sergei Vasilenko.
    Starring Sergei Komarov (Greshin), Robert Erdman (Robert Karlovitsh), Jelena Kuzmina (Manka Greshina), Nikolai Bogoljubov (Nikolai Kadkin), Nikolai Krjutshkov (Senka Kadkin).
    99 min.
    The 1965 sonorized version.
    A Finnish Film Archive print with Finnish subtitles by Esa Adrian. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 8 May 2008.

An often beautiful definition of light, but there are switches to high contrast. Probably the whole soundtrack was remade in 1965?

The charming Boris Barnet masterpiece revisited. It starts in the year 1914, the backwater of Imperial Russia. This is the story of the shoemakers. The war breaks, there is high demand of boots. The viewpoint of the boots to the war (qf. the Finnish Pentti Haanpää's novel Yhdeksän miehen saappaat /The Boots for Nine Men). The film about love between human beings, war between states. Montages about the shoe industry, industry replacing the crafts. The small perspective to world history, including the revolution. Imagery of absurd humour.

Buchanan Rides Alone

Hän ratsasti yksin / Med snaran om halsen. US (c) 1958 Producers-Actors Corp. P: Harry Joe Brown. D: Budd Boetticher. SC: Charles Lang - based on the novel The Name's Buchanan (1956) by Jonas Ward. DP: Lucien Ballard - Columbia Color - 1:1,85. Starring Randolph Scott (Tom Buchanan), Craig Stevens (Abe Carbo), Barry Kelley (Lew Agry), L.Q. Jones (Pecos Hill). 78 min. A print with Finnish / Swedish subtitles viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 6 May 2008. - Worn print with joins and scratches, works fine on Academy ratio (boom spotted once). - Maltin: "Scott runs afoul of corrupt family in control of border town; taut B Western never runs out of plot twists". - (One of) the weakest of the Ranown cycle. - However, this is a macabre tale not far from the world of the Italowestern. Maybe one should watch it soon again and appreciate its weirdness.