Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Oulu Music Video Festival 27-31 Aug 2003: Rock and roll in the Finnish cinema in the 1950s (Antti-Ville Kärjä)

OMVF 2003: Naurettavaa akrobatiaa. Eli miksi Suomessa ei tehty rock'n'roll-elokuvia 1950-luvulla

Rock'n'roll muutti maailman 1950-luvun puolivälissä. Mutta kuinka rock'n'roll muutti suomalaista elokuvaa - vai kävikö kenties niin, että suomalainen elokuva muutti rock'n'rollia? Musiikintutkija Antti-Ville Kärjä on kuratoinut festivaalille näytöksen suomalaisen rock-musiikkihistorian todellisesta alkuhämärästä.

1. Pekka ja Pätkä sammakkomiehinä
1957
O: Armand Lohikoski
TY: SF
Sacy Sand: Hippaa ja hoppaa

2. Kuriton sukupolvi
1957
O: Matti Kassila
TY: Fennada-Filmi
Rockfantasia

3. Vääpelin kauhu
1957
O: Esko Töyri
TY: Fennada-Filmi
Rocktanssi

4. Yks' tavallinen Virtanen
1959
O: Ville Salminen
TY: SF
Mestarirokkaajat

5. Suuri sävelparaati
1959
O: Jack Witikka
TY: Veikko Itkonen
Olavi Virta: Hula hula hula hoop

6. Iskelmäketju
1959
O: Hannes Häyrinen ja Esko Töyri
TY: Fennada-Filmi
Olavi ja Eeva Nieminen: Finnrock

7. Iskelmäketju
1959
O: Hannes Häyrinen ja Esko Töyri
TY: Fennada-Filmi
Crazy Gideon: Mustat silmät

8. Oho, sanoi Eemeli
1960
O: Ville Salminen
TY: SF
Eemeli: Little-Emil Rock

9. Oho, sanoi Eemeli
1960
O: Ville Salminen
TY: SF
Vesa Enne: Tukkipojan rock

10. Isaskar Keturin ihmeelliset seikkailut
1960
O: Aarne Tarkas
TY: SF
Vesa Enne: Jöröjukkarock

11. Tähtisumua
1961
O: Aarne Tarkas
TY: SF
Pirkko Mannola: Nahkatakkiritari

12. Toivelauluja
1961
O: Ville Salminen
TY: SF
Rocktanssi

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Jesus (Lux Vide: The Bible Collection 1999)

 
Roger Young: Jesus (IT 1999) with Jeremy Sisto (Jesus) and Jacqueline Bisset (Mary).

Raamattu: Jeesus / The Bible Collection: Jesus. TV Mini Series.
    Italy / Germany / United States / France / Spain / Czech Republic / Netherlands / United Kingdom / Malta / Morocco 1999. PC: Lux Vide. P: Russell Kagan.
    D: Roger Young. Teleplay: Suzette Couture. Cin: Raffaele Mertes. PD: Paolo Biagetti. Cost: Simonetta Leoncini, Giovanni Viti. SFX: Claudio Quaglietti. VFX: David Bush. M: Patrick Williams. S: G. Michael Graham. ED: Benjamin A. Weissman.
    C: Jeremy Sisto (Jesus), Debra Messing (Mary Magdalene), Jacqueline Bisset (Mary), Gary Oldman (Pontius Pilate), Claudio Amendola (Barabbas), G. W. Bailey (Livio), Luca Zingaretti (Peter), Luca Barbareschi (Herod Antipas), Christian Kohlund (Caiaphas), Elena Sofia Ricci (Herodias), Stefania Rocca (Mary of Bethany), Maria Cristina Heller (Martha of Bethany), Jeroen Krabbé (Satan - Man), Peter Gevisser (Lazarus), Thomas Lockyer (Judas Iscariot), Ian Duncan (John), Gilly Gilchrist (Andrew), Fabio Sartor (James), Sebastian Knapp (Matthew), Sean Harris (Thomas), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Joseph), David O'Hara (John the Baptist), Gabriella Pession (Salome), Manuela Ruggeri (Satan - Woman)
    Loc: Ouarzazate, Morocco and Malta.
    174 min
    Viewed on home video at Naantali, 27 July 2003.

THE BIBLE COLLECTION (LIST FROM WIKIPEDIA): 27-PART MINISERIES IN 17 VOLUMES
1 Abraham / 1993 / Joseph Sargent / Abraham / 184 minutes
2 Genesis: The Creation and the Flood / 1994 / Ermanno Olmi / Noah / 93 minutes
3 Jacob / 1994 / Peter Hall / Jacob / 93 minutes
4 Joseph1995 / Roger Young / Joseph / 185 minutes
5 Moses / 1995 / Moses / 182 minutes
6 Samson and Delilah / 1996 / Nicolas Roeg / Samson and Delilah / 179 minutes
7 David / 1997 / Robert Markowitz / David / 173 minutes
8 Solomon / 1997 / Roger Young / Solomon / 170 minutes
9 Jeremiah / 1998 / Harry Winer / Jeremiah / 91 minutes
10 Esther / 1999 / Raffaele Mertes / Esther / 87 minutes
11 Jesus / 1999 / Roger Young / Jesus / 174 minutes
12 Joseph of Nazareth / 2000 / Raffaele Mertes / Saint Joseph / 100 minutes
13 Mary Magdalene / 2000 / Mary Magdalene / 99 minutes
14 Paul the Apostle / 2000 / Roger Young / Paul the Apostle / 177 minutes
15 Judas / 2001 / Raffaele Mertes / Judas Iscariot / 90 minutes
16 Thomas / 2001 / Thomas the Apostle / 93 minutes
17 The Apocalypse / 2002 / John the Apostle / 93 minutes

LUX VIDE S.p.A. was founded by Ettore Bernabei and Matilde Bernabei in 1992.

AA: The Bible Collection series, produced by the Lux Vide company of the Bernabei family, was a huge international success story in 1993-2002. It had good production values and top talent, including actors and directors.

The Jesus films have an original approach. Jesus is portrayed as a young man full of love, embodying the core message "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40, King James Version).

The Jesus of this film is tender, human, vulnerable, laughing when he is happy and crying when he is unhappy. Openness in emotions makes him stronger to face the hardest challenge.

...
In 2025 there is a revival of Christian movies. House of David, a new series on Amazon Prime Video, is the eighth most popular series on streaming services in America, The Chosen has been watched by around 280 million people worldwide. Mary became the third most viewed film globally on Netflix after its release in December. Seven faith-based titles were given the green light by streamers in 2024, up from just one in 2021. Streamers' catalogues have become holier: in January, they hosted 487 religious films, more than double what they had in 2022.

2025 data from The Economist, 15 March 2025, "Holywood: Christian Films and Television: God Is Back on the Box" (print headline), "Christian entertainment has risen: Let there be lights, camera, action! (But not too much action)" (online headline 13 March 2025)

Sunday, June 29, 2003

IL CINEMA RITROVATO, BOLOGNA, 28 JUNE - 5 JULY, 2003


Leopold Jessner: Erdgeist / Earth Spirit (DE 1923) with Asta Nielsen (Lulu Goll) and Rudolf Forster (Schriftsteller Alwa Schön). Photo: Det Danske Filminstitut. Please click on the image to expand it.

Raoul Walsh: The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956) with Jane Russell and Richard Egan. In CinemaScope for Twentieth Century Fox.


Antti Alanen: Notes from Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna 2003

The Festival relocated into new venues at the or close to the Cineteca Bologna addresses. Cinema Arlecchino was perfect for CinemaScope, Lumière 1 at the new Cineteca Library building was the center for silents, and Lumière 2 for further special screenings.

Arranged for the 17th time by the Cineteca del Comune di Bologna, the Artistic Director was Peter von Bagh.

Like last year, there was a triple simultaneous programme, necessitating tough selections all the way through.

The CinemaScope 50th Anniversary was presented by experts. An alarming discovery was of vintage films there are hardly any good CinemaScope prints available, with their colour and the original 1:2,55 aspect ratio intact.

Bologna's project to present the great stars of the silent era proceeded to the magnificent Francesca Bertini.

The Ritrovati & Restaurati section included the early lost-and-found John Ford feature Bucking Broadway, as well as the restored Un chien andalou.

The Léonce Perret project launched last year continued with further beautiful films. These discoveries challenge to revaluate Perret's status in the history of the cinema.

The new "Dossiers" concept was successful: Dossier Murnau, Dossier Eisenstein, Dossier Sjöström, and Dossier Stiller presented by experts were an inspired way to present lost-and-found films and fragments by the masters.

Another successful innovation was the "a hundred years ago" concept. Presented by Tom Gunning in several screenings, many aspects of the cinema of the year 1903 were analyzed.

In the Chaplin Project, of the major films, A Dog's Life and The Circus were presented. The Chaplin Keystone project was launched to the public with selections of Chaplin's films from his first year of production, 1914. A film based on materials from The Finnish Film Archive, The Laughing Gas, was also screened at the Piazza Maggiore.

From the festivalgoer's viewpoint the main problem was again the excess of simultaneous good programming. For instance, I missed the Clarence Brown retrospective almost completely.

IL CINEMA PIU GRANDE DELLA VITA: 50 ANNI DI CINEMASCOPE

CINEMA BIGGER THAN LIFE: 50 YEARS OF CINEMASCOPE

JEAN-PIERRE VERSCHEURE: 50 ANNI DI SCHERMO PANORAMICO E DI STEREOFONIA / 50 YEARS OF WIDESCREEN AND STEREOPHONIC SOUND. Centre d’études et de recherches Cinévolution di Mons in Belgio. Bologna Arlecchino 1 July 2003. Proiezione di documenti d’epoca nei vari formati utilizzati dalle Majors americane nella storia del CinemaScope. Estratti e trailers dei seguenti film:

Quo Vadis? (US 1951) - academy 1,37:1 - Technicolor - optical sound mono

The Robe (US 1953) - anamorphic Henri Chrétien 2,55:1 - Eastmancolor - 4 track magnetic sound

Knights of the Round Table (US 1953) - anamorphic Bausch & Lomb 2,35:1 - Eastmancolor - optical sound mono

River of No Return (US 1954) - anamorphic Bausch & Lomb 2,35:1 - Technicolor - optical sound mono

The Command (US 1954) - anamorphic Simpson Optical C. Vistarama 2,55:1 - Eastmancolor - 4 track magnetic sound

A Star is Born (US 1954) - anamorphic Bausch & Lomb 2,55:1 - Technicolor - 4 track magnetic sound

Drum Beat (US 1954) - anamorphic Bausch & Lomb 2,55:1 - Eastmancolor - 4 track magnetic sound

The Naturama Process (US 1956) - anamorphic Cinepanoramic 2,35:1 - Eastmancolor - optical sound mono - [Barbara Stanwyck in Cattle Queen of Montana; Lisbon]

Slightly Scarlet (US 1956) - SuperScope 2:1 - Technicolor - optical sound mono

Funny Face (US 1956) - VistaVision 1,85:1 - Technicolor - optical sound mono

Carousel trailer (US 1956) - anamorphic Bausch & Lomb 55mm negative 2,55:1 - Eastmancolor - 4 track magnetic sound

20 000 Leagues Under the Sea trailer (US 1954) - anamorphic Bausch & Lomb 1,37:1 - Technicolor - optical sound mono

Wichita (US 1955) - anamorphic Bausch & Lomb 1,85:1 - Technicolor - optical sound mono

Knights of the Round Table (US 1953) - academy full frame 1,37:1 - Eastmancolor - Perspecta Sound

4-TRACK MAGNETIC STEREO AND CINEMASCOPE DEMONSTRATION FILM

4-Track Magnetic Stereo and CinemaScope Demonstration Film (US 1953) 72’. 20th Century Fox. Bologna Arlecchino 3 July 2003. Shawn Belston presenta un documento unico per la promozione del CinemaScope da parte della 20th Century Fox. Precious document of the moment of confidence in CinemaScope, with Darryl F. Zanuck himself as its spokesman. Extended clips from

Broken Lance,

Woman's World,

Untamed,

There's No Business Like Show Business,

Garden of Evil,

Pink Tights, and culminating in what Zanuck calls the most expensive production of Fox so far, his personally produced

The Egyptian, the first film entirely shot with the "new" lenses. "No man is alone" are the last words of the compilation. In it, many future projects are announced, some of which were not realized (Tigrero) or not like they were planned ("The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing with Marilyn Monroe"). Except for the start, the colour of the print was faded. ****

CINEMASCOPE CONFERENZA DI TORKELL SAETERVADET sulla storia del CinemaScope dalle sue origini. Bologna Arlecchino 4 July 2003.

L'Hypergonar (FR 1938) D: Henri Chrétien. 10’. Cinémathèque française 1999. Bologna Arlecchino 4 July 2003.

Nouveaux horizons (FR 1953) D: Marcel Ichac. 16’. CNC Bois d'Arcy AFF. Bologna Arlecchino 4 July 2003.

The CinemaScope Parade (US 1954). 20th Century Fox. Bologna Arlecchino 4 July 2003. Mostly a selection of the same material as in 4-Track Magnetic Stereo and CinemaScope Demonstration Film and three new items (+):

Untamed

Désirée (+)

The Racers

Black Widow (+)

Pink Tights

Carmen Jones (+)

The Robe / Näin hänen kuolevan (USA 1953), PC: 20th Century-Fox, D: Henry Koster. 135’. Cinémathèque Royale, Bruxelles. Bologna Cinema Arlecchino 28 June 2003. Special presentation of samples from vintage prints and a full restored print. Presented as a vintage print with magnetic four-channel stereophonic sound and the true original 1:2,55 CinemaScope format. I refreshed just the opening of the first sample, from Bruxelles (double French / Flemish subtitles), the colour was fading. I feel that we may have an equally good print in Helsinki (rare full CinemaScope and magnetic sound print). Presented by Jean-Pierre Verscheure (Cinévolution)

I Died a Thousand Times / Kuolin tuhat kertaa (US 1955) D: Stuart Heisler. Starring Jack Palance, Shelley Winters. 95’. NFTVA. Bologna Arlecchino 30 June 2003. The only vintage CinemaScope print with a four channel magnetic sound and an unfaded colour shown in the retrospective. A faithful update of High Sierra. ***

Lola Montès (FR/DE 1955) D: Max Ophuls. 116’. Version française. Films du Jeudi. Bologna Arlecchino 29 June 2003. Alla presenza del figlio del regista, Marcel Ophuls. I checked the opening. This is a valuable reminder of the second release version of the French version now that we can see the restored print of the original release German version. Although I'm not a fan of digital, the new restored print has the undeniable advantages of better colour, better definition of detail, the full scope frame. As for the language, both French and German are original languages. The advantage of the French version is Martine Carol in her native tongue. Marcel Ophuls spoke in his introduction about the society of spectacle, of the authors' rights contra the producer's rights, and reminded of Max's Italian predecessor La signora di tutti. ****

The Revolt of Mamie Stover / Houkutuslintu (US 1956) D: Raoul Walsh, starring Jane Russell. 92’. 20th Century Fox. Bologna Arlecchino 30 June 2003. Vital use of scope frame in a Honolulu tale from behind the front of the WWII. A Walshian satire of hypocrisy in the vein of Sadie Thompson (Gloria Swanson) and Klondike Annie (Mae West), Jane Russell is one of his sexually powerful women. These three are a kind of a Walsh trilogy of notorious women ousted from San Francisco. This time, it is really about the power of money. Walsh celebrates the exuberant life force of Mamie Stover, but money is the bitter refrain of this old song. ***

The Hustler / Suurkaupungin hait (US 1961) D: Robert Rossen. DP: Eugen Schuftan. Starring Paul Newman. 134’. Newly restored by 20th Century Fox. Bologna Piazza Maggiore 29 June 2003. I caught some scenes (Newman's thumb is broken, he is healed back by Piper Laurie). ****

CENTO ANNI FA: I FILM DEL 1903

THE FIRST GREAT YEAR OF THE CINEMA: 1903

Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003. Introdotto dalla storico americano Tom Gunning. ****

The First Great Year of the Cinema, 1903: Visual Pleasures. Conferenza di storico americano Tom Gunning. ♪ Antonio Coppola. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Le Cake-Walk infernal (FR 1903) PC: Star Film, D: Georges Méliès. 16mm b&w. LoC. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Happy Hooligan in Jail (US 1903) PC: AMBCo, D: G.W. Bitzer. 16mm from paper positive. LoC. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Cat's Cradle (US 1903) PC: Biograph. 16mm from paper positive. LoC. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

The Story the Biograph Told (US 1903) PC: Biograph. 16mm from paper positive. LoC. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Une bonne histoire (FR 1903) PC: Pathé. Bologna. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Les Chiens savants (FR 1903) PC: Pathé. Bruxelles. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Comment Monsieur prend son bain (FR 1903) PC: Gaumont, D: Alice Guy. Gaumont / Lobster. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

From Show Girl to Burlesque Queen (US 1903) PC: Biograph. From paper positive. LoC 1994. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

The Gay Shoe Clerk (US 1903) PC: Edison, D: Edwin S. Porter. MoMA 1979. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

The Unclean World (GB 1903) PC: Hepworth, D: Percy Stow. BFI. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

The First Great Year of the Cinema, 1903: The Trick Film, an International Genre. Conferenza di storico americano Tom Gunning. ♪ Antonio Coppola. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Le Mélomane (FR 1903) PC: Star Film, D: Georges Méliès. 16mm from paper positive. LoC. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Le Sorcier (FR 1903) PC: Star Film, D: Georges Méliès. 16mm from paper positive. LoC. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Le Monstre (FR 1903) PC: Star Film, D: Georges Méliès. 16mm from paper positive. LoC. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Une indigestion / Chirurgie fin-de-siècle (FR 1903) PC: Star Film, D: Georges Méliès. GEH 2000. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

La Métamorphose du Roi de Pique (FR 1903) PC: Pathé, D: Gaston Velle. GEH 1975. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

?Spring Fairy? PC: Pathé

Pocket Boxers (GB 1903) PC: R.W. Paul. LoC / Brook Foundation Collection. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

The First Great Year of the Cinema, 1903: Train Robberies and Chases: Story Films in Multiple Shots. Conferenza di storico americano Tom Gunning. ♪ Neil Brand. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Napoléon Bonaparte (FR 1903) PC: Pathé, D: Lucien Nonguet. 16mm. MoMA. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Alice in Wonderland (GB 1903) PC: Hepworth, D: Cecil M. Hepworth, Percy Stow, based on the novel by Lewis Carroll. BFI. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Daring Daylight Burglary (GB 1903) PC: Sheffield, D: FrankMottershaw. BFI. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

A Desperate Poaching Affray (GB 1903) PC: Haggar and Sons, D: William Haggar. BFI. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Mary Jane's Mishap Or Don't Fool with the Paraffin (GB 1903) PC+D: George Albert Smith. BFI. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

The Great Train Robbery (US 1903) PC: Edison, D: Edwin S. Porter. MoMA 1997. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

The Life of an American Fireman (US 1903) PC: Edison, D: Edwin S. Porter. LoC / AFI-Bouldin Collection 1980. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

? La Vie d'un joueur (FR 1903) PC: Pathé, D: Ferdinand Zecca. Bruxelles. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

The First Great Year of the Cinema, 1903: Actuality and Non-Fictional Views. Conferenza di storico americano Tom Gunning. ♪ Neil Brand. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003. I missed this show because of the overlapping Robert Gitt show.

Reproduction of the Jefferies - Corbett Fight (US 1903) PC: AMBCo. MoMA 1979. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

LEONCE PERRET E LA BELLEZZA DEL MONDO II

Le Gardian de Camargue (FR 1910) D: Léonce Perret. 9’. Cinémathèque française / Gaumont 2003. Bologna Lumière 29 June 2003. Tragedy with a Breton cowboy.

La petite Béarnaise (FR 1911) D: Léonce Perret. 10’. Cinémathèque française / Gaumont 2003. Bologna Lumière 29 June 2003. Historical tragedy involving the future Queen Margot.

Le Moïse du moulin (FR 1911) D: Léonce Perret. 12’. Cinémathèque française / Gaumont 2002. Bologna Lumière 29 June 2003. Miller rejects his daughter until he discovers a casket in the river.

Léonce en ménage (FR 1913) D: Léonce Perret. 8’. Cinémathèque française / Gaumont 2003. Bologna Lumière 29 June 2003. Comedy with a double masked surprise by two lovers.

Léonce pot-au-feu (FR 1913) D: Léonce Perret. 10’. Cinémathèque française / Gaumont 2003. Bologna Lumière 29 June 2003. Comedy, the wife masks herself as the husband's lover.

French intertitles. ♪ Donald Sosin. Jean Gili e Bernard Bastide presentano il libro Léonce Perret, pubblicato da AFRHC e Cineteca di Bologna. ****

L'Enfant de Paris (FR 1913) D: Léonce Perret. 109’. Bologna Lumière 1 July 2003. ♪ Alain Baents. An important step in the development of the feature film in France, beautifully restored by Cinémathèque française / Gaumont 1992. ***

Koenigsmark / Ruhtinatar Aurora I-II (FR 1923) D: Léonce Perret. 160’, not 110'. Cinémathèque française / Gaumont 2003. Bologna Lumière 4 July 2003. ♪ Donald Sosin. I saw the first half an hour. Hopefully, this important film will be repeated, as many missed it because of a Chaplin overlap.

LA DIVA ITALIANA: FRANCESCA BERTINI

Stately, rich, opulent films showcasing a glorious range of passions.

I sette peccati capitali ­­- La gola / The Seven Deadly Sins - Gluttony (IT 1918). D: Camillo De Riso. 63’. Czech intertitles. Tinted. Narodni Filmovy Archiv 1991. ♪ Alain Baents. Bologna Cinema Lumière 29 June 2003. Stately, expertly restored and reconstructed film. [Too fast especially at first.]

I sette peccati capitali - L'orgoglio / Ylpeyden synti (Seitsemän kuolemansyntiä II) / The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride (IT 1918) D: Eduardo Bencivenga. 62’. Czech intertitles. Tinted. Narodni Filmovy Archiv 1991. Bologna Lumière 30 June 2003. ♪ Antonio Coppola.

I sette peccati capitali - L'ira / Vihan synti / The Seven Deadly Sins - Rage (IT 1918) D: Eduardo Bencivenga. 63’. Czech intertitles. Tinted. Narodni Filmovy Archiv 1991. Bologna Lumière 1 July 2003. ♪ Donald Sosin. The best episode so far of the seven sins, a Carmen-like tale of the wild smuggler girl of the mountains and the count rescued by her.

I sette peccati capitali - L'avarizia / Saituruuden synti / The Seven Deadly Sins - Greed (IT 1918) D: Gustavo Serena. 62’. Czech intertitles. Tinted. Narodni Filmovy Archiv 1991. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003. ♪ Donald Sosin. This one also more interesting than the first two sins: Bertini opens a fashion boutique, goes to prison having shot a sneaking baron; descends into the underworld and has a prolonged scene of near death.

I sette peccati capitali - L'invidia / Seitsemän kuolemansyntiä I: Kateuden synti / The Seven Deadly Sins - Jealousy (IT 1919) D: Eduardo Bencivenga. 63’. Czech intertitles. Tinted. Narodni Filmovy Archiv 1991. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003. ♪ Javier Pérez de Azpeitia. One of the better sins: Bertini the dancer gives up her star career for a man, who 5 years later leaves him and takes their daughter with him. The rest of the film is the melodrama of the mother who sacrifices all for her daughter.

I sette peccati capitali - L'accidia / Velttouden synti / The Seven Deadly Sins - Sloth (IT 1919) D: Alfredo De Antoni. 54’. Czech intertitles. Tinted. Narodni Filmovy Archiv 1992. Bologna Lumière 4 July 2003. ♪ Neil Brand. Beautiful, humoristic, densely realistic images from many walks of life, superb cinematography. The story of the engineer who tries to bring energy in the world of sloth represented by Bertini's father. The count with schemes for dad's money brings tragedy.

I sette peccati capitali - La lussuria / Kevytmielisyyden synti / The Seven Deadly Sins - Lust (IT 1919) D: Eduardo Bencivenga. Based on motives by Eugène Sue. 59’. Czech intertitles. Tinted. Narodni Filmovy Archiv 1992. Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003. ♪ Antonio Coppola. The culminating sin is a tragedy of divismo in grand style. The luxurious life of two sisters is destroyed by arson by the criminal Dubois, who is 10 years later the richest banker of the land. Rita is now an orphan, Magda is a haughty beauty who opens her own fashion house. Bertini is the cold, heartless Magda desired by all men. She ruins Dubois with her icy elegance and sacrifices her only love to her sister. Stylish cinematography and art direction in the story of loneliness amongst elegance. The film ends in quiet sadness and tragic gestures.

La contessa Sara (IT 1919) D: Roberto Roberti. 68’. Restored 2003 from Montevideo print by Bologna / Cinémathèque Royale. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003. Did. italiane. ♪ Marco Dalpane

FILM D'ARTE ITALIANA

Pia De' Tolomei (IT 1910) D: Gerolamo Lo Savio. 10’. Cineteca Nazionale. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003. ♪ Donald Sosin

Il ratto delle Sabine (IT 1910) D: Ugo Falena. 15’. Dutch intertitles. NFM 1989 from hand-colored print. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003. ♪ Donald Sosin. I saw the beginning

JEAN DURAND, PIONIERE E MAESTRO COMICO

Cœur ardent (FR 1912) 11’. Dutch intertitles. NFM 1991. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Onésime écrit un roman d'amour (FR 1912) 4’. Dutch intertitles. NFM. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Zigoto en pleine lune de miel (FR 1912) 5'. Dutch intertitles. NFM. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Zigoto et la blanchisseuse (FR 1912) 8’. Dutch intertitles. NFM. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Onésime horloger (FR 1912) 6’. Dutch intertitles. NFM. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003.

Onésime contre Onésime (FR 1912) 9’. Bologna Lumière 2 July 2003. CNC Bois d'Arcy AFF / Gaumont.

♪ Alain Baents

Calino sourcier (FR 1913) 4’. Dutch intertitles. NFM. Bologna Lumière 4 July 2003.

Toch d´r zin (FR 1912) 4’. Dutch intertitles. NFM. Bologna Lumière 4 July 2003.

Course de taureaux Provençale (FR 1913) 4’. Dutch intertitles. NFM. Bologna Lumière 4 July 2003.

Onésime employé des postes (FR 1913) 7’. German intertitles. NFM. Bologna Lumière 4 July 2003.

Onésime débute au théâtre (FR 1913) 10’. Gaumont. Bologna Lumière 4 July 2003.

♪ Antonio Coppola

DOSSIER POWELL

The Festival was opened with Thelma Schoonmaker (widow of Michael Powell, editor of Martin Scorsese's films)

An Airman's Letter to His Mother (GB 1941) D: Michael Powell. 5’. BFI / NFTVA. Bologna Cinema Arlecchino 28 June 2003. The RAF propaganda short ends with a vision of the sky from which the son may never return.

A Matter of Life and Death / Kysymys elämästä ja kuolemasta (GB 1946) D: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Sony Columbia. Bologna Cinema Arlecchino 28 June 2003. I refreshed the opening of this film.

DOSSIER SJÖSTRÖM

Bologna Lumière 30 June 2003. Presenta Jon Wengström (Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet) ****

Trädgårdsmästaren (The Broken Spring-Rose, SE 1912) D: Victor Sjöström, SC: Mauritz Stiller. 34’. Short American version, English intertitles. Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet 1980. Bologna Lumière 30 June 2003. ♪ Neil Brand. The debut film of Sjöström is a surprisingly effective melodrama about a young girl seduced and abandoned.

Name the Man / Korkeimman oikeuden edessä (US 1924) D: Victor Sjöström, based on the novel by Hall Caine. 69’. Restored, tinted print 2003 Cinémathèque Royale / Cinemateket, Svenska Filminstitutet with reconstructed intertitles based on the Russian version. Bologna Lumière 30 June 2003. ♪ Alain Baents. Sjöström's first Hollywood film tells the story of a Manx judge who sentences to death for infanticide the very girl he himself had seduced and abandoned; the story is very similar to some of Sjöström's Lagerlöf films. I have felt an evident Sjöström influence in Hitchcock's The Manxman, unique in Hitchcock's oeuvre for its strong concept of natural landscape; now I find Hitchcock's film actually more Sjöströmian than this surviving version of Name the Man, which impresses with the direction of actors but relies little on landscape. Of course, the surviving film is incomplete.

[Ingmar Bergman filmar Smultronstället med Victor Sjöström] (SE 1957). D: Ingmar Bergman. 14’. Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet. Bologna Lumière 30 June 2003. 16mm colour and b&w footage from behind the scenes of Wild Strawberries. Includes moving candid shots.

Dödskyssen (L'étrange aventure d'ingénieur Lebel / Kiss of Death / Kuoleman suudelma, SE 1917) D: Victor Sjöström. 35’. Reconstructed by Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet in 2002 based on the fragmentary French version, reconstructed Swedish intertitles, inserted stills. Bologna Lumière 30 June 2003. ♪ Neil Brand. One of VS's last "raffelfilmer" before the great turning-point of Terje Vigen, this is formally inventive with well realized effects with doubles and a flashback structure, anticipating Körkarlen. As for the story, it's Fantomas land.

DOSSIER MURNAU.

Bologna Lumière 1 July 2003. Cinema Auguste Lumière (Sala 1) ****

Murnau's "4 Devils": Traces of a Lost Film [4 paholaista] (US 2002) D: Janet Bergstrom. 40’. Bologna Lumière 1 July 2003. Introduce la storica americana Janet Bergstrom. Stunningly impressive file of the remaining sketches (drawings by Robert Herlth), stills, posters, publicity material, etc. of the lost film. A model for anybody.

Sunrise - outtakes [Auringonnousu] (US 1926-27) D: F.W. Murnau. 10’. Bologna Lumière 1 July 2003. Introduce Janet Bergstrom.

Satanas – fragment [Saatana, langennut enkeli] (DE 1919-20) D: F.W. Murnau. 3’. National Film Center (Tokyo). Bologna Lumière 1 July 2003. Tinted (yellow, green) fragment of the Egyptian episode with Conrad Veidt (Satanas), Woman (Sadjah Gezza), and Fritz Kortner. An atmosphere of terror.

Tabu - takes & outtakes [Tabu - tarina Etelämereltä] (US 1930-31) D: F.W. Murnau. 25’. ♪ Alain Baents. Bologna Lumière 1 July 2003. Introduce lo storico tedesco Enno Patalas. From the original camera negatives preserved in Vienna.

De fire Djævle / Die vier Luchtakrobaten (DK 1911) D: Alfred Lind, Alex Christians, Robert Dinesen, Christian Rosenbaum. 42’. Dutch intertitles. NFM, toned. Bologna Lumière 1 July 2003. ♪ Antonio Coppola. This first adaptation of the novel is visually striking and better than the 1920 remake by Sandberg. ***

DOSSIER EISENSTEIN

OUTTAKES, TAGLI DI CENSURA E DOCUMENTI D’EPOCA. ♪ Antonio Coppola. Presenta Natalia Noussinova, in collaborazione con il Gosfilmofond of Russia. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003. ****

Portraits of Eisenstein and various unseen materials. 54'. Gosfilmofond

Reel 1

Dnevnik Glumova. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Eisenstein falls down the stairs wearing a pope costume during the shooting of Bronenosets Potjomkin. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Two premieres of Bronenosets Potjomkin (Moscow and Lvov). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Shooting Generalnaja linija at the Konstantinovaka village. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Shooting Oktjabr (four scenes). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Reel 2

Tissé working on Frauennot - Frauenglück (1930). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Excerpts from Everyday (Hans Richter, GB 1929): Eisenstein dances as a Bobby. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Moscow, film-makers' conference (1935). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Arrival of May Lan Fan. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

"Good company: Eisenstein and Chinese actress Butterfly By". Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Clips from Bezhin lug (two shots). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Mosfilm: Eisenstein with French film-makers. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Awarded by the Order of Lenin for Alexander Nevski (1939). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Eisenstein and Mihail Romm on the setof Metshta (1940, excerpt from Eisenstein, directed by Vasili Katanjan). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

National Awards for Aleksandr Nevski (1941). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Eisenstein and his students at VGIK. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Reel 3

Jewish conference, the Jewish anti-fascist committee signs a protest letter against fascism, Eisenstein speaks (1941). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Alma-Ata: preparation and shooting Ivan Grozny (1942). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Reel 4

Eisenstein in the Netherlands. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Reel 5

Eisenstein's apartment. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Reel 6

Eisenstein on his death bed, his funeral. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Reel 7

Eisenstein at VGIK. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

VOKS Evening, reception for Anglo-American film-makers. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Plaque commemorating Eisenstein and Pudovkin at Kazakhfilm (Alma-Ata). Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Generalnaja linija / Staroje i novoje (Vanhaa ja uutta, SU 1926, 1929). PC: Sovkino, D: Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori Alexandrov. The two last scenes: 15' and 13'. Gosfilmofond. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

El desastre en Oaxaca (MX 1930). 11'. Gosfilmofond. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

Vesjolyje rebjata / Iloiset pojat (SU 1924). PC: Moskinokombinat, D: Grigori Alexandrov. Episode directed by Eisenstein. 8'. Gosfilmofond. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003.

So far, the dossier had already lasted almost 3 hours; a further half an hour of Ivan the Terrible I missed.

DOSSIER STILLER

Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003. Presenta Jon Wengström (Cinemateket/ Svenska Filminstitutet). ****

Balettprimadonnan / Balettiprimadonna (SE 1916) D: Mauritz Stiller, starring Jenny Hasselquist, Lars Hanson, Richard Lund. Fragments 19’. Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet. Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003. ♪ Matti Bye

Stiller fragment (SE 1969) D: Gösta Werner. 17’. Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet. Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003.

1. Mauritz Stiller in London with Henrik Jaenzon

2. MS at Råsunda 1922 with his dog Charlie

3. MS in Stockholm 1919 boarding a Zeppelin

4. MS at Åre in 1914 shooting Stormfågeln

5. MS in Stockholm in 1916 shooting Balettprimadonnan

6. Fragment of [Mannekängen] [unfinished film] - a grotesque farce, where a vulgar lady intrudes in everything, including in the film being shown at the cinema

7. Fragment of Gränsfolken [not released in Finland] (1913) with Edith Erastoff and Richard Lund, a Russian melodrama where a Cossack sees his grandson for the first time

8. Fragment of Hans bröllopnatt / Hänen hääyönsä: a comic proposal aboard a ship

9. Fragment of De landsflyktiga. Jenny Hasselquist and Lars Hanson are Russian exiles in Paris

10. MS in Göteborg in 1927: the last moving images of him

Three Stiller fragments (SE) 6’

Hans hustrus förflutna / Hänen vaimonsa menneisyys (SE 1915) D: Mauritz Stiller. Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet. Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003.

På livets ödevägar / Elämän kohtaloissa (SE 1913) D: Mauritz Stiller. Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet. Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003.

När kärleken dödar [not released in Finland] (SE 1913) D: Mauritz Stiller, starring Victor Sjöström. Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet. Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003.

[Testfilm Greta Garbo] (US 1948) P: Walter Wanger, DP: Joseph Valentine, 6’. Five takes. Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet from a private collector 1990. Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003.

Hämnaren / Kostaja (SE 1915) D: Mauritz Stiller. 44’. Cinemeteket / Svenska Filminstitutet 2003. Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003. ♪ Matti Bye. - Surprise discovery of MS's earliest existing film, his only one in a Jewish setting.

RITROVATI & RESTAURATI

Bucking Broadway [not released in Finland] (US 1917) D: Jack [John] Ford, starring Harry Carey. 59’. Digitally restored by CNC Bois d'Arcy AFF 2003. Bologna Piazza Maggiore 3 July 2003. ♪ Neil Brand. In the same class with the other surviving early Ford / Carey films. Cheyenne Harry goes to Broadway to rescue his girl from the villainous rival. Fun as the Wild West clashes with modernity.

Verlogene Moral / Kaamea häälahja / Torgus (DE 1921) D: Hanns Kobe. Starring William Dieterle. 55’. French intertitles. Cinémathèque française / Lobster Films / Desmet 2002. ♪ Neil Brand. Bologna Cinema Lumière 29 June 2003. Exciting new print of the important Expressionist film. Strong imagery. ***

Erdgeist / Lulu / Earth Spirit [not released in Finland] (DE 1923) D: Leopold Jessner. Based on the play Lulu by Franz Wedekind. Starring Asta Nielsen. 85’. Dutch intertitles. NFM & Gosfilmofond 2003. ♪ Donald Sosin. Bologna Cinema Lumière 29 June 2003. Another great Expressionist film, very different from Die Büchse der Pandora, yet there are many interesting parallels. The actors are first rate. In one scene, Asta Nielsen even sports a bobbed hair like Louise Brooks. ***

Steamboat Bill, Jr. / Laivakalle nuorempi (US 1928) D: Chas. F. Reisner. Starring Buster Keaton. 69’. David Shepard, Lobster Films. Bologna Teatro Comunale 4 July 2003. Musiche composte e dirette dal Maestro Timothy Brock, con l’orchestra del Teatro Comunale. ****

Un chien andalou / Andalusialainen koira (FR 1929) D: Luis Buñuel, SC: Luis Buñuel & Salvador Dali. /18 fps/ 22’. Filmoteca Española / Ferran Alberich 2003. Cinema Lumière Two 4 July 2003. Double screening of restored print (2003). Il curatore del restauro, Ferran Alberich, presenta due versioni sincronizzate: una con le musiche scelte da Buñuel per la versione del 1960, l'altra accompagnata dal Preludio e morte di Isotta di Wagner. ****

All Quiet on the Western Front / Länsirintamalta ei mitään uutta (US 1930) D: Lewis Milestone. 132’. Silent version with music and sound effects. LoC 2002. Bologna Arlecchino 29 June 2003. ****

The Power and the Glory [not released in Finland] (US 1933) D: William K. Howard, SC: Preston Sturges, starring Spencer Tracy. 77’. Bologna Lumière Two 3 July 2003. Brilliant UCLA restoration of the film that is a predecessor of Citizen Kane.

The Reckless Moment (US 1949) D: Max Ophuls, starring Joan Bennett, James Mason. 82’. Bologna Arlecchino 1 July 2003. Presenta Marcel Ophuls and Grover Crisp. Brilliant new print from Sony Columbia of Ophuls' subtle noir about the mother of teenager girl who gets involved with a crook. ****

Charles Laughton Directs "The Night of the Hunter" (US 1954-2002) 158’. Conferenza di Robert Gitt (responsabile dei restauri della UCLA). Bologna Arlecchino 2 July 2003. ****

The Barefoot Contessa / Paljasjalkakreivitär (US 1954) D: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart, Valentina Cortese. 128’. Bologna Arlecchino 30 June 2003. Robert Gitt (UCLA) presented the brilliant 2002 UCLA restoration from the original Technicolor negatives. Also the original Perspecta sound.has been digitally preserved. ****

PARS PRO TOTO E RARITA

Tangled Hearts (US 1916) D: Joseph De Grasse. Starring Lon Chaney. 2’. Bologna Lumière 29 June 2003. ♪ Neil Brand. Presenta Kevin Brownlow (Photoplay Productions)

Thunder / Chicagon pikajuna n:o 2329 (US 1929) D: William Nigh. Starring Lon Chaney. 5’. Bologna Lumière 29 June 2003. ♪ Neil Brand. Presenta Kevin Brownlow (Photoplay Productions)

EVENTI SPECIALI

Thieves' Highway / Varkaiden markkinat (US 1949) D: Jules Dassin. Starring Valentina Cortese. 94’. 20th Century Fox. Bologna Arlecchino 29 June 2003. Alla presenza della Valentina Cortese. ****

PROGETTO CHAPLIN

The Chaplin Revue: A Dog's Life / Koiranelämää (US 1918) D: Charles Chaplin. 38’. Restored Bologna / Roy Export 2003 b.o. 1959 stretch print version. Bologna Teatro Comunale 4 July 2003. Musiche originali di Charles Chaplin ricostruite e dirette dal Maestro Timothy Brock. Versione restaurata. Alla presenza di Michael Chaplin e Charles Chaplin (grandson of the star). ****

The Circus / Sirkus (US 1928) D: Charles Chaplin. 71’. Restored Bologna / Roy Export 2003. Bologna Teatro Comunale 5 July 2003. ♪ Musiche originali di Charles Chaplin ricostruite e dirette dal Maestro Timothy Brock. Versione restaurata . Con il sostegno della Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna

PROGETTO CHAPLIN - THE KEYSTONE SERIES

Laughing Gas / Ilokaasua (US 1914) D: Charles Chaplin. 15’. Restored Bologna 2003 based on tinted print from Suomen elokuva-arkisto. Bologna Piazza Maggiore 2 July 2003. ♪ Antonio Coppola

The Masquerader / Charlie naisten tamineissa (US 1914) D: Charles Chaplin. 15’. Restored Bologna / BFI / Lobster 2003 based on a tinted print. Bologna Piazza Maggiore 3 July 2003. ♪ Marco Dalpane

OMAGGIO A CLARENCE BROWN

The Eagle / Aquila nera / Musta kotka / Kotka (US 1925) D: Clarence Brown, based on the short story "Dubrovski" by Pushkin, starring Rudolph Valentino, 76’. NFTVA. Bologna Lumière 3 July 2003. Musica di Carl Davies. Sincronizzazione a cura di Patrick Stanbury (Photoplay Productions). I caught the end of this, one of the last films of Valentino.

The Goose Woman / Rikoksen varjossa (US 1925) D: Clarence Brown. 82’. Photoplay. Bologna Lumière 5 July 2003. ♪ Neil Brand. - A very special, moving melodrama.

I missed completely Len Lye.



Tuesday, December 31, 2002

2002

Checklist: some of the films I saw theatrically in 2002

5.1.2002 The Pledge / Kunniasanalla
5.1.2002 Rölli ja metsänhenki
19.1.2002 Behind Enemy Lines / Vihollisen keskellä
26.1.2002 La stanza del figlio
26.1.2002 La Pianiste

2.2.2002 Kuutamolla
2.2.2002 La Répétition
23.2.2002 Storytelling
23.2.2002 Italiaa aloittelijoille

15.3.2002 Tmavomodrý svet / The Dark Blue World
15.3.2002 Los otros / The Others
16.3.2002 Peter Pan ja paluu Mikä-Mikä-Maahan
16.3.2002 Gosford Park
22.3.2002 The Royal Tenenbaums
22.3.2002 In the Bedroom / Satimessa
23.3.2002 Asterix & Obelix: Tehtävä Kleopatra
30.3.2002 Crossroads

20.4.2002 The Man Who Wasn't There
20.4.2002 Yi yi / A One and a Two

11.5.2002 Petite Chérie
11.5.2002 Panic Room
11.5.2002 Pieniä eroja
11.5.2002 Le Placard
11.5.2002 Nikogarsnja zemlja / Ei kenenkään maa
31.5.2002 Resident Evil

1.6.2002 Anita no pere el tren / Anitan valinta
1.6.2002 La Saison des hommes / Miesten vuodenaika
1.6.2002 Kandahar
8.6.2002 The Sweet Hereafter

17.7.2002 Sin noticias de Dios / Paholainen loi naisen
20.7.2002 Monster's Ball
24.7.2002 About a Boy
27.7.202 Blade 2

4.8.2002 Mulholland Drive
5.8.2002 El cielo abierto / 10 päivää ilman rakkautta
9.8.2002 Phörpa / Tiibetin futishullut
15.8.2002 The Believer
18.8.2002 Hengittämättä & nauramatta

7.9.2002 Menolippu Mombasaan
13.9.2002 Lucia y el sexo
13.9.2002 Une hirondelle a fait le printemps / Tyttö Pariisista
13.9.2002 Babi leto / Kevättä rinnassa
14.9.2002 Lilo & Stitch
14.9.2002 Murder by Numbers
14.9.2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember
20.9.2002 Spirit
28.9.2002 The Sum of All Fears / Peloista pahin
28.9.2002 Dogtown and Z-Boys

5.10.2002 Stuart Little 2
5.10.2002 Umur
5.10.2002 Kahlekuningas
6.10.2002 Signs
7.10.2002 Insomnia (US)
26.10.2002 Y ta mama tambien / Ja äitiäs kans
26.10.2002 Haaveiden kehä

2.11.2002 Heinähattu ja Vilttitossu
4.11.2002 At kende Sandheten, Copenhagen
4.11.2002 Elsker Dig for evigt, Copenhagen
9.11.2002 Windtalkers, Copenhagen
9.11.2002 The Guru, Copenhagen
9.11.2002 Changing Lanes, Copenhagen
16.11.2002 La primera noche de mi vida / Elämäni ensimmäinen yö
16.11.2002 Betty Fisher
16.11.2002 Juana la Loca
23.11.2002 Full Frontal
23.11.2002 Red Dragon
23.11.2002 Undisputed

6.12.2002 XXX
6.12.2002 Sweet Home Alabama
7.12.2002 En kort en lang / Vaimoni Jörgen
7.12.2002 K-19
14.12.2002 Mr. Deeds
14.12.2002 One Hour Photo
31.12.2002 The Lord of the Rings II Two Towers

Thursday, October 31, 2002

An American Romance


King Vidor: An American Romance (US 1944).

Lupausten maa / Löftets land
    US © 1944 Loew's, Inc. Tuotantoyhtiö: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. 
    Tuottaja ja ohjaaja: King Vidor. Apulaisohjaajat: Bert Spurlin, Jack MacKenziel. Käsikirjoitus: Herbert Dalmas, William Ludwig – Vidorin tarinasta. Kuvaus: Harold Rosson – Technicolor. Technicolor-konsultti: Natalie Kalmus, kumppaninaan Henri Jaffa. Lavastus: Cedric Gibbons, kumppaneinaan Urie McCleary ja Malcolm Brown. Sisustus: Edwin B. Willis, kumppaninaan Richard Pefferle. Erikoistehosteet: Arnold Gillespie. Puvut: Irene. Ehostus: Jack Dawn. Musiikki: Louis Gruenberg. Laulu: "Lo! Hear The Gentle Lark" (san. William Shakespeare, säv. Sir Henry Rowley Bishop). Leikkaus: Conrad A. Nervig. Ääni: Douglas Shearer – Western Electric. 
    Pääosissa: Brian Donlevy (Steve Dangos, synt. Stefan Dangosbiblichek), Ann Richards (Anna O'Rourke Dangos), Walter Abel (Howard Clinton), John Qualen (Anton Dubschek), Horace McNally (Teddy Roosevelt Dangos), Mary McLeod (Tina Dangos), Bob Lowell (George Washingon Dangos), Fred Brady (Abraham Lincoln Dangos), Billy Lechner (Joe Chandler, Jr.), Jerry Shane (Bob Chandler). 
    Helsingin ensiesitys: 25.11.1945 Savoy, maahantuoja: MGM – PCA 9740 – Suomen tarkastusnumero 25798 – S – director's cut 151 min (ei säilynyt) – yleinen levitysversio 122 min

King Vidor harkitsi värväytymistä Army Air Corpsin elokuvadivisioonaan, mutta päätti, että Lupausten maan ohjaaminen olisi hänelle paras tapa palvella maataan. Teos on Vidorin "sota, vehnä ja teräs" -trilogian päätösosa. Aikaisemmat osat: Suuri paraati (1925) ja Meidän jokapäiväinen leipämme (1934). 

Elokuvaan sisältyy dokumenttijaksoja, joissa kuvataan teräksen, autojen ja lentokoneiden valmistusta. Juoni perustuu jugoslavialaissyntyisen Louis Adamicin muistelmiin. Vaikutteita Vidorille antoivat myös teollisuusmiehet Andrew Carnegie, Charles Steinmetz, William Knudsen ja Walter Chrysler. Käsikirjoituksen eri versioita muokkasivat Norman Foster, John Fante, James Hill, Tom Treanor, Wessel Smitter, Ross B. Wills ja Renata Oppenheimer. Pieniä lisäyksiä käsikirjoitukseen tekivät vielä Smitter, Gordon Kahn, Frances Marion ja Vincent Lawrence. Vidor kirjoitti sen yhdessä Herbert Dalmasin kanssa, ja lopuksi William Ludwig kirjoitti kaiken vielä uudelleen yhdessä Dalmasin ja Vidorin kanssa. Robert D. Andrews kirjoitti vielä lisädialogia.

Alun perin päärooleihin oli ajateltu Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman ja Joseph Cotten.

Elokuvan eräänä visuaalisena mallina olivat taiteilija Charles Burchfieldin maalaukset.

Tapahtumapaikan mallina on Hibbing, MN, vaikka nimeä ei elokuvassa maininta. Vidor sai sotaministeriöltä luvan kuvata keskilännen kaivoksilla ja tehtailla. Kuvauspaikkoja: Ull-Rustin kaivokset (Hibbing, MN), Duluthin telakka (Duluth, MN), Ford River A & O Rouge Plant (Dearborn, MI), Irontownin masuuni (Irontown, UT), Lake Superior, MI, U.S. Steel Corporationin tehtaat: Carnegie Illinois Steel Works (Chicago) ja Indiana Steel Plant (Gary), Chryslerin autotehtaat (Detroit), Douglasin lentokonetehdas (Long Beach, CA), Consolidatedin tehdas (San Diego, CA), Hammondin terästehdas (Hammond, IN); Mesabi Range, MN; Wilmington, CA; sekä Indianapolis kilpa-ajojen aikaan.

Elokuvan 151-minuuttinen versio esitettiin Cincinnatin ensi-illassa, minkä jälkeen siitä lyhennettiin puoli tuntia studion pääleikkaajan Margaret Boothin johdolla. Vidor olisi ollut taipuvainen lyhentämään dokumenttijaksoja, mutta koska niihin oli äänileikkauksen vuoksi vaikeampi puuttua, fiktio-osuutta lyhennettiin. Kolme miljoonaa dollaria maksanut elokuva ei saanut yleisömenestystä. Tyytymättömänä MGM:n tapaan kohdella elokuvaa Vidor jätti studion, jolla hän oli työskennellyt 20 vuotta ja jonka maineen perustajiin hän kuului.

Lupausten maata hallitsee aseistautumisen ja vaurastumisen eetos. Se on hienompi kuin esim. Pittsburgh (Yön enkeli, 1942), jossa John Wayne ja Randolph Scott kohoavat kaivosmiehistä teollisuusjohtajiksi. Nämä teollisuuden eepokset kuvaavat vaikeuksia vain voiton katalysaattoreina ja marginalisoivat taistelut ammattiyhdistysten kanssa. Nuo elokuvat maistuvat nyt kapitalistiselta hapatukselta, mutta vaaran vuosina ne valoivat uskoa ja rohkeutta katsojiin. Vidor oli suunnitellut teollisuuden eeposta vuodesta 1926 lähtien, mutta vasta vuonna 1941 hän löysi idean, joka kantoi hedelmää. Käsikirjoituksen takana oleva kirjoittajien verkosto oli äärimmäisen monimutkainen Hollywoodin mittapuidenkin mukaan. Päärooli oli suunniteltu Spencer Tracylle, ja hänen menetyksestään Vidor ei toipunut koskaan. Kirjassaan On Film Making (1973) Vidor mainitsee Brian Donlevyn esimerkkinä siitä, miten väärä näyttelijävalinta voi tuhota elokuvan. Elokuvissa Boom Town (Humukaupunki) ja Sea of Grass (Lainehtiva tasanko) Tracyssa on kapitalismin puolestapuhujana hiljaista auktoriteettia ja karismaa, jollaiseen Donlevyn kyvyt eivät olisi koskaan riittäneet. Vidor mainitsee Donlevyn osasuorituksen kierona kuvernöörinä Preston Sturgesin satiirissa The Great McGinty esimerkkinä mielikuvista, jotka hänen oli pyrittävä hälventämään.

Elokuvalla oli monta työnimeä, mutta lopullinen nimi viitannee Amerikkalaiseen tragediaan: Vidor uskoo mobiliteettiin, yhteiskunnalliseen nousuun toisin kuin Theodore Dreiser. "Kyllä, Steve Dangos, pojastasi voi tulla Yhdysvaltain presidentti!" tämä taas on viittaus The Crowdiin, jossa kansallispäivänä syntyneestä sankarista odotetaan vaikka mitä mutta tämä löytääkin itsensä mainospellenä. "Siunattuja ovat köyhät ja kunnianhimoiset" on Lupausten maan uskontunnustus. On kaksi amerikkalaista draamaa, jossa Steve Dangosilla on osa näyteltävänään: teollisuuden kasvu joka huipentuu voitokkaaseen asevarusteluun sekä Amerikan elvyttäminen siirtolais-verellä. Epiikan, kodinrakentamisen ja romantiikan seoksena syntyy jotakin mitä Leslie Fiedler kutsuu "valkoiseksi romantiikaksi" (vastakohtana gotiikalle): johtosävel on toivo, ja luonnonlakeja sekoittaa porvarillinen kulttuuri.

Elokuvan vauhdikkuus tuo mieleen muita genrejä. Biopic-juoni sankarin noususta ja menestyksestä on kuin sota-ajan musikaalia ilman musiikkia. Sen fyysinen hyväntuulisuus on kuin komediaa ilman naurua. Maahanmuuttajan ensikohtaaminen amerikkalaisen koneen, höyrykaivurin, kanssa, avaa hyvin erilaisen näyn ihmisen ja luonnon suhteeseen kuin mihin 1900-luvun lopun katsojat ovat virittyneet. Lupausten maa on seos epiikkaa, dokumenttia, perhedraamaa, musikaalia ja komediaa, ja tuloksena on tyylillisiä yllätyksiä. Esimerkiksi sulattamojakso, jossa paljasrintaisten miesten kehä viskelee rytmikkäästi malmia ahjoon voi tuoda mieleen saksalaisen eepoksen tai infernaalisen musikaalin. Kun tulen leimahdus polttaa esimiehen pahasti, miehet reagoivat tuskin lainkaan. Noina vuosina Joseph Schumpeter (Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, 1943) epäili voiko kapitalismi säilyä. Vidorin näkemys on lähempänä Peter Druckeria (The Future of Industrial Man, 1942): tehtaasta on tuleva yhteiskunnan perusyksikkö. Jos Vidor olisi kehitellyt ajatustaan pidemmälle, tehtaasta olisi tullut hänelle sitä mitä ratsuväestä Fordille. Esikaupungistuminen johdatti Amerikan työväen kuitenkin toisille teille. Sisärenkaan (The Citadel) yhteiskuntakritiikki ei päde tämän elokuvan säteilevän terveisiin kaivosmiehiin. Myös Street Scenen ja Hääyön kulttuurilliset ristiriidat työnnetään sivuun. Miesten ja metallin analogia antaa kirjaimellisen kuvan "kansojen sulatusuunista". Rooseveltin Bureau of Motion Picturesin sensuuriohjeiden elokuvasta poistettiin kohtaus, jossa työläiset nujerretaan kyynelkaasulla.

Elokuvan kauneus on sen pinnassa, eritoten Technicolorissa, kuten ilmenee sen harvinaisista aidoista Technicolor-kopioista. Maan väreistä siirrytään ilman väreihin saavuttaessa nykypäivään ja lentokoneteollisuuden nousuun. Avaus on hätkähdyttävän harmaansävyinen. Sateenkaaren puolikas ilmestyy pilvistä. Lumen valkoisuus on kuin yliluonnollinen vastakohta tehtaiden saastalle, taustana rajun punainen auringonlasku. Höyrykaivurijakso on sommiteltu beigen, mustan ja ruskean sävyihin. Vidor oli aiheellisesti ylpeä värisuunnittelustaan. Loppuhuipennuksessa Dangos on vastoinkäymisten jälkeen voitolla. Kellon viisari näyttää, miten viiden minuutin välein tehtaalta valmistuu uusi pommikone. Dziga Vertov kuvasi entusiasmia, jossa ihmisestä tulee stalinistisen koneen osa. Vidorin elokuva avautuu pastoraaliin, "puutarhakaupunkiin". Naiset niittaavat pultteja ripeästi, hassun öljyiset kasvot ilmestyvät pommikoneen sisältä. Iloinen palapeli kasvaa teollisuuden ylistykseksi. Nykyajan skitsofreeninen vieraantuneisuus päättyy tähän.

Kritiikki tyrmäsi elokuvan, MGM saksi siitä kymmenen jaksoa, ja Vidorilta kolmen vuoden työn vaatinut suureepos läsähti pinnallisin mittarein pannukakuksi. Ratkaisevalla tavalla tämä kokemus muutti Vidorin sielun. Hänen seuraavissa elokuvissaan myllertää vimmainen, sielullisesti suorastaan epätoivoinen ilmapiiri.

– Raymond Durgnatin ja Scott Simmonin mukaan (King Vidor, American, 1988) AA 30.10.2002