On January 11, 1914, a Keystone movie crew drove to Venice--a beach town near Los Angeles--to improvise a comedy around an actual event of modest interest. Only one performer came with the crew--a young British Music Hall comedian recently signed with Keystone. The comic, Charlie Chaplin, quickly put together a costume and makeup, and created … Continue reading Chaplin at the Castro: My Report on a Wonderful Day
Category: Film Preservation
SF Silent Film Festival, Saturday Report
Amazing Tales from the Archive First, Robert Byrne of the Festival discussed the restoration of The Half Breed, the 1916 Douglas Fairbanks feature that will have its restoration premiere Saturday. He and his team had to work with three different, incomplete prints, most from questionable sources. Byrne divided his talk into three categories: Continuity: Trying … Continue reading SF Silent Film Festival, Saturday Report
Hitchcock 9, Part 3: Sunday
B The Pleasure Garden For a new director's first film, The Pleasure Garden is surprisingly assured--creatively using all the cinema's tools to tell a good story. Based on a popular novel of the time, it follows two young women, both dancers, as their professional and love lives go in different and contrasting directions. One goes … Continue reading Hitchcock 9, Part 3: Sunday
SF Silent Film Festival, Day 2
Amazing Tales From the Vault This year's technical talk concentrated on digital restorations and distribution by major studios, with experts from Paramount and Sony (Columbia). I didn't take notes, so I'll just give you a quick overview: Wings was projected off a DCP Friday night. Paramount has made a 35mm negative and prints of the … Continue reading SF Silent Film Festival, Day 2
SF Silent Film Festival Report 1: Wings
I always felt that realistic sound effects weren't appropriate for silent films. I was wrong. Or perhaps this was just an exception. Realistic sound effects are fantastic if they're performed live by an ensemble directed by sound effects wizard Ben Burtt. Using bicycles, drums, a typewriter (I think) and devices that I couldn't possibly name … Continue reading SF Silent Film Festival Report 1: Wings
Children of Paradise
Something struck me as I watched Children of Paradise Saturday at the Castro. The main characters are, at heart, all extraordinarily selfish. Even when expressing deep and undying love, they're thinking only of their own needs and desires. They want to own the object of their adoration, but they don't see that object as a … Continue reading Children of Paradise
In Praise of Digital Projection
I’m a cinema purist. I want my films shown in the correct aspect ratio. I don’t approve of colorization, adding new and “improved” special effects, or 2D-to-3D conversions. I’m offended when the DVD or Blu-ray disc of a classic doesn’t include the original mono soundtrack. Yet, in terms of the esthetic cinematic experience, I wouldn’t … Continue reading In Praise of Digital Projection
A CENTURY AGO: THE FILMS OF 1910
For the fourth year in a row, Randy Haberkamp of the Motion Picture Academy came to the Rafael with an overview of one-hundred-year-old films. For the first time, I was there to see it. Haberkamp introduced and presented seven one-reelers (pretty much all there was in those days) from 1910—six of them narrative fiction. Despite … Continue reading A CENTURY AGO: THE FILMS OF 1910
Digital Projection & Classic Movies
Twice this month I saw, projected digitally, an older, arguably classic film, originally intended to be screened in 35mm. One was a major disappointment—technically, at least. The other was perfectly acceptable. Both films were new “director’s cut” versions. I’m guessing that the owners of these films chose not to spend money on a 35mm print, … Continue reading Digital Projection & Classic Movies
War and Ballet @ the PFA
I attended two very different British films at the Pacific Film Archive Sunday. They were not a double bill. The Red Shoes I’d seen this 1948 Technicolor backstage ballet drama in the 1970’s, and didn’t care for it then. But it’s considered a classic and has recently been restored, and I felt it was time … Continue reading War and Ballet @ the PFA
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