Sunday at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

May 6, 2019 ~ Lincoln Spector

I'll tell you one thing about the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. While it's extremely fun, it's also exhausting. I don't think I could have survived another day of it. Here's what I saw on the last day: Japanese Girls At the Harbor In the early 1930s, Japan created realistic, humanistic silent films. This work … Continue reading Sunday at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

The Cameraman & Opening Night at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

May 2, 2019 ~ Lincoln Spector

I'm going to try to cover the San Francisco Silent Film Festival day by day, which isn't easy when the days are so long. So please excuse me if my grammar and spelling aren't the best. So lets get going with the opening night screening of Buster Keaton's The Cameraman. But before the movie, the … Continue reading The Cameraman & Opening Night at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Buster Bookends Silent Film Festival

March 31, 2019March 27, 2019 ~ Lincoln Spector

Buster Keaton's first MGM feature and penultimate silent, The Cameraman, opens this year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival on May Day (May 1st). Four days of bleary eyes and stiff backs - and a lot of fun - later, the festival will close with Keaton's second feature, and in my opinion, his first feature masterpiece, … Continue reading Buster Bookends Silent Film Festival

What’s Screening: February 15 – 21

February 15, 2019February 15, 2019 ~ Lincoln Spector

Note: After I posted this newsletter, a reader brought another film festival, opening tonight, to be attention. I've therefore corrected this article. What's happening in Bay Area theaters this week? Silent comedy, John Huston, Paul Butterfield, and David Bowie. Also two new movies and three four film festivals. Plus, at the Lark and Roxie, it'll be … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 15 – 21

A celebration of The Great Buster

November 7, 2018November 4, 2018 ~ Lincoln Spector

B+ Showbiz documentary Directed by Peter Bogdanovich There's no question in my mind that film historian and filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show) considers Buster Keaton to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, physical comedian since the invention of the movies. I agree completely. I'm such a big fan of the … Continue reading A celebration of The Great Buster

Music, slapstick, art, & fascism: Saturday at the Mill Valley Film Festival

October 7, 2018 ~ Lincoln Spector

I saw four films Saturday at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and I never stepped a foot in Mill Valley. I saw all four in the small, upstairs auditoriums at the Rafael. The first was a narrative; the rest were documentaries. B- The Independents The music is pretty good, but not exceptional. The same could … Continue reading Music, slapstick, art, & fascism: Saturday at the Mill Valley Film Festival

Greatest Hits with the Club Foot Orchestra

September 16, 2018 ~ Lincoln Spector

I spent most of Saturday at the Castro, where The Club Foot Orchestra accompanied a selection of silent features and shorts. The event was run by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The Club Foot Orchestra - ten musicians in its current form - calls itself "pioneers of modern music for silent films." They seem to … Continue reading Greatest Hits with the Club Foot Orchestra

What’s Screening: August 17 – 23

August 17, 2018 ~ Lincoln Spector

John Ford and John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Carl Sagan, Elia Kazan, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Mel Brooks light up Bay Area movie screens this week. But no film festivals. Also, I'm changing the Lebowskies section to Frequently-revived classics. The Big Lebowski doesn't screen as often as it used to. Promising events She Wore a … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 17 – 23