C+ Film history documentary Directed by Bill Morrison In 1978, Michael Gates of Dawson City stumbled on a huge collection of 35mm nitrate film, buried in a former swimming pool below a torn-down ice rink. The once-thriving Yukon mining town sits less than 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle. The film stock was much … Continue reading Dawson City: A Hidden Treasure Trove in an Artic Swimming Pool
Tag: silent film
Spellbound in Darkness: Thursday and Friday at the Silent Film Festival
I can't possibly cover the San Francisco Silent Film Festival the way I do the San Francisco International Fest, reporting every morning on what I saw the previous day. SFSFF is too compact and concentrated for that. Most days, it starts at 10:00am and ends around 11:00pm. Breaks can be short. I have a long … Continue reading Spellbound in Darkness: Thursday and Friday at the Silent Film Festival
What’s Screening: June 2 – 8
Russian revolutionaries, sexy Indians, mixed-race couples, Japanese writers, French samurais, an Iranian vampire, and a whole lot of silent movies grace Bay Area screens this week. Festivals The San Francisco Silent Film Festival continues through Sunday DocFest continues through this week and beyond Promising events Bringing a black boyfriend home double bill: Guess Who's Coming … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 2 – 8
What’s Screening: November 9 – 15
The Italian Film Festival closes Saturday night, but New Italian Cinema opens tonight and runs through the weekend. Both Doc Fest and the Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival continue through this week and beyond. Cinema by the Bay opens today and runs through the week. B- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Alameda, Tuesday and Wednesday. Howard Hawks’ … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 9 – 15
What’s Screening: August 10 – 16
No festivals this week. But there are some good movies. The Rolling Stones: Some Girls, Balboa, Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30. A Rolling Stone concert from 1978--well before they became respectable old men. Introduced with a recent interview with Sir Mick Jagger (see what I mean). A+ Double Bill: Sunrise & Freaks, Castro, Sunday. Haunting, romantic, … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 10 – 16
What’s Screening: July 6 – 12
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival opens Thursday. Wings, Castro, Thursday, 7:00. Primarily remembered as winner of the first Best Picture Oscar (except that the award wasn’t called Best Picture back then), Wings was until a few months ago the only silent film so honored. I saw Wings many, many years ago, and remember being … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 6 – 12
What’s Screening: June 1 – 7
It's not much of a week for festivals, but New Czech Films comes back for two more days on Wednesday and Thursday. And then there's: Charlie Chaplin Days, downtown Niles (including the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum), Saturday & Sunday, 11:00am - 4:30. Charlie Chaplin spent a year making movies in Niles (now part of … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 1 – 7
What’s Screening: May 25 – 31
Only one festival this week: New Czech Films at the Roxie. It runs Tuesday through Thursday, and then picks up again in the middle of next week. Not much else, either. Roxie Fundraiser Dinner, The Verdi Club, Wednesday, 6:30. Help keep the Roxie running with this special event. It's extremely expensive, but all for a … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 25 – 31
Why Silents Are Golden: This Year’s San Francisco Silent Film Festival
As regular readers know, I'm passionate about silent movies. Without the crutch of spoken words, a motion picture becomes pure cinema--reality on an entirely different plane. The actors can be fully unique, complex individuals (not that they always are) while remaining archetypes. Take Louise Brooks. In silent films, she's magical, mysterious, and the very embodiment … Continue reading Why Silents Are Golden: This Year’s San Francisco Silent Film Festival
What’s Screening: April 20 -26
Both the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Tiburon International. Film Festival opened last night. I've placed festival entries at the bottom of this newsletter. B Attenberg, Elmwood and one of the Lee Theaters, opens Friday. You have to adjust yourself to the slow pace here. Writer/director Athina Rachel Tsangari examines the life and … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 20 -26
Bayflicks 