only 25 days until...

photo courtesy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival 

...the 2010 San Francisco Silent Film Festival,
now showing over four days.
[full line-up here]

Actually, that photo resembles the Castro Theater
with the escaping steam generated by the sold-out
shows throughout the festival.
It'll be interesting to see if an extra day will
affect the attendance.
Nearly everyone I know in town attends at
least one show.

I'm especially interested in Rotaie,
A Spray of Plum Blossoms,
The Flying Ace and Haxan
- and of course the newly expanded Metropolis.


Any suggestions or comments about the rest of the program?

4 sons, 2 images

As beautifully constructed as John Ford's films are, I can't get behind them.
This poor woman hasn't a thought in her head that doesn't involve one of her sons.
I feel certain that it's an easier character to grasp
if the viewer is a son, and that's just not me.
I'll keep trying, though.
I'm especially excited about seeing "Upstream" once it is restored and released.

This was going to be an entry in the Single Shot series,
but I couldn't choose a favorite son/image.
The form in the first is very strong
(not to mention the four window panes for four children),
but this second one reminded me so much of this painting,
Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash by Balla.




Who can resist a cute dog with a helmet?

Four Sons (1928)
directed by John Ford
cinematography by Charles Clarke
and George Schneiderman

fog nostalgia

That lighting through the fog is fantastic!
It makes me nostalgic for the fog that has disappeared lately from San Francisco
(replaced by seemingly endless rain - a lot less romantic.)





This is shot entirely on sets, which is what this city looks like
at the height of the foggy season.

Now I want to watch DOA again.

Moontide (1942)
directed by Archie Mayo (and some Fritz Lang)
cinematography by Charles Clark
and Lucien Ballard

blame it on spring

Dillinger (1973)
directed by John Milius
cinematography by Jules Brenner




Okay, here's what happened:




I was just so innocently watching The Goodbye Girl for no particular reason
when I developed a huge crush on the young Richard Dreyfus.
The last few weeks have been spent hunting down early
Dreyfus films I had so far neglected.
No Duddy Kravitz though, but I did enjoy Dillinger -
it's just gorgeous.
Good thing as it was the only photogenic film in the bunch.

I'm fascinated by the film school kids who became directors in the early 1970s.
I can see they culled from the same reservoir I frequent.
I just wish I had a greater appreciation for their films.

I saw stars

Such a visually striking film with an equally engaging plot.
This film is famous for very good reasons.
I was particularly struck by how architecture is used
both in fantasy:




and to set the tone for the actual lives of the characters:







Awaara (1951)
directed by Raj Kapoor
cinematography by Radhu Karmakar

frills over onyx

Wow, does that ever look like fun!
This is a great title sequence-
graceful, curvilinear, flowery,
and completely unlike the design of the film itself.
Just like Fred and Ginger with their
graceful steps and her frilled gowns gliding
over the hard flat Art Deco sets.
Its a contrasting platform that serves to highlight the art of the dance
of the hands and of the feet.

Carefree (1938)
directed by Mark Sandrich
art direction by Van Nest Polglase

cat and the canary

At first, this didn't seem much like the other Paul Leni films I'd seen.

Ya gotcha long hallway, with fluttering drapery....

...and the extreme angles, to enhance the sense of altered reality...

....and then...

...this lighting...

...shows up and knocks all the cliches right off the screen.

The Cat and the Canary (1927)

directed by Paul Leni

cinematography by Gilbert Warrenton

art direction by Charles D Hall

sunday in the richmond district

San Franciscans often complain that the westernmost part
of the city is just too far away,
boring and out-of touch.
It's such a shame for they are missing out on some gems.

While it's not quite the step back in time people believe,
you can pretend you are back in the 1920s
this Sunday in the Richmond District.

Step 1) Spend the afternoon at the Legion of Honor's Cartier jewelery show.
Marvel at the fabulous Art Deco diamond cuffs worn by Gloria Swanson
in Sunset Boulevard amongst many, many other pieces from the era.

Step 2) Rest your bedazzled eyes on the screen at the 1926 Balboa Theater,
which will be showing the darkly German-Expressionist
The Cat and the Canary (1926) on it's 84th birthday.
Be sure to dress, their parties are quite the deal-
short features, live vaudeville acts
and birthday cake.

Have a lovely time, darlings! I'll add pictures next week.

further erosion/corrosion

La maschera del demonio (1960)
directed by Mario Bava






Alice in Wonderland (1903)
directed by Cecil Hepworth
and Percy Stow










Murder! (1930)
directed by Alfred Hitchcock

While hauntingly beautiful, I'm sure these are not the images
these directors wanted to
leave in our minds.

If films by these important and influential directors
are eroding and corroding,
what else are we losing?

parallel lines

...even down to the gloved fingers on the stairway railing.





Sudden Fear (1952)
directed by David Miller
cinematography by Charles Lang

comments policy

Are you other bloggers getting spammed as much as I am in the comments?
It's reaching epic proportions around here.
I'm tired of clicking on links that take me places no lady would voluntarily go, so
for the next little while at least I'm going to be ruthless about which comments I publish.

If there is no meaningful content relating to that particular post, I will disregard and not publish such comments.

Hopefully this spamming will calm down soon and we can get back to regular social intercourse (hee.)

happy new year 2010

Flesh and the Devil (1926)

Happy New Year, all!
May there be many new and
exciting film discoveries all year long....