snow forecast - for real

Could these be the hills of San Francisco this weekend?

It's a good thing I had a leftover picture from Ski Party (1965). I never thought I would ever get to do a post like this but snowfall has been predicted for San Francisco this Friday. If so, it would be the first time snow has landed here since 1976.

Originally forecasted to hit Saturday, it's moving in much faster now. It has already left its mark in Oregon. Fingers crossed it will grant my wish for snow too!

post-heist

Le Douxieme Souffle (1966)
directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
cinematography Marcel Combes

those insurmountable stairs

It's a sad love story for St. Valentine's Day, but a love story all the same.







Letyat zhuravli (1957)
aka Cranes Are Flying
directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
cinematography by Sergei Urusevsky

Is time really passing that quickly?

Yes, apparently January is already half over. I should keep a better watch on all those clocks I've been collecting.

I wanted to extend a great big thank you to all my visitors throughout the years. I deeply appreciate your comments (and gifts of films!) and words of recognition. I truly do even if it takes me a while to respond.

I'm sure it's blog-world-wide, but I've been having a persistent case of spam that I'm having trouble eradicating. I have finally caved and enacted the wiggly-word gate for comments from now on. I harrumph and snort when I see those floating letters once I type my comment elsewhere but I need to do something. I'm starting to lose legitimate comments in amongst the spam notices. I want to keep comments open to hear from as many people as possible, so let's give this a try.

living in this crazy climate...

...of San Francisco, is it any wonder I am drawn to images of women and the elements?









The original of an often remade Mexican film:
La Mujer del Puerto (1934)
aka Woman of the Port
directed by Arcady Boytler and Rafael J. Sevilla
cinematography by Alex Phillips

Mexico City in the 1930s must have been an incredibly inspiring place to work, judging by the modern themes and the general output of the multinational artists gathered there. One director is from Russia, the cinematographer is Canadian-born - not to mention other artists such as Frida Kahlo, Tina Modotti....

at least it isn't monsoon season

I like the dramatic shift from left to right, just the way one is battered by the wind in a storm.





This was recommended to me
but as beautiful as it was, I just couldn't finish it.
You?

Yi jiang chun shui xiang dong liu (1947)
aka The Spring River Flows East
directed by Chusheng Cai
and Junli Zheng

sfsff 2010 revisited

In the recovery period required from watching and digesting so many films, many local bloggers have posted their experiences. I love to read others' accounts - sometimes it even reads as though we've attended different events. They always remind me of moments I've forgotten or fill me in on the events I couldn't attend.

The festival's own blog;


Hell On Frisco Bay's detailed musings;


The Evening Class has typed up the on-stage introductions (including the great story of how Metropolis was recaptured);


Strictly Vintage Hollywood (who I just found out was there signing copies of her book on Rudolph Valentino) had a great experience;


Jason Watches Movies (who I met on Sunday) wrote a daily account;


and if you are wondering about the often-mentioned program articles that are written about each film, The Silent Film Festival has made them available on line.

sfsff 2010 sunday

Up early today because I didn't want to miss the second installment of Amazing Tales From the Archives. I love this not only because of the recognition of these dedicated souls who gallantly save these disintegrating pieces of art and history because it is essentially a sneak preview of what may be available in fully watchable form in the near future. This episode included:
The Way of All Flesh (1927, d. Victor Fleming)
Highlights of Emil Jannings taken from this film that were included in a retrospective of silent masterpieces done later in that century. Likely all that remains.
The rest were sourced from an archive in New Zealand:
Upstream (1927, d. John Ford) Backstage comedy made during a period of strong German Expressionist influences on John Ford. I believe this is complete enough for release.
Maytime (1923) A period costume piece featuring Clara Bow. Not complete.
Girl Stage Coach Driver (1914)
The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies (1914) Episode five of the 12 episode series.
Won in a Closet (1914, d. Mabel Normand) Both directed by and starring Mabel Normand.
Birth of a Hat (1920) A promotional film commissioned by the Stetson Hat Company.

The films shown at this presentation were The Better Man (1912), a social problem short notable for the inclusion of a multi-ethnic cast; and Mutt and Jeff Go on Strike, an early animation film.
[I heard afterward that the AToA presentation on Friday morning included a color film featuring some gorgeous Art Deco fashions. Sad that I missed it, I tracked down the person who restored it and I'll report back what I find.]

The Shakedown (1929, d. William Wyler)
James Murray was great in this boxing match story directed by William Wyler, one of his first non-Westerns. Three of the directors daughters were interviewed by Leonard Maltin before the screening and mostly had tales of growing up next door to Charlie Chaplin and his daughter Geraldine. Most horrifying was Maltin's story about Universal burning up most of their archive of films to reduce the risk of fire. This print was sourced from a found 16mm copy.

Man With a Movie Camera (1929. d. Dziga Vertov)
This was such a beautiful print, accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra, whose rhythmic style blended perfectly yet was a little too reminiscent of the score they performed for Metropolis. I guess that is the risk with a percussion-based ensemble. Program notes written by local sensation Brian Darr.

The Woman Disputed (1928, d. Henry King)
There are few greater sights than one wall of a beautiful movie theater filled with the flickering and silver-tinted close-ups of John Gilbert and Norma Talmadge. The most ridiculous ending (sorry, no spoilers!) but such a gorgeous experience up until then.

L'Heureuse Mort (1924, d. Serge Nadjedine)
If Rotaie was my favorite drama, this is my favorite comedy in the festival. Made in France by Russian emigres who bypassed the revolution, it is sadly unknown. I didn't hear during the introduction where this print was sourced and it doesn't appear to be released in any form and that is a real shame. It's astonishing to realize that it was produced in 1924. The film feels modern in the camera set-ups and in the naturalistic acting styles. The plot of mistaken identity is well balanced and well paced and so funny. It was such a treat to unexpectedy see something so wonderful and impressive, especially for the last film of a festival full of amazing films.

For more details on these films and programs, see the Full line-up here:
(There seem to be a few problems at the site - hopefully they will be fixed soon)

sfsff 2010 saturday

As I feared, I slept in too late and missed the early comedic shorts program. This program is often filled with children, and it's so fun to sit in a theater filled with an appreciative audience unconcerned with expressing their laughter. Like many of the attendees of the festival, some children are dressed up in period clothing. I'm sad I missed it this year.

I did hoof it to catch the panel discussion Variations on a Theme, in which the musical accompanists for the festival demonstrated and talked about their art. They identified four styles: improvisation, using original scores, combining various complementary pieces, and scoring an original piece. A question from the audience about the use of rock music received a uniform answer NO! It was pointed out that rock'n'roll is of one time period only and takes the audience out of the picture. I also find that standard 4/4 time is just too simple to compliment the complex rhythms and quick changes that good silent film embraces. It was nice to hear that response from the panel.

The Flying Ace
A brand new print, struck Wednesday and rushed from the Library of Congress to the Castro Theater. Read the program description for more information, but I was surprised to learn that this race film was produced by a white filmmaker in order to counter negative racial stereotypes. Not only that but the female lead wore pants and did a few stunts. I was hoping for a few shots of Jacksonville where this was made, but there were just a few of flat, undeveloped landscapes.

The Strong Man
Oooh, Harry Langdon! His face is priceless. The look when he really didn't want to do something, and the subtle indications of his thought process during long scenes of madness had me laughing so loud, I was thankful the film was silent and I wasn't missing anything audible. This more than made up for missing the earlier comedies.

I skipped Diary of a Lost Girl and Haxan in order to catch most of Sunday's programs.

Full line-up here:

sfsff 2010 friday

The big screen extravaganza known as the San Francisco Silent Film Festival expanded this year. Instead of Saturdays and Sundays with an opening night film the night before, the wild party started Thursday night with The Iron Horse. Previous commitments kept me from seeing that one but I managed most of the full show on Friday.

A Spray of Plum Blossoms
I arrived just after this started and didn't realize until after that this was an adaption of Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona. One of the weaker plays and a bit of a plodding pace in the film but Ruan Lingyu was fantastic and the sumptuous sets were as great as I expected. The plum blossom motif was stylized and blown-up to huge proportions that feel quite modern and awfully like Marimekko- even the windows!

Rotaie
Absolute treasure and almost certain to be my favorite of this festival. It was compared to Sunrise and I do agree - I even prefer this one. Gorgeous double-exposure montages, dark subject matter, Expressionist lighting, beautiful ennui and a Stephen Horne-composed score made this rare screening such an experience.

Metropolis
A bit of controversy here as the film was shown from a digital copy. This was the nearly-complete version, the restored film previously available with missing segments spliced in from a 16mm Argentinian print released from a collection in Buenos Aires back in 2008. This newly expanded film runs 2.5 hours, and although it is an enthralling experience to view I can certainly appreciate the desire to cut here and there. It seemed to me that a lot of excised frames merely placed characters visually in scenes in which they had no consequence or moved someone around a set. However for story flow, it is helpful to see, for example, a fight scene last more than a couple quick shots to full appreciate the interaction between two characters. Most revelatory was the further development of the relationship between Rotwang and Frederson, the subplot of the worker displaced by Freder (which introduces the nightclub used later) and more action for the Thin Man.

The film was introduced by the two who brought the Argentinian version to attention. Their story is worth a film of its own. I'm too tired to repeat it now but I'll try to update later. The first day was great, but the last show ran late. I'll have to sacrifice something Saturday morning.

Full line-up here:

one third of the trio

Marked men.

Strong diagonal lines often suggest movement.
They can also suggest violence;
like a slashing perhaps
or a cross punch.
Here, they often coincide with betrayal.










This is one of the three films by Fernando de Fuentes
examining the Mexican revolution,
beginning with El Prisionero 13
and ending with Vamonos con Pancho Villa.
All highly recommended.

El Compadre Mendoza (1934)
directed by Fernando de Fuentes
and Juan Bustillio Oro
cinematography by Ross Fisher

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?