Inverted
Narratives - Tell stories in a different way than
had currently been told before. For example, in Charles
Vidor's The Bridge, he uses both flashbacks and
flash-forward techniques to show what's going through
the mind of a condemned man before he is hung. The late
'30's classic, Native Land, uses narration and
sweeping shots to create pro-union propaganda, in the
years before the unions were mob controlled. Meanwhile,
1937's Even as you and I tells the story of three
men who decide to create their own film about surrealism
for a film festival that promises a big cash prize and
a real Hollywood contract--the precursor to Sundance,
perhaps?
Picturing
a Metropolis - These are short films that encompass
New York City and the life and times therein. Because
the film movement started on the east coast, you have
lots of very early experimental film done in New York
City. One cool short is Demolishing and Building Up
Star Theater, which, in 1902, figured out a way to
create a predictable time lapse mode using a jury-rigged
electrical device that would have the camera take a picture
every 4 minutes for the entire progression of the building
of the Star Theater. It is amazing to see how avant-garde
filmmakers were exploring these options in 1902, which
are still being used in movies liked Blade Trinity and
host of others! Interior of New York Subway, 14th street
to 42nd Street shows the brand new subways of New
York in 1905, seven months after they were built! 24
Dollar Island shows the history of New York City into
the "present" day of 1926 in an amazingly sophisticated
way that mirrors documentary styles on the History Channel
today! Of course not all the shorts are so simple or factual,
as Busy Berkley's Lullaby of Broadway from Gold
Diggers of 1935 shows. Remarkably complex, this New
York Nightlife-based musical number starts out as a pleasant
song and dance routine and morphs into a dystopic tragedy,
wrapping up with a tremendously surreal finish.
The
Amateur as Auteur - These films showcase home movies
that crossed the line into the true heart of filmmaking.
Some of these home movies were actually from the creators
of the art of filmmaking in the first place. For example,
the disc opens with sound tests recorder by Theodore Case,
one of the developers for sound-on-film who eventually
sold his technology to William Fox as "MovieTone".
In these home movies recorded in 1924-25, he's testing
out his sound-on-film technology and it's truly fascinating
to watch him test different words on film. And it's hilarious
when his own production assistant doesn't appear to be
able to figure out how to turn off the camera, despite
Theodore repeatedly telling him to turn it off. Later
he goes on to try it out harmonica players, harpists,
and, my favorite, a man who looks and sounds like Count
Dracula with his Singing Duck.
After
that you get into a variety of film scrapbooks that were
taken by fascinated enthusiasts. In The Stewart Family
Home Movies, you actually have a man who loved film
so much that he took in-depth film coverage of his family
from 1935-1986! In 1935, he bought a sound-on-film camera,
so it's very interesting to see how they experimented
with audio and to see how similar his experiments were
to experiments every family still does with camcorders.
Of course, he went a number of steps farther than most,
as I noticed that he actually built a boom pole to get
his mic out in the midst of the action!
The
rest of the disc is filled with silent movies that showcase
different aspects of Americana and home film cameras,
from a quiet farm called The Windy Ledge Farm to
Chaim Gross sculpting in Tree Trunk to Head to
the lost art of Bicycle Polo at San Mateo. But
perhaps the most interesting of all is another silent,
home film that was shot in 1939 that was shot in full
color! 1126 Dewey Ave., Apt. 202 was staged as
a simple production, obviously shot by an amateur. However,
it is clear that the film in the camera is color film
and that it hasn't been painted or touched up but has
all the ear marks of actual color film that has faded
slightly and degraded over time. Let's not forget that
1939 is the same year that the first official Hollywood
color film came out, The Wizard of Oz, yet somehow
an amateur had access to a color film camera in their
home. Historical quirks like this are what makes this
entire DVD collection so utterly fascinating.
Even
amateurs got in on the
act in the early days...
...creating
surprisingly tranquil
films that are fascinating to watch.
Viva
la Dance - This disc explores dance and life in ways
that are truly joyous to behold. Annabelle Dances and
Dances explored motion and then post-coloration in
the 1890's, showing a fireworks display of creativity
and innovation. Joie de Vivre explores life and
dance in a semi-erotic cartoon that portrays to young
women dancing through the world in long, revealing gowns.
Spook Sport is Mary Ellen Bute's supernatural animation
work set to the music of "Danse Macabre". Meanwhile,
a film named Danse Macabre uses the same music
to explore a live-action/animation take on this song eighteen
years prior in 1922.
