UNSEEN CINEMA: EARLY AMERICAN
AVANT-GARDE FILM 1894-1941
October 15 + 16, 2005
Program Introduction
| Saturday, October 15 2:00 p.m. Experimental Treasures from the World's Leading Archives Introduced by Bruce Posner 91 mins. Includes films by Edison, American Biograph, and Mary Ellen Bute. Playing right: Spook Sport (1939-40, Mary Ellen Bute, Theodore Nemeth, and Norman McLaren) More |
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| Saturday, October 15 4:00 p.m. Restoring the Early American Avant-Garde Panel discussion accompanied with films and DVDs 40 mins. Speakers include Bruce Posner (Curator, Unseen Cinema), David Shepard (DVD Producer, Film Preservation Associates), and moderator Howard A. Besser (Director, NYU Program in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation). Playing right: Ballet mécanique (1923-24, Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy) More |
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| Sunday, October 16
2:00 p.m. Picturing a Metropolis: NYC Unveiled 94 mins. Since the beginning of cinema, filmmakers have been infatuated with capturing on film dynamic images of New York City. Avant-garde cinema turns up in the most unlikely places – turn of the century short films, commercial, radical and lyrical newsreels, and even a Busby Berkeley dance number – sharing scenes of New Yorkers in situ against the skyscrapers, streets, and night life of Manhattan. Playing Right: Manhatta (1920, Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler). More |
Sunday, October 16
4:30 p.m.
Light Rhythms: Melodies & Montages
98 mins. Early visual symphony films by Oskar Fischinger, Francis Bruguière, Emlen Etting, and other American artists are compared and contrasted with Hollywood montage sequences created by experimentalist Slavko Vorkapich and a variety of avant-garde arrangements of image and sound. Highlights include Christopher Young’s surreal “Object Lesson,” and Aaron Copland and Lewis Mumford’s collaboration with Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke on The City (1939). More
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Experimental Treasures from the World's Leading Archives
Saturday, October 15, 2:00 p.m.
Includes films by Edison, American Biograph, and Mary Ellen Bute.
BLACKSMITHING SCENE
1893, 35mm, bw, sil, 33ft, 0.29m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, William Heise.
THE BARBER SHOP
1893, 35mm, bw, sil, 33ft, 0.29m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, William Heise.
THE LONE FISHERMAN
1899, 35mm, bw, sil, 109ft, 0.97m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: William Heise, James White.
INDIAN CLUB SWINGER
1891, 3 4 in., bw, sil, 7ft, 0.06m, 40fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, James White.
CAICEDO (WITH POLE)
1894, 35mm, bw, sil, 37ft, 0.33m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, James White.
ANNABELLE BUTTERFLY DANCE
1894, 35mm, bw, sil, 50ft, 0.44m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, James White.
ANNABELLE BUTTERFLY DANCES
1894, 35mm, bw, sil, 25ft, 0.22m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, James White.
ANNABELLE SERPENTINE DANCE
1895, 35mm, bw, sil, 52ft, 0.58m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: William Heise.
ANNABELLE SERPENTINE DANCE
1894, 35mm, bw-hand clr, sil, 40ft, 0.44m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, William Heise.
SANDOW
1894, 35mm, bw, sil, 40ft, 0.36m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, William Heise.
SANDOW
1896, 35mm, bw, sil, 24ft, 0.21m, 30fps.
American Biograph: Unidentified filmmaker.
MONKEY'S FEAST
1903, 35mm, bw, sil, 23ft, 0.20m.
American Biograph: Unidentified filmmaker.
THE BOXING CATS
1894, 35mm, bw, sil, 40ft, 0.36m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, William Heise.
COCK FIGHT
1894, 35mm, bw, sil, 40ft, 0.36m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, William Heise.
HORNBACKER-MURPHY FIGHT
1894, 35mm, bw, sil, 69ft, 0.61m, 30fps.
Edision Manufacturing: W.K.L. Dickson, William Heise.
SUSPENSE
1913, 35mm, bw, si, 711ft, 7.9m.
Rex Pictures: Lois Weber and Philips Smalley.
TRIPTYCH FILM POEM
c. 1925, 35mm, bw, sil, 360ft, 4m.
Unidentified filmmaker.
WINDY LEDGE FARM
Compiled by Bruce Posner and David Shepard
c. 1929-34, 18 mins, 16mm, bw, silent.
Elizabeth Woodman Wright.
CASE-SPONABLE SOUND TESTS
1927, 35mm, bw, snd, 684ft, 7.6m
Theodore Case and E.I. Sponable.
TOMATO IS ANOTHER DAY
1933, 35mm, bw, snd, 625ft, 6.94m
J.S. Watson, Jr., Alec Wilder.
H2O
1929, 35mm, bw, sil, 875ft, 13m, 18fps
Ralph Steiner.
OIL - A SYMPHONY IN MOTION
1933, 35mm, bw, sil [snd missing], 700ft, 7.78m
Artkino: Jean D. Michelson, M.G. MacPherson.
FOOTLIGHT PARADE "BY A WATERFALL"
1933, 35mm, bw, snd, 941ft, 10.45m
Warner Bros.: Busby Berkeley [Lloyd Bacon].
Music: "By a Waterfall" by Sammy Fain & Irving Kahl
SPOOK SPORT
1939-40, 35mm, clr, snd, 720ft, 8m
Mary Ellen Bute, Norman McLaren.
Music: "Danse macabre" by Camille Saint-Saëns
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Restoring the Early American Avant-Garde
Saturday, October 15, 4:00 p.m.
Panel discussion with Bruce Posner (Curator, Unseen Cinema), David Shepard (DVD Producer, Film Preservation Associates), and moderator Howard A. Besser (Director, NYU Program in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation). Films include:
ANNABELLE DANCES AND DANCES - DVD
1894-97, 4 mins, 35mm, bw and color tints.
W.K.L. Dickson, William Heise, James White, and others for Edison Manufacturing Co. and American Mutoscope and Biograph Co.
ABSTRACT MOVIES
1939-47, 5 mins excerpt, 16mm, color.
George L. K. Morris.
UNREAL NEWS REELS - DVD
c. 1926-28, 6 mins, 16mm orig., tinted.
Weiss Artclass Comedies and Kodak Cinegraph: Unidentified filmmakers.
THE CHILDREN'S JURY - DVD
c. 1938, 9 mins, 16mm, bw, silent.
Unidentified filmmakers, edit possibly by Joseph Cornell.
BALLET MÉCANIQUE - FILM
1923-24, 16 mins, 35mm, bw/clr tints.
Fernand Léger, Dudley Murphy.
Music: Original 1924 score for film, "Ballet pour instruments mécaniques et percussions," arranged by Paul Lehrman.
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Picturing a Metropolis: NYC Unveiled
Sunday, October 16, 2:00 p.m.
Includes films by Rudy Burckhardt, Busby Berkeley, and Jay Leyda.
DEMOLISHING THE STAR THEATRE
1901, 35mm, bw, sil, 45ft, 0.67m, 18fps.
American Mutoscope & Biograph: Frederick S. Armitage.
CONEY ISLAND AT NIGHT
1905, 35mm, bw, sil, 236ft, 3.5m, 18fps.
Edison Manufacturing: Edwin S. Porter.
INTERIOR N.Y. SUBWAY, 14TH ST. TO 42ND ST.
1905, 35mm, bw, sil, 325ft, 4.81m, 18fps.
American Mutoscope & Biograph: G.W. "Billy" Bitzer.
LOONEY LENS [SPLIT SKYSCRAPERS]
1924, 35mm, bw, sil, 58ft, 0.65m, 18fps.
Fox Movietone Newsreel: Al Brick.
MANHATTAN MEDLEY
1931, 35mm, bw, snd, 941ft, 10.46m.
Magic Carpet of Movietone: Bonney Powell.
"SEEING THE WORLD" - PART ONE: A VISIT TO NEW YORK, N.Y.
1937, 16mm, bw, sil w/snd added 1970s by Jacob Burckhardt, 375ft, 10.42m.
Grand Tours, Inc.: Rudy Burckhardt.
AS I WALK: FOOTNOTE TO FACT
1933, 16mm, bw, sil, 145ft, 5.37m, 18fps.
Lewis Jacobs.
GHOST TOWN: THE STORY OF FORT LEE
1935, 16mm, bw, sil, 378ft, 14m, 18fps.
Theodore Huff, Mark Borgatte.
A BRONX MORNING [A DAY IN THE BRONX]
1931, 35mm, bw, sil, 1055ft, 14.07m, 20fps.
Jay Leyda, [Leo Hurwitz].
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
1940, 35mm [16mm orig], bw, sil, 497ft, 8.28m, 16fps.
Rudy Burckhardt.
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935 [LULLABY OF BROADWAY]
1935, 35mm, bw, snd, 1202ft, 13.35m.
Music: "Lullaby of Broadway" by Al Dubin & Harry Warren.
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Light Rhythms: Melodies & Montages
Sunday, October 16, 4:30 p.m.
Includes films by Oskar Fischinger and Slavko Vorkapich.
RADIO DYNAMICS: A COLOR-MUSIC COMPOSITION [ALLEGRETTO EARLY VERSION]
1936, first printed in color 1943, 35mm, clr, snd, 225ft, 2.5m
Paramount: Oskar Fischinger, Music: Ralph Rainger.
MOODS OF THE SEA
1940-42, 35mm, bw, snd, 905ft, 10.06m
Slavko Vorkapich, John Hoffman.
Music: "Fingal's Cave" by Felix Mendelsohn.
NUIT SUR LE MONT CHAUVE [NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN]
1933, 35mm, bw, snd, 747ft, 8.3m
Alexander Alexeieff, Claire Parker.
Music: "Une nuit sur le mont Cahuve" by Moussorgsky.
OBJECT LESSON
1941, 35mm, bw, snd, 868ft, 9.68m
Christopher Young.
POEM 8
1932, BetacamSP [16mm orig], bw, sil,520ft, 14.45m
Emlen Etting, [Mary Binney Montgomery, Carese Crosby]
LIGHT RHYTHMS
1929-30, 35mm, bw, sil, 487, 6.49m, 20fps
Francis Bruguière, [Oswell Blakeston].
Music: Original composition by Jack Ellit arranged and performed by Donald Sosin.
Montage Sequences by Various Artists (1926-39)
SO THIS IS PARIS [ARTIST'S BALL]
1926, 35mm, bw, sil, 330ft, 4.4m, 20fps.
Warner Bros.: Ernst Lubitsch.
MANHATTAN COCKTAIL [SKYLINE DANCE]
1928, 35mm, bw, sil, 42ft, 0.56,. 20fps.
Paramount: Slavko Vorkapich, [Dorthy Azner].
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET [THE MONEY MACHINE]
1929, 35mm, bw, sil, 13ft, 0.17m, 20fps.
Paramount: Slavko Vorkapich, [Roland V. Lee, Victor Milner].
SINS OF THE FATHERS [PROHIBITION]
1929, 35mm, bw, sil, 132ft, 1.76m, 20fps.
Paramount: Slavko Vorkapich, [Ludwig Berger, Victor Milner].
CRIME WITHOUT PASSION [THE FURIES]
1934, 35mm, bw, sil, 249ft, 2.76m.
Paramount: Slavko Vorkapich, [Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur].
FIREFLY [BATTLE OF VITORIA-VORKAPICH CUT]
1937, 35mm, bw, snd, 165.5ft, 1.84m.
MGM: Slavko Vorkapich, [Robert Z. Leonard].
FIREFLY [BATTLE OF VITORIA-FINAL CUT]
1937, 35mm, bw, snd, 49.5ft, 0.55m.
MGM: Slavko Vorkapich, [Robert Z. Leonard].
MAYTIME [ROMANCE & OPERA SINGER'S CAREER]
1937, 35mm, bw, snd, 400.5ft, 4.45m.
MGM: Slavko Vorkapich, [Robert Z. Leonard].
MELODY ON PARADE
1936, 35mm, bw, snd, 472ft, 5.24m.
Unidentified filmmaker.
HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD [TITLE SEQUENCE]
1936, 35mm, bw, snd, 180ft, 2m.
Paramount: Robert Florey.
Music: Gregory Stone.
THE CITY [STEEL MILLS, METROPOLIS, TRAFFIC]
1939, 35mm, bw, snd, 1350ft, 15m.
American Documentary Films: Ralph Steiner, Willard Van Dyke, [Henwar Rodakiewicz, Theodore Lawrence, Lewis Mumford].
Music: Gregory Stone.
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON [LINCOLN MEMORIAL]
1939, 35mm, bw, snd, 306ft, 3.4m.
Columbia: Slavko Vorkapich, [Frank Capra, Gene Havlick, Al Clark]
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin.
AN AMERICAN MARCH
1941 35mm, clr, snd, 360ft, 4m
Oskar Fischinger.
Music: "American March" by Sousa.
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Program Introduction
Curated by Bruce Posner, Produced for DVD by David Shepard Anthology Film Archives in association with the British Film Institute, Cineric, Film Preservation Associates, Deutsches Filmmuseum, George Eastman House, The Library of Congress, and The Museum of Modern Art presents Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1894-1941.
Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1894-1941 reveals hitherto unknown accomplishments of American filmmakers working in the United States and abroad from the invention of cinema until World War II, and offers an innovative and often controversial view of experimental film as a product of avant-garde artists, of professional directors, and of amateur movie-makers working collectively and as individuals at all levels of film production. Many of the films have not been available since their creation, some have never been screened in public, and almost all have been unavailable in copies as good as these until now. Sixty of the world's leading film archive collections cooperated with Anthology Film Archives to bring this long-neglected period of film history back to life for modern audiences.
The Unseen Cinema weekend at the Museum will coincide with the release of a 7-DVD box set, and Picturing a Metropolis, a single DVD, on October 18, 2005 by Image Entertainment.
The DVD retro represents 100 avant-garde, professional, and amateur filmmakers working before World War II and is considerably refined from the touring film program. It is curated by Bruce Posner and produced by film historian David Shepard, known for his high-quality DVD restorations such as, The Lost World, the Landmarks of Early Cinema series, and many other cinema masterworks The General (Buster Keaton), The Birth of a Nation (D.W. Griffith), and Charlie Chaplin's Mutual and Essnay Films.
Posner and Shepard have worked with the finest archival prints available, sometimes piecing together sequences from many different elements gathered from around the world. Each of the seven DVD programs runs over 2.5 hours and is ordered in themes and chronological date of production. Rare and wonderful treasures are to be found on Image Entertaiment's DVD of Unseen Cinema.
www.unseen-cinema.com
"The creative explosion that took place at the margins of Hollywood."
—Le Monde, Paris
"A treasure trove of rare material from the first decades of cinema."
—The Whitney Museum of American Art
"An amazing collection, with plenty of playful surrealism and literate influences, many films long thought lost and many more never known to even have existed."
—The Guardian, London
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