Here is the line-up of films for the 2017 San Francisco Silent Film Festival at the historic Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Not only am I and Louise Brooks fans everywhere excited about seeing Now We're in the Air 90 years after it was first released, but I am especially thrilled to see what is certainly one of my favorite silent films, the Polish classic, The Strong Man. Hope to see you at one or more of these screenings!
Sharing their amazing preservation tales are Library of Congress’s George Willeman, who has managed to sync cylinders from Edison National Historical Park with eight films from LOC’s collection for his presentation on Edison Kinetophones from 1912–13; Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi from EYE Filmmuseum, whose presentation will reveal the wonders of EYE’s UNESCO-inscribed Jean Desmet collection; and Heather Linville from the Academy Film Archive, sharing rarely seen footage of globetrotting filmmaker adventuress Aloha Wanderwell.
HE DOLL (Die Puppe)
THE FRESHMAN
with musical accompaniment by Berklee Silent Film Orchestra
Thu, Jun 1 7:00 PM
Harold Lloyd’s biggest box-office hit stars Lloyd as Harold Lamb, a
college freshman who dreams of being a big man on campus and gets advice
from pamphlets such as “Clever College Clothes” and “How to Play
Football.” A disastrous tryout lands him a spot on the football team as a
human tackling dummy before he becomes the team’s water boy. But Harold
holds on to his dreams, aided by his sweetheart, Peggy (Jobyna
Ralston). The Freshman’s climactic football game was filmed at UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium!
AMAZING TALES FROM THE ARCHIVES
with musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin
Fri, Jun 2 10:00 AM
Sharing their amazing preservation tales are Library of Congress’s George Willeman, who has managed to sync cylinders from Edison National Historical Park with eight films from LOC’s collection for his presentation on Edison Kinetophones from 1912–13; Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi from EYE Filmmuseum, whose presentation will reveal the wonders of EYE’s UNESCO-inscribed Jean Desmet collection; and Heather Linville from the Academy Film Archive, sharing rarely seen footage of globetrotting filmmaker adventuress Aloha Wanderwell.
GET YOUR MAN
with musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne / Introduced by Cari Beauchamp
Fri, Jun 2 1:00 PM
Silent-era “It” girl Clara Bow falls for French aristocrat (Buddy
Rogers!) after they are locked overnight in a Paris wax museum. There’s a
sticking point, though—Rogers’s blueblood is betrothed to another! The
Library of Congress has reconstructed the film from recovered materials,
filling in missing sequences with key photos and intertitles—and in the
process rescuing Bow’s incandescent performance for posterity. Restoration by the Library of Congress
Plus: SFSFF’s Rob Byrne made a remarkable discovery in the National Film Archive of the Czech Republic—footage from the lost Wallace Beery/Louise Brooks comedy, Now We’re in the Air! He was able to restore the 23-minute fragment in time for its premiere in this program. Restoration by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and National Film Archive, Czech Republic
Legendary ballet dancer Anna Pavlova was at the height of her fame when she teamed up with director Lois Weber to make The Dumb Girl of Portici.
Pavlova choreographed, produced, and starred in this historical epic,
Universal’s most expensive production to date and the first blockbuster
ever directed by a woman. Set in mid-17th-century Spanish-occupied
Naples, Pavlova’s mute fisher-girl sparks a revolution. Plus: SFSFF’s Rob Byrne made a remarkable discovery in the National Film Archive of the Czech Republic—footage from the lost Wallace Beery/Louise Brooks comedy, Now We’re in the Air! He was able to restore the 23-minute fragment in time for its premiere in this program. Restoration by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and National Film Archive, Czech Republic
THE DUMB GIRL OF PORTICI
with musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin and Frank Bockius / Introduced by Shelley Stamp
Fri, Jun 2 3:30 PM
BODY AND SOUL
Musical accompaniment and introduction by DJ Spooky
Fri, Jun 2 7:00 PM
One of the few surviving titles from the groundbreaking African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, Body and Soul
features the great Paul Robeson in his film debut. Robeson is
magnificent in dual roles—as an escaped convict posing as a preacher and
the corrupt preacher’s honorable twin brother.
THE INFORMER
with musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne, Guenter Buchwald, and Frank Bockius /
Introduced by Bryony Dixon, BFI Curator of Silent Film
Introduced by Bryony Dixon, BFI Curator of Silent Film
Fri, Jun 2 9:30 PM
The earliest adaptation of Liam O’Flaherty’s novel, this Irish
revolutionary drama anticipates film noir in its aesthetics and
fast-moving narrative. Set among Dublin revolutionaries in the early
days of the Irish Free State (formed in 1922), the action starts when a
clandestine meeting of revolutionaries is raided by the police and the
police chief is shot and killed. Director Arthur Robison's taut
masterpiece was famously remade in 1935 by John Ford.
MAGIC AND MIRTH: A Collection of Enchanting Short Films, 1906–1924
with musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin and Frank Bockius / Introduced by Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films
Sat, Jun 3 10:00 AM
This enchanting collection of short films was selected by Serge Bromberg
of Lobster Films to commemorate preservationist David Shepard’s
contribution to film culture. Titles include THOSE AWFUL HATS (USA,
1909, d. D.W. Griffith), CARTOON FACTORY (USA, 1924, p. Fleischer
Studios), THE MASQUERADER (USA, 1914, d. Charlie Chaplin), FIRST PRIZE
FOR CELLO PLAYING (France, 1907, p. Pathé Frères), FANTASMAGORIE
(France, 1908, d. Émile Cohl), TIT FOR TAT (France, 1906, d. Gaston
Velle), WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES (UK, 1907, d. Walter Booth), DOWN IN THE
DEEP (France, 1906, d. Ferdinand Zecca), THE DANCING PIG (France, 1907,
p. Pathé Frères), THE WITCH (France, 1906, d. Georges Méliès).
A STRONG MAN
with musical accompaniment by Guenter Buchwald and Sascha Jacobsen / Introduction by Eddie Muller
Sat, Jun 3 12:00 PM
Unsuccessful writer Henryk Bielecki coaxes his friend Jerzy to suicide
so he can steal the manuscript of Jerzy’s book and publish it as his
own. The book becomes a bestseller, leading to fame and fortune for
Henryk—and a stage production. But as the play is about to go on,
Henryk’s secrets start to unravel. This elegant thriller is based on a
novel by Polish modernist Stanislaw Przybyszewski.
FILIBUS
with musical accompaniment by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra /
Introduced by Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi of EYE Filmmuseum
Introduced by Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi of EYE Filmmuseum
Sat, Jun 3 2:30 PM
Glamorous Baroness de Troixmonde has a secret—her alternate identity is a
criminal mastermind called Filibus! The masked sky-pirate flies around
in her technologically advanced zeppelin—manned by black-suited, masked,
obedient male acolytes—committing crimes and toying with the police.
When a reward is offered for information leading to the capture of the
notorious criminal, the Baroness visits the police station to declare
her intention to prove that Filibus is no other than the detective
assigned to the case! The beautifully tinted and toned print adds to the
wonderment!
OUTSIDE THE LAW
with musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne and Frank Bockius
Sat, Jun 3 5:00 PM
San Francisco crime boss Silent Madden and his daughter, Molly ‘Silky
Moll’ Madden are friends with respected Confucian master Chang Lo, whose
influence is shifting the Maddens’ thinking toward the
straight-and-narrow. But nefarious bad guy Black Mike Sylva has other
ideas! Sylva frames Silent for murder and manipulates Molly into a
return to crime. Lon Chaney has dual roles in the story—as the evil
Sylva and as Ah Wing, Chang Lo’s dedicated servant—but the real star is
the tough-as-nails Priscilla Dean as Molly. Look for Anna May Wong in
one of her earliest roles!
BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (Bronenosets Potyomkin)
with musical accompaniment by the Matti Bye Ensemble
Sat, Jun 3 7:15 PM
Battleship Potemkin changed cinema history forever. Commissioned
to mark the 20th anniversary of the failed 1905 revolution, Sergei
Eisenstein’s masterpiece is a vibrant paean to collective heroism. From
the moment of its 1925 premiere at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, the film
was hailed as a masterpiece and Eisenstein’s theories of montage became
aesthetic tools for filmmakers everywhere. But almost from the
beginning, Potemkin was the object of censorship and suffered
decades of re-cuts and re-translations that blunted its energy and
originality—which makes it a special delight to present the film in its
definitive restoration, completed in 2007.
A PAGE OF MADNESS (Kurutta Ichipeiji)
with musical accompaniment by Alloy Orchestra
Sat, Jun 3 9:30 PM
A retired sailor volunteers to work odd jobs at the asylum where his
wife has been confined since her attempt to drown their infant son many
years before. Without intertitles, Page evokes a world as seen by
the mentally disturbed—through shifting images and rapid editing—and
creates a modernist tour-de-force as psychologically and aesthetically
compelling as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
with musical accompaniment by Guenter Buchwald and Frank Bockius / Introduced by Jay Weissberg, director of Le giornate del cinema muto
Sun, Jun 4 10:00 AM
Baron von Chanterelle has one condition in his will: His beloved nephew
Lancelot must be married to inherit the estate. But Lancelot is so
averse to marriage that he flees to a monastery, where the financially
ailing monks devise a plan that will make everyone happy! One trip to
the dollmaker and ersatz wedding later, Lancelot brings his mechanical
bride back to the friary, planning to share the bequest with the
brothers. What could possibly go wrong?
SILENCE
with musical accompaniment by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra / Introduced by SFSFF President Robert Byrne
Sun, Jun 4 12:00 PM
This Cecil B. DeMille production was considered lost for many decades
and the recent discovery of materials at the Cinémathèque Française is
cause for celebration! Based on a successful Broadway play, Silence
opens with gallows being constructed. Jim Warren (H.B. Warner) awaits
hanging for murder, but his lawyer is certain that Warren is innocent
and shielding the guilty person. What follows is a gripping tale of love
and sacrifice.
A MAN THERE WAS (Terje Vigen)
with musical accompaniment by the Matti Bye Ensemble / Introduced by Jay Weissberg, director of Le giornate del cinema muto
Sun, Jun 4 2:00 PM
Terje Vigen inaugurated Sweden’s Golden Age of film and confirmed
Victor Sjöström’s primacy as a filmmaker. Here he brilliantly captures
the spirit of Henrik Ibsen’s epic poem, aided by Julius Jaenzon’s
beautiful camerawork. Sjöström plays the sailor Terje, who braves a
British blockade to find food for his starving family but is captured
and imprisoned by a heartless British captain. While languishing in
prison, Terje’s family dies. His bitterness and desire for revenge grows
until...
THE LOST WORLD
with musical accompaniment by Alloy Orchestra / Introduced by Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films
Sun, Jun 4 4:00 PM
This was the first of many film adaptations based on Arthur Conan
Doyle’s novel about an Amazonian land where prehistoric creatures hold
sway, and for decades it could only be seen in an abridged version. This
new edition combines portions of eleven film elements to present the
most complete reconstruction possible. Wallace Beery arranges an
expedition to the Amazon and a motley crew—including Lewis Stone, Bessie
Love, and Lloyd Hughes—sign on. But the creatures engineered by Willis
O’Brien (King Kong) are the true stars.
TWO DAYS (Dva Dni)
with musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne
Sun, Jun 4 6:30 PM
Set during the 1917–21 Civil War in Ukraine, Two Days tells the
story of a faithful servant, Anton, who remains behind to guard the
master’s mansion as the family flees the approaching Bolsheviks. In the
chaos of their escape, the landowner’s young son is left behind and
Anton hides the boy in the attic. The Bolsheviks arrive to occupy the
house, and it turns out that Anton’s son—whose political beliefs run
counter to his father’s—is their leader. What unfolds is a complex
drama, full of nuance and expressively told.
THE THREE MUSKETEERS
with musical accompaniment by the Guenter Buchwald Ensemble / Introduction by Tracey Goessel
Sun, Jun 4 8:15 PM
The story is familiar—young Gascon D’Artagnan shows up in 1625 Paris
eager to join forces with the King’s musketeers to save the Queen’s
honor—it’s been told many times. But through sheer force of his
exuberant physicality, Douglas Fairbanks puts his indelible stamp on
Alexander Dumas’s character—and creates the playbook for swashbucklers
in the meantime. The Three Musketeers features lavish sets, romance, intrigue, and sword play aplenty!
