Selections from the touring retrospective Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1894–1941, a collaborative film preservation and restoration project by Anthology Film Archives, New York; and Deutsches Filmmuseum, Frankfurt am Main; in collaboration with sixty of the world’s leading film … [Read more...] about Silent Avant-Garde
Serge Bromberg Presents…
A Collection of Short Films Today when we go to the movies, we can sink into multiplex recliners and absorb the show without acknowledging or interacting with another human being. More than a hundred years ago, early cinema offered an alternative experience, with active audience engagement … [Read more...] about Serge Bromberg Presents…
San Francisco, 1906
The same Miles Brothers who shot A Trip Down Market Street just four days before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake also took their camera on another trip down the city’s main artery to survey the ruins. This nine-minute segment, recently recovered at a California flea market, was identified by David … [Read more...] about San Francisco, 1906
The Saga of Gösta Berling
Not only are there countless stories of great talents destroyed by Hollywood, but you could, if you were in a gloomy frame of mind, make a case that this is an overarching theme of the place. With so many tragedies to choose from, it’s hard to stand out. But The Saga of Gösta Berling (Gösta Berlings … [Read more...] about The Saga of Gösta Berling
Rosita
A consummate actress and creative producer preoccupied with her image, thirty-one-year-old Mary Pickford longed to create an important cinematic work of art. Having forged an unparalleled career as “America’s Sweetheart,” Pickford now sought mature, sophisticated roles that would acknowledge her age … [Read more...] about Rosita
René Clair on Coeur Fidèle
This historical reprint was published in conjunction with the screening of Coeur Fidèle at Silent Winter 2018 It is not too late to talk about Coeur Fidèle, which was shown in a few theaters last month. This film does not date from just yesterday, but because of the ineptitude of our methods of … [Read more...] about René Clair on Coeur Fidèle
Remembering Frank Buxton
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival has lost one of its greatest friends and biggest boosters. Frank Buxton was not only a generous sponsor of this event, along with his wife, Cynthia Sears; he was an enthusiastic attendee who encouraged friends and family to join him at the Castro Theatre every … [Read more...] about Remembering Frank Buxton
The Red Kimona
She swore that she hadn’t meant to kill him that New Year’s Eve of 1915. Gabrielle Darley had brought the pistol along for self-defense and it had been tucked in her fur muff when it fired the fatal shot into her lover, Leonard Topp. Her defense attorney, Earl Rogers, offered up a hole in the muff … [Read more...] about The Red Kimona