Even for those with little knowledge of ballet, the name of early twentieth century Russian dancer Anna Pavlova evokes gauzy images of the grace and elegance of that most romantic of arts. But posed photographs and brief filmed excerpts of Pavlova dancing, however lovely, give little evidence of the … [Read more...] about The Dumb Girl of Portici
The Doll
Deliciously weird for 1919 or any other year, Ernst Lubitsch’s Die Puppe (The Doll) declares its intent to please from the first shot. An appealing twenty-seven-year-old Lubitsch himself is the first person to appear, as he refuses to look his own camera in the eye. Instead, from a toy box he busily … [Read more...] about The Doll
DJ Spooky Mixes It Up for Body and Soul
This interview was published in conjunction with the screening of Body and Soul at SFSFF 2017 As DJ Spooky (That Subliminal Kid), Paul D. Miller has been a trailblazer in the realms of hip hop and trip hop and a master of the remix. He’s also a philosopher, teacher, historian, science fiction … [Read more...] about DJ Spooky Mixes It Up for Body and Soul
The Dinosaur Wars: Willis O’Brien, Herbert M. Dawley, and the Articulated Effigy
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Lost World at SFSFF 2017 In the annals of film history, Willis O’Brien is considered a visionary in the field of stop-motion animation, most famous for his state-of-the-art monsters in 1933’s King Kong. His experimentation with … [Read more...] about The Dinosaur Wars: Willis O’Brien, Herbert M. Dawley, and the Articulated Effigy
Covering Dorothy Arzner
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of Get Your Man at SFSFF 2017 A misplaced scrap of the “A Little from Lots” column in a 1927 edition of Film Daily obscures a review with, among other sundries, a correction in bold type: “A newspaper report to the effect that Dorothy … [Read more...] about Covering Dorothy Arzner
Casts of Thousands in Revolt
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Dumb Girl of Portici at SFSFF 2017 What’s the point of having a cast of thousands if they can’t rise up in revolt once in a while? Filmmakers quickly realized that masses of extras on the screen would attract masses of customers … [Read more...] about Casts of Thousands in Revolt
Body and Soul
Handsome, dynamic stage actor Paul Robeson appeared on the screen for the first time in Body and Soul, a 1925 silent film that showcased his versatility and charisma in a dual role. A stepping stone for Robeson from the theater to the movies, it is treated as a footnote in the career of this … [Read more...] about Body and Soul
Battleship Potemkin
Few films have made an impact on the history of cinema like Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin). In 2016 it was ranked the eleventh best film of all time in a Sight and Sound magazine critics poll, one of only a handful of silent-era films to make the … [Read more...] about Battleship Potemkin