You can read the program essay for our 1999 screening of Wings here There had been other great war films before Wings. With the popular success of two of them, The Big Parade (MGM, 1925) and What Price Glory? (Fox, 1926), Paramount set out to make a war film of its own. Each of those earlier … [Read more...] about Wings
The Preservationist and the Playboy: Restoring Pandora’s Box
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of Pandora's box at SFSFF 2012 Back in the mid-’90s, Martin Koerber began a project to put Pandora’s Box back together again. Researching the films of G.W. Pabst in preparation for a retrospective at the Berlin Film Festival, the film … [Read more...] about The Preservationist and the Playboy: Restoring Pandora’s Box
Pandora’s Box
You can read the program essay for our 2006 screening of Pandora's Box here Pandora’s Box got off to a bad start. When the film premiered in Berlin in February of 1929, critics and the moviegoing public were largely dismissive of the much anticipated work. Reviews at the time were mixed, even … [Read more...] about Pandora’s Box
Alma Rubens: A Marked Woman
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Half-Breed at SFSFF 2013 Today, Alma Rubens is remembered not for her films or versatility as an actress, but for the demons that plagued her and ultimately ended her life. Born in San Francisco in 1897, Rubens appeared in nearly … [Read more...] about Alma Rubens: A Marked Woman
The White Trail
Poland had regained its statehood following the end of the First World War and set about rebuilding itself politically and economically, as well as culturally. The reborn nation’s film industry was part of its renewal. In his 2002 book, Polish Cinema: A History, Marek Haltof notes that Poland’s … [Read more...] about The White Trail
Sensation im Wintergarten
German films of the Weimar era often feature individuals struggling to escape either circumstance and convention, with their fate—especially their happiness hanging in the balance. It was the tenor of the times. Sensation im Wintergarten (released as Their Son in the U.K.) is one such film. Its … [Read more...] about Sensation im Wintergarten
The Phantom Carriage
There are constants in the work of Victor Sjöström, a major figure in film history both behind and in front of the camera. One is the seeming always present sense of death. Sometimes, death might come in the form of disease or a sudden, violent mishap; or sometimes, a character in a film might … [Read more...] about The Phantom Carriage
The Street of Forgotten Men
Herbert Brenon is among the first great names behind the camera, a gifted director once spoken of alongside Cecil B. DeMille and D.W. Griffith. He is also among the early directors who can be considered an auteur, as he controlled many of the creative and technical components in crafting his … [Read more...] about The Street of Forgotten Men