MoMA along with HBO will be screening a total of 9 programs from September 1st through the 10th.  Topics range from politically risky 1938′s Inside Nazi Germany, to lighter fare, such as 1950′s The Male Look. The series is organized by Charles Silver, Curator, Department of Film and presented courtesy of HBO, Inc.

Last night I caught MoMA’s Program 1, special event with a post panel guest line up, including an introduction and moderation by actor, film historian and host on Turner Classic Movies’ Robert Osborne (how does one manage to grow thicker hair with age…).

Screenings are divided up into anywhere from about 4 to 6 episodes per program.  I saw Program 1, which consisted of Inside Nazi Germany (Vol. 4, Ep. 6, 1938), Show Business at War (Vol. 9, Ep. 10, 1943), Teen-age Girls (Vol. 11, Ep. 11, 1945), Mid-Century: Halfway to Where? (Vol. 16, Ep. 1, 1950) and a special screening of The March of Time’s 12 minute pilot, which we were told we thought to have been destroyed in a 1977 nitrate fire.

Inside Nazi Germany was particularly interested considering it was released in 1938 and was actually filmed by a freelancer with a hidden camera, sans some dramatizations here and there, which were – humorously enough – filmed in Hoboken, New Jersey.  This was a hit for The March of Time.  It ran for 16 weeks which was a record and was controversial as before the war the United States was divided on their position with Germany.  The cameras are witness to some creepy stuff like yellow park benches designated by signage for Jewish persons only and is eerily similar to our own history of segregation in that way. Although Inside Nazi Germany is heavy handed, it’s also quite something to see, especially the stuff that is actually inside Nazi Germany and this was before the war.  There was a good laugh from last night’s audience when German radio pronounced the many thousands of people that were apparently starving in Cleveland and other preposterous statements used to make Germans feel lucky to be German and comfortable being regulated to farm what the government tells them to and other laws of the kind.  This 16 minute piece has value in many ways but I think the most important one is the historical document.  While yes, some scenes are reenactments, many are not and it’s chilling what a foreshadowing this episode was.

Show Business at War was especially entertaining.  Marlene Dietrich dancing with a GI at the Hollywood Canteen and Carole Lombard selling war bond, while Clark Gable in uniform (real, not costume) after joining the U.S. Army Air Corps, speaks to another officer.  Although there are awkward clips, like performers in black-face and then Al Jolson’s performance seemed oddly uncomfortable, you still really get the feeling of what sort of genuine unity World War II brought to the American society.  Everyone wanted to help and everyone pitched in.  Somehow I doubt we could recreate a movement like that now.  I don’t see film stars enlisting to go to war in this day and age, but I suppose I could be wrong about that.

Teen-age Girls was charming.  A young girl explains to fuddy-duddy professors and scholars what it is to be a teenage girls while the viewer is taken into her daily life of how she likes her bedroom, her social life with other girls her age and how boys fall fit into all that.  Although a little silly, by my mother’s account, it wasn’t far from the truth.  Although this film was from a time slightly earlier than her teenage years, it was close enough to be similar.  Initiations into girl clubs with eggs cracked over heads, slumber parties and pressure to look like the popular girls at school. Hey, it doesn’t sound all that different that today either.

Mid-Century: Halfway to Where? contained some pretty foretelling thoughts and ideas.  One being the radio and television pioneer (and this is also mentioned in the MoMA/HBO program) David Sarnoff. He predicts that at some point in the not so distant future people will have pocket sized devises for communication and news.  Enter the Smart Phone.  Yipes, quite a prediction.  Another man conveys how important it is to continue putting human rights before property rights (not verbatim, but you get the idea).  In a world where water is getting privatized, this seems at particularly interesting statement, considering it was made in 1950.

Post screening panelists included Alan Brinkley, Professor of History at Columbia University and author of The Publisher: Henry Luce And His American Century and Richard Koszarski, Associate Professor of English and Film Studies at Rutgers University and author of Hollywood On The Hudson and Major Norman Hatch, The March of Time Cinematographer.  All panelists and of course moderator, Robert Osborne were terrific but I must say that Major Norman Hatch was a real treat.  Sharp as a tact and funny as hell, he told some great stories of his days with his colleagues at The March Of Time, including tales about the creators Roy Larsen and Louis de Rochemont.  Mr. Rochemont, according to Major Hatch could sniff out prospective stories in far off land before they became history.

This series is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary and it does show it’s age with the voice of God narration to steer it’s viewer in a certain direction (narration by the “Voice of Time”, Westbrook Van Voohis – quite a name, no?) and slow cuts, but they are still effective.  Slow cuts in my opinion shouldn’t be considered dated.  It just depends on where and how they’re used. The sections that are acted out, yes they are obvious in some cases, in others not as much.  In post panel discussion we were told that Mr. De Rochemont was of the school of thought that he had the same right to “clarify” news events with staged scenes as a re-write man on a paper had with words, to contextualize a reporters notes. Interesting theory and one I would think that would be well received today on cable news.

Although while watching The March of Time, I sometimes thought they weren’t very sophisticated in their approach and execution of their material but I think that’s just because of what kind of extreme exposure to news we have now.  I know one thing, I’d rather sit through an old school newsreel or an episode of The March of Time any day over the commercials I now have no choice in watching when I go to see a feature film.  The great thing about The March of Time series (although we were told they really didn’t make any profits from it.  They mostly served as promos for Time Inc.) is that people went to see these episodes on their own.  These weren’t typical newsreels that were played before the main feature.  These were film shorts (slightly longer than a typical newsreel) were shown on their own and as Robert Osborne mentioned, when he was growing up and working at the Rose Theater in Washington state (hello, a former Northwest resident as well!) he would put The March of Time on the marquee every time they’d get an episode because they were a big draw. Sounds like a better choice then let’s say Grown-Ups.

Check out The March of Time programs at MoMA here. It will also be shown on TCM in a marathon that will run on September 5th.

Link TV

ViewChange.org, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a digital media based organization that highlights progress in reducing hunger, poverty, and disease in developing nations. So, if you are interested in social issue documentaries, and/or you are a filmmaker, you may be excited about the possibilities of this, like I am. After all stories can initiate and cultivate activism.  It’s been known to happen.

In their short film competition, ViewChange is asking for 5 minute video stories that tell of progress in developing countries, such as what people are doing out there to reduce and eliminate disease, hunger, conflict, inequality and illiteracy.  They want to hear about progress toward achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  The Grand Prize is $20,000.  If you’re a social issue documentary filmmaker, you may be excited about those possibilities as well.  Piecemeal funding seems to be the way to get independent films made anymore, so every dollar counts.

Link TV is offering a fairly prestigious line-up of judges.  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Gael García Bernal, Wim Wenders, Danny Glover are among the panel.  Just upload your video with the ViewChange end tag, keep it under 100MB and you’re good to go.  And of course make sure it’s visual and emotionally dynamic, more so than anyone else’s, that it highlights one or more MDGs and consider the check in the mail.

What is seriously great about this competition though is the positive aspect of what all these stories will bring its viewers (videos will be open to public voting for a period before being turned over to the judges). Because we could all use a little news about progress right now, and an alternate media resource to view it through.

The Upper West Side’s Symphony Space is currently showing a handful of Alfred Hitchcock’s most well know Technicolor suspense thrillers. On this hot evening, I sat in a nice cool theater and saw Rear Window 1954, for the first time on the big screen. Like the voyeuristic characters in the film, once again I became immersed in the window before me and the world of that 1950′s New York inner court yard.

It doesn’t matter how many times I see my favorite of his Technicolor films, I always notice something new. Seeing the restored version (The film’s restoration was, I believe, originally released back in 200 and done by Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz, who also did the restoration on Vertigo) in large projection allowed for even more discovery. Grace Kelly never looked more beautiful. Edith Head could dress her like no other costume designer and Hitchcock could shoot her like not other director. Jimmy Stewart’s eyes were bluer than I’d ever seen them.

Rear Window is a completely terrific and still effective, enjoyable film from top to bottom with a incredible supporting cast and stellar behind the scenes talent, such as a script by John Michael Hayes, music by Franz Waxman, cinematography by Robert Burks and of course I can’t leave out the editor, George Tomasini. Some might argue that it’s dated, but for the most part, it isn’t. Jimmy Stewart’s character is too often less sympathetic and more rude during a few of his scenes with his leading lady, but the dialogue around what was considered the constraints of marriage is a sign of those times, I suppose.  So, I’m willing to forgive John Michael Hayes for the heavy handed female stereotyping.  Other than a few of those moments and a few mental “wows” over certain amazingly clever shots, I got lost in the story and thought less about picking apart the construction of the piece. Because, regardless of how many times I’ve seen this movie, I still tense up as though I have no idea what the outcome will be.

The Symphony Space will be screening several Hitchcock films through September 5th.

Although IFP always devotes time to the documentary filmmaker, this year promises two days on the subject and is bringing in Sheila Nevins, President of HBO Documentary Films as one of their headliners. I’ve attended various panels in the last couple of years.  The first time I only attended one day which was devoted to activism and documentary filmmaking.  Last year I attended about 4 panels, all of which I found a little depressing, but that had more to do with the overall independent film market and it’s scramble to survive than it really did the event itself. But this year is a brand new one and even though the industry is still scrabbling, it somehow seems less bleak and I’m anxious to get a little information and inspiration with two days on documentary filmmaking.  The IFP Filmmaker Conference is September 19th through September 23rd.  September 21st is The Truth About Non-Fiction and 22nd is The Reel World: Doc and Fiction Collide.  Check out the schedule here.

The double-system projection doesn’t disappoint either.  I caught the late showing of Dial M For Murder, 1954, which screened to a packed house, and the 3-D had incredible depth.  That depth mixed with the Technicolor saturation of Grace Kelly’s opening scene red backless gown was something to remember. Gorgeous. (Half of her costumes are backless. Hitchcock knew about subtile eroticism. I’m sure it didn’t hurt to have Edith Head on the team either.)

You may have seen some of these classics on television or DVD, but you probably haven’t seen them in 3-D and you maybe haven’t seen these amazing movies on a big screen with a full audience.  I can attest that seeing films like this with in a packed house is a very different experience than home viewing.  There is of course, pre-screening eavesdropping.  When attending a movie alone or breaks between your own conversation while waiting for the previews to begin, there is more often than not some entertaining chats going on around you.  Last night’s consisted mainly of Facebook discussions.  Literally three different groups of people were talking about “poking”, “friending” or rejecting a “friend request”.  This I believe kind of supports my last blog, but I’ll refrain from digression here. Often times, however, a little eavesdropping provides a better idea of what kind of audience a film draws and if some of that audience is talking about film, it’s interesting to hear other perspectives from people you don’t know.

The Dial M For Murder audience at the last show seemed to be somewhat mixed but probably the majority was a younger crowd, at least where we sat.  Part of what I find to be somewhat of an interesting social lesson is paying attention to audience response.  Viewers seemed to find a good amount of the film to be humorous.  Of course Hitchcock is famous for providing humor with his suspense, but the crowd here occasionally laughed where I imagine the filmmaker didn’t intend for there to be a moment for humor.  Dramatic music queues did feel dated and they made me smile more than once, but other times where I felt suspense was truly building and I was physically tense because of it (and I’ve even seen this film a half dozen times), others were chuckling. This could be for several reasons.  One being that I don’t go to modern day horror films.  The last horror film I saw was in high school.  It may have been a Friday the 13th or something.  I swore I would never go again. I prefer thrills to gore. As far as horror goes, I like mine vintage.  Heavy on implication and mystery and light on realism.  That being said, I could be less exposed and therefore more susceptible to an older era’s idea of building suspense that was before my time.  What was scary then isn’t necessarily as scary now, but regardless of the intensity of the viewers experience in terms of it’s original intended affect, the crowd at this screening appeared to be very engaged in the film and it’s story.  That’s what matters.  Social ideas of what is scary or suspenseful may change some over time, but good movie making is good movie making and Hitchcock, as everyone knows made some greats that will always be just that.

Today I’m hitting House of Wax, 1953.  According to the Film Forum’s site, the House of Wax is the most popular of 3-D movies with eye-popping effects.  Can’t wait!  This is my kind of horror movie.

The Film Forum is the only New York City cinema equipped to screen vintage double-system 3-D. As the New York Stereoscopic Society’s site puts it, “This is a rare opportunity to see synchronized dual strip projection of the films in their full-color polarized glory.” So, Don’t walk, but run to the Film Forum with 3-D screening through August 26th.

On my way home from vacation, however, I took the high road.  Well, I did watch a couple silly movies, but in between I took time to read. When I get my Cinema Editor magazine, I usually start from page one and read it through from cover to cover over the course of multiple subway rides. Since I had hours to burn in this particular situation, I ended up reading most of it in one sitting. In this edition, the article that gave me the most food for thought was Vincent LoBrutto’s (writer and EditFest NY moderator!) Boxed In or How the DVD-TV Boxed Set Liberated Viewers from Designated Time Slots and Electronic Taping Systems, But Trapped Them into a Marathon Weekend Screening an Entire Season of a Network or Cable Series. The article is about just that, but also addressed much more. (a good read outside of my sidetracked blog here which doesn’t cover the main subject his article)

Mr. LoBrutto writes, “In the seminal years of television part of the intensity of the viewing experience was the awareness that the viewing public had one opportunity to watch a given show. It was possible to see a show again (or for the first time) in summer reruns if the networks re-aired the program.” Considering how much of my time is spent attending screenings, watching DVDs, downloading episodes and just generally sitting in front of a screen like I am now, Mr. LuBrotto’s statement gave me something to think about.

As a kid I remember intense anticipation and viewing experiences of certain television programming. It was an especially important aspect of the holidays.  I usually caught the standard classics such as The Wizard of Oz and A Wonderful Life and kitch favorites like the Rankin/Bass stop motion animated productions of Year Without a Santa Claus, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Little Drummer Boy. Naturally later in life when those movies and beloved nostalgic shows like this came out on DVD, I ordered them immediately with ideas of how great it will be to have these gems at my finger tips. Couldn’t be more wrong.  I did watch Year Without a Santa Claus over the holidays the first year I had it. Haven’t watched the others.  I have a special collectors DVD with booklet and fancy cardboard box for The Wizard of Oz.  I have yet to put it in the player.  Haven’t even looked at the booklet. I rarely schedule time to sit down for a television show either.  I have followed Damages, Lost, Breaking Bad, Weeds, Mad Men and more, but have no idea when any of those shows air.  I download all of them from iTunes. Figuring out when they’re on and carving out a specific time period to devote to watching television requires too much advanced planning and commitment anymore… apparently.

I have come to the conclusion that knowing I have this media waiting for me on the closet shelf or just a download away actually makes me less likely to ever watch it or watch with full focus.  Even when I’ve come across the wonderful land of Oz on television I cruise right on by.  Since I have it on DVD, I can watch it any old time, so I should look to view something I don’t have in the home movie collection.  Every once in awhile I’ll take out a DVD or (gasp) a VHS to enjoy, but find if I’m watching it by myself I have to make a concerted effort to sit down and watch it from beginning to end without breaking to multi-task.  After all I can re-watch or return to it any old time.  The curse of living in today’s world, I suppose.  Obviously when I attend a movie theater, the film has my full attention, but when at home, I might be on the computer while half watching something from Netflix or I might be on the elliptical at the gym catching an episode of Mad Men that I downloaded onto my iPhone.  Sometimes I’ll even opt for crap programming because I know it doesn’t require real attention. If I miss some of it, no loss really.  But what does that say about my current attention span?  I doubt it’s aiding it any.

I am a traditionalist at heart, but modern times has resulted in modern focus, which isn’t what it used to be I’m afraid.  In my copious in-flight reading (between crappy movies I fell asleep to) I also came across an article in USA Today about Alzheimer’s Disease, by Sharon Jayson, and what contributes to memory issues. According to Ms. Jayson the contributors to retention problems are aging, stress, lack of sleep, distractions, inattention and disease. I fall into more of those categories than not. I imagine most people could and distractions and inattention are the big ones in my case. And if I’m going to admit to inattention, I’d have to admit that it’s not just a lack of focus on media.  Life in general is full of multi-tasking and fractions of what has the potential to be complete thoughts.  I mean I don’t think I’m dealing with ADD, but I am more distracted by life’s daily activities than ever. I do sit by myself and watch or read something all the way through in one sitting. It’s just that before the World Wide Web and all these choices, I would more often than not focus on one thing at a time.  Of course, I still get into my work and loose track of time because I like what I do, but I’m addressing viewing time outside of my job for the most part.

That’s why vacations are vital, especially if done right.  By right I mean giving downtime a little focus.  Vacations are great for getting away from it all, learning about other cultures and also great for relaxing. Relaxing as in not thinking about the list of things that need to get done. By not checking email or the cell phone every day. By giving full attention to the moment at hand and the people who inhabit it. Avoiding multi-tasking and half-assed listening is key to this relaxing activity.

Maybe an editor shouldn’t admit to feeling good about dropping out of the electronic world for a couple weeks (okay, I did check my email and cell phone twice) and focusing on the real one, but I consider it a good thing nonetheless.  Besides focusing on one thing at a time is a good exercise for avoiding forgetfulness. It said so in the article.  I remember. Also, it has been said that art imitates life and life imitates art.  If that’s the case and you happen work in the business of telling stories, it seems essential to be an active participant in the real life world (hint: that’s the one that exists outside the virtual and digital one) or there’s a risk of loosing touch and thereby loosing the ability to translate life into human-to-human connectable and intimate stories. That is a fate no editor wishes for. Vacationing highly recommended.

Sergio

From field work under the UNHCR in Bangladesh and Cypris during their conflicts of the 1970′s to his involvement in clearing land mines in Cambodia during the 1990′s, to serving as the UN Transitional Administrator for East Timor in the late 90′s and early 2000′s, Mr. Vieira de Mello’s life reflected his strong belief in the importance of being on the ground and working with people. Remarkable and awe inspiring are words that come to mind when you start to comprehend everything one person packed into one lifetime, and one that was cut short.  It’s easy to imagine what more could have been accomplished.  After all the film continually refers to him as a 007.  Brilliant and charming, Sergio got the seemingly impossible jobs done. People liked him.

The documentary, directed by Greg Barker, was based on the book by Samantha Powers (who also appears in the film).  Sergio was aired on HBO for a number of weeks earlier in the year and was available on On-Demand.  The film will be available on Netflix soon and Ms. Powers mentioned the filmmakers are working on a study guide for educational organizations.

I attended a United Nations Association of New York (UNA NY) screening of Sergio at The Tribeca Grand Hotel Friday night. I went because I was interested in the subject, Dr. Jamal Benomar, Chef de Cabinet of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to speak afterwards (Ms. Powers was a surprise guest), but really the main reason was Karen Schmeer.  Ms. Schmeer was the editor on Sergio.  She lost her life earlier this year in an accident.  At still a very young age, she had already created a large body of impressive works. Sergio was no less so.

Karen Schmeer had a great ability to build tension in a story but also to provide relief by finding humor in areas where it may not be obvious that humor exists.  In Sergio, just when I thought I couldn’t take hearing any more about painful bombing details, she gives us a little about Mr. Vieira de Mello’s personal life and by way of her master editing, she had the audience laughing at Sergio’s philandering.  Ms. Schmeer also found humor in a rescuer’s frustration from Mr. Vieira de Mello’s rejection of using a faith in God as comfort during the time he was trapped in the bombing rubble.  Those aren’t subjects one would normally flag as potential scenes for humor, but the way Ms. Schmeer cut it together, they were indeed funny.  The scenes had the intended effect and they came along at the right time.  And it was the editing that made them funny and the right editor to see that potential in the raw footage.

Karen Schmeer also had a gift for using a combination of literal and abstract imagery to illustrate a story and that is a unique and valuable talent as an editor. She had a way of finding unusual shots and sounds to convey a particular moment in a story, whether to evoke empathy or laughter or any other emotion, she knew the magic combinations. She was and continues to be an inspiration.

Sergio is a documentary to see for many reasons.  If it’s Sergio Vieira de Mello, Samantha Powers, Greg Barker or Karen Schmeer, there are many lessons worth learning and the process is a pleasure.

Hammer Films has had a long life, but not without death and resurrection.  By the time the 1970′s came around, Hammer was in full swing with a history of successful U.S. studio partnerships. During that period however, the color television also became a staple in most households and like the video business of today, it was keeping people home more and more. The film business was beginning to suffer.  The 1980′s arrived and Hammer Film’s adapted by making the move from film to television, but it was short lived and the 90′s proved worse.

Enter the millennium. Hammer gets acquired by Cyrte Investments who also purchases the Los Angeles based production company Spitfire Pictures.  The acquisition of both Spitfire and Hammer effectively operate as one business with two separate brands. In 2007 Hammer horror turned 50 and to celebrate the occasion the BFI (British Film Institute) restores  Hammer’s original Dracula.

This year expect more from Hammer with new horror genre productions with big names. Danielle Radcliffe was just announced to star in The Woman in Black, set to film this fall. Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan along with Hammer alum Sir Christopher Lee (see sweet and melancholy video of Lee’s on set interview here) lead a cast in the upcoming The Resident. In 2008

What is most exciting about Hammer Films’s survival, in my opinion, are the The Hammer Archives. Although I’m unsure of what films outside of Dracula have been restored, there are Hammer collections in the Horror, Suspense and Noir categories available on DVD and you can browse the archives on their website. Since that section of their site is titled “The Hammer Archives” and not “The Hammer Library”, I gather that preservation is involved but I’m not sure. I didn’t find anything on the site that was about the archive itself. Just a listing of their films. Hammer Production’s (changed to Hammer Films later) first film, The Public Life of Henry the Ninth (1935) is on BFI’s Most Wanted list. Original elements remain missing and are in much need of being located and restored. Hopefully others are in the process of restoration or there is at least a campaign to keep these films intact in order to really preserve the Hammer Films legacy.

Hammer’s product varied considerably in quality, but one thing is for sure, it’s contribution to cinema’s B-Horror, Science-Fiction and Sexploitation genres are unquestionable. There aren’t any other films like Hammer films, especially during it’s hey-day in the 50′s and 60′s.  Genuinely spooky, yet sexy and inventive, and let’s not forget that beautiful saturated Technicolor.  I also prefer a horror movie to be more disturbing and frightening than gore filled. Even some Hammer are too much for me. Normally scary movies from an earlier time suit me just fine.  A Hammer film from the 60′s is more than nostalgia though. It’s B-Horror, Sci-Fi and Sexploitation at it’s best.  They are like unsettling dreams that stay with you for days. With Hammer’s latest revival, it looks like the production company continues to prove it’s longevity. Like the cat with many lives, Hammer keeps returning from the dead.

The exhibit which opened May 15 and will run through October 4th, 2010 includes video installation and film programs.  Screenings consist of Ms. Deren’s work as well as her influences, such as Carolee Schneemann, Barbara Hammer, and Su Friedrich. The program also offers a loving tribute to Ms. Deren’s life and work in Martina Kudlácek’s documentary,  In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2002). The sweet and humbled filmmaker was on hand for Q&A after last night’s viewing.

Jerry Tallmer wrote a beautifully rich article on this MoMA series in The Villager and even the writer’s experiences with the artist herself. Please take a moment to read it.  Mr. Tallmer’s description of Ms. Deren’s sensual and mysterious 14 minute masterpiece Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) is more than palatable.