National Film Preservation Foundation

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:30 pm
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National Film Preservation Foundation

#1 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:04 am

Hold your horses you Western listers. Volume 5 treasures is dedicated to The West.

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Murdoch
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#2 Post by Murdoch » Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:55 am

Brilliant, glad to see another Treasures box in the works

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Max von Mayerling
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:02 pm
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#3 Post by Max von Mayerling » Fri Jul 15, 2011 2:45 pm

Treasures 5: the West is currently 47% off at Walmart.com.

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rockysds
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#4 Post by rockysds » Mon Jun 03, 2013 4:31 pm

Today, the non-profit National Film Preservation Foundation announces a DVD of long-lost films by John Ford, Mabel Normand, and Alfred Hitchcock, coming in September.

The 3-1/4-hour DVD, Lost and Found: American Treasures from the New Zealand Film Archive draws from the extraordinary cache of 176 nitrate prints safeguarded in New Zealand for nearly a century and preserved through a groundbreaking international partnership led by the NFPF. None of the DVD’s films have been seen before on video; in fact, none were even thought to exist just four years ago.

The DVD goes on sale for $24.95 in September and can be pre-ordered online through many Internet retailers.

Treasures New Zealand not only resurrects lost works by major directors but also presents a fascinating sampling of the industrial films, newsreel stories, cartoons, serial episodes, previews, and comedies recovered through the initiative. The full line-up includes:
• John Ford’s Upstream (1927), a backstage comedy by the 4-time Academy Award-winning director, and a preview for his lost film Strong Boy (1929)
• The White Shadow (1924), the opening 3 reels from the earliest extant feature credited to Alfred Hitchcock, the assistant director, art director, writer, and editor
• Lyman H. Howe’s Famous Ride on a Runaway Train (1921), the thrill-packed short filmed on railroad that inspired America’s first roller coasters, reunited with its sound-effects disc for the first time in decades
• Birth of a Hat (ca. 1920), showing how Stetson made its famous hats
• The Love Charm (1928), a South Seas romance shot in two-color Technicolor by Oscar-winning cinematographer Ray Rennahan
• Won in a Cupboard (1914), the first surviving film directed by and starring Mabel Normand
• Andy's Stump Speech (1924), directed by Norman Taurog, following funny-paper favorite Andy Gump on the presidential campaign trail
• The cartoon Happy-Go-Luckies (1923), 5 newsreel stories, and an episode from Dolly of the Dailies (1914) in which the unstoppable newspaperwoman saves the day and gets the scoop

Slated for release by Image Entertainment, Treasures New Zealand is playable worldwide and includes an illustrated catalog with film credits, essays, and forewords by Leonard Maltin and The Honourable Chris Finlayson, the New Zealand Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage; more than 180 interactive screens; newly recorded music by Michael D. Mortilla and Donald Sosin; and a music video extra.

That films lost in the United States came to be found 7,000 miles away speaks volumes about the international popularity of American movies from the very start. By the late 1910s, American distributors circulated prints around the globe with the expectation that they would be shipped back or destroyed at the end of their runs. But some prints evaded destruction and made their way into public collections, like the New Zealand Film Archive. Today hundreds of American movies from the silent era that were not saved in this country survive aboard.

The Treasures New Zealand films can be shared today thanks to the generous stewardship of the NZFA, the preservation work directed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, George Eastman House, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, and UCLA Film & Television Archive, and the contributions of hundreds of donors. The National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Argyros Family Foundation underwrote the production of the DVD. Net proceeds will support further film preservation.

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lubitsch
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 4:20 pm

Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#5 Post by lubitsch » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:11 pm

rockysds wrote: The 3-1/4-hour DVD, Lost and Found: American Treasures from the New Zealand Film Archive draws from the extraordinary cache of 176 nitrate prints safeguarded in New Zealand for nearly a century and preserved through a groundbreaking international partnership led by the NFPF. None of the DVD’s films have been seen before on video; in fact, none were even thought to exist just four years ago.
As nice as this is I wish they wouldn't make such a big deal about just rediscovered films when there are lots of better silents more worthy of a release. Being rediscovered after having been considered lost is not a criteria for watchability, entertainment value, importance or quality. It's just a matter of storage.

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matrixschmatrix
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 11:26 pm

Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#6 Post by matrixschmatrix » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:20 pm

How on earth would you know how good they are? Outside of this round of re-releases, they by definition haven't been seen in decades.

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htshell
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2011 4:15 pm

Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#7 Post by htshell » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Very short-sighted take on this release. Since they are the National Film Presevation Foundation it is their duty to advocate for and help the public understand what film preservation is and why it is important. This release is an excellent way to illustrate that. I'm sure a good number of casual film lovers who know Ford or Hitchcock by name might not have been aware that either had lost films.

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lubitsch
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#8 Post by lubitsch » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:35 pm

matrixschmatrix wrote:How on earth would you know how good they are? Outside of this round of re-releases, they by definition haven't been seen in decades.
Read some reports. But honestly does this sound to you like great film art? Three reels of a film where Hitchcock brought the director the coffee cup at the shooting. One of John Ford's mediocre silent films. The first (yay) film of Mabel Normand. South Seas romance in two strip Technicolor, how cute.
Let's assume these films were never lost. Go to a DVD producer and suggest a release of any of these films. No way in hell anyone would touch this.
I'm not against this release. It's just that being rescued from the ashes doesn't equal immediate release. If you want to do present the national heritage then release the best films even if they already lie for 90 years in the vaults you know of. In the light of Warner still sitting on their silent crown jewels this is even more unintentionally funny.
htshell wrote:Very short-sighted take on this release. Since they are the National Film Presevation Foundation it is their duty to advocate for and help the public understand what film preservation is and why it is important. This release is an excellent way to illustrate that. I'm sure a good number of casual film lovers who know Ford or Hitchcock by name might not have been aware that either had lost films.
This works so long until anyone actually watches the stuff. After that people might doubt if film preservation is that important if that's the stuff worth being preserved and presented to the public. If you want to convince people of the value of old films, take the best, polish it up and show it. Criterion's release of the Lonesome restoration is a good example how it should be done.

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knives
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#9 Post by knives » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:42 pm

I'm sure if they legally could the NFPF would release Greed, but obviously they can't and so entertaining that is just immature.

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domino harvey
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#10 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:42 pm

Lubitsch, I do not agree with so much of what you say
Last edited by domino harvey on Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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htshell
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#11 Post by htshell » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:56 pm

lubitsch wrote:Go to a DVD producer and suggest a release of any of these films. No way in hell anyone would touch this.
The Treasures New Zealand films can be shared today thanks to the generous stewardship of the NZFA, the preservation work directed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, George Eastman House, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, and UCLA Film & Television Archive, and the contributions of hundreds of donors. The National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Argyros Family Foundation underwrote the production of the DVD. Net proceeds will support further film preservation.

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lubitsch
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#12 Post by lubitsch » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:58 pm

knives wrote:I'm sure if they legally could the NFPF would release Greed, but obviously they can't and so entertaining that is just immature.
I'm not entertaining that, but in the US all films made before 1923 are public domain. So there's a huge amount of stuff to be released and from 2018 the film since 1923 will fall into public domain, too. If I would run a film preservation organization I'd now develop a strategy what to do. And start with the stuff I can already release.

htshell, you are aware that the first sentence of mine you left out in your quote is ... ahem rather important for understanding my point?

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htshell
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#13 Post by htshell » Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:00 pm

Luckily you will never run a preservation organization...

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knives
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#14 Post by knives » Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:04 pm

lubitsch wrote:
knives wrote:I'm sure if they legally could the NFPF would release Greed, but obviously they can't and so entertaining that is just immature.
I'm not entertaining that, but in the US all films made before 1923 are public domain. So there's a huge amount of stuff to be released and from 2018 the film since 1923 will fall into public domain, too. If I would run a film preservation organization I'd now develop a strategy what to do. And start with the stuff I can already release.
That assumes Disney or whomever isn't going to just extend things again.

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TMDaines
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#15 Post by TMDaines » Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:16 pm

domino harvey wrote:Lubitsch, I say this with all due respect: You are a terrible human being
Lubitsch is probably the worst person on this entire forum to attack on this kind of subject, considering the current project he's currently spearheading. There's probably very few people on this forum who know more about the relative availability of the areas of cinema in which they're interested and who do as much voluntarily to ensure its availability. Do think before you open your mouth, especially when the chances of yourself giving up a significant amount of your time, in order to ensure that a significant part of the world's cinematic heritage isn't lost to public viewing, is slim-to-none. You might not agree with him here, but geez. You should kind of know better considering you're a member of a certain site.

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domino harvey
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#16 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:30 pm

I was moved to a cheap shot out of revulsion for Lubitsch's bad attitude. But I reckon that doesn't justify my own. I rescind my comment

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Gregory
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#17 Post by Gregory » Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:46 pm

Yes, TMDaines, let's all defer to lubitsch's superior knowledge and dedication to what is truly important. Perhaps it would help small labels and foundations know what to focus on if lubitsch would reveal the objective ranked list (based on "some reports") of which films never on home video before are most and least worthy of being released so that we can experience and enjoy them for the first time.
What is the "current project he's currently spearheading"? And if it isn't personally important to me, would that justify my saying that other people shouldn't be devoting their time to it?
File this under "Why won't they release only what I want?"

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lubitsch
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#18 Post by lubitsch » Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:13 pm

Gregory wrote: File this under "Why won't they release only what I want?"
That's not my point. It's just that this release has no curatorial program behind it except "we've just found some cans with old films". The first two volumes featured a very wide cross selection of films mostly from the silent era intending to represent the breadth of the surviving material, the following volumes focused on thematic aspects like social issues or westerns. I have all of them (except the Avantgarde) and they represent fine work though I could live without half of the films and some doubles with already released films could and should have been avoided.
But this set is just the most interesting material of a completely random and very small group of films. I'm fully aware that they are trying to capitalize on a "returned from the ashes" myth and if it pays off finacially, fine. But there are more important films to be released. And with important I don't mean stuff I like, e.g. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse could finally use a proper release.

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Gregory
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm

Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#19 Post by Gregory » Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:25 pm

How are you so sure there's no more curatorial program behind it than that? I don't think there's anything wrong with a DVD of a group of films previously thought lost, which preservationists have been involved with anyway. How else would they program these for a DVD release? Your putting the worst spin on their motives and work. They're "capitalizing" on the "returned from the ashes myth"? Really? They're a bunch of nonprofits and other institutions that rely on outside funding to make possible releases that are among the least capitalized I can think of.
if it pays off finacially, fine.
Again, not the point.
But there are more important films to be released.
Granting that for the sake of discussion, institutions like these are not going to turn their attention to releasing more "important" things from public domain materials, which you seem to be saying they should be doing instead of this. That's just not the nature of what they do.

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Ashirg
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#20 Post by Ashirg » Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:52 pm

If you consider that the news about "some cans with old films" got more national attention when they were found than any silent film in recent history, there is some interest in this collection.

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lubitsch
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#21 Post by lubitsch » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:16 pm

Ashirg wrote:If you consider that the news about "some cans with old films" got more national attention when they were found than any silent film in recent history, there is some interest in this collection.
Precisely my point, it's just that the interest isn't in the films themselves, but in the story. Finding long lost films in an archive at the other end of the world, it's a bit like Indiana Jones. The mystery of the ages, the dust, probably some damaged and decomposed prints, 90 year old flickering images, lost son returns home. It's a nice story for the big media machine which values stories which can be told in a somehow emotional and touching way. If an archive would only say, we've got some great old films here we want to show you, nobody would come and report.
And exactly this kind of interest which isn't interested in the films itselves at all I'm criticizing. Restoring and scoring the 100 year old Richard Wagner film made for Wagner's 100th birthday and showing it on arte is from the same school of thinking.

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knives
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#22 Post by knives » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:38 pm

I don't see anything wrong with that. To complain that any unseen film is getting any sort of public release is the definition of misguided. If this were about the umpteenth release of Casablanca then you'd have a starting point, but to complain that films unseen by more then a few dozen living people is getting a quick DVD release is absurd. If this sort of release that makes the money to better preserve other films than the innards could be feces which is clearly not the case here.

Jonathan S
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#23 Post by Jonathan S » Tue Jun 04, 2013 2:19 am

matrixschmatrix wrote:How on earth would you know how good they are? Outside of this round of re-releases, they by definition haven't been seen in decades.
Several of the shorts - plus others from the same source not included in the DVD collection - have been freely and legally available to view on the NFPF's site for some time. The White Shadow used to be there too, but they appear to have removed it. Upstream was broadcast on Arte last year and can easily be seen through the usual channels. I offer this purely as factual information, not as evidence for or against a DVD release!

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Ann Harding
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#24 Post by Ann Harding » Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:41 am

Jonathan S wrote: Upstream was broadcast on Arte last year and can easily be seen through the usual channels. I offer this purely as factual information, not as evidence for or against a DVD release!
Upstream was broadcast on France 3 channel (not Arte). :wink:

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htshell
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Re: National Film Preservation Foundation

#25 Post by htshell » Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:07 am

I wonder if this was put forward because Treasures IV: Next Wave Avant-Garde won't be released this fall as originally planned.

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