Features:
Description:
The Origins of Film doesn't encompass as much as the title might suggest. The 10-hour program showcases some of the first works by African American and women directors as well as early ventures into the genres of animation, fantasy, and gangster cinema from the silent era. It's not so much a definitive look at the origins of film as it is a survey of pioneering works by often overlooked artists and genres, and on those terms it's an invaluable, astounding set. Divided into six programs on three discs, the set features a handful of landmark features along with collections of shorts. Oscar Michaux's groundbreaking 1919 mixed-race drama Within Our Walls is a powerful portrait of the racism and injustice faced by disenfranchised African America citizens of the time, at times a tangled story but never less than startling and sobering. Maurice Tourneur's assured Alias Jimmy Valentine is a striking 1915 gangster feature with a melodramatic plot (reused in the Disney comedy No Deposit, No Return!), handsome sets, and a graceful, gripping style. Alice Guy-Blache's hilarious and energetic 1913 shorts Matrimony's Speed Limits and A House Divided and Lois Weber's droll 1921 social satire Too Wise Wives are accomplished, sophisticated satires that wryly comment on the relations between men and women. Frank L. Baum himself wrote and produced the whimsical 1914 feature The Patchwork Girl of Oz, an inventive, deftly directed fantasy with delightful costumes and storybook images. Among the other highlights: a brief survey of American animation from primitive proto-cartoons of 1900, some unusually graceful examples of Windsor McCay's work from 1921, D.W. Griffith's 1912 gangster drama The Narrow Road with Mary Pickford, and a 1923 sound short featuring singer Noble Sissle and jazz legend Eubie Blake. The boxed set comes with a modest but informative 12-page booklet with historical background and preservation notes. All films are accompanied by simple but appropriate piano scores. A welcome complement to the ambitious Treasures from American Film Archives, this more modest set sheds light on cinematic invention and silent film creativity often ignored in the official record. --Sean Axmaker
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