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  • Claudine Eizykman – Bruine Squamma (1977)

    Claudine Eizykman1971-1980ExperimentalFrance
    Bruine Squamma (1977)
    Bruine Squamma (1977)

    Movie’s themes : French experimental of the 70’s, Time

    Quote:
    “Claudine Eizykman’s Bruine Squamma (bruine: a kind of mist which absorbs and reflects light, and squama: a sliver of the epidermis which is shed from the skin), is impressive for the way it is organised and its jamming of a series of sporadic images, infinitely repeated and varied, with no narrative impulse whatsoever. Nothing but flashes, explosions, extinctions, splashes of images which succeed one another, shift forward or back, are superimposed, as in a game of transparent cards.”
    Boris Lehman in La relève, 25/11/77.Read More »

  • Jean Epstein – Mauprat (1926)

    Jean Epstein1921-1930DramaFranceSilent
    Mauprat (1926)
    Mauprat (1926)

    Set before the French Revolution, the film tells the story of Bernard De Mauprat, a noble orphan, raised by despicable aristocrats, who is saved from the gallows by his cousin Edmée and his father, the knight Hubert De Mauprat. The return of Bernard causes tensions within Mauprat’s family since him tries to win the heart of his cousin Edmée (Knight of La Marche’s fiancée) after obtaining her pledge of loyalty under a certain threat of rape.Read More »

  • Claudine Eizykman – V.W. Vitesse Women (1974)

    Claudine Eizykman1971-1980ExperimentalFrance
    V.W. Vitesse Women (1974)
    V.W. Vitesse Women (1974)

    Quote:
    One of the most important films of French avant-garde cinema, displaying Claudine Eizykman’s theory of “cinematographic energy” as well as creating kinetic movements capable of shaking up the world and revealing its heterogeneity.Read More »

  • John S. Robertson – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

    John S. Robertson1911-1920HorrorSilentUSA
    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)
    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

    Considered by many to be the first great American horror film, John S. Robertson’s DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE allowed stage legend John Barrymore to deliver his first virtuoso performance on film. Blending historic charm with grim naturalism, this version of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE is one of the more faithful of the many screen adaptations of Stevenson’s story (though greatly influenced by T.R. Sullivan’s popular stage treatment), recounting a visionary scientist’s ill-fated attempts to unleash the human mysteries that dwell beneath the shell of the civilized self.Read More »

  • Louis Feuillade – Parisette (1921)

    Louis Feuillade1921-1930FranceSilent
    Parisette (1921)
    Parisette (1921)

    1 – Manoela
    Quote:
    In Portugal, Joaquim de Costabella, a deposed marquis, lives with his pious granddaughter Manoëla. When banker Alvarez comes to ask for Manoëla’s hand in exchange for renewing his drafts, the marquis throws him out. That same night, Alvarez’s house is burglarized and murdered…Read More »

  • Alf Nielsen – Dødsklokken AKA The Death Knell (1914)

    1911-1920Alf NielsenDenmarkScandinavian Silent CinemaSilentWar
    Dødsklokken (1914)
    Dødsklokken (1914)

    Quote:
    Death’s bells toll in tune to the march of war. On top of devastating losses, espionage also cripples General Müller’s army. Young Lieutenant Charley is entrusted with the delivery of Dossier 15, a document of utmost importance to the war effort. After a dangerous journey through enemy territory, Adjutant Bertram betrays him – it turns out that he’s spying for the enemy. Bertram replaces Dossier 15 with a worthless piece of paper which leads to Charley’s arrest. Charley must escape to avoid execution and expose the spy.Read More »

  • A.W. Sandberg – Nedbrudte nerver AKA The Hill Park Mystery (1923)

    A.W. Sandberg1921-1930DenmarkMysteryScandinavian Silent CinemaSilent
    Nedbrudte nerver (1923)
    Nedbrudte nerver (1923)

    Quote:
    Police reporter Erik Brandt is sent off for some rest and recreation after solving a murder under the nose of the police. But his well-earned holiday turns out to be a lot more hectic than planned, when the resort is rocked by as string of brutal murders. An attractive young lady who captures Brandt’s heart might be involved. (stumfilm.dk)Read More »

  • Sergei M. Eisenstein – Stachka AKA Strike (1925)

    1921-1930PoliticsSergei M. EisensteinSilentUSSR
    Stachka (1925)
    Stachka (1925)

    A group of oppressed factory workers go on strike in pre-revolutionary Russia.

    Matthew Rovner, Jewish Daily Forward wrote:
    On February 13, 1948, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency announced that film director Sergei Eisenstein, “the son of a Jewish merchant,” was dead at the age of 50. Eisenstein’s father was a prosperous German Jew and his mother Russian Orthodox. Eisenstein grew up highly assimilated, though he was aware of his Jewish heritage. He was friendly with Isaac Babel, and he learned to use Yiddish slang and humor. But Eisenstein’s Judaism had always been marginal to his work as an artist. In his first feature, “Strike,” a serious propaganda film, there is humor, although it is influenced more by Charlie Chaplin than Sholom Aleichem.Read More »

  • Claudine Eizykman & Guy Fihman – Maine Montparnasse (1972)

    1971-1980Claudine EizykmanExperimentalFranceGuy Fihman
    Maine Montparnasse (1972)
    Maine Montparnasse (1972)

    A portion of a building, Maine Montparnasse, filmed from the 5th floor of a neighboring building according to architectural lines, is transformed by geometric movements more or less fast blurring our perception.

    Cinédoc:
    Movie’s themes : Architecture, Urbanism, Cities, French experimental of the 70’sRead More »

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