NFPF’s ‘Treasures 5’ Excavates 'The West'

Michael Fox
Oct 28, 2011

The National Film Preservation Foundation delivers another gem with the fascinating three-disc box set 'The West 1898-1938.'

NFPF’s ‘Treasures 5’ Excavates 'The West'

Michael Fox
Oct 28, 2011

The National Film Preservation Foundation delivers another gem with the fascinating three-disc box set 'The West 1898-1938.'

NFPF’s ‘Treasures 5’ Excavates 'The West'

Michael Fox
Oct 28, 2011

The National Film Preservation Foundation delivers another gem with the fascinating three-disc box set 'The West 1898-1938.'

Guy Maddin: Ann Savage and the Osmonds

Johnny Ray Huston
Sep 23, 2011

Guy Maddin talks about movies, writing, himself—and the allure of the Osmonds, re-published on the occasion of Fandor's Maddin blogathon.

Guy Maddin: Ann Savage and the Osmonds

Johnny Ray Huston
Sep 23, 2011

Guy Maddin talks about movies, writing, himself—and the allure of the Osmonds, re-published on the occasion of Fandor's Maddin blogathon.

Guy Maddin: Ann Savage and the Osmonds

Johnny Ray Huston
Sep 23, 2011

Guy Maddin talks about movies, writing, himself—and the allure of the Osmonds, re-published on the occasion of Fandor's Maddin blogathon.

Guy Maddin: Ann Savage and the Osmonds

Johnny Ray Huston
Sep 23, 2011

Guy Maddin talks about movies, writing, himself—and the allure of the Osmonds, re-published on the occasion of Fandor's Maddin blogathon.

'Shoes' on the Other Feet at SF Silent Film Festival

Dennis Harvey
Jul 14, 2011

San Francisco Silent Film Festival features the work of the most important female director of the silent era, Lois Weber.

'Shoes' on the Other Feet at SF Silent Film Festival

Dennis Harvey
Jul 14, 2011

San Francisco Silent Film Festival features the work of the most important female director of the silent era, Lois Weber.

'Shoes' on the Other Feet at SF Silent Film Festival

Dennis Harvey
Jul 14, 2011

San Francisco Silent Film Festival features the work of the most important female director of the silent era, Lois Weber.

Silent Film Festival

Jul 14, 2011

The SF institution returns to the Castro Theatre with 18 rediscovered films and live musical accompaniment. Highlights include a collection of Disney's Laugh-O-Grams, a travelogue of an expedition to the Antarctic and a film once cited as "the single greatest masterwork in the history of cinema" by stately film journal Cahiers du Cinema. More info castrotheatre.com.

'Sleeping Ember' Reignites

Matt Sussman
Apr 14, 2011

A grad student brings a rare screening of silent classic 'Braza Dormida' to the PFA, with live jazz accompaniment.

'Sleeping Ember' Reignites

Matt Sussman
Apr 14, 2011

A grad student brings a rare screening of silent classic 'Braza Dormida' to the PFA, with live jazz accompaniment.

'Sleeping Ember' Reignites

Matt Sussman
Apr 14, 2011

A grad student brings a rare screening of silent classic 'Braza Dormida' to the PFA, with live jazz accompaniment.

'Sleeping Ember' Reignites

Matt Sussman
Apr 14, 2011

A grad student brings a rare screening of silent classic 'Braza Dormida' to the PFA, with live jazz accompaniment.

'Sleeping Ember' Reignites

Matt Sussman
Apr 14, 2011

A grad student brings a rare screening of silent classic 'Braza Dormida' to the PFA, with live jazz accompaniment.

'Sleeping Ember' Reignites

Matt Sussman
Apr 14, 2011

A grad student brings a rare screening of silent classic 'Braza Dormida' to the PFA, with live jazz accompaniment.

SFMOMA's Muybridge Experiments with Time, Space

Max Goldberg
Mar 31, 2011

SFMOMA's Eadweard Muybridge exhibit is essential viewing for Bay Area film lovers. More than 150 years after Eadweard Muybridge set up shop on Montgomery Street, San Francisco Museum Modern Art is featuring a splendid retrospective of the photographer’s work just a few blocks away. A tireless self-promoter with chutzpah enough to adapt “Helios” as a nom de plume early in his career (this after already having left “Muggeridge” behind in England), Muybridge would surely have been pleased by this showcase. From A Trip Down Market Street

SFMOMA's Muybridge Experiments with Time, Space

Max Goldberg
Mar 31, 2011

SFMOMA's Eadweard Muybridge exhibit is essential viewing for Bay Area film lovers. More than 150 years after Eadweard Muybridge set up shop on Montgomery Street, San Francisco Museum Modern Art is featuring a splendid retrospective of the photographer’s work just a few blocks away. A tireless self-promoter with chutzpah enough to adapt “Helios” as a nom de plume early in his career (this after already having left “Muggeridge” behind in England), Muybridge would surely have been pleased by this showcase. From A Trip Down Market Street

Stone Tour Cultivates the City

Susan Gerhard
Feb 14, 2011

Film professor and farmer Melinda Stone tours San Francisco community centers with film and food for thought.

Stone Tour Cultivates the City

Susan Gerhard
Feb 14, 2011

Film professor and farmer Melinda Stone tours San Francisco community centers with film and food for thought.

Stone Tour Cultivates the City

Susan Gerhard
Feb 14, 2011

Film professor and farmer Melinda Stone tours San Francisco community centers with film and food for thought.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival Winter Event

Feb 12, 2011

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival's Winter Event, a one-day affair to showcase silent films, returns to the Castro. Features include Charlie Chaplin shorts, Marcel L’Herbier’s 1928 ‘L’Argent’ and King Vidor’s 1926 ‘La Boheme,' each accompanied with live music. More at silentfilm.org and castrotheatre.com.

Silent Film Festival Is in the Money

Michael Fox
Feb 10, 2011

SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.

Silent Film Festival Is in the Money

Michael Fox
Feb 10, 2011

SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.

Silent Film Festival Is in the Money

Michael Fox
Feb 10, 2011

SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.

Silent Film Festival Is in the Money

Michael Fox
Feb 10, 2011

SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.

Silent Film Festival Is in the Money

Michael Fox
Feb 10, 2011

SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.

Silent Film Festival Is in the Money

Michael Fox
Feb 10, 2011

SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.

Film Arts: How Cinema Was Born by the Bay

Margarita Landazuri
Oct 26, 2010

With Eadweard Muybridge's motion experiments and Niles Essanay's early productions, the San Francisco Bay Area brought the silent film to life.

Film Arts: How Cinema Was Born by the Bay

Margarita Landazuri
Oct 26, 2010

With Eadweard Muybridge's motion experiments and Niles Essanay's early productions, the San Francisco Bay Area brought the silent film to life.

Film Arts: How Cinema Was Born by the Bay

Margarita Landazuri
Oct 26, 2010

With Eadweard Muybridge's motion experiments and Niles Essanay's early productions, the San Francisco Bay Area brought the silent film to life.

Oakland Tribune: 'Silent Film Shake-up, via Fremont'

Oct 19, 2010

"David Kiehn didn't go into the movie business seeking fame. But thanks to some sharp detective work and YouTube, the soft-spoken Fremont silent-film historian will make his small-screen debut Sunday on '60 Minutes,'" writes Matthew Artz. "The CBS newsmagazine show is devoting an 11-minute segment to Kiehn, whose research proved that a silent film of San Francisco's Market Street was shot just days before the 1906 earthquake -- not in 1905 as previously believed." More at insidebayarea.com.

Maoz Speaks of the Limits of Language in 'Lebanon'

Jessica Sapick
Aug 16, 2010

The Lebanon War of 1982 informs Samuel Maoz's 'Lebanon.'

Maoz Speaks of the Limits of Language in 'Lebanon'

Jessica Sapick
Aug 16, 2010

The Lebanon War of 1982 informs Samuel Maoz's 'Lebanon.'

Maoz Speaks of the Limits of Language in 'Lebanon'

Jessica Sapick
Aug 16, 2010

The Lebanon War of 1982 informs Samuel Maoz's 'Lebanon.'

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival Speaks Volumes

Dennis Harvey
Jul 15, 2010

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival offers its now expected collection of rare finds, live music and early film amazements

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival Speaks Volumes

Dennis Harvey
Jul 15, 2010

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival offers its now expected collection of rare finds, live music and early film amazements

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival Speaks Volumes

Dennis Harvey
Jul 15, 2010

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival offers its now expected collection of rare finds, live music and early film amazements

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival Speaks Volumes

Dennis Harvey
Jul 15, 2010

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival offers its now expected collection of rare finds, live music and early film amazements

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival Speaks Volumes

Dennis Harvey
Jul 15, 2010

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival offers its now expected collection of rare finds, live music and early film amazements

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival Speaks Volumes

Dennis Harvey
Jul 15, 2010

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival offers its now expected collection of rare finds, live music and early film amazements

SFIFF53: The Art of Revival

Dennis Harvey
Apr 29, 2010

Through most of its history, the Festival has featured revivals of restored classics and little-known gems. This year s selections run an unusually wide gamut.

SFIFF53: The Art of Revival

Dennis Harvey
Apr 29, 2010

Through most of its history, the Festival has featured revivals of restored classics and little-known gems. This year s selections run an unusually wide gamut.

Can-Can Do: Silent Shooting at the Victoria

Jane Riccobono
Apr 13, 2010

The Victoria Theater is shut up tight, with no sign of life. After a few raps on the door, a woman peeks out and leads me inside.

Can-Can Do: Silent Shooting at the Victoria

Jane Riccobono
Apr 13, 2010

The Victoria Theater is shut up tight, with no sign of life. After a few raps on the door, a woman peeks out and leads me inside.

Cinequest at 20

Dennis Harvey
Feb 21, 2010

Wasn't it just yesterday that Cinequest was the scrappy upstart amongst Bay Area festivals? Apparently not: San Jose's annual cinematic blowout is entering its third decade.

Steven Severin On His Silent Spring

Michael Read
Jan 8, 2010

Once known primarily as the co-founder and bassist of the influential punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees, Steven Severin now follows his muse in many directions.

Wintering with the SF Silent Film Festival

Dennis Harvey
Dec 9, 2009

Highlights from the 2009 San Francisco Silent Film Festival winter event.

Wintering with the SF Silent Film Festival

Dennis Harvey
Dec 9, 2009

Highlights from the 2009 San Francisco Silent Film Festival winter event.

Anita Monga and the SF Silent Film Festival

Sura Wood
Jul 11, 2009

During her tenure at the venerable Castro Theatre, film programmer Anita Monga made her mark shepherding the venue to international prominence.

Anita Monga and the SF Silent Film Festival

Sura Wood
Jul 11, 2009

During her tenure at the venerable Castro Theatre, film programmer Anita Monga made her mark shepherding the venue to international prominence.

SF Silent Film Festival

Dennis Harvey
Jul 9, 2009

Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho is one of the many highlights on screen during the three-day San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

SF Silent Film Festival

Dennis Harvey
Jul 9, 2009

Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho is one of the many highlights on screen during the three-day San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Lee Isaac Chung on 'Munyurangabo'

Elizabeth Rader
Jun 12, 2009

One can't help but think about the concept of cinematic language, as well as spoken language, when talking with Munyurangabo filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung.

SFIFF52 Blogs: Dinosaurs, Disease, and Delirium

Robert Avila
May 7, 2009

The Lost World, the 1925 silent fantasy

Holtzman: Psychedelic Cambodian Rock in 'Dengue Fever'

Michael Fox
Apr 15, 2009

Zac Holtzman scores The Lost World with Dengue Fever, creating a sound that has been described as a psychedelic version of vintage Cambodian rock'n'roll, fueled by Cambodian singer Chhom Nimol's vocal stylings and Ethan Holtzman's organ and accordion shadings.

Holtzman: Psychedelic Cambodian Rock in 'Dengue Fever'

Michael Fox
Apr 15, 2009

Zac Holtzman scores The Lost World with Dengue Fever, creating a sound that has been described as a psychedelic version of vintage Cambodian rock'n'roll, fueled by Cambodian singer Chhom Nimol's vocal stylings and Ethan Holtzman's organ and accordion shadings.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival Winter Event

Jonathan Kiefer
Feb 12, 2009

The S.F. Silent Film Festival's Winter Event allows you to spend hours in the dark with the madcap movie entertainments of 80-plus years ago.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival Winter Event

Jonathan Kiefer
Feb 12, 2009

The S.F. Silent Film Festival's Winter Event allows you to spend hours in the dark with the madcap movie entertainments of 80-plus years ago.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Mary B. Scott
Jul 9, 2008

Back at the Castro this weekend for the 13th year, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents a variety of titillating titles.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Mary B. Scott
Jul 9, 2008

Back at the Castro this weekend for the 13th year, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents a variety of titillating titles.

Niles Essanay's Voguing Eunuchs, Raving Madmen

Mary B. Scott
Jul 1, 2008

Having just spent three invigorating days in Niles watching crowds cheering to films from the years between 1903 and 1917, I can report that silent films are alive and well.

Niles Essanay's Voguing Eunuchs, Raving Madmen

Mary B. Scott
Jul 1, 2008

Having just spent three invigorating days in Niles watching crowds cheering to films from the years between 1903 and 1917, I can report that silent films are alive and well.

Contemporary Jewish Museum's DAWN

Miriam Wolf
May 30, 2008

Looking for something meaningful to do Sunday at 2 a.m.? Try the all-night Dawn festival.

SFMOMA's "Nonwestern Westerns" Series

Dennis Harvey
Mar 26, 2008

A series of films at SFMOMA present an outsiders take on the outmoded American staple, the Western.

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

Max Goldberg
Mar 18, 2008

SFIAAFF has grown from a niche event to a major international festival - with more than enough voices to justify its unwieldy moniker.

S.F. Silent Film Festival“s Third Annual Winter Event

Robert Avila
Nov 30, 2007

The List: A commentary-filled list of the lineup at the silent film festival, which consists of three separate programs and an evening mixer with live music.

S.F. Silent Film Festival“s Third Annual Winter Event

Robert Avila
Nov 30, 2007

The List: A commentary-filled list of the lineup at the silent film festival, which consists of three separate programs and an evening mixer with live music.

Stacey Wisnia, talking silent pictures

Sean Uyehara
Jul 9, 2007

Stacey Wisnia has been a vibrant fixture in the San Francisco film scene for years and has became the Executive Director of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival,

Stacey Wisnia, talking silent pictures

Sean Uyehara
Jul 9, 2007

Stacey Wisnia has been a vibrant fixture in the San Francisco film scene for years and has became the Executive Director of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival,

Reviews: "Brand Upon the Brain!", "Golden Door"

Matt Sussman
Jun 12, 2007

Brand is no short supply of Guy Maddin's usual firecrackers: apostrophe, hyperbole, and of course, catastrophe.

2007 Mendocino Film Festival

Robert Avila
May 24, 2007

The four-day festival offered over 100 films, with an emphasis on documentaries, and attracted some 60 filmmakers, including Albert Maysles.

Live from Fog City

Dennis Harvey
May 9, 2007

While the SF International Film Festival has always had celebrity guests, the 50th edition featured a particular concentration of unique one-offs.

Reopening "Pandora's Box"

Dennis Harvey
Nov 7, 2006



Many stars are forgotten for a while, then “rediscovered” and newly appreciated by a later generation. But the case of Louise Brooks is somewhat unique — she was, really, only a “star” in retrospect. Her Hollywood profile was headed that-a-way when she foolishly (according to the industry) abandoned it to make a couple European movies. When she returned, her moment had passed.



A paltry if promising career and early dead-end-at the time, it constituted barely a blip on the radar. Yet those European films grew in stature over ensuing years, and with that the gradual realization that Brooks had been one of the great screen presences, however briefly. Her striking look — porcelain skin, alert features, sleek jet-black flapper bob — and naturalistic acting haven’t dated at all.



As a result, it seems there’s more interest in her with each passing year. The latest evidence is critic and historian Peter Cowie’s new book “Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever,“ published in time to commemorate the centenary of her birth. He’ll be signing copies and presenting a special commemorative film program at the Balboa this Sunday. The evening promises a rarely screened feature, a short and trailers showcasing Brooks, as well as “special guests, door prizes and more.” (Cowie will also appear the prior night at the Smith Rafael Film Center to screen a new 35mm print of her best-known vehicle “Pandora’s Box.”)



Why the fuss? Why, indeed, is there such a thing as The Louise Brooks Society (which is co-presenting this event with The Booksmith)? The explanation is all on-screen, in any role where she wasn’t entirely wasted.



Kansas-born Brooks started out as a dancer, first in touring troupes and then in Broadway revues. This led to Hollywood in 1925, where bit parts led steadily to larger ones, finally female leads in two good 1928 Paramount releases: Howard Hawks’ rollicking “A Girl in Every Port” and William Wellman’s more delicate “Beggars of Life.”



She hadn’t set the world on fire yet, but was certainly expected to graduate from starlet to star. Paramount was not pleased, however, when she chose — just as “talking pictures” were becoming the rage — to end her contract and accept a silent-film offer in Germany. This was G.W. Pabst’s “Pandora’s Box,” drawn from Franz Wedekind’s play “Lulu,” and with beguiling lack of affectation she played that titular seducer/destroyer of both men and women, herself finally destroyed by Jack the Ripper. Perhaps even better (if less shocking) than that famous classic was a second Pabst movie, “Diary of a Lost Girl,” in which her victimized innocent is indelibly touching. She also starred as an exploited beauty-contest winner in a French film, 1930’s “Prix de Beaute.” These are all wonderful movies in which she was superb. But for a long time they were little seen outside their home countries — particularly in the U.S., where silent cinema was already stone-cold-dead.



Returning to Hollywood, Brooks was now — at age 24 — a has-been. She unwisely turned a couple good offers and accepted a handful of humiliatingly poor ones, including bit parts. Those few who remembered her considered her “difficult” and past expiration date. Her last movie role was a nondescript heroine in a nondescript 1938 “Z” western, “Overland Stage Raiders” — one of a zillion such that John Wayne starred in before becoming an “A”-list star.



Found living in seclusion in the mid-‘50s, Brooks was surprised and delighted that latterday film buffs not only remembered but worshipped her. She returned the favor by writing very intelligently about her own movies and the art form in general (mostly famously in the essay collection “Lulu in Hollywood,” which is still in print). She admitted sabotaging her own career as readily as she enjoyed her new iconic status in retirement, dying at a no doubt satisfied age 80 in 1985 — secure in the knowledge that her legend would continue to grow.



[“Pandora’s Box” plays Sat., Nov. 11, at 7 pm, Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 4th St., San Rafael. $6.25-9.50. (415) 454-1222. “Celebrating Louise Brooks: An Evening of Rare Films,” issues Sun., Nov. 12, at 7:30 pm, Balboa Theatre, 2630 Balboa, SF. $6-8.50. (415) 221-8184.]

Fall 2006 Festival Season

Susan Gerhard
Aug 25, 2006

SF360 checks in with a few Bay Area festival insiders to see what they're excited about at upcoming festivals.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Mary B. Scott
Jul 13, 2006

Back at the Castro this weekend for the 13th year, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents a variety of titillating titles.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Mary B. Scott
Jul 13, 2006

Back at the Castro this weekend for the 13th year, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents a variety of titillating titles.

Ten Near Masterpieces Rescued from the Dustbin

Jonathan Marlow
May 26, 2006

An alphabetical accounting of ten titles well worth watching that somehow slipped through the cracks.