Journal of Film Preservation N° 56 - FIAF

drawn from ‘new’ and magical radio network from all over the world)
and the equally brilliant Tanz derFarben (1929) by Hans Fischinger,
brother of Oscar.
An important aspect of the Cinema Ritrovato experience is that the disappointments
are often as important as the successes, both historically,
and psychologically, for the viewer. If for no other reason, the disappointments
make us understand the full range and context of the cinema,and
provide a background against which good and great
achievements can be more accurately assessed. One disappointment this
year was the screening of a pathetic 16mm print of The Hunchback of
Notre Dame (1923) - and even in that case there was the wonderful original
music by Gabriel Thibaudeau and soprano by Marie-Josephe Lemay.
For me, Duvivier’s early film Haceldama (or Le prix du sang, 1919) was a
disappointment although clearly a “productive” one, handsomely experimental
with several magnificent cinematographic moments and sophisticated
concept of time that makes me think of Rashomon)
There is no festival in the world today which is better than Cinema
Ritrovatto at successfully dramatizing, without the slightest prejudice or
concern for hiererchy of genres, short, apparently forgotten, totally banal
or just “unpromising” material - like the tourist films like Rapallo 1910
and Napoli 1920. These films use the full range of cinema techniques
(split screen, tracking shots, dramatic tinting, toning and other effects).
It’s our failing - and an understandable one, perhaps - that we become
complacent, we think we know the films. We have to thank Bologna and
the other festivals for resurrecting the films and allowing us to see them
in a fresh light.
I can hardly wait for next year.
New Restoration Projects /
Nouveaux projets de restauration
Bois d’Arcy
Achives du Film du Centre National de la Cinématographie
Le Service des Archives du Film du CNC entreprend (en collaboration
avec la Cinémathèque Française) la reconstitution du premier catalogue
des films édités entre 1896 et 1897 par la société Léon Gaumont &
Compagnie (Paris). Ces films mesurent 58 mm de largeur, avec quatre
perforations rectangulaires de chaque côté de l’image. Leur longueur
varie entre 15 et 50 mètres. Ils ont été réalisés par différents opérateurs :
Georges Demenÿ, Anatole Thiberville, Deslandes et Pugenier, Jacques
Ducom, John Le Couteur, etc.
Les archives qui posséderaient des films issus de cette production sont
priées de se mettre en relation avec Madame Michelle Aubert, conserva-
44 Journal of Film Preservation / 56 / 1998