Includes bibliographical references. Originally produced as motion pictures 1911-1929. Title from container. A monumental six-disc collection ; 2K and 4K restorations of more than 50 films ; features, shorts, fragments ; 80-page booklet with essays and photos ; interviews with historians and archivists ; musical scores by Renée C. Baker, The Berklee Silent Film Orchestra, Makia Matsumura, Maud Nelissen, Dana Reason, Aleksandra Vrebalov, and others. Special feature include interviews with historians and featurettes on the directors and resortation.
Contents:
Disc one: Alice Guy-Blaché. On the brink (fragment) -- Documentary short: Alice Guy-Blaché -- Mixed pets -- Tramp strategy -- Greater love hath no man -- Algie the miner -- Falling leaves -- The little rangers (fragment) -- Canned harmony -- A fool and his money -- The high cost of living -- Matrimony's speed limit -- The ocean waif -- The colleen bawn -- On the brink (fragment) -- Disc two: Lois Weber. What do men want? (fragment) -- From death to life -- Fine feathers -- The rosary -- Suspense -- Lost by a hair (fragment) -- Hypocrites -- Sunshine Molly (fragment) -- Idle wives (fragment) -- What do men want? (fragment) -- Disc three: Pioneers of genre. Ethnographic films -- The hazards of Helen -- A daughter of "The law" -- Eleanor's catch -- '49 - '17 --. Documentary short: Mabel Normand -- Caught in a cabaret -- Mable's blunder -- Mabel and Fatty's wash day -- That ice ticket -- Ethnographic films -- Disc four: Social commentary 1. Something new -- Where are my children? -- Her defiance -- When little Lindy sang -- The curse of Quon Gwon: when the far east mingles with the west -- Scandal -- The dream lady -- Something new -- Disc five: Social commentary 2. Linda -- Bread (fragment) -- Salomé -- The red Kimona -- Linda -- Disc six: The feature film. Documentary short: The end of an era. Back to God's country -- The song of love--. Documentary short: The end of an era.
Summary:
In the early decades of cinema, some of the most innovative and celebrated filmmakers in America were women. Alice Guy-Blaché helped establish the basics of cinematic language, while others boldly continued its development : slapstick queen Mabel Normand (who taught Charlie Chaplin the craft of directing), action star Grace Cunard, and LGBTQ icon Alla Nazimova. Unafraid of controversy, filmmakers such as Lois Weber and Dorothy Davenport Reid tackled explosive issues such as birth control, abortion, and prostitution. This crucial chapter of film history comes alive through the presentation of a wide assortment of films, carefully curated, meticulously restored in 2K and 4K from archival sources, and presented with new musical scores.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.