Part 3 of the Library of Congress Short films that I have been working on. Finding these online takes more time than actually watching them, which can be a real let down for the bad ones. I'm making my own archive, so contact me if you want a full collection of all of these NFR posts.
I was happy with the method of splitting them by Worth Watching, Just Average, and Avoid Watching in the post itself so we'll do that again. There are less here than in previous posts because the runtime has increased, e.g. 10-15 minutes instead of 5-10. So this is a good 4 hours of video.
Worth Watching:
The House I Live In (1945) [8/10]
[right]This looks like a film you would watch in a racial sensitivity training. Starring
Frank Sinatra who talks to a group of boys picking on a neighborhood kid because of his race. I liked the dialogue and is worth holding onto. Ironic that Sinatra is known as playing a gangster most of the time, not the role you would expect him in.
One Week (1920) [8/10]
Buster Keaton gets a "build your own home" kit as a wedding present. This appealed to me because I just went through moving into a home this month. A good watch.
Punch Drunks (1934) [8/10]
[right]Considered one of the best Three Stooges episodes ever, the archive HAD to have a Stooges skit in it. Not a bad one at all.
Just Average:
Czechoslovakia 1968 (1969) [7/10]
Documentary footage of the Czech and Slovak uprising against the Soviet government. Good footage, historically significant, but nothing worth watching over again.
Our Day (1938) [7/10]
A home movie showing a normal day for an average American family in the 1930's. Interesting to see the daily routines and how little they have changed over the last 70 years.
Quasi at the Quackadero (1976) [6/10]
[right]This strange animation by
Sally Cruikshank of a cartoon duck had to be an influence for
Duckman. I haven't found any evidence that points to this, but if you have seen much of the cartoon you will see the resemblance.
Jammin' the Blues (1944) [6/10]
Featuring a slew of 1940's jazz musicians in what looks like the opening credits of a tv show. I just didn't get this one. Maybe I'm just not familiar enough with the featured artists.
In the Street (1948) [6/10]
One of the films that only made the archive because it features footage that probably isn't documented anywhere else. This just shows scenes of the street of New York, nothing special and very boring.
Jeffries-Johnson Boxing Contest (1910) [6/10]
In 1910 a boxing match could go into 100 rounds!!! Yeah so it was basically a fight until someone fell down, which also meant that boxers would take their time to feel out the opponent. So this entire film is actually 1 hour and 40 minutes. Since I couldn't sit through that much silent boxing footage I watched the 10 minute highlight reel on youtube. The nice thing is they actually explain the significance of the fight (an African American Champion). They brought a Caucasian boxer out of retirement to try and dethrone the champ, that didn't work out so well...
Life and Death of 9413 (1928) [6/10]
[right]An experimental film about a generic Hollywood extra trying to make it in Hollywood. Something that 80+ years later we are familiar with, e.g. how hard it is to make it in Hollywood and the numerous tragic stories. So this was just ok.
The House in the Middle (1954) [6/10]
Produced by the National Clean Up-Paint Up-Fix Up Bureau, this film shows results of radiation testing on from atomic bombs in the desert. It advises people to paint their homes, trim their shrubs, and clean up trash around their homes so that in the event of a nuclear attack you have a better chance of surviving (not catching fire).
The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936) [6/10]
A documentary that presents the social and economic issues of the Great Plains in America. Something you would watch in history class in high school. Not exactly something I am going to grab some popcorn for and watch with the family. Interesting to some degree...
Avoid Watching:
Motion Painting No.1 (1947) [5/10]
[right]This is called a "color study" which means it is like something you would see in a music video, except no good music, and longer. Basically a painting that is slowly layered with more and more drawings. You've probably seen something like this before, but since it is from 1947 it was probably an original concept and difficult to pull off at the time.
A Bronx Morning (1931) [5/10]
Basically the same as
In the Street above, just shows you the streets of the Bronx in the 30's.
H2O (1929) [3/10]
So Motion Painting was a study of color, well this is a study of water. Very boring, enough said.
Eaux d'artifice (1953) [2/10]
A woman dressed in blue walks through a garden... yeah that's it. Classical music is playing throughout and the hue of the picture is blue, that is about all.. so I just don't get this one.
Multiple Sidosis (1970) [2/10]
[right]Directed by "Sid." This is a short film about an older man who gets a recorder for Christmas and uses it to overlay audio of himself playing different instruments [hence the "multiple" in the title]. A little neat but I don't understand its including in the archive.
Rose Hobart (1936) [3/10]
This is a 17 minute highlight of Rose Hobart playing in 1931 film
East of Borneo. I really don't understand why this was added to the archive and not the full film. Highlights of a silent film are worse that the actual film because there is absolutely not text AT ALL. So not only is the story shortened but you have no idea what is going on. A waste of time.
This is probably the last of the LoC NFR posts for a while. I have exhausted most of the films under 15 minutes that I could find, and until I can get another group of them put together there won't be another post. I will be watching some of the feature length films over the next few months though.
This foreign film was nominated for the Oscar in 1992 [and should have won]. It is about a young Chinese girl who can no longer afford to go to college and is left with few options upon returning home. She starts the film with an emotional dialogue with her mother about her decision to become a mistress for a wealthy master.
