Library of Congress: National Film Registry (4)

Part 4 of the Film Registry takes us into some much longer films. I've decided that one hour is the cusp between getting an individual post and getting lumped into a grouping like this. Sorted by the ranking I gave it, and with longer comments on some since they had more content.

Master Hands (1936) [8/10] (right)
This is a 35 minute film showing the workings of an assembly plant for Chevrolet in the 1930's. It is just amazing to me that all of these cars are works of art. You get the feel of your dad working in a shop on the car, and not the industrial feel since there is so much manual work. It is truly amazing that so many cars actually worked coming off the line like this. Worth checking out, maybe scanning through at parts because 30+ minutes was a little much.


Early Abstractions (1987) [8/10] (right)
Harry Smith made a number of short artistic animated films from 1939 to 1956. This film is a compilation of numbers 1-5, 7, and 10. I'm not sure why 6, 8, and 9 were excluded. Of all the artistic films from the Registry this one really had me interested and engaged. About 23 minutes long, so I watched it in two parts to stay interested. Note: This is the same guy who did Heaven and Earth Magic.

There It Is (1928) [7/10]
Sadly we are already out of the films worth watching and into the ones that are just ok. This short slapstick silent film features Charles R. Bowers as a special detective investigating a strange occurrence at a mental institute. The film is silly, a little funny, but not very interesting overall. He is no Keaton or Lloyd, but if you want to see something different that will make you appreciate others, this 19 minute film is quick to check out.

Pull My Daisy (1959) [6/10] (right)
One of the few Beatnik films you will find, lazy poets aren't inclined to produce many films. This one is average at best and has an annoying voice over the whole way which makes even just a 6/10 a stretch. Unique and an OK addition to the list.

St. Louis Blues (1929) [5/10]
This is almost like a music video featuring Bessie Smith an African American singer from Mississippi with an incredible voice. A number of her songs are on modern film soundtracks, and this is the only way you can see her on film. At 16 minutes, this should have been about 7 minutes. The story was hard to understand on a poorly restored video and the singing was not even that clear which made it hard to appreciate.

Marian Anderson: The Lincoln Memorial Concert (1939) [5/10] (right)
So I didn't watch the entire concert, the historic footage in the archive is only 8 minutes long and highlights why this is important rather than the concert itself. She was barred from performing at the Lincoln Memorial because she was black, after a letter of support from First Lady Elanor Roosevelt, the barring was lifted and she became the first African American to perform on federal property. What an amazing singer, the footage has a very strange aspect ratio, but the audio is clear enough for appreciation.

Hands Up! (1926) [5/10]
I think I might be cheating on this one, I only saw a 10 minute summation of what I think is a serial, e.g. a series of short movies at the cinema... like going to the movies to watch tv. Not sure how to rate it though...

Disneyland Dream (1956) [2/10]
If you think it is painful to watch home movies, try watching the home movies of a 1950's family you have never met. This 30 minute documentary follows a dorky family from Connecticut as they take a trip to Disneyland that they won after entering a mail-in contest. Appropriate since I just went to Disney World this last month, but not worth watching... at all.

Pups Is Pups (1930) [2/10]
Apparently "Our Gang" or The Little Rascals was pretty popular at some point in time. But these kids are incredibly annoying. The acting is just plain awful, and kids yelling for 25+ minutes is hard to take. A little boy runs around with his gang of dogs in what are clearly performed stunts with extras calling the dogs. It is just annoying, I really really hated this one.

Serene Velocity (1970) [1/10]
Like the film Wavelength, this film is just about camera tricks. You can't watch it without getting a headache and I had to scan around it a little to call it watched. The camera takes a shot of a hallway, one frame stays stationary, the next zooms one notch in. By the end of the film you are seeing double, the start of the hall and the end of it. Trippy but not good.

About 4 and a half hours of film here, I'd check out Master Hands and Early Abstractions and forget the rest.

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