Library of Congress: National Film Registry (6)

December 28th, 2010 the Library of Congress announced their 25 selections to the National Film Registry [here]. Cry of Jazz, Electronics Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB, I Am Joaquin, Newark Athlete, Our Lady of the Sphere, Preservation of the Sign Language, Tarantella, and A Trip Down Main Street are all reviewed here. Several of 2009's selections have now shown up on youtube and dailymotion so I have managed to round up another dozen films. Again they are sorted by my highest to lowest rating. Maybe after a 7th post I'll look to put together a "Best of," but for now here is another small set. You can find any of these with a google video search, and the Library of Congress even has a channel on youtube now with most of the films from the previous LoC NFR posts.


I Am Joaquin (1969) [9/10]
... and I will endure. This is a powerful partially animated, partially live action film with narroration based upon a poem by Rudolfo Corky Gonzales. It is really good film with nice imagery and good message. Released during the Vietnam Conflict and including a message about the high number of Mexican Americans sent to fight. Very mcuh worth checking out.




Siege (1939) [8/10]
A powerful short film that was actually nominated for a documentary short subject Oscar. At the time the category was called the "one-reel" category and this film is narrorated by Julien Bryan. Bryan is a filmmmaker that spent three weeks in Warsaw, Poland during the German invasion in September 1939. This is an incredibly powerful little film that is worth checking out.




Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967) [7/10]
George Lucas's student version of his 1971 feature length release THX 1138. Released when he was a student at The University of Southern California, this film has an Orwellian look to it. Set in a futuristic building with clean white walls, everything numbered and aligned, we watch a man basically just running through a maze. Escaping from the facility with speakers blaring, telling 1138 that he is entering different restricted areas. I thought this might be pretty cool, but it got really dull after 5-6 minutes. 15 minutes is a long time with no real dialogue or story.


A Trip Down Main Street (1906) [7/10]
I'm not sure if the submission to the Library of Congress matches the version I actually watched. The version I saw has some serious video issues with frames scrolling down vertically like something out of a Bugs Bunny Cartoon. The camera is fixed on the front of a Trolley car in San Francisco just before the 7.9 earthquake and subsiquent fires.



Cry of Jazz (1959) [6/10]
A discussion between white and black twenty somethings about Jazz and how this relates to Negro's in America. A very powerful and intense conversation that actually has the two sides yelling at each other at points. Uncomfortable in a good way.



Scratch and Crow [6/10]
Another 4 minute animated film. A lot better than Tarantella because it actually had some sort of storyline. The text made little sense with respect to what was going on though, and I just didn't get it. Maybe because I'm not a film student or artist. All I know is that it was difficult to focus on because the watercolors hurt your head with the constant changing frames.


Mabel's Blunder (1914) [5/10]
A 13 minute silent comedy, were Mabel and her fiance's schofer swap cloths so that she can spy on him. This is all fine until he starts making moves on him/her. A decent short slapstick comedy featuring Mabel Normand.



Tarantella (1940) [5/10]
A decent little animation by Mary Ellen Bute and Ted Nemeth. Only four minutes, artistic and with no real point. There is piano in the background but I didn't feel like the animation really was in tune with it. Just ok for me.



Newark Athlete (1891) [5/10]
Incredibily old and almost too short to comment on. At less than 30 seconds this is more proof that Dickson was able to make the film; not really worth watching at all.



Matrimony's Speed Limit (1913) [4/10]
The permise of this film has inspired a number of films I hate so much. The idea that a man will only get a fortune from his dead Aunt if he marries by noon the same day. Realistically this not only wouldn't happen but I find it really annoying. The pace is painfully slow and the plot consists only of what I just stated. Skip it.



Preservation of the Sign Language (1913) [4/10]
From imdb.com "George Veditz, one-time president of the National Association of the Deaf of the United States, outlines the right of deaf people to sign instead of speak." This isn't really much to watch, I have to say I honestly scanned it a few times because it was pretty dull as something to "watch."



Our Lady of the Sphere (1969) [2/10]
Directed by Larry Jordan, this is one of those 60's/70's animated shorts that probably requires drug usage to get anything out it. Short at just 10 minutes, but not short enough.


All said, a weak group 2/10 worth watching. I wouldn't recommend watching anything outside of the top 4 here.

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Library of Congress: National Film Registry (5)

Part 5 of the Library of Congress features 5 films. 3 of which are NOT silent, and 4 of which are close to an hour a piece. Watched over the last several months as I've happened upon them. Here is a brief write up on each.

Big Business (1929) [8/10]
Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy are a fun pair. This short film gives you a good taste of their comedy. Something that I could easily see fitting into a scene from a feature length film, yet standing on its own very well. At only 19 minutes this is the shortest film in this listing of the LoC. It is the best not because of its length, but instead for its entertainment value.

This film was actually very hard to find. It is part of the Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy Volume 1, a very expensive buy on Amazon and removed from Youtube. I greatly appreciate the individual that gave this to me and hope to watch the entire lost films collection eventually. If you can find it then check it out.

The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944) [7/10]
The Germans had the Red Baron, the Americans had the Memphis Belle. A USAAF Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress that was in 25 complete missions in Europe including a very important one over German. This documentary shouldn't be confused with the fictional remake of the 1990s, it is easy to find from government archive footage and features some pretty good footage of the Memphis Belle in action. Not the most exciting however, and not something I'd watch again. If you are a WWII or fighter plane nut you should watch this.


Sky High (1922) [6/10]
The 6/10 is very generous for this 1920s silent western. Really only good for its camera footage of a stunt man REALLY flying over the Grand Canyon. The first flight over the canyon was for this movie. Pretty cool, and I wouldn't want to be the first in a rickety 1920's plane. Someone had to be, and if you can find the 5 minutes of footage of this then skip the boring plot of this pretty basic silent "save-the-damsel-in-distress" film.


The March (1964) [6/10]
I fail to understand why the Library of Congress wants to add a film like this to the archive. Less than a handful of people have seen it, there aren't even 5 votes on imdb, including my own for this one. I fully understand why they THINK it needs to be in here. It is archive footage from the million man march, but I think they are diverging a little from the idea of archiving historic memorable film. Are their no other editions of the million man march out there? A CBS or NBC documentary? Something that millions watched in their homes, rather than something narrated by a white guy just for this archive? I like the idea, but not the film.

A Time for Burning (1967) [5/10]
Here is a film that looks at the burning issue of segregation in a small town in Nebraska. Nominated for an Academy Award, this film follows a local priest that attempts to unify his church racially just to see his congregation reject the idea and kick him out. He had support from some, but without everyone on board it collapsed. This collapse had happened before, so it was expected. But it brought forth a lot of those issues, and for its time hopefully was an inspirational film.


A pretty average group, nothing all that exciting, nothing that was really that bad. Until next time...

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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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Library of Congress: National Film Registry (3)

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.

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Library of Congress: National Film Registry (2)

Part Two of a collection of sort films that I watched over the last week. Here are 20 more films from the registry, this time I sorted them by "Worth Watching", "Just Average", and "Avoid Watching" just like the feature length review throughout this site.

Worth Watching:
Precious Images (1986) [10/10]
This is a fantastic short film that actually won an Oscar as well. It is a compilation of 100's of clips from the last 100 years of American Cinema. It has a wonderful soundtrack and is an amazingly well put together film.

Gerald McBoing-Boing (1951) [9/10] [Right]
This is an Oscar winning animated short taken from the Dr. Seuss story of a little boy who can only talk through sound effects. A cute animation good for all ages.

Powers of Ten (1977) [9/10]
You probably saw this in science class when you were growing up. It is a science video that starts on a couple in the park and zooms out a power of ten every 10 seconds going all the way out to the Milky Way and then goes in reverse all the way to a man's molecules. Very neat.

Tell-Tale Heart, The (1953) [8/10]
I'll have to watch this again around Halloween on a bigger screen. This 8 minute short is a great animated rendition of the Edgar Allan Poe story.

Tulips Shall Grow (1942) [8/10] [Right]
This is an anti-Nazi propaganda film from Denmark that was made during World War II. The first 1-2 minutes threw me off, I thought it was going to be crap, but wow it took a dark turn fast and has a great little plot. Check it out if you can find it.

Just Average:
Lambchops (1929) [7/10]
This is basically a stand-up comic routine featuring George Burns and Gracie Allen. It was pretty funny but nothing special. Just watch a Marx Brother movie instead...

Porky in Wackyland (1938) [7/10] [Right]
If you watched Looney Tunes growing up you will be surprised to find you have already seen this. You have to have some Looney Tunes in the Film Archive, just not sure you need to go watch this right now.

Magical Maestro (1952) [7/10]
This is another cartoon from Looney Tunes that was added to the archive. I vaguely remembered it from my childhood. Not sure you need to run out and see it.

Popeye Meets Sinbad the Sailor (1936) [7/10]
So at least one Popeye cartoon needed to be in the archive, so I get it, just not something you need to go watch.

Duck and Cover (1952) [7/10] [Right]
This is almost something I would say you should see. It is the video shown in classrooms across the country telling kids to "Duck and Cover" if the A-Bomb is dropped. Not sure it needed to be 8 minutes, but funny nonetheless. If you have never seen a clip of this, scan it in youtube.

Little Nemo (1911) [6/10]
Another very very old animation. would have been better if the version I found didn't have some much filler. Skip the "silent movie" leading up to the animation and this is very very short.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse (1940) [6/10] [Right]
Who knew that wind could cause harmonic motions in bridges that would cause them to collapse? Some amazing footage. Just a little dull really.

Free Radicals (1958) [6/10]
This black-and-white experimental film is just lines bouncing around on the screen. Now that I think about it again maybe 6 was too high... oh well.

Avoid Watching:
Let's All Go to the Lobby (1957) [5/10] [Right]
This was just the commercial the movie theater ran before features telling you to go to the lobby to buy some snacks.

Gus Visser and His Singing Duck (1925) [5/10]
A minute and a half clip of some guy getting his duck to sing along with him. Not even worth looking up.

Jam Session (1942) [5/10]
I'm not sure why some jam session of guys playing the Blues needs to be in the archive. Or why I would want to watch this...

Frank Film (1973) [5/10] [Right]
This really wasn't that bad, I almost bumped it back up to 6 but then I remembered how it just about gave me a headache. There are two running soundtracks at the same time as Frank tells his autobiography while using what looks like newspaper and magazine clippings to make the video. Interesting but kinda painful to watch.

OffOn (1972) [5/10]
This is a strange little avant-garde film with a big blinking eye on a blue screen. I fast forwarded a little because it was really boring.

Sex Life of a Polyp (1928) [2/10] [Right]
A stupid discussion on what appears to be a joke of content. I didn't get the joke and was really really bored. Why is this in the archive?

Glimpse of the Garden (1957) [2/10]
It is exactly what the title says. The camera flying around a garden to music. You can get more from a home and garden magazine...

Seriously though, check out the top film on this post on youtube, liking 25% of what I watched here is actually pretty good compared to the general population of film I watch right now. Another round of 20 will be out next week.

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Library of Congress: National Film Registry

The US National Film Preservation Board established a National Film Preservation Act in 1988. Each year 25 films are selected to be included in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. Each 25 films are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films from America's history and the National Film Preservation Foundation is the non-profit organization established to restore many of these films.

The following are some short films I have watched over the last week, all can be found doing a search at the Internet Archive, a complete listing of films can be found on wikipedia here. Also, the full list is at listofbests as well.

Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) [left]
Winsor McCay's animated short film. Thought by some to be the first animated film, it was not. It was however the first character in animation, and more than just a camera trick. 8/10





Cops (1922) [right]
An 18 minute Buster Keaton short film that has some excellent stunts. Very much worth a watch. 8/10



Manhatta (1921) [left]
An 11 minute silent film showing different parts of Manhattan, very very boring. 5/10



Hindenburg Disaster Newsreel Footage (1937) [right]
Amazing footage of the Hindenburg going down. At only 5 minutes this is historical footage worth watching if you haven't seen in history class already. 8/10

Snow-White (1933) [left]
The Betty Boop version, a fun watch, cool animation. 9/10





San Francisco: Aftermath of Earthquake (1906 ) [right]
This doesn't even capture the earthquake, it is just the aftermath, so really really boring. At only 1 minute, its not worth watching. 4/10

White Fawn's Devotion (1910) [left]
A play about Indians, at 11 minutes it is just long enough to tell the story. Just ok. 6/10



Princess Nicotine (1909) [right]
The smoke fairy, this is a strange film. The fantasy and optical illusion is probably the reason for the inclusion. 6/10



Westinghouse Works (1904) [left]
A 6 minute film showing the working of a factory. Not really much here, just a historic piece. 6/10



Star Theatre (1901)
[right]
Probably the first time lapse film, a really cool watch. Shows the theatre from completely build to just a small pile, really good watch, especially in fast forward. 8/10

President McKinley Inauguration (1901) [left]
With no audio this is really boring, the first filmed presidential inauguration, not much more. 6/10



Rip Van Winkle (1903) [right]
A compilation of 6 different films, probably one of the first stories captured on him, not sure why this is so special though... 5/10


The Kiss (1896) [left]
The Mary Irwin kiss, the first kiss captured on film. 6/10






A Corner in Wheat (1909) [right]
I would be lying if I said I looked at all D.W. Griffith films objectively after seeing The Birth of a Nation. Before he made racist epic films he made countless short films... over 500! This is one... and it isn't very good. 4/10


The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) [left]
An early horror film based on the Edgar Allen Poe story. 6/10





Blacksmith Scene (1893) [right]
The oldest film in the registry, just a minute long. 6/10





Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894) [left]
The first film with live sound, pretty boring. 5/10





Reading about some of these is better than watching them, worth looking around on archive.org in your free time instead of youtube, you might find some pretty cool videos.

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