The title card reads: an amateur movie reel in kodachrome. Footage includes: S. Hurok Ballet Theater : "La fille mal gardée" (excerpts); Folk Dance Demonstrations by Ukrainians; Chinese Stage Dragon Dance for Red Cross; Eaton's Santa Claus Parade (no date); A Bit of the Toronto Skating Carnival; and An Abrupt Change to Ballet on a Stage in Toronto. Library and Archives Canada
frammenti che includono: Apollo e Dafne, Fantasia plastica, Uomo stanco [tuttavia i titoli variano in Gli amanti impossibili, Mutazioni, Apollo e Dafne] Fragments that include: Apollo and Daphne; Plastic Fantasia, Tired Man [the titles vary as The Impossible Lovers, Mutations, Apollo and Daphne]
"Jac Thall, of 957 77th Street, Brooklyn, N.Y., a publicity man for theatrical circuit, captured the fourth prize in the dramatic division for his little serio-comedy of the tribulations of a Povery Row movie company. This was called 'A Quickie' and was marked by some unusual amateur acting by Helen Johnson. The photography of Mario D'Giovanni, 45 Garmine Street, New York, was admirable too. 'A Quickie' was shot with a Bell and Howell on 35 milimeter film and was made chiefly on Staten Island." Photoplay, Nov. 1929, 86.
"Kawakita’s Akogare was based on the film footage that he shot on 8mm reversal film at the locations where Gosho Heinosuke was filming his own commercial studio film titled Akogare... his film was not a behind-the-scenes footage of Gosho’s commercial production but rather a stand-alone narrative film that Kawakita himself shot and edited." - Noriko Morisue, "Filming the Everyday: History, Theory, and Aesthetics of Amateur Cinema in Interwar and Wartime Japan" (Yale University: PhD Dissertation, 2020): 158.
"Devotees of the hilarious poem about the Lancashire couple and their son Albert would not fail to delight in Albert and the Lion, filmed by A. Scott Moorhouse. It portrays the misadventures of young Albert and his parents on their holiday at Blackpool, an English seaside resort. The story of how the objectionable young Albert, who carried a stick with a " 'orse's 'ead 'andle,'' was eaten by the lion is told in a highly satisfying manner. The scenes of the outlandishly costumed trio and their tribulations are timed to accompany a recitation of the poem. The characters are perfectly chosen and also outfitted to perfection. Although filmed at a Toronto zoo, the movie might well have been taken at the famous English resort of the poem. Mr. Moorhouse's handling of the players was masterly, and he made the best of his filming opportunities." Movie Makers, Dec. 1940, 601.
Visual poem, synchronized to the Arabesques of Claude Debussy, that reflects on the home as a space of cinematic creativity for the amateur. It is the only film from the period directly credited to a female amateur filmmaker.
"Frances Christeson and Harry Merrick have shown in their film, Architecture and Fine Arts, what can be done with the motion picture camera by sensitive, yet systematic, movie makers. Produced under the supervision of A. C. Weatherland, dean of the College of Architecture and Fine Arts at the University of Southern California, the picture shows students at work and gives glimpses of class room technique in teaching most of the fine arts. Although no section of the film is long or detailed enough to serve the purpose of teaching, the film, as a whole, gives a very clear and concise picture of the scope of the work of the architecture and fine arts college of the University of Southern California. Technically and cinematically, this record is superb; beautiful compositions, carefully selected and composed scenes, combined with titles of distinction, make it a truly outstanding production. Included in the picture, that is for the most part in black and white, are color sequences of stained glass windows." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 542.
"Arena (Sand, 1986), a soft, grainy projection in which Mexican artist Silvia Gruner, naked, on a beach, climbs a dune, sits, rubs sand and red pigment over her body, and then somersaults all the way down. The video loops, and Gruner repeats her uphill trek again and again. Sisyphean, certainly, and yet her only burden was herself and that looked like freedom" (Brown, 2017)
"A two-part lecture travelogue film on the state of Arizona. The film would have been originally presented with live narration by the filmmaker, Robert Davis. Part one includes footage of desert landscapes, ranches, pre-historic artifacts, Native American art production & industry (wigs, textiles, etc), saloons, regional industry (logging, agricultural, and dams). Part two also includes footage of desert landscapes, cacti and dams as well as scenes from Phoenix and the surrounding area. Highlights from part two include a tour of a trailer park and footage of people skiing and sledding down a snowy hill." Chicago Film Archives.
"The Art of Photo Engraving, 1600 ft., 16mm., filmed by Edward J. Schon, tells the story of photo engraving from the first step to the last. It makes the complete process clear to the nontechnical audience while its interest to the engraver is such that Mr. Schon was invited to attend the recent American Photo Engravers' Convention in Philadelphia to screen the film and speak on his experiences in making it. It is probable that this excellent amateur made industrial has initiated a series of similar films on the same topic. Because of the unusually careful focusing and consistently even exposure, in spite of the wide variety of lighting conditions met with in interior scenes, this film is photographically outstanding. The continuity, presenting the plant's operations in natural sequence, is commendable for its clarity, particularly in view of the numerous complicated processes featured." Movie Makers, Dec. 1930, 759.
Total Pages: 13
Amateur Cinema