Category Archives: Film History
The ‘Mystery’ of Theda Bara
Bristol Silents’ James Harrison returns with another guest article, this time he turns his attention to the original Hollywood vamp, Theda Bara. James will be introducing Bristol Silents’ ‘Theda Bara Night’ screening on 14th August, 2012 at the King’s Arms
The ‘Mystery’ of Theda Bara
Bristol Silents’ James Harrison returns with another guest article, this time he turns his attention to the original Hollywood vamp, Theda Bara. James will be introducing Bristol Silents’ ‘Theda Bara Night’ screening on 14th August, 2012 at the King’s Arms
The North Devon Movie Bus / Vintage Mobile Cinema
The North Devon Movie Bus Project was coordinated by Emma Giffard, an archive and exhibition project that saw her and her partner Ollie Halls put together a programme of local social-history films and travel around North Devon holding screenings in their mobile
The North Devon Movie Bus / Vintage Mobile Cinema
The North Devon Movie Bus Project was coordinated by Emma Giffard, an archive and exhibition project that saw her and her partner Ollie Halls put together a programme of local social-history films and travel around North Devon holding screenings in their mobile
The Birth of a Genre: The Italian (Thomas H. Ince, 1915)
James Harrison, from Bristol Silents, returns with another article on Silent Cinema. Read our previous article about them here. In one of the first major books written about the history of cinema, History of the Film by Maurice Bardeche and Robert
The Birth of a Genre: The Italian (Thomas H. Ince, 1915)
James Harrison, from Bristol Silents, returns with another article on Silent Cinema. Read our previous article about them here. In one of the first major books written about the history of cinema, History of the Film by Maurice Bardeche and Robert
Pandora’s Digital Box – David Bordwell
David Bordwell, famous for his colossal contribution to film studies and his virtual monopoly of the textbook market, has released an e-book that examines the causes and effects of the transition to digital cinema. Bordwell attempts the unenviable task of
Pandora’s Digital Box – David Bordwell
David Bordwell, famous for his colossal contribution to film studies and his virtual monopoly of the textbook market, has released an e-book that examines the causes and effects of the transition to digital cinema. Bordwell attempts the unenviable task of
Von Sternberg, The Docks of New York and Me….
R|R have been fans of Bristol Silents for some time now, so it is with great pleasure that we publish a guest contribution from one of the their organisers, James Harrison, on their screening of The Docks of New York
Von Sternberg, The Docks of New York and Me….
R|R have been fans of Bristol Silents for some time now, so it is with great pleasure that we publish a guest contribution from one of the their organisers, James Harrison, on their screening of The Docks of New York
Adult Education at Hackney Picturehouse
This year I have been fortunate enough to attend several education events run by Hackney Picturehouse. These included a six-week long talk on Ealing comedies and a talk by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) on the work they
Adult Education at Hackney Picturehouse
This year I have been fortunate enough to attend several education events run by Hackney Picturehouse. These included a six-week long talk on Ealing comedies and a talk by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) on the work they
Reel Ale Film Club: Victim
Last week’s Reel Ale Film Club celebrated pastel colours, youthful crooning and Cliff Richard in high-waisted trousers. This week sees a return to black and white and a turn to more controversial subject matter in Basil Dearden’s Victim (1961), starring
Reel Ale Film Club: Victim
Last week’s Reel Ale Film Club celebrated pastel colours, youthful crooning and Cliff Richard in high-waisted trousers. This week sees a return to black and white and a turn to more controversial subject matter in Basil Dearden’s Victim (1961), starring
Reel Ale Film Club: We are the Lambeth Boys and Momma Don’t Allow
Last week R|R charted a brief history of Ealing Studios to accompany Reel Ale Film Club’s screening of The Ladykillers (1955). This week we bring you another condensed history lesson alongside a double-bill screening of Free Cinema films Mamma Don’t
Reel Ale Film Club: We are the Lambeth Boys and Momma Don’t Allow
Last week R|R charted a brief history of Ealing Studios to accompany Reel Ale Film Club’s screening of The Ladykillers (1955). This week we bring you another condensed history lesson alongside a double-bill screening of Free Cinema films Mamma Don’t
Reel Ale Film Club: The Ladykillers
From WWII propaganda in the East End last week, Reel Ale Film Club travels to King’s Cross to take in some comedy. But before we get to King’s Cross and this week’s film, The Ladykillers (1955), we must take a
Reel Ale Film Club: The Ladykillers
From WWII propaganda in the East End last week, Reel Ale Film Club travels to King’s Cross to take in some comedy. But before we get to King’s Cross and this week’s film, The Ladykillers (1955), we must take a
Reel Ale Film Club: Fires Were Started + London Can Take It!
“These civilians are good soldiers.” This week Reel Ale Film Club revels in a second dose of wartime filmmaking. From the star-wattage and melodrama of Waterloo Bridge, they turn to something a little more factual but no less heartfelt –
Reel Ale Film Club: Fires Were Started + London Can Take It!
“These civilians are good soldiers.” This week Reel Ale Film Club revels in a second dose of wartime filmmaking. From the star-wattage and melodrama of Waterloo Bridge, they turn to something a little more factual but no less heartfelt –
Kenneth Anger and the Camp Aesthetic
[Camp] is…always, at whatever cost, a cry against conformity, a shriek against boredom, a testament to ‘the potential uniqueness of each of us and our rights to that uniqueness.’ – George Melly This will be fun. Watch Kenneth Anger’s underground
Kenneth Anger and the Camp Aesthetic
[Camp] is…always, at whatever cost, a cry against conformity, a shriek against boredom, a testament to ‘the potential uniqueness of each of us and our rights to that uniqueness.’ – George Melly This will be fun. Watch Kenneth Anger’s underground
Regent Street Cinema Returns
“The cinema will be a world away from the multiplexes of the West End with competitively-priced seats and a programme that would tap into the venue’s historic significance.” – Sarah Carthew, Westminster University Everyone has heard the legendary story of
Regent Street Cinema Returns
“The cinema will be a world away from the multiplexes of the West End with competitively-priced seats and a programme that would tap into the venue’s historic significance.” – Sarah Carthew, Westminster University Everyone has heard the legendary story of
The Prisoner-of-War Film: Dorms, Prefects & Pranks
Some of my earliest cinematic memories (apart from The Jungle Book (1967) and One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975)) are made up of watching VHS copies of prisoner-of-war films at my grandparents’ home. After recently re-watching The Wooden Horse
The Prisoner-of-War Film: Dorms, Prefects & Pranks
Some of my earliest cinematic memories (apart from The Jungle Book (1967) and One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975)) are made up of watching VHS copies of prisoner-of-war films at my grandparents’ home. After recently re-watching The Wooden Horse
The Life and Death of Celluloid: The Fall of the House of Usher and Decasia
A recent double bill of The Fall of the House of Usher (Jean Epstein, 1928) and Decasia (Bill Morrison, 2002) at the BFI Southbank provoked a reflection on the life force of celluloid, in particular, Jean Epstein’s own theory of
The Life and Death of Celluloid: The Fall of the House of Usher and Decasia
A recent double bill of The Fall of the House of Usher (Jean Epstein, 1928) and Decasia (Bill Morrison, 2002) at the BFI Southbank provoked a reflection on the life force of celluloid, in particular, Jean Epstein’s own theory of
Engineering the Eclair: Jean Rouch and the Culture of Interviews
“Interviews regularly disseminate universal concepts of ‘celebrity,’ ‘popularity’ and ‘power.’” The interview is perhaps simultaneously the most significant and the most overlooked narratological technique of documentary sound cinema. Rooted in print media, interviewing by its very nature stems from popular
Engineering the Eclair: Jean Rouch and the Culture of Interviews
“Interviews regularly disseminate universal concepts of ‘celebrity,’ ‘popularity’ and ‘power.’” The interview is perhaps simultaneously the most significant and the most overlooked narratological technique of documentary sound cinema. Rooted in print media, interviewing by its very nature stems from popular
Tacita Dean’s Plea for Plurality
Why should we care about the rapid disappearance of the medium of film? This is the question that the artist Tacita Dean put to an audience of film industry members at an event titled ‘A Celebration of Film’ held in
Tacita Dean’s Plea for Plurality
Why should we care about the rapid disappearance of the medium of film? This is the question that the artist Tacita Dean put to an audience of film industry members at an event titled ‘A Celebration of Film’ held in
