Caring about very old movies is often a mug's game, given that maybe one out of five silent films are known to survive, and many of those are almost impossible to find. Occasionally, however, there is good news when a film thought gone turns up in a swimming pool in the Yukon or behind a stack of perfectly preserved Al Joy comedies at the Library of Congress.
The good news tonight is that a copy of PICTURELAND turned up in Japan inside a rusty film can. Then Australian Robert Hoskin got his hands on it, scanned it frame by frame (on inadequate equipment), then re-sized and cleaned each of its more than 15,000 frames individually. Then he posted it to www.nitrateville.com in the "Collecting & Preservation" section. The title of the thread is
# 23 - Lost 35mm Nitrate Film FOUND !
(sorry; the IMDb will not let me post the full link)
What will you see? Well, it turns out you won't see Mary Pickford. That's Isabel Rea co-starring with King Baggot in a complicated and layered story. Film actors show up for work one day to shoot a movie about how Miss Rea and Mr. Baggot are lovers. However, Miss Rea sees an attractive tourist and dreams about him....
Although the story is an interesting bit of meta-fiction to celebrate what is thought to be the first fiction movie filmed entirely in Cuba, the acting is merely adequate.
Nonetheless, we should applaud the discovery and restoration of this early film. As I write this, Mr. Hoskin is trying to raise money to buy equipment that will let him complete his next project a bit more quickly. Details can be found on the site where you can watch the movie and decide if you want to thank him with more than words.
The good news tonight is that a copy of PICTURELAND turned up in Japan inside a rusty film can. Then Australian Robert Hoskin got his hands on it, scanned it frame by frame (on inadequate equipment), then re-sized and cleaned each of its more than 15,000 frames individually. Then he posted it to www.nitrateville.com in the "Collecting & Preservation" section. The title of the thread is
# 23 - Lost 35mm Nitrate Film FOUND !
(sorry; the IMDb will not let me post the full link)
What will you see? Well, it turns out you won't see Mary Pickford. That's Isabel Rea co-starring with King Baggot in a complicated and layered story. Film actors show up for work one day to shoot a movie about how Miss Rea and Mr. Baggot are lovers. However, Miss Rea sees an attractive tourist and dreams about him....
Although the story is an interesting bit of meta-fiction to celebrate what is thought to be the first fiction movie filmed entirely in Cuba, the acting is merely adequate.
Nonetheless, we should applaud the discovery and restoration of this early film. As I write this, Mr. Hoskin is trying to raise money to buy equipment that will let him complete his next project a bit more quickly. Details can be found on the site where you can watch the movie and decide if you want to thank him with more than words.
