June 24 and 30
July 1, 7, 15, 22, and 29
August 4, 18, 25, and 26
September 2
***All
film programs are held in the
East Building Auditorium of the National Gallery of
Art except where noted***
Avant-garde Shorts
June 24
Influenced by the major avant-gardes of Europe,
formal experimentation and aesthetic innovation defined
a variety of filmic works of the period. This is
illustrated by the broad range of featured avant-garde
shorts, created by a number of artists active in the
region at that time. The program includes early work by
famous New York avant-garde filmmaker Alexander Hammid (then
known as Alexandr Hackenschmied) and the Polish artist
duo, the Themsersons, who immigrated to Great Britain
during World War II. The selection of short films is
preceded by the lecture of Marcin Gizycki, senior
lecturer at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Lecture:
Between Surrealism and Constructivism: Avant-garde and
Film in Central Europe in the 1920s and 1930s
Marcin Gizycki, senior lecturer, Rhode Island School of
Design
June 24 at 2:00 p.m.
Ghosts
before Breakfast (Vormittagsspuk)
(Hans Richter, 1927/1928, 16mm, silent,
Germany, 6 mins.)
also
Boots
(Buty)
Hailed by the Polish interwar press as a
"rare example" of Polish avant-garde cinema, Boots
conveys a strong antiwar message as it experiments with
film form. (Jerzy Gabrielsky, 1934, 35mm, Polish with
subtitles, Poland, 12 mins.)
also
There Is
a Ball Tonight (Dzis Mamy Bal)
An impressionistic account of the annual
architects' ball blends abstract form and shape with
enchanting location footage. (Jerzy Zarzycki and Tadeusz
Kowalski, 1934, 35mm, silent with music track and
subtitles, Poland, 7 mins.)
also
The
Adventure of a Good Citizen (Przygoda czlowieka
poczciwego)
The only surviving work produced in
Poland of celebrated avant-garde artists Stefan and
Franciszka Themerson explores the concept of subversion
through the simple act of walking backward. The film
became an inspiration for Roman Polanski's student film
Two Men and a Wardrobe in 1958. (Stefan and
Franciszka Themerson, 1937, 35mm, Polish with subtitles,
Poland, 8 mins.)
also
At the
Prague Castle (Na Prazském hrade)
Artist Alexandr Hackenschmied explores
Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral. Using the music of
Frantisek Bartos, he notes, "I have tried to find the
relationship between architectural form and
music...between the space of a picture and the space of
a tone." (Alexandr Hackenschmied, 1931, 35mm, silent
with music track, Czechoslovakia, 11 mins.)
also
The
Highway Sings (Silnice Zpívá)
From the film atelier of the Czech shoe
and tire factory Bat'a, a "singing tire" makes a journey
from its manufacture to its final destination on an
automobile. (Elmar Klos, 1937, 35mm, Czech with
subtitles, Czechoslovakia, 4 mins.)
Homeland, Homeland: My Country
June 30–July 8
This theme offers diverse explorations of rural
settings and ethnographic subjects, commenting on ideas
of national identity and societal progress. The works
range from documentaries (The Singing Earth) to
feature films (Spring Shower) and also include
nationally funded shorts aimed at promoting
international tourism (The Hungarian Village).
They represent a fascinating merging of modernist film
techniques and a complex perspective on traditions. A
highlight of this section is the rarely seen original
silent version of Leni Riefenstahl's The Blue Light.
The Hungarian Village
(A magyar falu)
June 30 at 12:30 p.m.
Intended
for tourism and marketing among foreign audiences, this
documentary short uses idealized images of rural Hungary
and staged scenes of Hungarian folk life. (László Kandó,
1935, 35mm, Hungarian with English intertitles, Hungary,
15 mins.)
also
Hortobágy
The
legendary Hortobágy region of the Great Hungarian Plain
is central to Hungarian national identity. Austrian
filmmaker Georg Höllering addresses societal progress
through three generations of herdsmen, all playing
themselves. (Georg Höllering, 1936, 35mm, Hungarian with
subtitles, Hungary, 82 mins.)
The Singing Earth
(Zem Spieva)
July 1 at 4:00 p.m.
This visual poem presenting lyrical
images of Slovak peasant life earned the best
international film award at the 1934 Venice Film
Festival. The striking cinematography, Alexandr
Hackenschmied's editing, and naturalistic scenery make
the film stand out as a unique ethnographic documentary.
(Karel Plicka, 1933, 35mm, silent with music track,
Czech and English intertitles, Czechoslovakia, 133 mins.)
The Blue Light
(Das Blaue Licht)
July 7 at 1:00 p.m.
Riefenstahl's debut as a filmmaker is
this dramatic tale set in the Dolomites. A late
representative of the mountain film genre, the film
revolves around a mythical character portrayed by
Riefenstahl herself. (Leni Riefenstahl, 1932, Digital
Beta from 35mm, silent, German intertitles with
translation, Germany, 79 mins.)
Spring Shower
(Tavaszi Zápor)
July 7 at 2:30 p.m.
A scene from Spring Shower
A coproduction between France and
Hungary, Spring Shower's rich visuals and
stylized narrative incorporate folkloristic motifs.
Fejős' affinity with Hollywood, where he spent time
before and after completing this film, is evident. (Pál
Fejős, 1932, 35mm, French and Hungarian with subtitles,
Hungary, 66 mins.)
Kuyaviak
(Kujawiak)
July 7 at 4:00 p.m.
Kujawiak, a traditional Polish dance,
is dynamically captured on camera by director Cekalski,
a noted figure of independent Polish film production in
the late 1930s. (From the Polish Dance Series by
Eugeniusz Cekalski, 1935, 35mm, English, Poland, 7 mins.)
also
Faithless
Marijka (Marijka nevernice)
In Subcarpathian Ruthenia,
Faithless Marijka recounts a simple story of
infidelity while exploring the larger context of the
region's social isolation. Secondary characters (nonprofessional
locals) illustrate the complex social and ethnic
relationships of the region. (Vladislav Vancura, 1934,
35mm, Ruthenian, Slovak, Yiddish and Czech with
subtitles, Czechoslovakia, 76 mins.)
also
The Song
of Ruthenia (Písen o Podkarpatské Rusi)
Again in Subcarpathian Ruthenia, lyrical
images portray the challenging life of woodworkers,
while a voice-over narration gives a potent critique of
living conditions in the region. (Jirí Weiss, 1937,
35mm, Czech with translation, Czechoslovakia, 11 mins.)
The Most
Important Art
July 15
Film's role as a vehicle in creating social awareness
was largely formed in the period between the world wars.
Throughout the region, especially in Weimar Germany,
political groups associated with the Left used the
medium to critique the plight of the working class.
These films, largely inspired by Soviet film and ranging
in style from the documentary to the melodramatic,
present diverse political uses of the medium.
In the Shadow of the
Machine (Im Schatten der Maschine)
July 15 at 4:00 p.m.
A propaganda short using Soviet
montage technique incorporates segments of preexisting
footage by the eminent Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov.
(Albrecht Viktor Blum, 1928, 35mm, silent, German
intertitles with translation, Germany, 20 mins.)
also
Mother
Krausen's Journey to Happiness (Mutter
Krausens Fahrt ins Glück)
Mother Krausen's Journey to Happiness
was the most successful interwar film production of the
German Communist Party. A fusion of melodramatic
narrative and Soviet propaganda depicts living
conditions of the German proletariat with insertions of
documentary footage from Berlin's working-class
neighborhoods. (Piel Jutzi, 1929, 35mm, silent, German
intertitles with translation, Germany, 104 mins.)
also
Children
Must Laugh (Mir Kumen On)
Financed by the Jewish labor movement and
banned by Polish authorities upon its release,
Children Must Laugh was produced as a fund-raiser
to improve the living conditions of Jewish children. (Aleksander
Ford, 1935, 16mm, English narration and Yiddish spoken
with subtitles, Poland, 56 mins.)
Celluloid
Myths and Celluloid Dreams
July 22–July 29
The rich mythical universes strongly present in the
cultural traditions of the region are cast into filmic
form. They explore diverse dream worlds shaped through
the unique eye of the camera, ranging from an
expressionistic aesthetic and Jewish mysticism to
surrealist ideas.
Waxworks (Das
Wachsfigurenkabinett)
July 22 at 4:00 p.m.
A fairground serves as the setting for
an expressionistic exploration of the psyche, as wax
figures come to life in the oneiric visions of the main
character. (Paul Leni, 1924, 35mm, silent, French
intertitles with translation and live piano
accompaniment by Ben Model, Germany, 83 mins.)
also
The
Magic Eye (Divotvorné Oko)
The Magic Eye
combines documentary and experimental form as it
demonstrates the camera's ability to penetrate a world
inaccessible to the naked eye. A subtext of Freudian
dream motifs is cleverly rendered. (Jirí Lehovec, 1939,
35mm, Czech with subtitles, Czechoslovakia, 10 mins.)
The Dybbuk (Der
Dibuk)
July 29 at 4:00 p.m.
Based on S. Ansky's play (known also
as Between Two Worlds), the film's mythical
elements and themes of Jewish folklore tell a story of
unattainable love. One of the most ambitious projects of
the interwar Polish film industry, Der Dibuk
was also one of the last to emerge from the thriving
Polish-Yiddish film industry. (Michal Waszynski, 1937,
35mm, Yiddish with subtitles, Poland, 123 mins.)
City Films
August 4
The filmic interpretation of bustling metropolises
was initiated in central Europe with Walter Ruttmann's
modernist masterpiece Berlin: Symphony of a Big City,
before becoming a film genre still widely explored today
(explored through the New City Symphonies series). Films
featured in this program take the viewer to visual
journeys of prewar Berlin, Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw,
presenting these urban environments in diverse
documentary and avant-garde styles.
Prague at Night
(Praha v zárí svetel)
August 4 at 1:00 p.m.
Commissioned by a Prague electric
company, the short registers quasi-documentary images of
Prague from sunset to sunrise, exploring the city's
nightlife through its electrical lighting. (Svatopluk
Innemann, 1928, 35mm, silent, Czechoslovakia, 24 mins.)
also
Aimless Walk
(Bezúcelná procházka)
This first true Czech avant-garde film
relates to the city film genre but turns away from a
purely celebratory approach. The camera follows the
film's detached protagonist on his wanderings, as his
highly subjective journey is presented as a fragmented
visualization of urban landscapes. (Alexandr
Hackenschmied, 1930, 35mm, silent, Czechoslovakia, 20
mins.)
also
Living
in Prague (Zijeme v Praze)
Vávra's poetic short is an ode to the
city of Prague as a bustling modern metropolis filled
with varied crowds and lively neighborhoods. (Otakar
Vávra, 1934, 35mm, silent with music track,
Czechoslovakia, 13 mins.)
Berlin:
Symphony of a Big City (Berlin: Die
Sinfonie einer Großstadt)
August 4 at 2:30 p.m.
The most influential of city films,
Berlin: Symphony of a Big City explores urban
life through a rhythmical construction of the daily flow
of activities in the metropolis. Its meticulously
orchestrated montage inspires future filmmakers, even
now, to explore the city symphony genre. (Walter
Ruttmann, 1927, 35mm, silent, Germany, 65 mins.)
also
Urban
Gypsies (Großstadt Zigeuner)
Moholy-Nagy steers away from the formal
abstraction of his earlier films to present the lives of
Roma on the outskirts of a big city. More than a social
critique, the film presents an idyllic and romanticized
image of a minority in isolation on society's edge.
(László Moholy-Nagy, 1932, 35mm, silent, Germany, 11
mins.)
also
Budapest, City of Baths (Budapest fürdőváros)
Diverging from dynamic formal
explorations of the city, this promotional-educational
short (a commissioned work) explores the beauty of
Budapest through its aquatic richness, complemented with
picturesque images of the city. (István Somkúti, 1935,
35mm, silent with music track, Hungary, 14 mins.)
also
Jewish
Life in Kraków
Polish-Jewish travelogues, possibly
produced for an American-Jewish audience, center on
daily Jewish life in the city and explore both
contemporary and historic aspects of Poland's famed
cityscapes. (Shaul and Yitzhak Goskind, 1938/1939, 16mm,
Yiddish with subtitles, Poland, 10 mins.)
also
Jewish
Life in Lwów
(Shaul and Yitzhak Goskind, 1938/1939,
16mm, Yiddish with subtitles, Poland, 11 mins.)
also
Jewish
Life in Warsaw
(Shaul and Yitzhak Goskind, 1938/1939,
16mm, Yiddish with subtitles, Poland, 10 mins.)
The Popular
August 18–September 2
Focusing on cinema as mass entertainment, these
feature films embody the aesthetic and technical
advances of the medium shaped by the thriving interwar
popular film industries within the region. While
offering comic situations and melodramatic plots, modern
life, set against larger questions of the region's
historical and cultural past, is engagingly presented in
all its forms.
The Last Laugh
(Der letzte Mann)
August 18 at 1:00 p.m.
The Last Laugh,
incorporating many pioneering technical
elements, is an essential work in the history of cinema.
The film's simple story of a demoted hotel doorman
offers the narrative framework for formal innovation. (F.W.
Murnau, 1924, 35mm, silent with English intertitles,
Germany, 90 mins.)
Address Unknown
(Címzett ismeretlen)
August 18 at 3:00 p.m.
A Hollywood-style Cinderella story set
in contemporary Hungary (in a tourist town on Lake
Balaton) is an example of the romantic comedy genre
prevalent in Hungarian domestic film production of the
1930s. (Béla Gaál, 1935, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles,
Hungary, 88 mins.)
Masquerade in
Vienna (Maskerade)
August 25 at 1:00 p.m.
Representative of the Wienfilm,
a musical film genre exploring an idyllic vision of
Viennese life, Masquerade explores the staged
world of the decadent fin-de-siècle Vienna. (Willi Forst,
1934, 16 mm, German with translation, Austria, 100 mins.)
Heave Ho!
(Hej rup!)
August 26 at 4:00 p.m.
Avant-garde concepts and burlesque
comedy merge in a film crafted by the famous and popular
Czech theatrical duo Voskovec and Werich (V+W). In
Heave Ho!, their signature slapstick humor is fused
with antifascist and anticapitalist propaganda. (Martin
Fric, Jirí Voskovec / Jan Werich, 1934, 35mm, Czech with
subtitles, Czechoslovakia, 99 mins.)
The Blue Angel (Der
Blaue Engel)
September 2 at 2:00 p.m.
Marlene Dietrich in her first iconic
role as a femme fatale plays a sensual singer at the
café Blue Angel. Based on Heinrich Mann's novel
Professor Unrat, the opposing values of the
protagonists also become a critique of modern lifestyles.
The film is introduced by Peter Rollberg, chair,
department of Romance, German, and Slavic Languages and
Literatures, George Washington University. (Josef von
Sternberg, 1930, 35 mm, German with subtitles, Germany,
106 mins.)
