LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
Where, if any, is the opposition to this?
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Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/mo ... z2mdfPXbd8
Library of Congress study sees troubling loss of silent feature films
The report commissioned by the National Film Preservation Board pinpoints the number of works that have survived. Some movies have been found abroad.
By Susan King This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.
December 4, 2013, 5:00 a.m.
A new study by the Library of Congress reveals some disquieting facts about the country's early film heritage.
Of the nearly 11,000 silent feature films that were produced and distributed in the United States from 1912 to 1929, the report says, only 3,311 are known to exist today — and fewer than half of those, 1,575, exist in their original 35mm release format. The others are either incomplete or survive only in foreign versions or lower-quality formats such as 28mm or 16mm.
Previous studies have documented how many silent feature films were produced in the U.S. during that period. But the Library of Congress report being released Wednesday — "The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912-1929," commissioned by the National Film Preservation Board —is said to be the first definitive study pinpointing how many of these films survived and where elements are located in the world's film archives and with private collectors.
There are many reasons why the majority of silent films have been lost: the deterioration of highly volatile nitrate stock, fire, negligence, the destruction of prints and negatives. Among those that are gone are such noted films as Tod Browning's "London After Midnight" (1927), starring Lon Chaney; the 1926 version of "The Great Gatsby," starring Warner Baxter; and all four of Clara Bow's features produced in 1928.
Lost silent films, though, are still being discovered. Mary Pickford's 1911 short "Their First Misunderstanding" was recently found in an old barn and preserved by the Library of Congress. And it was announced in 2010 that 75 American silent films had been discovered at the New Zealand Film Archive, including John Ford's lost 1927 "Upstream," and repatriated to the major archives — the Library of Congress, the Academy Film Archive, UCLA Film and Television Archive, the George Eastman House and the Museum of Modern Art.
In fact, the survey points out that of the 3,311 films that survive in any form, 886 were discovered in other countries — 24% of them have been repatriated — with the Czech Republic holding the largest collection of silent American films outside of the United States.
The study was written by historian-archivist David Pierce, who also has created an inventory database of information on archival, commercial and private holdings that, according to the study, will aid in repatriation of lost American films. The survey is one of several Congressionally mandated studies of America's film and recorded sound heritage.
"Unfortunately, there is so much that's already been lost," said Steve Leggett, program coordinator for the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress. "But this study identifies some that are around. You really just don't know sometimes until you get over to these [international] archives — there may be other stuff unidentified because it's in a different language or they put American films aside because they focus on their own countries' output. So hopefully, there are some more gems."
The study, he said, gives a "snapshot of what the current situation is — just to get a list of what titles we think survive and where they are. We are not going to be able to afford to get all of them, but to prioritize some of the titles you might want to get."
"This report is invaluable because the artistry of the silent film is essential to our culture," Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, who also is a film preservation advocate and has helped preserve countless films through the Film Foundation, said in a statement.
"Any time a silent picture by some miracle turns up, it reminds us of the treasures we've already lost," said Scorsese. "It also gives us hope that others may be discovered. The research presented in this report serves as a road map to finding silent films we once thought were gone forever and encourages creative partnerships between archives and the film industry to save silent cinema."
The report is available as a free download at the National Film Preservation Board's website, http://www.loc.gov/film/, and at http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub158.
[For the Record, 8:33 a.m. PST Dec. 4: A photo caption on an earlier version of this post referred to the film "The Man of a Thousand Faces." The film shown in the photo is "London After Midnight."]
susan.king(at)latimes.com
Library of Congress study sees troubling loss of silent feature films
The report commissioned by the National Film Preservation Board pinpoints the number of works that have survived. Some movies have been found abroad.
By Susan King This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.
December 4, 2013, 5:00 a.m.
A new study by the Library of Congress reveals some disquieting facts about the country's early film heritage.
Of the nearly 11,000 silent feature films that were produced and distributed in the United States from 1912 to 1929, the report says, only 3,311 are known to exist today — and fewer than half of those, 1,575, exist in their original 35mm release format. The others are either incomplete or survive only in foreign versions or lower-quality formats such as 28mm or 16mm.
Previous studies have documented how many silent feature films were produced in the U.S. during that period. But the Library of Congress report being released Wednesday — "The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912-1929," commissioned by the National Film Preservation Board —is said to be the first definitive study pinpointing how many of these films survived and where elements are located in the world's film archives and with private collectors.
There are many reasons why the majority of silent films have been lost: the deterioration of highly volatile nitrate stock, fire, negligence, the destruction of prints and negatives. Among those that are gone are such noted films as Tod Browning's "London After Midnight" (1927), starring Lon Chaney; the 1926 version of "The Great Gatsby," starring Warner Baxter; and all four of Clara Bow's features produced in 1928.
Lost silent films, though, are still being discovered. Mary Pickford's 1911 short "Their First Misunderstanding" was recently found in an old barn and preserved by the Library of Congress. And it was announced in 2010 that 75 American silent films had been discovered at the New Zealand Film Archive, including John Ford's lost 1927 "Upstream," and repatriated to the major archives — the Library of Congress, the Academy Film Archive, UCLA Film and Television Archive, the George Eastman House and the Museum of Modern Art.
In fact, the survey points out that of the 3,311 films that survive in any form, 886 were discovered in other countries — 24% of them have been repatriated — with the Czech Republic holding the largest collection of silent American films outside of the United States.
The study was written by historian-archivist David Pierce, who also has created an inventory database of information on archival, commercial and private holdings that, according to the study, will aid in repatriation of lost American films. The survey is one of several Congressionally mandated studies of America's film and recorded sound heritage.
"Unfortunately, there is so much that's already been lost," said Steve Leggett, program coordinator for the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress. "But this study identifies some that are around. You really just don't know sometimes until you get over to these [international] archives — there may be other stuff unidentified because it's in a different language or they put American films aside because they focus on their own countries' output. So hopefully, there are some more gems."
The study, he said, gives a "snapshot of what the current situation is — just to get a list of what titles we think survive and where they are. We are not going to be able to afford to get all of them, but to prioritize some of the titles you might want to get."
"This report is invaluable because the artistry of the silent film is essential to our culture," Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, who also is a film preservation advocate and has helped preserve countless films through the Film Foundation, said in a statement.
"Any time a silent picture by some miracle turns up, it reminds us of the treasures we've already lost," said Scorsese. "It also gives us hope that others may be discovered. The research presented in this report serves as a road map to finding silent films we once thought were gone forever and encourages creative partnerships between archives and the film industry to save silent cinema."
The report is available as a free download at the National Film Preservation Board's website, http://www.loc.gov/film/, and at http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub158.
[For the Record, 8:33 a.m. PST Dec. 4: A photo caption on an earlier version of this post referred to the film "The Man of a Thousand Faces." The film shown in the photo is "London After Midnight."]
susan.king(at)latimes.com
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Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
Along with the opposition to the Unaffordable Health Care Act.westegg wrote:Where, if any, is the opposition to this?
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Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
http://www.dailyprogress.com/starexpone ... f6878.html
Spotlight on America's endangered silent film heritage
Posted: Saturday, December 14, 2013 12:15 am | Updated: 5:59 am, Sat Dec 14, 2013.
By Allison Brophy Champion [email protected]" target="_blank (540) 825-0771 ext. 101
While the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper continues to do its part to preserve the nation's early film heritage, a new study has revealed that 70 percent of feature-length silent films are completely lost to time and neglect.
Of the nearly 11,000 full-length silent films of American origin released from 1912-1929, only about 1,575 titles still exist in their original format, according to "The Survival of American Silent Feature Films," a study by historian-archivist David Pierce. It was released Dec. 4 and commissioned by the National Film Preservation Board.
Five percent of the silent features that survived in their original 35 mm format are incomplete, the study found, while 11 percent of the complete titles only exist as foreign versions or in lower-quality formats.
Librarian of Congress James Billington said the loss of early American cinema constitutes an alarming and irretrievable deficit to the nation's cultural record.
"We have lost most of the creative record from the era that brought American movies to the pinnacle of world cinematic achievement in the 20th century," he said in a news release.
Even acclaimed movie man Martin Scorsese, director of 2011's "Hugo," a tribute to silent film, is weighing on the new report and what it means going forward.
"This report is invaluable because the artistry of silent film is essential to our culture," he said. "Any time a silent picture by some miracle turns up, it reminds of the treasures we've already lost. It also gives us hope that others may be discovered."
For example, a 1911 short of silent screen legend Mary Pickford — "Their First Misunderstanding — was recently discovered in an old barn. The film marked the first time Pickford was credited by name. It has since been preserved on the Packard Campus, the world's largest repository of silent cinema.
According to Scorsese, the research in the LOC report provides a road map to finding silent films once believed forever gone while encouraging partnerships between archives - including the Packard Campus - and the film industry to save silent cinema.
Some of the notable feature-length silents considered gone in their complete form include Lon Chaney's "London After Midnight" (1927); "The Patriot" (1928); "Cleopatra" (1917) and an early version of "The Great Gatsby" from 1926. Only five of Will Rogers' 16 silent features survived while all four of Clara Bow's 1928 feature films have disappeared.
Part of the puzzle to rediscover silent titles thought lost forever includes repatriation of American films from around the world as has occured with Australia, New Zealand, France and many other countries.
Packard Campus Chief Greg Lukow viewed that as key.
"As efforts continue to help bring back American silent films to the U.S. and perhaps rediscover even more now believed lost, we must recognize the magnificent contribution made by dozens of foreign film archives in saving many hundreds of U.S. films over the decades," he said. "Countless films would no longer exist if not for the heroic efforts made by those overseas archivists who have played a major role in preserving not only their own national heritage, but also that of the United States."
Of the more than 3,300 films that survived in any form, 26 percent were found in other countries, according to the recent study. Of the silent films located in foreign countries, 24 percent have already been repatriated to an American archive with the Czech Republic having the largest collection of American silent film found outside of the U.S.
Report recommendations include: 1) developing a nationally coordinated program to repatriate U.S. feature films from foreign archives; 2) collaborating with studios and rights-holders to acquire archival master film elements for unique titles; 3) encouraging coordination among American archives and collectors to identify and preserve silent films that currently survive in lower-quality formats; 4) developing a campaign to document unidentified films; and 5) creating an audience and appreciation for silent feature films through exhibition and screenings.
The Packard Campus in Culpeper actively accomplishes the latter two recommendations, in part with its hosting this year and last of "Mostly Lost." In June, the unique event attracted 80 archivists, scholars and silent film buffs from coast to coast for a three-day workshop aimed at identifying unknown movies from the silent era and early sound films.
"We encourage all kinds of folks to come to this because there are people who are car experts, people who are fashion experts," said Rob Stone, moving images curator, at this summer's Mostly Lost. "It's amazing, even just this morning, someone said, 'No, look at that hat - that's a 1912 hat.' It's not even just getting film scholars, it's getting people who are students of popular culture."
Whatever new information emerges from the workshop is entered into the massive film catalog of the Packard Campus, repository for more than 6 million moving image and sound recordings.
In addition, free silent film screenings are a common occurrence in the Packard Campus Theater on Mount Pony. Last month, the theater featured Douglas Fairbanks' "The Half-Breed" from 1916, a nearly extinct silent about racial discrimination in the American West. It recently received new life thanks to a restoration combining footage from three surviving 35mm prints, including one from the Library of Congress.
Spotlight on America's endangered silent film heritage
Posted: Saturday, December 14, 2013 12:15 am | Updated: 5:59 am, Sat Dec 14, 2013.
By Allison Brophy Champion [email protected]" target="_blank (540) 825-0771 ext. 101
While the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper continues to do its part to preserve the nation's early film heritage, a new study has revealed that 70 percent of feature-length silent films are completely lost to time and neglect.
Of the nearly 11,000 full-length silent films of American origin released from 1912-1929, only about 1,575 titles still exist in their original format, according to "The Survival of American Silent Feature Films," a study by historian-archivist David Pierce. It was released Dec. 4 and commissioned by the National Film Preservation Board.
Five percent of the silent features that survived in their original 35 mm format are incomplete, the study found, while 11 percent of the complete titles only exist as foreign versions or in lower-quality formats.
Librarian of Congress James Billington said the loss of early American cinema constitutes an alarming and irretrievable deficit to the nation's cultural record.
"We have lost most of the creative record from the era that brought American movies to the pinnacle of world cinematic achievement in the 20th century," he said in a news release.
Even acclaimed movie man Martin Scorsese, director of 2011's "Hugo," a tribute to silent film, is weighing on the new report and what it means going forward.
"This report is invaluable because the artistry of silent film is essential to our culture," he said. "Any time a silent picture by some miracle turns up, it reminds of the treasures we've already lost. It also gives us hope that others may be discovered."
For example, a 1911 short of silent screen legend Mary Pickford — "Their First Misunderstanding — was recently discovered in an old barn. The film marked the first time Pickford was credited by name. It has since been preserved on the Packard Campus, the world's largest repository of silent cinema.
According to Scorsese, the research in the LOC report provides a road map to finding silent films once believed forever gone while encouraging partnerships between archives - including the Packard Campus - and the film industry to save silent cinema.
Some of the notable feature-length silents considered gone in their complete form include Lon Chaney's "London After Midnight" (1927); "The Patriot" (1928); "Cleopatra" (1917) and an early version of "The Great Gatsby" from 1926. Only five of Will Rogers' 16 silent features survived while all four of Clara Bow's 1928 feature films have disappeared.
Part of the puzzle to rediscover silent titles thought lost forever includes repatriation of American films from around the world as has occured with Australia, New Zealand, France and many other countries.
Packard Campus Chief Greg Lukow viewed that as key.
"As efforts continue to help bring back American silent films to the U.S. and perhaps rediscover even more now believed lost, we must recognize the magnificent contribution made by dozens of foreign film archives in saving many hundreds of U.S. films over the decades," he said. "Countless films would no longer exist if not for the heroic efforts made by those overseas archivists who have played a major role in preserving not only their own national heritage, but also that of the United States."
Of the more than 3,300 films that survived in any form, 26 percent were found in other countries, according to the recent study. Of the silent films located in foreign countries, 24 percent have already been repatriated to an American archive with the Czech Republic having the largest collection of American silent film found outside of the U.S.
Report recommendations include: 1) developing a nationally coordinated program to repatriate U.S. feature films from foreign archives; 2) collaborating with studios and rights-holders to acquire archival master film elements for unique titles; 3) encouraging coordination among American archives and collectors to identify and preserve silent films that currently survive in lower-quality formats; 4) developing a campaign to document unidentified films; and 5) creating an audience and appreciation for silent feature films through exhibition and screenings.
The Packard Campus in Culpeper actively accomplishes the latter two recommendations, in part with its hosting this year and last of "Mostly Lost." In June, the unique event attracted 80 archivists, scholars and silent film buffs from coast to coast for a three-day workshop aimed at identifying unknown movies from the silent era and early sound films.
"We encourage all kinds of folks to come to this because there are people who are car experts, people who are fashion experts," said Rob Stone, moving images curator, at this summer's Mostly Lost. "It's amazing, even just this morning, someone said, 'No, look at that hat - that's a 1912 hat.' It's not even just getting film scholars, it's getting people who are students of popular culture."
Whatever new information emerges from the workshop is entered into the massive film catalog of the Packard Campus, repository for more than 6 million moving image and sound recordings.
In addition, free silent film screenings are a common occurrence in the Packard Campus Theater on Mount Pony. Last month, the theater featured Douglas Fairbanks' "The Half-Breed" from 1916, a nearly extinct silent about racial discrimination in the American West. It recently received new life thanks to a restoration combining footage from three surviving 35mm prints, including one from the Library of Congress.
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Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/12/li ... chiving/#_
Silent Films Preservation Study Underlines Difficulties of Film Archiving
By Ian Chant on December 19, 2013 Leave a Comment
A recent study commissioned by the Library of Congress found that, of the more than 11,000 silent films produced by American movie studios between 1912 and 1929, just 14 percent (1,575) survive today in their original domestic release. Another 11 percent are still technically complete, according to the study conducted by film archivist David Pierce, but only in imperfect formats. Some are repatriated foreign release versions that lack the original English title cards and may have been edited to appeal to foreign audiences, which Pierce compares to imperfect retranslations of novels, where the story remains the same, but nuances may be lost. Others may be preserved on smaller format, 16 or 28 mm film stock, which can negatively impact image quality.
Fairbanks 300x233 Silent Films Preservation Study Underlines Difficulties of Film Archiving
Douglas Fairbanks in “The Mask of Zorro” (1920) by
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocarchives/6752052115/" target="_blank
NonCommercial License
The report underscores some of the difficulties faced by archivists dedicated to preserving the world’s cinematic heritage, from full length features to educational filmstrips. Some of the films may remain intact in archives where harried film technicians have not had time to identify, much less restore the work. Others, though, are likely gone forever, lost to an early Hollywood culture that saw no value in maintaining movies they couldn’t sell tickets to anymore.
“For theater owners and studios, after sound came in in the 1930s, nothing had less value than a silent movie,” Pierce pointed out. “You had ongoing expenses to store and copy films that were producing no income and showing no prospect of producing income.” That meant that many films were simply thrown out, or recycled and harvested for the silver in the film stock.
Even well-intentioned attempts to maintain collections of older films regularly ended badly. “Until 1951, films were on nitrocellulose that was flammable and would decompose over time,” Pierce told Library Journal. “Many films that owners were willing and trying to preserve rotted on the shelf.” Some reels, stored under less than optimal conditions, would spontaneously combust, bursting into flames on the shelf and starting blazes that would consume whole vaults of films. Needless to say, this presented a challenge to early aspiring film archivists.
Though filmmakers today place a higher emphasis on making sure their work is stored safely and preserved for posterity, the attitude that only clear money makers are worth preserving and restoring remains prevalent in many Hollywood studios. Studios like Warner Bros. and movie channels like Turner Classic Movies have put an emphasis on preserving film collections and making them available to new audiences, said Pierce, however, “Other companies are more focused on each title paying for itself,” Pierce said. “If there’s no way it’s going to make its money back, it’s not going into archives.”
Studio reluctance isn’t the only difficulty that rights holders can present to preserving and restoring. For older, more obscure films, even finding rights holders can take serious work, pointed out Rachael Stoeltje, director of the film archives department at Indiana University’s (IU) Herman B. Wells Library. “With older educational collections, that information can be hard to track down. Some places no longer exist, and some others don’t even know they’re the rights holders.”
That can be a particular problem for libraries, whose mission includes not only preserving older films, but making sure they’re accessible to the public. To help drum up more interest among the public in the films they’re preserving, which include oddities like World War II propaganda films and educational film strips, Stoeltje has started presenting a film series known as Social Guidance Sundays, which lets her present some of the more entertainingly dated educational films in IU’s collection, like 1950’s “What To Do On A Date.” To help bring these forgotten gems to a wider audience, Stoeltje has made digitizing older films a major part of IU’s mission. “Digitization can dramatically improve some of our access issues, and provide access online to patrons everywhere,” Stoeltje said.
As with other media, though, digitizing old films is only one part of the larger preservation plan. While moving to digital is a helpful step, it’s by no means a solution to all the problems that confront film archivists. Maintained under proper conditions—cool, dry vaults—film reels can last for hundreds of years. That sort of longevity hasn’t been proven for digital copies yet, said Pierce. “You can convert the image to 1s and 0s,” he points out. “But whether you’ll have the ability to move them back to film one day is an open question.”
In a perfect world, archivists would be making film-to-film transfers of older movies, said Pierce. But those transfers are slow and expensive, he pointed out, and with limited funding and staff hours available, actually making transfers is a secondary concern. “Right now, the most important thing we can do is get archives to take new copies of films in private hands,” said Pierce. Identifying what’s on hand and making good copies, Pierce said, can come later, thanks to the stability of modern film stock when it’s properly stored. In IU’s archival storage facility, for example, which stores films at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 30 percent relative humidity, Stoeltje said the best estimates are that archived reels will be stable for as long as 283 years.
That means once older films enter a proper archive, they have a little breathing room to ensure they’ll be preserved for future generations to enjoy. That should be welcome news for cinema lovers looking to broaden their horizons and get a sense of the medium’s history through silent films, said Pierce. “While these films are very old, their entertainment value is just as strong as [it was at] first release,” he said. “It would be a surprise for many audiences to see the high levels of technical and acting skill on display.”
This article was featured in Library Journal's Academic Newswire enewsletter. Subscribe today to have more articles like this delivered to your inbox for free.
Ian Chant About Ian Chant
Ian Chant is the Associate News Editor of LJ.
Silent Films Preservation Study Underlines Difficulties of Film Archiving
By Ian Chant on December 19, 2013 Leave a Comment
A recent study commissioned by the Library of Congress found that, of the more than 11,000 silent films produced by American movie studios between 1912 and 1929, just 14 percent (1,575) survive today in their original domestic release. Another 11 percent are still technically complete, according to the study conducted by film archivist David Pierce, but only in imperfect formats. Some are repatriated foreign release versions that lack the original English title cards and may have been edited to appeal to foreign audiences, which Pierce compares to imperfect retranslations of novels, where the story remains the same, but nuances may be lost. Others may be preserved on smaller format, 16 or 28 mm film stock, which can negatively impact image quality.
Fairbanks 300x233 Silent Films Preservation Study Underlines Difficulties of Film Archiving
Douglas Fairbanks in “The Mask of Zorro” (1920) by
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocarchives/6752052115/" target="_blank
NonCommercial License
The report underscores some of the difficulties faced by archivists dedicated to preserving the world’s cinematic heritage, from full length features to educational filmstrips. Some of the films may remain intact in archives where harried film technicians have not had time to identify, much less restore the work. Others, though, are likely gone forever, lost to an early Hollywood culture that saw no value in maintaining movies they couldn’t sell tickets to anymore.
“For theater owners and studios, after sound came in in the 1930s, nothing had less value than a silent movie,” Pierce pointed out. “You had ongoing expenses to store and copy films that were producing no income and showing no prospect of producing income.” That meant that many films were simply thrown out, or recycled and harvested for the silver in the film stock.
Even well-intentioned attempts to maintain collections of older films regularly ended badly. “Until 1951, films were on nitrocellulose that was flammable and would decompose over time,” Pierce told Library Journal. “Many films that owners were willing and trying to preserve rotted on the shelf.” Some reels, stored under less than optimal conditions, would spontaneously combust, bursting into flames on the shelf and starting blazes that would consume whole vaults of films. Needless to say, this presented a challenge to early aspiring film archivists.
Though filmmakers today place a higher emphasis on making sure their work is stored safely and preserved for posterity, the attitude that only clear money makers are worth preserving and restoring remains prevalent in many Hollywood studios. Studios like Warner Bros. and movie channels like Turner Classic Movies have put an emphasis on preserving film collections and making them available to new audiences, said Pierce, however, “Other companies are more focused on each title paying for itself,” Pierce said. “If there’s no way it’s going to make its money back, it’s not going into archives.”
Studio reluctance isn’t the only difficulty that rights holders can present to preserving and restoring. For older, more obscure films, even finding rights holders can take serious work, pointed out Rachael Stoeltje, director of the film archives department at Indiana University’s (IU) Herman B. Wells Library. “With older educational collections, that information can be hard to track down. Some places no longer exist, and some others don’t even know they’re the rights holders.”
That can be a particular problem for libraries, whose mission includes not only preserving older films, but making sure they’re accessible to the public. To help drum up more interest among the public in the films they’re preserving, which include oddities like World War II propaganda films and educational film strips, Stoeltje has started presenting a film series known as Social Guidance Sundays, which lets her present some of the more entertainingly dated educational films in IU’s collection, like 1950’s “What To Do On A Date.” To help bring these forgotten gems to a wider audience, Stoeltje has made digitizing older films a major part of IU’s mission. “Digitization can dramatically improve some of our access issues, and provide access online to patrons everywhere,” Stoeltje said.
As with other media, though, digitizing old films is only one part of the larger preservation plan. While moving to digital is a helpful step, it’s by no means a solution to all the problems that confront film archivists. Maintained under proper conditions—cool, dry vaults—film reels can last for hundreds of years. That sort of longevity hasn’t been proven for digital copies yet, said Pierce. “You can convert the image to 1s and 0s,” he points out. “But whether you’ll have the ability to move them back to film one day is an open question.”
In a perfect world, archivists would be making film-to-film transfers of older movies, said Pierce. But those transfers are slow and expensive, he pointed out, and with limited funding and staff hours available, actually making transfers is a secondary concern. “Right now, the most important thing we can do is get archives to take new copies of films in private hands,” said Pierce. Identifying what’s on hand and making good copies, Pierce said, can come later, thanks to the stability of modern film stock when it’s properly stored. In IU’s archival storage facility, for example, which stores films at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 30 percent relative humidity, Stoeltje said the best estimates are that archived reels will be stable for as long as 283 years.
That means once older films enter a proper archive, they have a little breathing room to ensure they’ll be preserved for future generations to enjoy. That should be welcome news for cinema lovers looking to broaden their horizons and get a sense of the medium’s history through silent films, said Pierce. “While these films are very old, their entertainment value is just as strong as [it was at] first release,” he said. “It would be a surprise for many audiences to see the high levels of technical and acting skill on display.”
This article was featured in Library Journal's Academic Newswire enewsletter. Subscribe today to have more articles like this delivered to your inbox for free.
Ian Chant About Ian Chant
Ian Chant is the Associate News Editor of LJ.
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Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
I was reading on this site about the American Silent Feature Film Survival Database at the LoC
http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/diglib/ihas/ ... -home.html" target="_blank
This story ties in with another subject we discussed here:
how to go about buying high quality transfer copies of silent movies without spending an arm and a leg......
More specifically:
This new database lists archives around the world that have copies of American silent films.
For example: the database lists several foreign archives that have copies of Intolerance
My question:
does anyone know if any of these archives will sell transfer copies of the American silent movies they hold?
I remember that a few months back, some people here said that the foreign archives they were familiar with
did not do so, but this new database reveals a few possibilities with which we were not previously familiar.....
http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/diglib/ihas/ ... -home.html" target="_blank
This story ties in with another subject we discussed here:
how to go about buying high quality transfer copies of silent movies without spending an arm and a leg......
More specifically:
This new database lists archives around the world that have copies of American silent films.
For example: the database lists several foreign archives that have copies of Intolerance
My question:
does anyone know if any of these archives will sell transfer copies of the American silent movies they hold?
I remember that a few months back, some people here said that the foreign archives they were familiar with
did not do so, but this new database reveals a few possibilities with which we were not previously familiar.....
Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
Other than LOC, I've never run across an archive that sells anything other than mugs and t-shirts.
I will say, however, that small archives like Northeast Historic Film in Maine and the Betzwood Film Archive in Pennsylvania will work with you, either in lending films by mail or by posting private copies to Youtube.
Only other way to see archived films is by schlepping around the country and visiting archival study centers.....
I will say, however, that small archives like Northeast Historic Film in Maine and the Betzwood Film Archive in Pennsylvania will work with you, either in lending films by mail or by posting private copies to Youtube.
Only other way to see archived films is by schlepping around the country and visiting archival study centers.....
Ed Lorusso
DVD Producer/Writer/Historian
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DVD Producer/Writer/Historian
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Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
I recall in another thread there was discussion over cost prohibition on obtaining a film transfer from the LoC. But then there was discussion of spreading the cost across several people if they all got copies of the transfer. I thought there was some momentum towards trying this once, but I can't recall if it ever got to the jumping off point. Did it ever happen?
Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
That was mine..... and nope. I'll look into a "kickstarter" thing tomorrow and see how cumbersome it is.
Ed Lorusso
DVD Producer/Writer/Historian
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DVD Producer/Writer/Historian
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greta de groat
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Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
I kept expecting GPO to catalog the database, but they never did, so i went ahead and did it myself. So you should find it now if you look it up in Worldcat.craig2010 wrote:http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/ ... -home.html
The searchable database above will be updated regularly. If you see any needed corrections/omissions, please send to Donna Ross of the National Film Preservation Board (Library of Congress) at "[email protected]"
David Pierce's Report and database are also available through http://www.loc.gov/film/
LC Press Release:http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2013/13-209.html
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/872398473" target="_blank" target="_blank
greta
Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
Will tensions between the U.S. and Russia mean an
end to the Gosfilmofond and LOC film return agreement?
end to the Gosfilmofond and LOC film return agreement?
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silentfilm
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Re: LOC Publishes Study on Survival of US Silent Features
Steve Leggett of the Library of Congress has posted an updated list of lost American silent films. This list contains updates that have not been input into the online Library of Congress database.
https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/nat ... silent.pdfSteve Leggett wrote:With the strong caveats that 1) this is a definite work-in-progress, 2) some updates still are not into the system, 3) there are likely mistakes and inconsistencies etc....here is a list of 7200+ "lost" U.S. silent feature films. If you see any errors or know some of these films exist with an archive, collector or somewhere else, please send me an email at the address listed in the attached file <[email protected]> Thanks for your input. Steve Leggett
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com