Dawson City Preserved Films

[TinaC]

Is there a list of films from Dawson City that have been restored?

[TinaC]

I know that some titles are featured in the documentary, but not sure if they are just fragments or full film to the best of their ability. In one of the podcast episodes, it was mentioned that "When Little Lindy Sang" was from Dawson City and restored for the Pioneers: First Woman Filmmakers boxset. I was curious if there are other recent restorations out there like that.

[Jess McGrath]

If you go to the Library of Congress’ silent film database and type “Dawson City” in the search bar, you’ll get a listing of silent features where material was recovered from that site. Doesn’t include the newsreels, shorts, etc. but better than nothing.

[BenModel]

Two of the Chaney titles on Jon Mirsalis' "Lon Chaney: Before the Thousand Faces" DVD from Undercrank Prod are Dawson City preservations.

Ben

[TinaC]

Two of the Chaney titles on Jon Mirsalis' "Lon Chaney: Before the Thousand Faces" DVD from Undercrank Prod are Dawson City preservations.

Ben

Thank you for sharing. I will have to check that out. After seeing the documentary, I've been wanting to watch something that was saved from Dawson City.

I really liked the documentary and was happy they made efforts to save the films. I just hope a lot of them are getting restored and viewed again... and not just sitting in a vault.

[Dave Pitts]

I've seen some of the Dawsons at film fests -- the now defunct Cinesation showed several. I've yet to see one that is a complete, undamaged print, but in this situation, complaints are unnecessary.
I found the documentary to be a major pain, given how invested I am in the subject matter. The film makers made a decision to use captions, endless, lengthy captions, instead of a narration track. I had to sit close to my television and read attentively to keep up with the text. I can't imagine the audience in theater showings didn't find it to be a chore after a while, but at home, it was trying. I thought, 'This is why no one missed intertitles after 1929!' They took a fascinating subject that no one else had investigated and made it a slog of a view. I began to imagine all the voices they could have chosen from, to give it a cultured, empathetic tone -- imagine Emma Thompson reading that script. Or Meryl. Or Gene Hackman (back from retirement). Or Geoffrey Rush. The music they used, BTW, was effective. That music plus a first rate narrator would've been devastating.

[Jim Roots]

I've seen some of the Dawsons at film fests -- the now defunct Cinesation showed several. I've yet to see one that is a complete, undamaged print, but in this situation, complaints are unnecessary.
I found the documentary to be a major pain, given how invested I am in the subject matter. The film makers made a decision to use captions, endless, lengthy captions, instead of a narration track. I had to sit close to my television and read attentively to keep up with the text. I can't imagine the audience in theater showings didn't find it to be a chore after a while, but at home, it was trying. I thought, 'This is why no one missed intertitles after 1929!' They took a fascinating subject that no one else had investigated and made it a slog of a view. I began to imagine all the voices they could have chosen from, to give it a cultured, empathetic tone -- imagine Emma Thompson reading that script. Or Meryl. Or Gene Hackman (back from retirement). Or Geoffrey Rush. The music they used, BTW, was effective. That music plus a first rate narrator would've been devastating.

These were all silent films. Using intertitles for them was both appropriate and respectful.

Jim

[Roseha]

I agree with Jim. Talking over silent films takes me out of the mood faster than maybe anything. I thought both the music and titles were fine, my only issue, which other people had, was with the font size which was too small. It actually contributed to my buying a larger TV during black Friday time that year.

That said, I absolutely love the film.

[Dave Pitts]

Stickin to my guns. Nothing is disrespectful in doing a retrospective documentary with modern tech. If there was, then the Hollywood series (1980) should have, say, shown the Viola Dana interview with intertitles. And not used James Mason as narrator. He was superb -- the kind of voice talent that adds an extra dimension of feeling and a sense of the modern world looking back at old wonderful films. He did the same thing for the miles of outtakes in Unknown Chaplin. If somehow James Mason could've been around to narrate the Dawson story -- it would have many times the impact of the printed text.

[tguinan]

On the Essanay/George Ade Fables Disc that I'm about to release contains a film "Three Boiled Down Fables" that was part of the Dawson City films. The three people who are going to watch them and let me know if I need to make changes should get them in tomorrow's mail. I also sent one to Bob Lipton who will undoubtedly post a review next week.

[boblipton]

On the Essanay/George Ade Fables Disc that I'm about to release contains a film "Three Boiled Down Fables" that was part of the Dawson City films. The three people who are going to watch them and let me know if I need to make changes should get them in tomorrow's mail. I also sent one to Bob Lipton who will undoubtedly post a review next week.

I certainly intend to. I wish other people would also post their thoughts; surely I can't have said everything.

Bob

[Jim Roots]

Stickin to my guns. Nothing is disrespectful in doing a retrospective documentary with modern tech. If there was, then the Hollywood series (1980) should have, say, shown the Viola Dana interview with intertitles. And not used James Mason as narrator. He was superb -- the kind of voice talent that adds an extra dimension of feeling and a sense of the modern world looking back at old wonderful films. He did the same thing for the miles of outtakes in Unknown Chaplin. If somehow James Mason could've been around to narrate the Dawson story -- it would have many times the impact of the printed text.

That's a completely specious comparison. Hollywood used new interviews, conducted in the modern era. If Brownlow had used an interview conducted with Viola in 1919, it would have been a silent clip with intertitles, and that's how he would have run it in Hollywood. But he conducted the interview in the 1960s or 1970s, when all films were talkies.

I don't mind you taking the position you do - that's your right - but at least back it up with legitimate arguments.

Jim

[missdupont]

I enjoyed the documentary but absolutely detested the dentist drill of supposed music throughout, it added nothing but tinnitus like those who can't get noises out of their head. I would have enjoyed a little more narration as well, especially since they used footage from the films to advance the story, which often gave the wrong impressions. One of the first uses of footage shows Fairbanks in THE HALF BREED up in Northern California by Truckee but the film implies that it is Dawson City. This happened a few times in the film, and narration could have corrected that.

[Dave Pitts]

(Sigh.)
Again, James Mason: the perfect cultured voice to enhance the SILENT clips in Hollywood and Unknown Chaplin.

[TerryC]

I was really looking forward to this movie, but found it a terrible chore to get through. Instead of a close look at the treasure trove of movies as I expected, it was a rather boring history of Dawson City for which I have minimal interest. This is to say nothing about the microscopic subtitles.

[TinaC]

On the Essanay/George Ade Fables Disc that I'm about to release contains a film "Three Boiled Down Fables" that was part of the Dawson City films. The three people who are going to watch them and let me know if I need to make changes should get them in tomorrow's mail. I also sent one to Bob Lipton who will undoubtedly post a review next week.

I look forward to the reviews and possibly seeing it once you release it. I've seen some rough films where there is really bad deterioration and missing scenes, and then intertitles are used to bridge the gap. I have patience for these films no matter the condition, and I appreciate the fact someone took the time to see the historical value of the films to bring them back.