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Il Cinema Ritrovato 2023: Favourites & Discoveries

Ehsan Khoshbakht

7/12/2023 6:00:00 AM

 

The 37th edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato concluded last week but its memories live on. 

In Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957), a quintet of melancholic expats freshly returned from a seductive Paris to a drab shared apartment in Moscow start reminiscing about the joys of the high life in the French capital. Soon it turns into a competition in remembering. Getting too intense where disillusioned Marxist-Leninists accuse each other of stealing one another's memories, Ninotchka (Cyd Charisse), fervently dedicated to the equal distribution of all kinds of wealth, steps in and declares: "Comrades, there are enough memories for all of us." Judging from the range and diversity of this year's picks by festival attendees, it seems that we should not be too worried about running out of memories until next June.

Statistics tell me "120,000 spectators" have viewed "470 films [in] seven cinemas," a 12% increase in attendance compared to previous year. Feelings tell me billions of memories have been made.

Now more than 110 participants from 38 countries have picked their "favourite film" at the festival, as well as their "major discovery" this year. Some have accompanied their choices with additional notes. It's a delight to read.

See their picks below.

 

THIS BLOG POST IS BEING UPDATED. THE NEW ENTRIES WILL BE MARKED BY [new]

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Flute of Krishna (1926) playing at the Jolly

 

Antti Alanen (Finland)

Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

Major discovery: Amok (Fedor Ozep, 1934)

 

Annouchka de Andrade (France)

Absolute favourite: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)

Major discovery: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)

 

Kaveh Askari (US)

Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) + Early Rouben Mamoulian

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

 

Matthew Anthony Barrington (UK)

Absolute favourite: Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)

Major discovery: Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)

 

Miriam Bale (US)

Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)

Major discovery: Un rêve plus long que la nuit (Niki De Saint Phalle, 1976)

 

James Bell (UK)

Absolute favourite: Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)

 

Janet Bergstrom (US)

Absolute favourite: Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)

Major discovery: Renoir, Vigo, Grémillon les éclaireurs de l'ombre (Alain Agat, 2023)

 

Daniel Bird (UK/France)

Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) 

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) 

 

Camille Blot-Wellens (France/Sweden)

Absolute favorite: Kawanakajima kassen [Battle of Kawanakajima] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1941)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

Notes: I would add another category, the best screening experience(s): and then I would probably add the Scopitone session (vintage prints, joy and fun - even if we had to shorten the session because of problems with the projector).

 

Jan Bollen (Belgium)

Absolute favourite: L’Auberge rouge (Jean Epstein, 1923)

Major discovery: The Plot Against Harry (Michael Roemer, 1969-89)

Major rediscovery: Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)

Notes: Best archival print: Blood and Sand (Rouben Mamoulian, 1941)

 

Guillaume Boure (France)

Absolute favourite: The Celluloid Closet (Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, 1996)

Major Discovery: Smog (Franco Rossi, 1962)

 

Lou Burkart (Germany/France) [new]

Absolute favourite: Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)

Major discovery: Miss Dorothy (Giulio Antamoro, 1920)

 

Benoît Carpentier (France)

Absolute favourite: La Voix du Rossignol (Ladislas Starewitch, 1923) + Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)

Major discovery: Chromo Sud (Etienne O'Leary, 1968) + Rat Life and Diet in North America (Joyce Wieland, 1969)

Notes: aesthetic shock / fun shock

 

Mohamed Challouf (Tunisia)

Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971) + Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, 1931)

 

Peter Christian Rude (Denmark)

Absolute favourite: Ladri di biciclette (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)

Major discovery: Daibutsu kaigen [Dedication of the Great Buddha] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1953)

Notes: At this year’s Il Cinema Ritrovato, I had the great pleasure to revisit a classic I had not seen in the past plus ten years or so, when I first began digging my way through film history as a young cinephile hungry for new impressions: ‘Bicycle Thieves’. Watching it in a newly restored version, in Italy, on the very first day of the festival, together with a large audience, made me feel very lucky. The screening of ‘Dedication of the Great Buddha’ was my introduction to Teinosuke Kinugasa – what a film! Art, labour, spirituality… At times, it reminded me of ‘Andrei Rublev’. 

 

Phil Clark (UK)

Absolute favourite: Suspect (Robert Siodmak, 1944)

Major Discovery: The Mark of Zorro (Rouben Mamoulian, 1940) + Rings on Her Fingers (Rouben Mamoulian, 1942) 

 

Jo Comino (UK)

Absolute favourite: La Captive (Chantal Akerman, 2000)

Major Discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971) + Down and Out in America (Lee Grant, 1986)

 

Philip Concannon (UK)

Absolute favourite: Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)

Major discovery: We Live Again (Rouben Mamoulian, 1934)

 

Mark Cosgrove (UK)

Absolute favourite: Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)

Major Discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

 

Emilie Cauquy (France)

Absolute favourite: Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)

Major discovery: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)

 

Ian Christie (UK)

Absolute favourite: Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)

Major discovery: La maison du mystère (Alexandre Volkoff, 1923)

Notes: [Also] reactions to the early Powells and teh astonishing 3D of I, the Jury.

 

Lorenzo Codelli (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Stornellata Romana (Pietro Francisci, 1947)

Major discovery: Hermann Kosterlitz

 

Francesco Crispino (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)

Major discovery: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)

 

Paola Cristalli (Italy)

Absolute favourite: One Way Passage (Tay Garnett, 1932) + Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)

Major discovery: Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)

Major rediscovery: The Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir, 1947)

Notes: Major better-than-I-remembered: The Golden Boy | Major decadent satisfaction: Wearing Narcisse noir (Ernest Daltroff pour Caron, 1911) at the screening of Black Narcissus.

 

Paolo D’Andrea (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

 

Senem Erdine (Turkey)

Absolute favourite: Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)

Major discovery: Yam Daabo (Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1987)

 

Lukas Foerster (Germany)

Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)

Major discovery: Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova veneziano (Luigi Comencini, 1969)

Notes: [Of Love Me Tonight] only the censored version survives ... I probably will forever fantasize about what the 15 minutes longer original release version might have looked like. Favorite film print: Photochemical restoration of The Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir), Library of Congress 35mm print. To think that all restorations could look as beautiful and rich and above all alive as this one. Pains the heart.

 

Geoff Gardner (Australia)

Absolute favourite: Tire au flanc (Jean Renoir, 1928) + The Golden Coach (Jean Renoir, 1952) 

Major discovery: Aloise (Liliane de Kermadec, 1975)

 

Sara Gazini (Brazil/UK)

Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)

Major discovery: Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)

 

Valerio Greco (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

Major rediscovery: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)

Notes: I was very moved by the rediscovery of the origins of Tunisian cinema by Albert Samama-Chikli, Wim Wenders' introduction to Yasujirō Ozu's incredibly well-made gangster film Dragnet Girl / Hijosen no onna (1933), the unpredictable avalanche of revelations in 16mm format (notably the home movie versions of Universal horror classics) organised by Cinémathèque16, the brand new restorations of the Dada-Surrealist films by the artist Man Ray and the must-see serial La maison du mystère (1923). Also, I would like to mark the Film Heritage Foundation's brilliant restoration of the tragic Ishanou (1990) by Ribam Syam Sharma, the programme of Russian Divas in Italy, the fun experience with the broken glasses of One Way Passage (1932) and the final dance on the tune of Scopitones' compilation of French songs from the 1960s.

 

Mania Gregorian (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Lady Windermere’s Fan (Ernst Lubitsch, 1928)

Major discovery: Surprise (Dave Fleischer, 1923)

 

Matthieu Grimault (France)

Absolute favourite: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)

Major discoveries: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) + Yukinojô henge: Daiippen dainihen [An Actor's Revenge] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1935)

 

André Habib (Montreal) [new]

Absolute favorite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Quién sabe? (Damiano Damiani, 1966)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

 

Oliver Hanley (Germany)

Absolute favourite: Ball im Savoy (Steve Sekely, 1935)

Major discovery: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)

 

Suvi Heino (Finland)

Absolute favourite: Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)

Major discovery: Layla wa zi'ab (Heiny Srour, 1984)

 

Liz Helfgott (US)

Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

Major discovery: Peter (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1934) and magnificent star Franziska Gaal

Notes: Most blissful screening experience: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian). 2nd most blissful screening experience: Stella Dallas (Henry King) in the piazza. More major discoveries (sorry, I can't help myself!): two by Bahram Beyzaie, Gharibeh va meh [The Stranger and the Fog] and Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] and Aloïse (Liliane de Kermadec)

 

Maggie Hennefeld (US)

Absolute favourite: Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

Notes: Page of Madness, Leila and the Wolves, Nella Citta L'Inferno, Dulac's illustrated songs, and Patouillard a une femme jalouse were also major highlights! Plus there were the many must-see screenings I missed, which sadly included Cherike-ye Tara and Peter.

 

Alexander Horwath (Austria)

Absolute favourite: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

Notes: Absolute favourite plus: IL GRIDO / CEDDO / ONE WAY PASSAGE / CHERIKE-YE TARA / LE CARROSSE D’OR / ROMEO UND JULIA AUF DEM DORFE / APPLAUSE / GREMLINS. Major discovery plus: PANORAMA OF TIVOLI, SHOWING SEVEN FALLS (USA 1903, Edison Co.) / QUIÉN SABE / AL-MAKHDU’UN / ALOÏSE / KING OF COINS (UK 1903, Alf Collins) / IL DONO.

 

Pamela Hutchinson (UK)

Absolute favourite: Illustrated Records (Germaine Dulac, 1930)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

 

Alexander Jacoby (UK)

Absolute favourite: Il Ferroviere (Pietro Germi, 1956) + Die letzte Chance (Leopold Lindtberg, 1945)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) 

 

Nick James (UK)

Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)

Major discovery: Shirasagi (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1958)

 

Maria João Madeira (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

 

Alo Jõekalda (Estonia/Japan)

Absolute favourite: Il Ferroviere (Pietro Germi, 1956)

Major discovery: Zündhölzer (Uwe Krauss, Peter Gehric, 1960)

 

Paul Joyce (UK)

Absolute favourite: Lady Windermere’s Fan (Ernst Lubitsch, 1928) 

Major discovery: Miss Dorothy (Giulio Antamoro, 1920)

Notes: Ernst Lubitsch’s take on Oscar Wilde’s play as presented in the Teatro Auditorium Manzoni an auditorium with splendid acoustics, all the better to experience the power of Timothy Brock’s new score as conducted by him and played by the mighty Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna. [Major discovery] one of four films, including three new discoveries, covering the Russian/Polish actress' early career, three from Italy in diva style!

 

Austė Jucytė (Lithuania)

Absolute favourite: Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)

Major discoveries: Four Pathé films: En Irlande: Excursion à Killarney (Camille Legrand, 1908) + L’Enfant des mariniers (1907) + L’Enlisé du Mont-Saint-Michel (1908) + Puericultura (1910)

 

Nakanishi Kanako (Japan) [new]

Absolute favourite: Ich denke oft an Hawaii (Elfi Mikesch, 1978)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

 

Daniel Kasman (US)

Absolute favourite: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

Major discoveries: La souriante Madame Beudet (Germaine Dulac, 1923) + Time of the Heathen (Peter Kass, 1961) + Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

 

Triinu Keedus (Estonia)

Absolute favourite: Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) 

 

Nerina T. Kocjancic (Slovenia)

Absolute favourite: Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)

Major discovery: Cross of Iron (Sam Peckinpah, 1977)

 

Martin Koerber (Germany)

Absolute favourite: Was soll'n wir denn machen ohne den Tod (Elfi Mikesch, 1980)

Major discovery: The Edge of the World (Michael Powell, 1937)

 

Otto Kylmälä (Finland)

Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

Major discovery:  Il Dono (Michelangelo Frammartino, 2003) + The Plot Against Harry (Michael Roemer, 1969-89)

 

Massoumeh Lahidji (France/Iran)

Absolute favourite: Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)

Major discovery: Blood and Sand (Rouben Mamoulian, 1941)

 

Manuela Lazic (UK)

Absolute favourite: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)

Major discovery: Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, 1931)

Notes: The Mamoulian strand was just a delight – to see someone work across so many genres and still manage to have a clear and distinctive voice shine through was so exciting! Mamoulian's playfulness in Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde is particularly striking; the darkest moments are peppered with visual wit and the emotional depth and complexity of what Stevenson was exploring is made very clear. As for Man's Castle, rarely have I seen such a devastating depiction of a man too hardened by life to really live it. Spencer Tracy is at once terrifying and so compelling, much more interesting than either a likeable or an unlikeable character – a broken man.

 

Albert Lee (Hong Kong)

Absolute favourite: Blood and Sand (Rouben Mamoulian, 1941)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

 

Samantha Leroy (France)

Absolute favourite: Schatten (Arthur Robison, 1923)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

 

Ross Lipman (US)

Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) 

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) 

Notes: Al-Makhdu'un [is] simply an overpowering work that could have been ripped from today's headlines - save that it was made fifty years ago. But if I can extend the "favorite" category to include presentations, I'd like to single out the "City of Smog: Los Angeles in 1962" panel.  I love good illustrated lectures, and Luca Celada masterfully prised out the history informing Rosi's gem in a talk that could well be viewed as a coda to Los Angeles Plays Itself, which May HaDuong then brilliantly countered with altering views of the city unsuggested in Smog's tantalizingly subjective view of the city.  Together (along with Alberto Gemmi, who contributed a brief restoration overview) they created a panel that was almost a film in itself, and as compelling as the film that inspired them.

 

Johannes Lõhmus (Estonia)

Absolute favourite: Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)

Major discovery: Layla wa zi'ab (Heiny Srour, 1984)

 

Jonathan Mackris (US)

Absolute Favorite: Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)

Major discovery: Katherina, die Letzte (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1936)

 

Neil McGlone (UK)

Absolute favourite: Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)

Major discovery: Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)

 

Brian Meacham (US)

Absolute favorite: Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)

Major discovery: La maison du mystère (Alexandre Volkoff, 1923)

Notes: [On SILK STOCKINGS] Along with the rest of the Mamoulian strand, this witty, knowing, and underrated musical was a delight to see, especially in such a gorgeous print. Watching Astaire so at ease as the decadent American, and knowing that under that Soviet cloak, Cyd Charisse was just waiting to strut her stuff, made the whole thing an utter pleasure. [On LA MAISON DU MYSTERE] The daily ritual of a 30-40 minute episode of this serial was an unexpected treat. Beyond providing a setting for upstanding Ivan Mosjoukine and villainous young Charles Vanel go head to head, the films are filled with unbelievable stunts, stunning cinematography, and for me, the most potent emotional moments of any film in the festival.

 

Lidia Merás (Spain)

Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

 

Paolo Mereghetti (Italy)

Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

Major discovery: Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)

 

Hind Mezaina (UAE)

Absolute favourite: Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947)

Major discovery: Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)

 

Daniela Michel (Mexico)

Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

 

Saskia Mollen (Netherlands)

Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

 

Olaf Möller (Germany/Finland)

Absolute favourite: Yōsō (Kinugasa Teinosuke, 1963) + Die letzte Chance (Leopold Lindtberg, 1945)

Major discovery: Tant que s'illuminera l'animal stratifié (Jean Lafleur & Robert Desrosiers, 1965)

 

Ian Mantgani (Ireland/UK)

Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)

Major discovery: The Plot Against Harry (Michael Roemer, 1969-89) + We Live Again (Rouben Mamoulian, 1934)

Notes: Cinema Ritrovato is such a dazzling embarrassment of riches that it almost feels insulting to the programme to single anything out. Henry King’s emotionally eviscerating version of Stella Dallas, seen in the majestic Piazza Maggiore with a responsive, sensitive new score by Stephen Horne was the screening that led me and those I spoke with to the greatest floods of tears.

The Plot Against Harry was a film I’d never heard of, and a terrific post-noir, pre-Scorsese chronicle of ethnic gangland New York with a pioneering combination of largesse, documentary detail, pathos and wry wit. There were many delightful Mamoulian pictures in the strand devoted to that director, but We Live Again took me the most by surprise - a classic Hollywood adaptation of Tolstoy that threatened to be corny in its opening moments and unfolded as a profoundly moving parable of values and consequence.

On a personal note, let me just say that Bologna is a place where cinema miracles of all shapes and sizes happen, and my greatest one this time around was as follows: I happened to be testing the DCP of my new short film at an off-festival venue, the Theatro Cinema Medica, and none other than master director Joe Dante, in town for his Ritrovato duties, was gracious enough to stop by. Truly special.

 

Chiara Marañón (Spain)

Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

 

Jack Miller (US)

Absolute favorite: The Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir, 1947)

Major discovery: Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova veneziano (Luigi Comencini, 1969)

 

Anabela Moutinho (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: We Live Again (Rouben Mamoulian, 1934)

Major discovery: Capelli Biondi (1919)

 

Mosa Mpetha (UK) [new]

Absolute favourite: Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947)

Major discovery: African Archives: What Next? 

 

Dominique Nasta (Belgium)

Absolute favourite: Amok (Fedor Ozep, 1934)

Major discovery: Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)

 

Elliot Newton (UK)

Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

 

Carlos Nogueira (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova veneziano (Luigi Comencini, 1969)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

 

Vincent Paul-Boncour (France)

Absolute favourite: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)

Major discovery: Time of the Heathen (Peter Kass, 1961)

 

Michał Pieńkowski (Poland)

Absolute favourite: La Sorelle Bartels (1910)

Major discovery: Hotel Splendide (Michael Powell, 1932)

 

Sabina Pujol (Spain)

Absolute favourite: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)

Major discovery: The Movie Orgy (Joe Dante, 1968)

 

Rym Ouartsi (France)

Absolute favourite: Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

Notes: Other favourites are Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959) and La fuga di Socrate (Guido Brignone, 1923)

 

Esteve Riambau (Spain)

Absolute favourite: Rings on Her Fingers (Rouben Mamoulian, 1942)

Major discovery: La contessa azzurra (Claudio Gora,1960)

 

Paul Ridd (UK)

Absolute favourite: Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)

Major discovery: Time of the Heathen (Peter Kass, 1961)

Notes: Hugo Fregonese last year, Rouben Mamoulian this year. What a thrill it was to fully immerse myself in the work of a forgotten genius of Old Hollywood at Cinema Ritrovato. Astonishing to see his sheer genre versatility and love of cinematic colour, sensuality and formal swagger expressed over decades of diverse work. All these films were just a joy to behold. And in between, seeing films from the last hundred years plus of world cinema, including the mind-blowing psychedelic thriller TIME OF THE HEATHEN, a tonne of silent films and everything in between. It's such a special place to be. Long may it continue.

 

Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi (Netherlands/Turkey)

Absolute favourite: Katherina, die Letzte (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1936) + Peter (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1934)

Major discovery: L'ombra (Mario Almirante, 1923)

Notes: Franziska Gaal in Peter & Katharina, die Letzte [both by Herman Kosterlitz]. I’d also like to mention Yam Daabo (Idrissa Ouédraogo) and La Valse Excentrique (1903).

 

Jonathan Rosenbaum (US)

Absolute favourite: Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, 1931) + Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

 

Giulia Saccogna (UK/Italy)

Absolute favourite: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971) + Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) + Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)

 

Eva Sangiorgi (Italy/Austria)

Absolute favorite: City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

 

Aboubakar Sanogo (Burkina Faso/Canada)

Absolute favorite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

Notes: [Other major discovery] Germaine Dulac's proto music videos.

 

Regina Schlagnitweit (Austria)

Absolute favourite: Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

Major rediscovery: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)

 

Beat Schneider (Switzerland)

Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) + Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)

 

Nuno Sena (Portugal)

Absolute favourite: City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

 

Anupma Shanker (UK)

Absolute favourite: Ceddo (Ousmane Sembène, 1977)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

 

Tamara Shvediuk (Russia)

Absolute favourite: The Marriage Circle (Ernst Lubitsch, 1924)

Major discovery: Les Contes des Milles et une nuits (Viatcheslav Tourjansky, 1921)

 

Josh Siegel (US)

Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara) (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)

Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971) + Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

 

Francesco Simeoni (UK)

Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

Notes: My top film and discovery were one and the same this year: The Dupes. A remarkable film, like The Battle of Algiers by way of The Wages of Fear. Timely, urgent and heartbreaking cinema.

 

Farran Smith Nehme (US)

Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)

Major discovery: Cry, the Beloved Country (Zoltan Korda, 1951)

 

Gerdien Smit (Netherlands)

Absolute favourite: Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)

Major discovery: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)

 

Imogen Sara Smith (US)

Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) 

Major discovery: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara) (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)

Notes: Even more than in past editions, nearly all the films I saw this year were completely new to me. I was stunned by The Dupes, with its ruthless shift from lyrical impressionism to stripped-down nerve-shredding suspense, and by the otherworldly, impassioned visions of the Beyzaie films. Among my other favorite were a wealth of feminist and women-centered films: the brilliant, harrowing Aloise; the warm humanist comedy Speriamo che sia femmina; and the great women’s-prison drama Nella citta l’inferno, with Magnani at her Magnaniest. The “woman’s film” was exalted in Stella Dallas, and I relished weeping in the piazza with my friends. I saw almost all of the German exile comedies—Peter was the highlight, with the magnificent Franziska Gaal—and they reminded me of John Lahr’s remark about the importance of frivolity as a defiance of suffering. I allowed myself just one old favorite, One Way Passage, which revealed its visual elegance, wit, and gallant spirit anew in a beautiful restoration. It was my last screening, and a perfect one: as Kay Francis says of a Paradise cocktail, “Always the most precious, the last few drops.” 

 

Pauline Soh (Singapore)

Absolute favourite: Biruma no Tategoto [The Burmese Harp] (Kon Ichikawa, 1956)

Major discovery: Layla wa zi'ab (Heiny Srour, 1984) + Les Femmes Palestiniennes (Jocelyn Saab, 1973)

 

Esa Salovaara (Finland)

Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)

Major discovery: Banditi a Orgosolo (Vittorio De Seta, 1961) + Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)

Notes: All  Teinosuke Kinugasa’s films were great.

 

Juan Soto (Colombia)

Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)

Major discovery: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)

 

Federico Striuli (Italy)

Absolute favourite: L'ombra (Mario Almirante, 1923)

Major discovery: Fiamma simbolica (Eugenio Perego, 1918)

 

Simon Taaffe (Australia)

Absolute favourite: Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)

Major discovery: Il Dono (Michelangelo Frammartino, 2003)

 

David Thompson (UK)

Absolute favourite: Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)

Major discovery: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)

Notes: Most missed - The Stranger and the Fog.

 

Matthew Turner (UK)

Absolute favourite: Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)

Major discovery: Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)

 

Boyd van Hoeij (Netherlands/Luxembourg)

Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)

Major discovery: Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)

 

Leo van Hee (Netherlands)

Absolute favourite: Smog (Franco Rossi, 1962)

Major discovery: Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)

 

Louise von Plessen (Germany)

Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

 

Marjan Vujović (Serbia)

Absolute favourite: The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003)

Major discovery: Amok (Fedor Ozep, 1934)

 

Jay Weissberg (US/Italy)

Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

Major discovery: Le Cake-Walk infernal (Georges Méliès, 1903)

 

Jon Wengström (Sweden)

Absolute favourite: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933) + A Chess Dispute (Robert W. Paul, 1903)

Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Kawanakajima kassen [Battle of Kawanakajima] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1941)

 

Claire West (UK)

Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)

Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

 

Karl Wratschko (Austria)

Absolute favourite: Homeo (Etienne O‘Leary, 1967)  

Major discovery: Desperate Poaching Affray (William Haggar, 1903)

 

Marina Zigneli (Greece)

Absolute favourite: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)

Major discovery: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

All the titles:

22 votes

Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)

21 votes

Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)

17 votes

Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)

8 votes

Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)

7 votes

Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)

Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)

Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)

6 votes

Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)

5 votes

Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)

Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)

Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)

4 votes

Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)

Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)

Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)

Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)

Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)

Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)

Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)

Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)

3 votes

Amok (Fedor Ozep, 1934)

Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947)

Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova veneziano (Luigi Comencini, 1969)

Layla wa zi'ab (Heiny Srour, 1984)

Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, 1931)

The Plot Against Harry (Michael Roemer, 1969-89)

Time of the Heathen (Peter Kass, 1961)

We Live Again (Rouben Mamoulian, 1934)

2 votes

Blood and Sand (Rouben Mamoulian, 1941)

City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)

Die letzte Chance (Leopold Lindtberg, 1945)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)

L'ombra (Mario Almirante, 1923)

Il Dono (Michelangelo Frammartino, 2003)

Il Ferroviere (Pietro Germi, 1956)

Katherina, die Letzte (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1936)

Kawanakajima kassen [Battle of Kawanakajima] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1941)

Lady Windermere’s Fan (Ernst Lubitsch, 1928)

La maison du mystère (Alexandre Volkoff, 1923)

Miss Dorothy (Giulio Antamoro, 1920)

Peter (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1934)

Smog (Franco Rossi, 1962)

The Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir, 1947)

1 vote

Aloise (Liliane de Kermadec, 1975)

Ball im Savoy (Steve Sekely, 1935)

Banditi a Orgosolo (Vittorio De Seta, 1961)

Biruma no Tategoto [The Burmese Harp] (Kon Ichikawa, 1956)

Capelli Biondi (1919)

Ceddo (Ousmane Sembène, 1977)

Chromo Sud (Etienne O'Leary, 1968)

La contessa azzurra (Claudio Gora,1960)

Cross of Iron (Sam Peckinpah, 1977)

Cry, the Beloved Country (Zoltan Korda, 1951)

Daibutsu kaigen [Dedication of the Great Buddha] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1953)

Desperate Poaching Affray (William Haggar, 1903)

Down and Out in America (Lee Grant, 1986)

En Irlande: Excursion à Killarney (Camille Legrand, 1908) 

L’Enfant des mariniers (1907)

L’Enlisé du Mont-Saint-Michel (1908)

Fiamma simbolica (Eugenio Perego, 1918)

Homeo (Etienne O‘Leary, 1967) 

Hotel Splendide (Michael Powell, 1932)

Ich denke oft an Hawaii (Elfi Mikesch, 1978)

L’Auberge rouge (Jean Epstein, 1923)

La Captive (Chantal Akerman, 2000)

La Sorelle Bartels (1910)

La souriante Madame Beudet (Germaine Dulac, 1923)

La Voix du Rossignol (Ladislas Starewitch, 1923)

Ladri di biciclette (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)

Le Cake-Walk infernal (Georges Méliès, 1903)

Les Contes des Milles et une nuits (Viatcheslav Tourjansky, 1921)

Les Femmes Palestiniennes (Jocelyn Saab, 1973)

One Way Passage (Tay Garnett, 1932)

Puericultura (1910)

Rat Life and Diet in North America (Joyce Wieland, 1969)

Renoir, Vigo, Grémillon les éclaireurs de l'ombre (Alain Agat, 2023)

Rings on Her Fingers (Rouben Mamoulian, 1942)

Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)

Schatten (Arthur Robison, 1923)

Shirasagi (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1958)

Stornellata Romana (Pietro Francisci, 1947)

Surprise (Dave Fleischer, 1923)

Suspect (Robert Siodmak, 1944)

Tant que s'illuminera l'animal stratifié (Jean Lafleur & Robert Desrosiers, 1965)

The Celluloid Closet (Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, 1996)

The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003)

The Edge of the World (Michael Powell, 1937)

The Golden Coach (Jean Renoir, 1952)

The Mark of Zorro (Rouben Mamoulian, 1940)

The Marriage Circle (Ernst Lubitsch, 1924)

The Movie Orgy (Joe Dante, 1968)

Quién sabe? (Damiano Damiani, 1966)

Tire au flanc (Jean Renoir, 1928)

Un rêve plus long que la nuit (Niki De Saint Phalle, 1976)

Was soll'n wir denn machen ohne den Tod (Elfi Mikesch, 1980)

Yam Daabo (Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1987)

Yōsō (Kinugasa Teinosuke, 1963)

Yukinojô henge: Daiippen dainihen [An Actor's Revenge] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1935)

Zündhölzer (Uwe Krauss, Peter Gehric, 1960)

 

 

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Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation to Partner with Mk2 Films on Restored Classics (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy

5/22/2023 9:00:00 AM

France’s mk2 films is set to distribute internationally a collection of Martin Scorsese’s prestigious restored films from the World Cinema Project, which is part of his banner The Film Foundation.

The World Cinema Project has so far restored 51 films from 29 different countries, representing the breadth and diversity of global cinema.

Scorsese, one of the greatest living film legends whose latest movie “Killers of the Flower Moon” world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, created The Film Foundation to raise awareness and funds for the preservation of our cinematic history. Since its formation, The Film Foundation has helped to preserve and restore over 1,000 films from every era and genre, ranging from features to documentaries, newsreels, shorts, home movies, experimental and silent films.

“The Film Foundation’s partnership with mk2 creates greater international visibility for the films restored through the World Cinema Project,” said Scorsese. “These incredible films are an essential part of our collective film heritage; making them available to a wider international audience is a goal we share with mk2. We’re excited to work together on this exciting program,” Scorsese continued.

Nathanaël Karmitz, Mk2 Films’ CEO, said “Film heritage and preservation has always been core to Mk2’s activity. We are honored to partner with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation and their vital work in restoring and preserving under-exposed classics of international cinema.”

“It is a real privilege to distribute these titles, introducing them to new audiences and confirming and maintaining their cultural importance,” Karmitz continued.

The World Cinema Project’s restored titles will join mk2 films’ catalogue of over 1,000 titles from cult filmmakers such as Charles Chaplin, Abbas Kiarostami, and Agnès Varda. The company has also launched events to promote classics from its library, for instance Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Three Colours” trilogy which was recently re-released.

Created in 2007, the World Cinema Project expanded the foundation’s mission globally, to regions where preservation resources and infrastructure are scarce. To date, 51 films from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Central America, South America, and the Middle East have been restored, preserved and exhibited for a global audience, sometimes for the first time outside of their country of origin.

The World Cinema Project partnered with the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI), UNESCO, and the Cineteca di Bologna in 2017 to launch the African Film Heritage Project, an initiative to locate, preserve, and distribute African cinema, as identified by FEPACI’s advisory board of archivists, scholars, and filmmakers. The WCP also supports educational programs, including Restoration Film Schools; intensive, results-oriented workshops allowing students and professionals worldwide to learn the art and science of film restoration and preservation.

Along with this new partnership with The Film Foundation, mk2 films has also recently added to its library “The Times of Harvey Milk” by Rob Epstein and “The Celluloid Closet” by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, among others.

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Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson Discuss Their Film Preservation Efforts: “The Protection of Memories”

Ryan Gajewski

4/15/2023 2:50:00 PM

Steven SpielbergPaul Thomas Anderson and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav took part in a panel at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival to discuss the importance of rescuing films that are at risk of deteriorating.

During an event Thursday on the festival’s opening night at Los Angeles’ TCL Chinese Theatre, TCM host Ben Mankiewicz moderated a conversation between the three guests surrounding their efforts to restore decades-old titles. Spielberg explained that Martin Scorsese launched The Film Foundation in 1990 to preserve motion picture history and had enlisted the help of the Hollywood studios and other prominent filmmakers. The panel on Thursday focused on the work being done in a partnership between TCM, Warner Bros. Discovery and Film Foundation, and it accompanied the premiere screening of the 4K restoration of Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959).

“We all joined [Scorsese] to go around to all the studios to get them to try to finance this rescue operation to save our cultural heritage,” Spielberg said. The Fabelmans director recalled that among his fellow filmmakers who joined Scorsese back in 1990 were Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola and Sydney Pollack.

As for how the group decides which movies to prioritize, Spielberg — who noted that their efforts have rescued more than 990 films — explained that they initially aimed to collect the body of work of a particular director. The quality of a film negative can also be a deciding factor, while a filmmaker’s own personal preference can help steer decisions as well.

“We try to find the films, not the films that are our favorite movies, but films that tell a very unique story of this country and the people of this country,” the Oscar winner continued. “And not only this country, but we’re rescuing experimental films, documentaries. We’re rescuing international films now. We’ve already rescued 97 international films. So this is something that’s not going to stop. We were all very busy making our movies in 1990, and Marty put everything aside and said, ‘No, we’re prioritizing this. This is what needs to be done.'”

According to Anderson, the importance of the work goes beyond just preserving cinematic history. “I don’t want to get philosophical, but it starts to end up being the protection of memories — very, very important memories — that we each individually have,” the Licorice Pizza helmer said. “Where was I when I saw E.T.? I remember it very well, and I remember the friends I was with. I remember who I took to see that film as much as I remember the film.”

The TCM Classic Film Festival, which this year spotlights Warner Bros.’ legacy in honor of the studio’s 100th anniversary, ends Sunday. Videos from the festival’s events can be seen here

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TCM Classic Film Festival 2023: Hollywood Titans Support Saving Movie Memories

Anne Thompson

4/14/2023 6:30:00 PM

Opening night of the 14th TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood brought out not only the lustrous 4D restored Howard Hawks classic western “Rio Bravo” — starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Angie Dickinson, 91, who was on hand — but two directors and board members of Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson. They extolled Scorsese’s foresight and ongoing commitment to preserving and saving the original celluloid elements of classic films so that restorations like this one can occur.

“David and Warner Bros have their own archivists and they have titles they’d like from the Warner Bros. archive to be preserved,” said Spielberg explaining how titles are chosen, nearly 1000 since 1990 to date. “And every studio does have that but we try to find the films, not the films that are our favorite movies, but films that tell a very unique story of this country and the people of this country, and not only this country, but we’re rescuing experimental films, documentaries, already 97 international films. So this is something that’s not going to stop. And I just have to say I’m so proud that Marty [Scorsese], we’re all very busy making our movies, but in 1990 Marty put everything aside and said ‘no, this is what we were prioritizing. This is what needs to be done.’”

“It’s the preservation of our work,” Anderson added. “But it’s also preserving our memories and helping us to preserve those memories so that when you want to revisit that moment of that feeling of when you walked into a theater you can. We all want to hold on to our memories, but sometimes they fade away from us, but we can hold on to them if we preserve them this way.”

The other power mogul on the opening night panel moderated by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz was his boss, Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who convincingly expressed his support of classic movies, especially from his studio, which made “Rio Bravo” back in 1959 and is now celebrating its 100th anniversary. “TCM is the history of our country,” he said, naming three Warners titles that made a crucial impact: anti-KKK film “Black Legion,” “Confessions of a Nazi Spy,” and “Gentleman’s Agreement.”

Zaslav could use some positive PR in the wake of this week’s announcements about switching over to revamped and renamed streaming service Max, which saw his company stock lose value on Wall Street. Lending public support to TCM and classic movies isn’t going to turn Warner Discovery’s fortunes around, but at least Zaslav appears to be on the side of the angels.

RIO BRAVO, John Wayne, Dean Martin, 1959
“Rio Bravo”
Courtesy Everett Collection

The opening night audience was packed with enthusiastic cinephiles, among them Harry Warner’s granddaughter Cass and Trailers from Hell contributor Allan Arkush cheering for Dickinson, who gamely submitted to questions from Mankiewicz, who cited “this shared feeling we all have, a sense of community we share, that has only intensified in the last 14 years.”

At age 27, Dickinson beat out the Hollywood ingenue audition competition, she said, with some help from director Hawks, who was looking for a comeback. As virtually the only woman on the production, did she hang out with the boys? “No,” she said. Wayne and Martin were too busy playing chess. While she calls Wayne’s character “John T.” in the movie, no one would ever call the massive western star John on set, she said. “We all called him Duke.”

Among the 100 events unfolding over the next week at the TCM Classic Movie Festival, George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh will host a Friday screening of “Oceans 11” as part of the Warners celebration, which includes screenings of ten studio movies including “Casablanca, “East of Eden,”” and “The Music Man.” Other celebrity hosts include Dana Delany (introducing RKO’s “Ball of Fire”) and TCM host Alicia Malone.

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