"Desert Life is a painstaking and little short of amazing study of the unusual creatures that make their homes on the American desert. Its thoroughgoing coverage of the subject may be because of the fact that Henry E. Hird is an Easterner who approaches this cinematic exposition with a fresh viewpoint. Every shot in his color movie is clean cut and perfectly exposed, but the really unusual feature of the film is an unmistakable indication of the infinite patience which must have been Mr. Hird's as he stalked his prey. The lizards and reptiles of the desert are all here, just as they move and have their being; the gila monster, the little, darting lizards and the snakes, including the strangest of rattlers, the "side winder." The desert rodents are represented, too. Most remarkable are the ultra closeups which show the fangs of the rattlesnake and how poison is extracted from them. The deadly black widow and other spiders pose for closeups, too, in this comprehensive film. Then, to show the desert's beauty as well as its danger, there are some excellent flower shots." Movie Makers, Dec. 1941, 563.
"That most difficult and painstaking of film forms known as animation also may be one of the most rewarding, especially when the result is as delightful as The Deserted Mill, by Irwin Lapointe. This film is, quite simply, a leisurely picturization of an old mill, with its placid stream and the animals, large and small, that live in and around it. Mr. Lapointe's art work is imaginative and his camera treatment of the material crisp and well paced. A stimulating musical accompaniment by Ferde Grofe complements the picture's mood and aids immeasurably in making this little film a rewarding one both to the filmer and to his future audiences — which should be legion." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 334.
"Design, by Walter Mills, ACL, is an expository film study on 8mm. and shows to fine advantages the possibilities of this medium for serious cinematic undertakings. In this 200 foot reel, the story of a day at the Kendall Art School, in Grand Rapids, Mich., has been told coherently and instructively. The picture represents real skill in planning, selection of viewpoint and photography. Naturally, most of the sequences in the film called for interior shots and the maker is to be commended highly for his lighting arrangements, which give perfectly normal effects in the film without the usual glare and unevenness. Angle shots and unusual camera positions are used with restraint but with most happy results when the situation calls for them. The technical quality is of uniform excellence and the cutting is done with particular care." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 522.
"Joseph J. Harley, filmer of nature in her many moods and an understanding lover of great music, brings a subtle and beautiful study of ice, snow and wintry waters, which is presented with the recorded music of On the Shores of Sorrento, by Richard Strauss. Here was a problem of finding music that would meet the mood of the footage and of then so editing the latter that the climaxes, both musical and pictorial, would integrate. Although, of course, Sorrento lacks the ice and snow of Mr. Harley's film, yet Strauss's tone poem coalesces amazingly with the sparkling Kodachrome of winter which has been joined to it. Mr. Harley has elected to do something that, had it been done a quarter century ago, would have made cinematic history. In doing it, he has matched the best of the past and has added a new brilliance from his own abundant creative imagination." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 488.
Una película que nos muestra los preparativos previos a un rally de cine con entrevistas a los cineastas que participaban en el mismo. A la par ocurre un concurso de
Soka-Tira.
A film that shows the preparation for a film rally with interviews to the filmmakers that are participating. At the same time there is a tug of war contest.
"Una historia en la que un grupo de estudiantes tomaban por asalto las instalaciones del Canal 8 de televisión en San Ángel para transmitir una proclama" (Vázquez Mantecón, 2012)
"A story in which a group of students take the facilities of the tv Channel 8 in San Ángel to broadcast a proclamation" (Vázquez Mantecón, 2012)
"Diamonds is a superb piece of work on this precious stone, showing how it is cut, polished, and made into something beautiful. Sparkling photography" PSA Journal, Sept. 1964, 51.
(Catalan): Film humorístic amateur, en el qual l'autor especula, irònicament, amb el significat literal dels diaris de l'època (1934), com per exemple, un presoner està llegint el diari LA LIBERTAD darrera de les reixes de la presó.
Film about the social impact of newspapers in the everyday life of the interwar period. It mixes fiction with documentary styles and warns against the political implication of mass media, especially in relation to their effect on workers, from a conservative perspective. [Description from the Filmoteca de Catalunya catalog]
"Whatever that intangible thing called atmosphere may be, Harold E. Remier has created it — out of airy nothings, to judge by what he says — in his astounding photoplay, Diary. Here, in all its hues, in all its beauty, in all its tradition of courtesy and profound courage is the America of the late Nineteenth Century, told through the medium of a woman's devotion. A Southern mansion is the first setting, then the frontier. Fortunes rise and fall as the war flames. Costumes and settings of the 1890's are recreated with fidelity. Wagons collapse in the wilderness; stone houses are built; a silver mine is uncovered. And the cost, for this epic achievement, exclusive of the 8mm. film, was the staggering sum of ten dollars! Diary is particularly noteworthy for naturalness of its lighting. However he managed it, Mr. Remier. with two large flood bulbs, somehow succeeded in making each scene appear to be illuminated by the hand lamps and chandeliers visible within it. The moonlight elopement is glamorously effective; and even candlelight is simulated with success. So, in all, the picture is a distinguished achievement — a portrayal, not only of a past century, but of a part of our American heritage." Movie Makers, Dec. 1940, 577.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema