"documentario"/documentary
"Animated film made by four boys from St. Thomas of Canterbury grade school. "February 31st" is a colorful animation of fruit that comes to life as the sun rises on that mythical date." Chicago Film Archives
"This charming amateur film begins with shots of grand Felixstowe houses. Men are racing model yachts of various sizes on the pond in front of an attentive crowd. The victors are presented with their winnings. The film progresses to Constable Country where on the idyllic river Stour a man boats near a family of swans. Two more men boat downstream. Atop a wooden bridge a few people take in the serenity of their surroundings. At Flatford Mill seven young women in deckchairs paint. Still shot of Willy Lott’s Cottage in Flatford follows. Back at Felixstowe more people race their model yachts. An amphibious plane is in the water. The pilot carefully climbs onto its wings. Girls in togas and garlands perform a dance routine. Behind them the 'grim reaper' walks scythe in hand, followed by two ladies dressed in mourning attire; one carrying a placard which reads “FELIXSTOWE IS SO SHOCKING". The fancy dress procession continues with the king and queen. Boys and men in the pond race through an assault course which includes passing through lifebuoys, inflating balloons and diving under netting. In the sea a speed boat propels between obstacles. Back in the pond men straddling a wooden pole attempt to unseat each other with sacks. Decorated floats pass through the town’s streets containing people in fancy dress. The film concludes with more model boating on the pond" (EAFA Database).
"In Festival Michigan, Cornelius Vanden Broek undertook to record all of the fairs and community festivals that occur in the State of Michigan throughout the year. He was prompted to make this record for the benefit of many friends who were not able to attend them and thus to provide them with a vicarious participation. The usual parades, crowning a queen of this or that, live stock, home preserves, midway attractions and various contests for young folks are all here, done with pleasantly brief sequencing. A lively commentary accompanies the film. On the whole, this rather formidable undertaking results in a pleasant and completely honest endeavor. Mr. Vanden Broek achieved his goal with fine spirit." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 334.
"Ralph W. Luce has made a record film of a day's outing by a group of cameramen, in which he proves that imaginative planning and concise cutting can make an interesting movie of what might otherwise be dull material. The continuity scheme used in Field Trip shows a waterfront scene being shot, its process through the darkroom and its final exhibition to win top prize among the group's endeavors. Flanking this theme are creative compositions that various cameramen might have recorded, as well as inserts of the workers choosing their viewpoints and setting their lenses. The lead and end titles are particularly stimulating. Mr. Luce has achieved pace in a film that might have been plodding. The result is marred only by the graininess of its monochrome emulsion." Movie Makers, Dec. 1950, 467.
"doc. a fantasia"/avant-garde documentary
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema