"The Knife is a deft little story film concerning a jealous husband who suspects a local artist of making time with his wife. Grabbing the artist's knife, he stabs the artist in the back, but the result is not at all what he, nor the audience, expects" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 35.
"This is a short story about a musician, a pianist who has enjoyed the pleasure and popularity of concerts in many cities of Europe. And then came the war! Even in the thick of battle, when his fingers must play a different keyboard, music does not leave his mind. The picture closes with the last concert, simple, but forceful in its emotional impact" PSA Journal, Nov. 1959, 48.
"Edited film created by Frank L. Kreznar, an award winning amateur filmmaker, with assistance from his wife during a guided tour of the Soviet Union in 1965. Film consists of footage of Moscow and Leningrad mainly of public places with a special emphasis on historically important buildings. Throughout the footage Kreznar shows modern apartment buildings as they are being constructed, with his commentary discussing the Soviets’ efforts to modernize the territories under their control and the recent population growth in these cities. Kreznar is also interested in the modes of public transportation in each city – such as street cars or the metro in Moscow. Kreznar notes that most automobile production in the Soviet Union focuses on trucks for work while cars are considered a rare luxury for private citizens. He also discusses the high volume of pedestrian traffic. Kreznar also takes an interest in religion in this footage, showing churches in disrepair or having been de-sanctified and converted into housing, museums, or other government administrated buildings. Kreznar notes that this is due to the Soviet government’s anti-religious policy, but he also shows some churches under recently started restoration due to the government’s realization of the touristic value of these sites. Film includes occasional shots of people working, mainly in outdoor produce markets. Women are shown doing road construction in Moscow as well as various public parks, swimming pools, and other public recreation areas, with a special emphasis on how the Soviet government has given children places to play," Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Museum.
"The construction and performance of marionettes are skillfully pictured in Life Hangs By A Thread, by Paul R. Elliott and Joseph Dephoure. Aided by skillful lighting, a fine sound track perfectly harmonized with the action and an intelligent script, interest is closely held from the time a marionette is a lump of putty to its moments of glory when, in the hands of an experienced operator, it seems to take on a life of its own. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Life Hangs By A Thread is its careful step by step planning, indicating the sound belief by its producers that a movie should tell as much as possible pictorially, with the commentary used only to enhance the visual appeal." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 475-476.
"Floating, bubbling, revolving, darting, projecting, swirling, blending, forming, superimposing colors upon colors in sync with jazz music. Two numbers of different tempo and patterns, a fantasia of color configuration and music. What can one say about this type of visual and audible accomplishment on film? This will be included in the [prize winning] Package." PSA Journal, Oct. 1962, 34.
"Tells the story of 'Little Hunter' hunting a bear using images carved into stone walls near the Colorado River by a Native American tribe." Church History Library.
"The Living is an experimental film in which Dan Wolman has used many of the principles of the cinema to great advantage. With static shots of statues to begin, the viewer wonders what can possibly be done with this subject. But suddenly, the statues come alive, helped along with music and Wolman's roving camera. His imagination was enough also to win for him the MPD Golden Scissors Award for the best film editing, as well as the MPD Sound Award for the best use of sound" PSA Journal, Aug. 1967, 36.
"In Love Apples, Henry Hoke presented what is, so far as Movie Makers records show, the first approach to filming the hobby and preoccupation of an entire family. Unquestionably the Hoke family likes tomatoes and, something less commonly encountered, it is willing to work to produce them. Mr. Hoke's Kodachrome film lets us see the entire family group at work planting, weeding, watering and picking — especially picking, because Mr. Hoke makes quite a cinematic point of eager hands reaching for tomatoes in and out of season. The continuity is active and full of humorous touches, with a shade too great an emphasis on camera tricks for their own sake; the photography is adequate and often provides much screen beauty. Above all, this film has a unity which, added to its unusual motive, brings it into the Honorable Mention class." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 549-550.
"The Marble begins with two boys fighting over a game of marbles, and as one boy, Larry, chases one of the little spheres into the street, he is hit by a car and ends up in the hospital. His friend is deeply hurt over this, for he realizes it is his fault. He prays, calls on the local minister, does all he can to get his friend Larry to live. While at the church he has a vision that Larry is in church with him; then, in a flash Larry is gone" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 35.
"Mathew Brady, the historian with a camera, photographed everyone of importance including Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Edgar Allen Poe, Abraham Lincoln, and many battle scenes of the Civil War. This motion picture is built entirely of photographs by Brady and his cameraman. Mr. Southard has used the zoom lens and lap dissolves to create a feeling of movement, supported by a good sound track" PSA Journal, Oct. 1961, 49.
Total Pages: 14
Amateur Cinema