lm.• •• by Victor Sjostrom Almost a ll our pi ct ures we re based on nove ls or on wit h Ibse n. In t hat respect we we re of t he sam e pl ays, a nd while I ha d a certa in awe a nd respect for sort - bu t ot he rwise we we re of a n enti re ly differe n t t he a ut hor of t he boo k or play -I t hough t t hat t he dispositio n. a u t hor ough t to kn ow best t he meanin g of what he ha d wri t ten-bu t Stiller wa s so mode rn t hat he made We we re great, very great fri ends. And my t hough ts whatever cha nges in t he sto ry t hat he t hough t wo uld go wit h deep gra ti t ude towards him , t hinkin g of how be of t he best effect, regard less of what t he a u t hor good a nd he lpfu l he was to me at a crisis in my life h ad wri tte n. T a ke, fo r exam p le, GUNNE R H E DE'S when I needed he lp. Still er was four years yo un ger SAGA, based on Se lma Lagerl of\"s novel Th e L egend t ha n 1. This co min g a ut umn it will be t wen ty t hree of Cl Ma nor. Th e clim ax of t he sto ry winds u p wit h years sin ce he died, only fo rty fi ve yea rs o ld. Bu t some dra matic scenes of a hu ge herd of sheep peri sh- in spi te of a ll t hese twe n ty t hree yea rs my memory in g in a snowstorm . Thi s was, of co urse, a ha rd nu t of him is so vivid , so sha rp a nd strong. Because he t o crack, especia lly co nsiderin g t he mea ns we at t hat was such an extraordinary, outsta nding personali ty. t ime had at ou r disposa l. B u t as good lu ck wo uld So many diffe ren t kind of men we re gathered wit hin have it, Sti ller happe ned by cha nce to see at our him. H e never shirked or hesitated to call a spa de lab so me shots of a doc u me ntary fi lm abo u t reind eer a s pade, to te ll people stra igh t from t he sh oulder whi ch one of our cameramen ha d made in La pla nd. what he t hough t. While direc tin g he often lost his Sti ller was im medi ate ly st ru ck by a brilli a n t idea: te mpe r, he co uld n 't help it, a nd it could t hen ha ppen c·ha nge t he sheep fo r rein deer! H e stopped t he release t hat he sa id t hin gs t hat hur t - could hur t ba dl y- a nd of t he doc um en ta ry, made use of it to fi t his sto ry whi ch at t he sa me t ime we re strikin gly funn y. Al- a nd added so me necessa ry sce nes wit h close-ups of t hough not so funn y fo r t he poo r victim . Bu t he was t he pict ure's yo un g hero. The res ul t: a ve ry effect ive qui ck to ma ke a me nds, a nd I do n 't t hin g a nybody a nd en te rta inin g pi cture. Bu t not so much of Se lm a was a ngry wit h him a t hea rt. And hea rt - yes, he did Lage rlOf's nove l was left in it. It met wit h a great have a hea rt, Stille r. And ha d it in t he righ t place. success, however, a nd was a sp lend id mot ion-pi cture. I ca n gua ra n tee it, I a m t he one to kn ow . And as k And a sple ndid money -m a ker. Li ke a ll th e Lage rl of anyo ne of t he old wo rkers from t he Lidin go studi o, film s we ma de. t here a re a few of t hem left a nd still wo rkin g at t he st udio of Svensk F ilmin dustri in R ll.sunda ou tside I have hea rd t hat ma ny peop le t hin k t ha t Stiller Stock holm. Rea l o ld t im ers. One of t he m has been a nd I coo perated. No, we mo t ce rta inly did not . I wo rk in g co n ti nu a lly fo r t he com pa ny sin ce 1912- for ca nn ot reca ll t hat we gave eac h ot her adv ice. I do n't 39 yea rs. And seve ra l ot hers fo ll ow close ly. T a lk to t hink we even read eac h other 's sc ri pts. Perh a ps a nyo ne of t hese fi ne fe ll ows about Ma uri tz Sti ller Stiller-he was more in q uisiti ve t ha n I was. We neve r a nd yo u will see a ligh t co me in to t heir eyes a nd meddl ed wit h eac h other 's wo rk. Not be fore we saw s pread ove r t heir faces. And a smil e. S mile a t t he t he finished pi ct ure. We mi gh t t hen give a n advice t hough t of ha ppy me mori es, ha ppy days, a nd funn y, or t wo a bou t so me cu t tin g. Bu t I don 't t hink a nyo ne crazy t hings he did a nd sa id. Let me te ll only one of us fo ll owed t he ad vice. We we re bot h rat he r st u b- t hat t hey so metimes ta lk abo u t. Co ming once on t he born men. We we re \"o u rse lves enough \"- to s pea k FILM COMMENT 49
set he found 'o met hin g he didn 't like. The forema n t ri ed t o a rgue : \"We ll , I th ought \"-but he was imm e- di a t ely in te lTup ted b.v 3 till er : \" Th ought, t hought ' yo~ 'sho uldn 't t hink-I do t he t hinkin g here ' \" A few days la t er he aga in found so me thin g wrong. H e s ta rted t o baw l th e forema n out but he a nswe red : \" Loo k, Mr St ille r, yo u a id- \" \" I said' \" cried Still er , \" well , ca n 't yo u t hink so methin g yo urse lf?\" In s pit e o f our sin ce re fri endship I a m not sLll'e I eve r kn ew him profo undl y, got deep in und e r hi s s kin . I don 't t hink a nybody d id . Still our fri e ndship was a fri e ndship t hat grew tronger a nd stronge r as t he years passed. It reac hed its t op the las t da.v he li ved. So metime late Oct ober or beginnin g of N ove mbe r 1928 my fa mily a nd I ca me home from H o llywood for a visit a nd t o let our children have a rea l S wedi sh C hristmas ce lebra ti on. It was a ll a ve ry sad di sa p- pointment . Whe n we passed London I heard t hat S tiller was ill bu't was not t old it was a ny thin g serious. Upon my a lTi va l in St ockh olm I went imm e- di a t ely t o t he hos pi ta l t o see him . The moment I en te red the roo m I sa w a ma n ma rked by dea th. Wha t a homeco min g. Wha t a reuni on. H e had left H olly wood a yea r ago, so ha ppy to go home. He kn ew now t ha t I was comin g a nd had been expect in g me impa tien t ly. He cried like a child when he saw me, a nd I had to exe rt myse lf to t he u t most degree to co ntrol myse lf. We ha d a long ta lk-h e did most of the ta lkin g- we eve n dra nk cha mpag ne in sma ll shelTY glasses-it was presc ribed by t he docto r-a nd wh en I le ft him t ha t day he was chee rful a nd in good s piri t-. \" If I li ve it will be t ha nks t o yo u,\" he sa id. Of COLll'se, 1 we n t to see him eve ry day- a n o ld la dy fri e nd fl'Om Finl an d , Prof. Alm a Sbderhj e lm , a nd me we re t he onl y ones he wo uld see-but he beco me more a nd mo re wea k. On e day whe n I ca me home a fte r hav in g bee n wit h him for severa l hours, t he nurse at th e hospi ta l ca lled me on the pho ne a nd to ld me t ha t S tille r wa n ted to see me aga in . H e wa n ted me t o co me bac k to him as oo n as possibl e beca use he had so me thin g ve ry im po rta nt to te ll me. I t hough t h e wa nt ed pe rh a ps t o t a lk to me a bout ma kin g hi s will. He ha d not made a will-so ty pi ca l of him . I hLll'ri ed bac k t o th e hospit a l aga in a nd was with him for mo re t ha n a n hour wa itin g eage rl y for what he II'a nt ed t o te ll me. Bu t he only t a lked a bou t indiH'er- e nt t hin gs. Th e n th e nurse fin a lly ca me in a nd sa id s he could not a llow me t o st ay longer, she mu st as k me t o leave. Bu t th en S tille r s uddenl y go t desperate. H e grab bed my a rm in despa ir a nd would not let me go . \" N o, no,\" he cried , \" I have n't to ld him what I mu st t e ll him! \" Th e nurse se pa rated us a nd pu: hed me towa rd t he doo r. 1 tri ed to q ui et a nd comfort him , savin g th a t he co uld te ll it t o me to-m o rrow. But he go t mo re a nd more despe rate, his face wa: wet wit h t ea rs. And he sa id. \" I wa nt to te ll .vo u a Vi ctor Seast ro m in s t or v for a film . it will be a grea t film , it i ' a bout Bergma n's WILD hum a n be in gs a nd .vo u a re th e onl y one who ca n STRA WB E RRI ES. do it .\" 1 was so mov(;'d I did not kn ow wh at to sa.v. [photo: Museum of Modern Art/Film \" Yes, yes, Moje,\" was a ll I could s t a mmer, \" 1 will S tills Archi ve ] he wit h yo u the fi rst t hin g in th e mo min g a nd th en .vo u will te ll me.\" I left hi m cryin g in t he a rms of t he nurse. Th e re was no mornin g. Next day he was a lm ost un co nscious. he t ri ed to ta lk but a lt hough I put m.v ea r c lose t o his mouth I co uld not ma ke out wh at he sa id. And I do n't kn ow if he unde rst ood wha t 1 sa id. He o nl .v kept on st ar in g at me. A day 01' t wo la t e r he passed away . 11111111 A l't l'r I !JI !I. S\\'t: Il ~k Fillll ilici usni . 50 SUMMER 1970
Greta Ga rb o a nd Ma Uli tz Stiller as they a rrived in the Uni ted States in 1925. [photo: Cinema bilia ] Lars Ha nso n, Greta Ga rbo a nd Victo r Sjostrom (by now Seastrom) on the set of TH E DI VI NE WO MA N , 1928. [photo : Museum of Modern Art/ Film Stills Archive]
New Film Against Vietnam War From 2 New York University Students by Dinitia Smith 3 On the tape , the voice of a woman : \" I wanta die right here . My son is dead , my son is dead ... the 4 rich get richer and the poor lose their loved ones.\" 1. Deborah Macagno interviews a retired carpenter about The cameraman hesitates to intrude but then Vietnam , outside Trinity Church . [Photo courtesy Algis switches on . In front of Trinity Church on Lower Kaupas .] Broadway, Mrs. Anna Silverstein , supported by her 2. \" I don 't speak English \" -at least about Vietnam , says a husband , laments like an Andromache or one of bus passenger pursued by Burt Cohen . [Photo courtesy Lorca's women for her son , a helicopter pilot killed Chris Lane.] in Vietnam . 3. Some New Yorkers interviewed by Moritoriu m peace- workers , like this high-school student , said that more revo- This moment typifies the filming experience of 26 lutionary changes were needed to create peace. [Photo students at New York University's Institute of Film courtesy Fred Elmes .) during the shooting of Vietnam Moratorium Day, 4. A New York passer-by accepts a black armband from a October 15 , 1969 . The film is their form of political peace-worker . [Photo courtesy Fred Elmes.] protest. The students wanted to discover what par- ticipating in the Moratorium , or not participating , meant to citizens in New York City. More precisely, the students wanted to find out whether New Yorkers in the street that brilliant autumn day had any sense of control over their collective destiny. The students were consciously reacting against the conventional media-they wanted to make their film personal and immediate , dealing with politics on a human rather than on an issue level. In the early morning near Wall Street , where the names of thousands of war dead were read aloud in Tr ini ty Church , the students filmed not only Mrs . Silverstein but the clergyman who comforted her. He urged Mrs. Silverstein and her hUSband to con- vert the ir grief into energy to work for peace and to prevent the killing of other young men . Algis Kaupus, the second-year graduate student who shot Mrs. Silverstein, said : \" My first reaction was not to film her, that I would be invading her privacy ... but I realized that she embodied the whole reality of death in Vietnam .\" 52 SUMMER 1970
Said another student in the crew : \" To see the fan- issues. Ultimately, one student with a lifeless face tastic, incomprehensible grief of a mother who 's lost beyond his years told the interviewer: \" I want to a son . , . to think that for every name of the war get a good job and be successful and use that dead that was read outside Trinity Church that day money to help the poor.\" there is such a mother ... this experience person- alized all the political ideas I had held before ,\" In another scene , an inebriated American Indian on the street was asked : \" What 's it like to be an Indi- \" We wanted to make a human film , not just a politi- an?\" \"Well ,\" the Indian replied , \" Give me $24 and cal film ,\" added a third student film maker. \" We I' ll tell you what it means .\" His opinion of the Viet- wanted to convey the sense that politics is people , nam war? \" Lousy .\" His experiences fighting in all sorts of people , not just issues .\" Korea? \" I hated it ... I had to kill to survive .\" Then stumbling , he assured the film crew: \" But this is The result is 8,500 feet-nearly four hours-of 16mm my cou ntryl \" black and white footage that the students are editing to one hour. The four camera crews who fanned Is war necessary? An old man who had been out over New York on October 15 covered not only organized political demonstrations but also sought coming to the same park-bench for years muttered the responses of those citizens who had chosen not to take part in the Moratorium . that \" War is a national thing that has gone on and A Black student from Stuyvesant High School , who will go on always .. . everything 's going too fast. earlier that day had participated in anti-war rallies, spoke of the revolution to come and of those who Conditions are only going to get worse every- would not participate . \" They ' ll just have to be pulled along ,\" he chuckled . A well-dressed middle-aged thing 's going too fast nowadays,\" Reluctant to talk woman started at him intensely, a smile of compla- cent condescension on her face . about Vietnam , he said , \" Older people need more Three thirteen-year-olds were selling peace buttons attention , but I doubt if there's any way they could for the Fifth Avenue Peace Parade Committee. One-with the awkward grace of his age but with get people to pay more attention .\" the sadness of an older man-said that he first Another old man , excited by the presence of the became \" jolted \" by the reality of the Vietnam war film crew , gasped almost incoherently: \" We need during the fourth grade. For peace in Vietnam , a hot war or a cold war to keep prosperity . We ' ll \" There must be more mutual giving and taking .\" have another Depression when this one's over. I He spoke of a teen-age friend who had volunteered don 't believe in war personally , but it 's the good for military service because he \" had troubles in his Lord who will make peace.\" family, you know.\" The friend was going to Vietnam . \" Whenever I am in a room with him I can 't help A street-cleaner said : \"I have no opinions .. . there but think of him as already dead .\" are too many pros and cons.\" Another man walking At mid-day , at a rally in Central park , another N .Y .U . rapidly away from the camera called over his crew talked to an intensely serious dark-haired girl. shoulder: \"You keep your opinions and I' ll keep Sensing their political helplessness, she complained minel\" Through his car window, another man that the vast crowd of teenagers milling about in shouted : \"There's not too much people can do to the October sunshine \" are just here to be part of make their will known ,\" then drove off. From the the crowd ,\" Asked what political action she could window of a paused bus, a fourth man said : \" I don 't take to end the war, she replied : \" I can 't think of know how to speak English . I don't want to answer anything that is really strong .\" any questions.\" Another crew at Columbia University interviewed an \" But moments like these were rare ,\" said the film AWOL G .1. seeking sanctuary in St . Paul ' s Chapel. crew. \" Mostly people revealed themselves in re- Filming him beside the embroidered altar cloth , the markable ways.\" students aSked : \" Are you frightened ?\" \" I'm ex- hausted ,\" the soldier replied , his hands trembling . The students are now cutting the film . There are three main editors-Algis Kaupus, Deborah Macag- The film crews were concerned not only with the no and Anne Belle. They hope to communicate organized events-the rally at Bryant Park with Mc- through the final film their own human sense about Carthy, Javits, Goodell , and Lindsay, and the can- the war and to illuminate where people think the dlelight services at St. Patrick 's Cathedral , and other power lies in the ir lives . public protests-but with the way many New Yorkers went about their daily lives apparently unaffected \" But the reality is that at this point , the film cannot by the Moratorium . Thus, a young couple shopping with their baby complained , not about the war, but be entirey finished ,\" said Nancy Bennett, a first-year about rising prices . \" I make $75 a week , and after we take out stuff for the baby there 's nothing to student. The students need an additional $2 ,000 to save,\" said the father. complete their work . illllill \" Instead of leading people in the interviews, we let them lead us,\" said Deborah Macagno, a sec- Persons or companies able to make contributions- ond-year graduate student who worked on the film . financial or lab services-towards the completion of One camera crew found students lounging on the the NYU student Moratorium Film are invited to con- grass at Columbia watching the political protest tact Nancy Bennett or Deborach Macagno at activity going around them . The students were re- luctant to commit themselves or to discuss the NYU Institute of Film and Televis io n 40 East 7th Street New York , New York 10003 Phone : 212 / 598-3366 Contribution checks can be made out to Moratorium Film , c ' 0 Nancy Bennett , Treasurer , and sent to her at the same above address . When the film has earned back its production costs , each contributor will be offered the choice of (a) having his con tr ib ution returned , or (b) leaving it at NYU as part of a fund for further student films . FILM COMMENT 53
arts in society beautiful thoughtful ecological
., . J NO CAMPING NO SWIMM'M, · ~, NO HIKING NO RELAXINQ NO FISHING NO HUNTING NO RIDING NO SIGHTSEEI, ' • £u~mo~..~ns, Only you can prevent forest fires.
LETTERS Identification of Anonymous then director of the Motion Picture and Television Service of USIA. I hoped , however, that when I finally Speaker in FILM COMMENT did resign from USIA the interview could be pub- lished , and even that a new up-dated interview could Article about Vitenam be conducted. Upon my resignation in May of 1968, certain misunderstandings had arisen between my- The following letter, p rinted in its entirety, ha s been self and the editor of FILM COMMENT, and as a re c eived from William Bayer, the anonymous result I made no effort to contact him and give him \" Speaker\" of our FILM COMMENT interview-article a green-light for publication . His decision to publish Films in Vietnam , volume 5, number 2, Spring 1969: was made without any communication with me. In this letter, Bayer identifies himself as the U S Information Agency film s officer whom FILM COM- I wish to emphasize that the only reason I' withheld' MENT interviewed for this report on film propaganda permission earlier was because I did not and still in Vietnam He also reproa ches FILM COMMENT for do not think it appropriate to work for an organiza- the manner of its publication The editor 's reply tion , recei ve a salary from an organization , and at follows the Bayer letter. the same time disregard the terms of employment- which , in this case , meant political clearance on an To the Editor: article or interview. I might have resigned for the special purpose of seeing the interview published , I believe your readers are entitled to the following but I made a decision to stay with USIA for many facts concerning excerpts from an interview with reasons, and the publication or non-publication of me about films in Vietnam which appeared in FILM this interview was a factor of no significance to me COMMENT. at the time. 1] Anonymity: The excerpts were published without 4] Errors in the article: There are many small errors my permission , possibly because the editor of FILM in the article concerning Vietnamese words (place COMMENT feared that had he asked my permission names , proper names , etc .) , and also a few errors I might have refused . The fact is that had he asked of fact which I made while being tape-recorded . Had my permission , and had we had the opportunity to I been consulted on publication , I could have cor- resolve certain misunderstandings, I would have rected them all . consented to publication . I would also have insisted that my name be used . It is distasteful to me to see 5] Errors in the editor 's note preceding the artic le. these excerpts presented as an \" anonymous re- port ,\" making it appear that I, their author , am afraid It is not true that after the interview I returned to to be identified. Vietnam for a second tour of duty with USIA. It is 2] Time of the interview: I was interviewed by James true that I made three subsequent trips to Vietnam, Blue in January , 1966. That was three and a half each of two months duration , over the past three years ago. It is regrettable that the date was not mentioned in the editor 's note, even though refer- years, and that on these trips I wrote, produced , ences within the te xt make it deducible by persons well-versed in Vietnamese affairs . By not dating the and directed films for USIA . However none of these interview , the editor has conve yed an incorrect im- pression of a more recent date. films was for internal propaganda use in Vietnam- 3] Background concerning the interview and my as implied by the ex pression \" another tour .\" Rather subsequent decision to withhold permission to pub- lish. I cannot possibly see how \" FILM COMMENT's they were for world-wide distribution by USIA, and internal financial problems and irregular publishing schedule\" had anything to do with the withholding they have mostly to do with the culture and folklore of the material-as stated in the editor's comment. At the time the interview was made, I had just re- of rural areas . I had total artistic control , and in no turned from a two-year tour in Vietnam , and was undecided about my futu're professional plans. case did I make a film which was not amenable to Shortly after the interview I decided to remain with USIA , and in order to comply with government regu- my political views . One of these films, entitled RICE , lations I wrote the editor of FILM COMMENT re- questing that the interview not be published . All which won a CINE Golden Eagle in 1968 , accurately articles authored by USIA employees must be cleared prior to publication . I knew the clearance presents some of my thoughts as ex pressed in the on this article could not be obtained , because of policies then prevailing within the Johnson Admin- excerpts , on the dilemma of the Vietnamese people. istration on public statements by government per- sonnel on Vietnam . Also , I did not wish to embarrass Another, PROCESSIONS , nominated for a Golden my supervisors , particularly George Stevens , Jr., Eagle in 1969, also touches upon some of the am- biguities of the struggle. I was enormously im- pressed with the reception that these films of mine received from high ranking personnel within USIA, and the freedom granted by them to me during some of the most poisonous months of the Johnson Ad- ministration . RI CE is a long , long way from NIGHT OF THE DRAGON , and in retrospect it is remarkable to me that I was able to work with such f recoendtormo~ within the government , on issues of such versy. 6] Some thoughts upon re-readlng the interview.' At the time the interview was made, I was less than two months out of Vietnam and in the middle of 56 SUMMER 1970
re-examining my views toward the war . I believe that I re-transcribed and edited the entire tape, which the published excerpts accurately convey my views was about seven hours in length . I am responsible at the time. They have since changed greatly, and for its use . for this reason I would have wished to have been re-interviewed by FILM COMMENT. Since this did Bayer had written for FILM COMMENT on an earlier not happen , and since I was not consulted on the occasion-our Volume 1, number 5, Summer 1963 publication of these excerpts, I would like to take issue carried his interview with his step-father, the opportunity now to say that I detest the Vietnam director Frank Perry, who discussed his film , DAVID War, the arrogance and stupidity of our political AND LISA . Bayer was then a young film maker with and military leaders who created it and who continue USIA, later made various trips to Vietnam , and it, the bleeding hearts of the insipid liberals (i.e . res igned finally in May 1968. He is now preparing Bundy, Schlesinger, et al) who condoned it and now a featu re film , assisted with a g rant from the find it distasteful on grounds of impracticality, and American Film Institute, which is administered by the ruling and middle-class Vietnamese, including George Stevens , Jr ., former head of film operations most of the local film community , who have become at USIA. rich off of it and who exalt in it. In certain respects , too, I am appalled by some of the things I speak Film critics often insist that a proper judgment of about in the interview-appalled that I could have a film must derive solely from an evaluation of what thought what I then thought and could have done occurs on the screen , and that there can be no some of the things I mentioned . My only consolation exculpation for the director in terms of off-screen is that in some of the films I have made since my extenuations e .g ., his own psychoneurosis , the tour in Vietnam , I have spoken on behalf of the one sponso r' s inanities , errors in the lab , cutting-room group of people who have no voice in the war and atrocities, tantrums from the star, etc. Similarly, FILM yet who suffer the most from it: the beautiful , grace- COMMENT takes the rap for having printed the ful , resilient people of rural Vietnam . Bayer interview, Films in Vietnam . We did it. No excuses . It's in print. it's now a public document William Bayer and we can only hope that our readers found value in the piece. Editor's Reply to William Bayer Now we have an addendum to that original interview , The foregoing letter was written by the USIA films in the form of the letter above from Bayer. Thus , officer whom James Blue and I interviewed on tape our readers now will have to incorporate his charges in two long sessions-December 18 and December of our having misused this interview, into their total 3D , 1965-in my New York apartment. evaluation of our special-issue called Film in Asia . At that time, Blue and I had known Bayer for about Two former O .W .I. film consultants have written us three years . I had met him occasionally in in praise of the Bayer interview , and several other Washington and New York , as I was then readers as well. The piece is loaded with solid periodically employed in several capacities on USIA information and facts about little-known aspects of films , five in all , about Africa , Dr . King , Ameri- film making in Vietnam and about our government's can architecture and the American tradition of film program in general. The interview is pro-USIA . democratic dissent [sic] . I later dropped out of film It emphatically is not anti-USIA , although Bayer in making due to an occupational disability-lack of some sections complains of this or that USIA talent-in order to devote myself to film journalism . shortcoming . But he believes in the Agency and In all I have published about two dozen separate defends it against its accusers . He offers many ideas issues of FILM COMMENT, and within them are and methods for improving it. With few exceptions, three or four articles about USIA-several he is affirmative in his description of USIA films . He commending the Agency and several elucidating is proud of his films , which sound intelligent and some aspect or other of USIA misbehavior, like the skillful and dramatically effective . He is a strong abuse of stock footage in the JFK film , YEARS OF ad vocate of a bolder and more intelligent American government film program and the need to exploit LIGHTNING , DAY OF DRUMS . the persuasive power of film to win minds . I am assured that these USIA articles in FILM Irrelevant though they may be , let me proffer below COMMENT are read in Washington , because I often some explanations of how we dealt with Bayer's receive phone calls from USIA film makers-placed interview: from home, not the office-praising the magazine for printing this or that article. Among my Regarding Bayer's complaint , in paragraph 4 , of acquaintances today are about twenty persons \" many small errors \" of spelling of Vietnamese working with USIA. words, we found that such names are often rendered in Engl ish in different ways . For example , Bayer's After the taping of the Bayer interviews, he went spelling, on the tape , of the village of Hoai My differs over the first and last portions of the from that of Time, which describes our American transcription-according to Blue 's memory of the triumphs that occurred there . He states also that event. But in the summer of 1968, while in Europe, there were \" a fe w errors of fact \" -obvjously from FILM COMMENT 57
IEIIERS the tape-but quite rightly these could have been Here is my reply : Bayer came here voluntarily for caught if he had participated in the printing . these taping sessions, knowing what kind of magazine we were . We made certain assurances Regarding Bayer's statement in paragraph 5, that to one another about the use of the interview. Within he did not have a second tour of duty in Vietnam several weeks , he reversed himself and decided to after the interview but instead returned there remain with the Agency and to return to Vietnam . subsequently on three occasions totalling six Bayer demanded the return of about a dozen months of filming-that distinction escapes me and photographs documenting his interview, showing in no way invalidates the interview . Regarding his him directing USIA films in Vietnam . I returned them . statement that our term \" second tour \" implied that What Bayer twice calls \" certain misunderstandings\" his three subsequent visits to Vietnam were for the arose . I had to ask myself as editor-what to do? purpose of making propaganda films for internal use But there were other factors in my thinking . FILM within Vietnam , I doubt that readers made this COMMENT was chronically in trouble with debts and inference. Further, I think that readers were we were behind schedule . Still , I wanted to bring out concerned with the overall facts of the Vietnamese the piece because it plainly was an exclusive , a film situation , not with the personal details of Bayer's scoop of the kind that other film magazines ignored . career. But I don 't mean to sound insensitive to I wrote and telephoned to Bayer on several Bayer's wanting his films properly documented . occasions, reminding him of his promise to update Apparently his later work for USIA in Vietnam was and enlarge the article. Time passed . He quit the more satisfying to him artistically and politically, Agency . So did Stevens, Jr. The politics of the judging from his letter. Vietnam mess changed . Bayer 's film interview by then had become a minor historical film document In his paragraph 2, Bayer states that FILM but not a sensational expose . So we printed it. COMMENT conveys an inaccurate impression that this interview was recent , while in fact it was taped When FILM COMMENT's Film in Asia special-issue , three and a half years earlier. I withheld printing with Bayer 's material , appeared in May of 1969 , he the date of the interview in the same spirit that I telephoned , commended our handling of the thing cut many passages from the tape; to reduce clues and acknowledged that he 'd been expecting it for identifying Bayer as the \" Speaker \" of the interview , some time . A short time later, he wrote a letter that although I guessed that he could be recognized by we publish above . We print it in full. We hope that some officials within USIA. But I doubt that many it now sets the record straight. readers were misled about the period discussed in the interview, as there are many references and Having founded and built FILM COMMENT, I have footnotes about people and events that provide an had seven years of struggle to see it published from appro ximate date. Besides , my own introduction to one precarious issue to the next. Of course , I have the interview on page 46 of this issue speaks of made mistakes-including ethical felonies-and its being \" an historical document \" about film in perhaps my handling of Bayer's material on film Vietnam \" during the 1960's.\" We speak also of the propaganda in Vietnam in the 1960 's is among them . interview's long-range value concerning film If I' ve hurt him professionally , I sincerely apologize . propaganda in general , years after \" the immediate That wasn 't my intention . Nor have I been stalking political and military details of Vietnam are blurred the U. S. Information Agency . Over the years , I could by time.\" have printed a great deal more , if the USIA were my un-magnificent obsession. Finally , my page 46 introduction spells out Bayer 's activities after the interview and definitely suggests We printed this Bayer interview because it is plainly that at least several years have passed : i.e., I say too important to withhold-but not as a club to beat that he \" subsequently returned to Vietnam ... he USIA, nor to damage Bayer. was now resigned , has published several fiction works and is presently on a filmwriting project Gordon Hitchens funded by a grant. \" In short , we indicate the Editor, FILM COMMENT passage of plenty of time after the interview. Ililllll Bayer's paragraph 6 states that since his interview with FILM COMMENT he has changed enormously, To the Editor: he now scorns the arrogance and stupidity of our government , and he is appalled by some of the Regarding your East Europe issue of FILM COM- things he said and did at that time . He concluded MENT, I find much of interest. Unfortunately, I find with a salute to the courage of the Vietnamese one thing that is simply phony , and that puts me people . on my guard . Paragraphs 1 and 3 contain Bayer's main charges The picture occupying p. 28 is not, as labeled , \"A against FILM COMMENT-or more specifically, scene from LENIN .\" It is a reproduction of a very against me personally as editor-because obviously well-known painting , and it hardly takes a careful a magazine 's policies are an abstraction , and there eye to realize that. In the same caption : \" Trotsky are only men as editors making this or that blunder . is on the far right , same level ,\" is wrong. That is Sverdlov, not Trotsky. Trotsky simply does not ap- pear in Soviet paintings . Period . Sverdlov (also Jew- 58 SUMMER 1970
ish , which partly explains the resemblance) was the Volumes of surveys have been compiled during the first President of the U.S.S .R. , when Lenin was Pre- past two decades in an effort to determine whether mier , and he died a natural death in 1919. Lucky or not educational television is a successful venture man . in the classroom . Teachers have fought its use out of fear-an ill-founded fear that the medium would A smaller error appears at the bottom of the secQnd replace them in the classroom . They have failed to paragraph , p. 29-not \" Sintsian ,\" but \" Sinkiang .\" und erstand its place in the overall education pattern by refusing to use the utilization manual provided William M. Mandel them . School admin istrators and teachers have Berkeley , Californ ia failed to recognize the very learning elements to which children respond . Editor's reply: The ironic thing about all this reticence is that in We certainly do not dispute with Mr. Mandel , who spite of endless courses in their own training relating is a specialist in Soviet affairs and who broadcasts to \" developing and motivating,\" \" classroom envi- a Soviet Press Review series for the Pacifica net- ronment,\" et cetera, these teachers and administra- work . He is also an author and a teacher of note. tors have had the hardware to help them accomplish Of course , Trotsky is not acknowledged in Soviet these goals for years , in the form of instru ctional film , at least in this way , and we apologize to Mr. telev ision . But curriculum and media people would Mandel and to all readers . But the painting does not allow innovation in the television productions , app ear in the film LENIN , according to our informa- and by so doing , each day dug deeper the genera- tion . tion gap. By the way, Mr. Mandel and readers may be inter- Instructional television-in mood , music, vernacular ested to learn that Sovexportfilm took a double-page and subject matter-must relate to the audience for spread in the ann iversary issue of Variety January whom it is intended , be it preschool , primary , inter- 7, 1970, to announce the availability for US bookings mediate or secondary levels. That doesn 't mean the of eight Soviet films on Lenin , on this occasion of TV teacher has to \" be one of them \" but rather the centenary of his birth . The titles and names of provides the challenge to present the material unos- their directors follow: THE LIVING LENIN , Mikhail tentatiously , and with an acceptable dramatic im- Romm , M . Siavinskay ; LENIN IN OCTOBER, Romm ; THE pact, enhanced by television production techn iques. MAN WITH THE GUN , Sergei Yutkevich ; STORIES ABOUT LENIN , Yutkevich ; LENIN IN 19 18 , Romm ; THE SIXTH Early lTV lessions were deadly , and it is no Wonder OF JULY , Yuli Karasik ; LENIN IN POLAND , Yutkevich ; the medium suffered a bad image. As the quality MOTHER 'S HEART, MOTHER 'S DEVOTION , Mark Donskoi . of personnel has improved in the industry of pro- ducing lTV lessons, production people have begged 11II1111 for the opportunity to change that early image, but educators can be pretty dogged in following those When Will Educators Learn? old college textbooks they read a long time ago . To the Editor: TV production people are intelligent, sensitive pro- fessionals. When will educators learn that, given the I am writing in regard to the one-hour daily television concept within the curriculum structure, the re- series for young children , SESAME STREET, which is sponsibility for the finished product-the lTV les- produced for nation-wide use by the Children 's son-should lie with television production person- Television Workshop at 1865 Broadway, New York . nel? Will SESAME STREET serve to unlock the talents in ETV stations across the country , permitting them It took SESAME STREET, an $8 million project, to open to make learning an exciting ex perience? Cut it any the eyes of most educators to the real potential of way you like , ETV is show bit , it's impact, it 's imagi- instructional television . There's no denying the suc- nation . It's not the school district's budget depart- cess of SESAME STREET. Over five million cliildren ment or school facilities department or personnel each day sit transfi xed before their home television department. Its success depends upon the marriage screens-learning , and thoroughly enjoying the of all these elements, w ith all partners charged with , process. and enjoying the freedom of carrying out their sepa- rate responsibilities without interference from each Television production people have long known that other. When will educators learn? the most effective use of the med ium was not in duplicating what is often a dull classroom situation , Name withheld by request. The but they have been hamstrung by those school preceding letter is from the administrators who profess to \" helping the child . Program Manager of an develop creatively\" when they have not themselves learned . educational television channel operated by a local board of Educational television has recruited some of the education . most innovative , creative and skilled personnel in the nation . How? With a dream . The dream of dOing the kinds of things that are finally being done on SESAME STREET. FILM COMMENT 59
FILM IN THE THIRD REICH viewed almost all the productions mentioned-a truly impressive accomplishment. BY DAVID STEWART HULL This first-hand information constitutes one of the many University of California Press, Berkeley and Los values of the book. Aware of the fact that many of the Angeles , 1969 : hardcover $8 .95 : 291 pages ; photo- films are in danger of chemical disintegration and also that the majority of them are unknown if not inaccessible graphs: Bibliography: Index. to most readers, the author provides excellent, graphic descriptions, sufficiently detailed to serve their purpose. REVIEWED BY GEORGE AMBERG In preparing these synopses , he has wisely refrained Professor Amberg is Chairman of the Graduate Pro- from psychological interpretation. To \" explain\" the Nazi gram in Cinema . New York University. films would be as difficult and speculative as to explain the Nazi movement that accounts for them . Instead , This is a book of exceptional merit: it fills a conspicuous Hull concentrates on giving a wealth of factual back- gap and fills it with distinction . To the dismay of the ground \"by describing legislation, the films , their gene- film historians, substantial literature on the German sis , and the biographies of their creators.\" Even so , cinema , in any language . is scanty and largely inade- he was often treading on treacherous ground without quate. There are a few exceptions: Wollenberg 's mod- losing sight of his reasonable objectives . He deserves est-sized but reliable Fifty Years of German Film (1948) our thanks for having so successfully persisted. has been out of print for years: Kracauer's solid and thorough From Ca/igari to Hilter (1947) covers essen- THE HAUNTED SCREEN tially the period contained in its title and is , moreover, EXPRESSIONISM IN THE GERMAN CINEMA AND colored or discolored by the author's endeavor to sub- THE INFLUENCE OF MAX REINHARDT stantiate a questionable thesis: Joseph Wulf's Theater BY LOTTE H. EISNER und Film in Dritten Reich (1964) , an indispensable collection of authentic documents-the more telling for Translated from the French by Roger Greaves: Uni- refraining from personal comment-is virtually untrans- versity of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, latable: Lotte Eisner's comprehensive and brilliant 1969; hardback , $10.95 ; 360 pages; Photographs; analysis of the German expressionist film . The Haunted Appendix The DREIGROSCHENOPER Lawsuit: Screen. now available in English , covers only the pre- bibliography; index; A Selective Filmography, Nazi production . Hull also lists Alfred Bauer's catalogue 1913-1933; Sources of Illustrations. of German feature films from 1929 to 1950, with which this reviewer is not familiar . Adding to the deficiency REVIEWED BY HERMAN G . WEINBERG of documentary and literary coverage is the near-im- possibility of obtaining prints of certain phases of the First as the French L 'Ecran Demoniaque. then as the German cinema , more particularly of the Hilter period . expanded German Damonische Leinwand. followed by the further revised and expanded French edition of Thus the need for a reliable study of the Nazi cinema 1965, we now have for the first time in English this is obvious , placing emphasis on reliability . Books of epochal work , The Haunted Screen-the whole fas- German origin emerging from and dealing with this cinating story of the demon-haunted German cinema twelve-year period of insular film production are enor- from the neurasthenic post-World War I period right mously revealing on account of the pervasive spirit of up to today . It was a formidable assignment that Ma- self-delusion, arrogance, opportunism , dishonesty and dame Eisner gave herself, but she must have fulfilled ideological obsession, and moreover they are \" ridicu- it with high relish , and the result is quite a book . Indeed , lously loaded with propaganda ,\" as Hull points out. For nobody else could have written it. One can safely pre- those very reasons , they are practically useless as dict that The Haunted Screen will remain the definitive factual source material. Wulf's matter-of-fact docu- work on the subject of German screen expressionism mentation. to which Hull pays due credit , incidentally and the theatrical ecstasy that produced it . provides an astonishing sampling of the ambiguous and corrupt moral climate then prevailing in Germany . Even more than the scholarship that went into the book is its sheer readibility , surpassing the excitement of a The Nazi phenomenon is unique . The complex political , spellbinding detective story , as one progresses from ideological and emotional enigma that the Third Reich the \" pre-history days of the cinema\" before and during represents to this day to the chronicler-and that largely World War I, then CALIGARI , through SIEGFRIED , THE accounts for Dr. Kracauer's search into psychological GOLEM , DESTINY . THE LAST LAUGH . VARIETY , FAUST , ME- motivations-equally perplexes the film historian . To TROPOLIS-how can one resist naming them all , those quote a familiar example, the violent emotional charge now legendary names?-through the sound era , M, THE engendered by any discussion of the controversial BLUE ANGEL , THE THREEPENNY OPERA , THE TESTAMENT OF figure of Leni Riefenstahl and THE TRIUMPH OF THE WILL. DR . MABUSE , and into the Nazi period . with OLYMPIADE , suggests some of the more equivocal problems con- TRIUMPH OF THE WILL-finally the post-World War II ef- fronting the searcher of the truth . fusions , so lacking in all the qualities that once made the German cinema the first in the world . All this Ma- Hull has approached his difficult task with commend- dame Eisner recounts vividly , illuminated with revealing able fairness and objectivity , allowing the facts to tell quotations from German literature, from Goethe, Heine the story . At present , and possibly for a long time to and others, to show those aspects of the German come. these data represent the most complete and psyche that gave the Germans a predisposition towards most accurately compiled record available, making this expressionism, like the book 's epigraph , from Leopold study the standard reference work for the scholar. The Ziegler: Die Heilige Reich der Deutschen. 1925: \" The author carries his responsibility with modesty, qualifying German man is the supreme example of the demonic his contribution as a preliminary attempt. He has not man . Demonic indeed seems the abyss which cannot only , as one would expect. researched libraries and archives as well as consulted and interviewed nu- merous key personalities but, more importantly. he has 60 SUMMER 1970
- be filled , the yearning which cannot be assuaged, the Ie,,' I~illllllttttl(s thirst which cannot be slaked.\" 1~I·ttllll·I·;le'Jel· What do we mean by expressionism? It was an early twentieth century art movement, a black flower among FILM ESSAYS AND A LECTURE art movements that were in ferment before and during World War I. Expressionism burst forth in full hysterical By Sergei Eisenstein· Edited by Jay Leyda bloom in Germany in the feverish years immediately This challenging collection of writings from the following the war . In famine , inflation and riots , out of de- famous experimental film·maker (Potemkin, feat and disaster for the German people (perhaps also Ivan the Terrible, I and II, etc') contains his out of the harsh Treaty of Versailles) came the tortured richest cinematic theories-his view of the film CALIGARI and-as Kracauer tried to show with what as a synthesis of all arts and all sciences and his seemed to be inexorable logic , in his From Caligari vision of an \"intellectual cinema.\" 220 pp., 9 fa Hilfer-out of CALIGARI came, one by one, the parox- photogs., bibliog., index. $6.95 (Paper, $2.95) ysms of the German ethos , the hang-ups , if you like , of the German bourgeoisie , in which a pattern could TBEFILMSOF be traced in the German films that showed how slowly , JEAN-LUC GODARD subtly but inevitably something monstrous was growing out of the screen monsters (the films reflecting , as they Edited by Ian Cameron always do , the times) that was to erupt in the Nazi hydrophobia of 1933-45. Breathless, V ivra sa Vie, and Weekend among the other works of this controversial film direc· Expressionism has been defined as a heightened reali- tor are analyzed by an international group of ty , often via the non-objective use of symbols, stereo- critics. 192 pp., 93 illus., filmography, bibliog. typed characters and stylization , in order to give objec- tive expression to inner experience. The sets \" acted \" $5.95 (Paper, $2.95) as much as the players , so expressive were they . As for the players, they externalized their emotions, es- TBE FILMS OF tablishing a mean and imposing a rigorous style upon ROBERT BRESSON that mean. (An excellent non-Germanic example of stylized acting in the expressionistic manner was Cath- Edited by Ian Cameron erine Hessling 's playing of NANA in the Renoir film- could this have resulted because the film was shot The works of the most famous living director of partly in Berlin during the expressionist frenzy in the religious films-among them A Man Escaped German capital?) and Mouche£te-are examined by a group oJ crit· ics with widely divergent interpretations. 144 But the deepest roots of expressionism extend to the pp., 80 illus., filmography. $4.95 (Paper, $2.95) fin de siecle, Frank Wedekind (1864-1918) having been one of the earliest expressionist playwrights. The ex- LINDSAY ANDERSON pressionist films that followed were among the most fascinating and, not infrequently, among the best ever By Elizabeth Sussex made anywhere. At least up to 1933 they were . After that , with Hitler, Germany went out of its mind . A few If and all the other films of the British director good works appeared for a brief while , in the early Nazi periJld-out of the great past momentum , before the are analyzed in relation to the principles he last -of Germany's best directors fled . Then the long dark \" night of the long knives \" shrouded the Third established for filmography as editor and critic Reich. Finally, we have today the surviving miasmic film industry of Germany. for the magazine Sequence. 96 pp., 72 illus., But the major part of Madame Eisner's book deals with filmography. $4.95 (Paper, $2.95) the florescence of the German film before Hitler, and that was quite a florescence . Nothing like that \" golden SECOND WAVE age\" of the German cinema was ever on any other national screen. For studio work this German period Edited by Ian Cameron has never been equalled . It is also-not incidentally , either-an eloquent tribute to the magnificent era of This book focuses on the international directors the silent screen at the peak of its creative splendor . Madame Eisner speaks of \" the weird pleasure the -Makavejev, Skolinowski, Oshima among them Germans take in evoking horror ,\" and she illustrates the high artistry attained by such macabre screen -whose works have been influenced by the sty- symphonies as NOSFERATU (a re-telling of the Dracula story) and THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE (which echoes the listic freedom that developed out of the French Faustian theme of the man who sells his. soul to the devil ), not to mention the psychoanalytic WARNING \"New Wave\" of the late \"fifties.\" 144 pp., illus., SHADOWS , which pre-dated the Freudian SECRETS OF A SOUL by three years , and the sly Freudian WAXWORKS , filmography. $4.95 (Paper, $2.50) which predated it by two years ARTBURPENN Not only the effect of this convulsive art movement on the German cinema but the influence of the great By Robin Wood The recently acclaimed American film director of Bonnie and Clyde and Alice's Restaurant is shown to be a vastly gifted artist, and perhaps the one best able to interpret the violence in. herent in modern society. 144 pp., 69 illus., filmography. $4.95 (Paper, $2.50) 11.-aleIJe.- 11111.lislle.-s HI Fourth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10003
A i • K!IIIIIiil theatrical director, Max Reinhardt-master of both the One awaits with the keenest anticipation Mme. Eisner's next books on Murnau and Fritz Lang , American edi- •_ _.._......._.. _._. _ . . . stage spectacle and the Kammerspiel, the small-scaled tions of which are promised this year. intimate stage production , the theatrical equivalent of SERGEI EISENSTEIN chamber music-these influences on the German BY LEON MOUSSINAC screen are delineated by Madame Eisner so that the General Editor: Pierre Lherminier; Translated from reader always knows exactly how everything happened , the French by D. Sandy Petrey; Cinema d'Au- through what influences, and how vast screen spec- jourd 'hui series; Crown Publishers, New York, 1970; tacles like DIE NIBELUNGEN and METROPOLIS came about paperback $2 .95 ; 190 pages Photographs ; also and how the smaller-scaled Kammerspiel films were Drawings by Eisenstein ; Index; Detailed bio-filmog- created-like the exquisite THE LAST LAUGH and THE LOVE raphy of Eisenstein . OF JEANNE NEY-not forgetting that exuberant and lusty archetypical expressionistic masterwork , VARIETY . REVIEWED BY HERMAN G . WEINBERG This Eisenstein book by Moussinac, pioneer French And so it goes-picture after picture , hallowed name critic and close friend of the Soviet director, was origi- after hallowed name-how the marvels all happened nally published in 1964 in the admirable Cinema d 'Au- Especially intriguing is the chapter , Pabst and The jourd 'hui series of Editions Seghers in Paris . It is good Miracle of Louise Brooks , as is the superb chapter on to have finally this English version . Just as Murnau was Murnau . He was the greatest, Madame Eisner says . the greatest German director, Eisenstein was the great- est Soviet director. Perhaps-and certainly intellec- It is a pleasure to read a book so informative and tually-he was the greatest director of any nationality, revealing on so absolutely fascinating a subject. It has been so carefully thought out , separated from the welter So a book like this becomes another absolute must of all that could have been said . Everything counts . for the student and aficionado . It also makes an ex- There is no inconsequential \" passage work \" here . cellent companion volume to Ivor Montagu 's recent With Eisenstein in Hollywood. Together , the two give A not inconsiderable asset to the book are the rich American readers a good idea what Eisenstein was like. iilustrations-reproduced , for once, large and lumi- Of course, the film scholar will want to supplement these nously clear,often directly from the films (the still-camera two with Jay Leyda 's edition of three volumes of Eisen- is seldom a match for the vitality of photos snatched stein 's theoretical writings , Film Sense, Film Form , and from the film itself). The stills have been chosen with Film Essays. Nor should we overlook Marie Seton 's unerring instinct to reach the heart of the films de- biography of Eisenstein . scribed , like the close-up of Pola Negri from CARMEN that fairly leaps from the page, and the shots of Jan- In the American editon of Moussinac's book , Crown nings in THE LAST LAUGH , and the lyrical image of Elisa- Publishers have done a real service by making available beth Bergner from NJU. The book 's visuals do , indeed , in English material never before published here . Espe- say as much as the proverbial thousand words a pic- cially revealing are Eisenstein 's letters to Moussinac ture . and Jean Mitry. The book begins with a bio-critical study In short , this is a jubilant must among film books and a model of sumptuous film-book publishing by the University of California Press. India's unique Bi-monthly Magazirie devoted to World Cinema Edited arid published by T. M. Ramachandran Sixth Year of Publication Intellectually Stimulating _ Aesthetically Rewarding _ Visually Exciting Authoritative and thought-provoking articles on the art of the Cinema in all pads of the globe, particularly in India, by eminent international film-makers and film critics, with interesting photographic coverage, make \"film world\" the most sought-after movie magazine in India and abroad , Price of Each Copy: $1,00 Annual Subscription : $4,00 inclusive of postage. the Circulation Manager \"film world\" A-15, Anand Nagar, . Juhu Tara Road, Bombay 54 AS (India). Please enrol me as a subscriber fo \"film world\" with effect from .. ................ .... .... ...... ...... .... ....... . I am remitting by cheque/International Money Order/Postal Order. $4. for one year 0 $7 for two years 0 $10 for three years , .. Please arrange to send the copies of \"film world\", post free, to the follOWing address , Name: (in Block letters) Address: Please ·tick the box to Indicate your preference , (Signature)
of Eisenstein and his work , follows with the corre- HORIZONS WEST spondence , then te xts and documents (theoretical Anthony Mann , Budd Boetticher, Sam Peckinpah : writings on \" The Idea,\" \" Music \" and \" Color\"), excerpts studies of Authorship within the Western from the scenar ios of POTEMKIN , OLD AND NEW , QUE BY JIM KITSES VIVA MEXI CO , and ALE XANDER NEVSK Y, the famous Cinema One series, number twelve; Indiana Univer- sound film manifesto he issued with Pudovkin and sity Press, Bloomington and London , 1970 [in asso- Ale xandrov in 1929 , the BEZ HIN MEADO W Affair (in a state- ciation with Sight and Sound and the Education ment by Boris Shumiatsky , film comm issar who aborted Department of the British Film Institute]; hardcover, the project), ending with a \" Critical Spectrum \" of eval- $5 .95 ; paperback , $2 .25 ; 176 pages ; illustrated with uations by a quartet of distinguished French critics photographs; filmographies of westerns directed by (including the late Georges Sadoul) and \" Witnesses : Anthony Mann , Budd Boetticher and Sam Peckin- Notes on Eisenste in \" in the person of testaments on Eisenstein by Ale xandrov , Pera Attacheva , Nicolai pah . Cherkassov , Dwight Macdonald and Ma xim Strauch The book concludes with a bio-filmography established REVIEWED BY THOMAS R. ATKINS by Sadoul. Profe ssor Ackins is with the Department of Dan c e and I c,!n only say that for me everything that is written Drama , at Hollins , College, Virginia . by or on Eisenstein becomes required reading beyond that of any other figure of the screen . This book is Jim Kitses's perceptive study of \" personal authorship \" particularly felicitous, comprising estimates of the man in the western is a valuable contribution to our under- by some who knew him best-Moussinac , Attacheva , standing and appreciation of a vital American genre Sadoul , Strauch . Eisenstein was a standard to which that has always been popular with audiences but which other directors were compared . Thus, Tom Curtiss, has not yet received the cirtical attention it deserves . drama editor of the Herald- Tribune (Paris) , wrote me Although nl.!merous directors of westerns are men- right after Sternberg 's death, \" Von Sternberg 's reputa- tioned in this short book , the author has wisely chosen tion here is very high . The New Wave set regard his not to attempt a superficial historical or thematic survey . work on the exalted level of Eisenstein ' s.\" Instead , Kitses has aimed for an in-depth evaluation of the careers of three post-war artists-Anthony Mann, And whom did this most exalted of directors admire? Budd Boetticher and Sam Peckinpah-all of whom , in In a letter to Jean Hersholt from Laredo , Te xas , in Kitses 's view , find their ideal mode of e xpression in March , 1932 , on his way back from the ill-fated Me xican the western . venture , Eisenstein revealed who it was : Horizons West [the title is from a Boetticher film) begins \" Another person I care about is Stroheim. If he feels with a discussion of the orig ins and elements of the toward me the same way , he might add his photo as genre , its mingling of history and folklore , reality and well. Before seeing Hollywood , during , and after, he romance . Kitses accepts the form as a \" loose , shifting still remains in my opinion the director! \" and variegated genre \" and does not try to formulate a narrow definity of the ic eal western . \" The model we must hold before us is o f a varied and fle xible struc- TWO NEW REPRINTS Now available lor immediate delivery! DANIEL BLUM's MARTIN QUIGLEY, Jr. SCREEN WORLD MAGIC SHADOWS Volume I 1949 Volume VI 1955 The Story of the Origin of Volume II 1956 the Motion Pictures Volume III 1951 Volume VII 1957 Volume IV 1958 $10.00 Volume V 1952 Volume VIII 1959 This volume records first explorations 1953 Volume IX of the path of light, ever widening from primitive dawn to the rainbow flood 1954 Volume X which now illuminates the world screen of the motion picture. (not published 1950) The complete pictorial and statistical record of the movies. $15.00 per volume $135.00 the set BIBLO & TANNEN BOOKSELLERS & PUBLISHERS, Inc. 63 FOURTH AVENUE NEW YORK, N. Y. 10003
.... \"\"Aliiiiiiiil,._I-,.._~. ture ,\" he summarizes , \" a thematically fertile and am- biguous world of historical material shot through with archetypal elements which are themselves ever in flu x.\" While the opening chapter is necessary and informa- tive , Kitses is clearly at his best [his style becomes sharper) when he gets to the business that appears really to involve him : the detailed , systematic analysis of specific films , scenes and characters . His treatment of Peckinpah 's THE WILD BUNCH , for instance , is the most lucid interpretation that I have read of his powerful film . Writing of detective fiction , R. H. W Dillard noted that 'for the genre offers artists \" a simplified and almost ritualis- tic context in which to develop and convey a moral your old film pattern while using the familiar elements of an increas- ing ly more complicated and amoral world .\" like detec- Whatever the condition of your tive fiction , the western film provides a strong frame- film, Rapid can repair, restore work of familiar conventions, stereotyped characters, and rejuvenate it. stock situations and locales, plus well-conditioned au- No matter how scratched, brittle, dience expectations. Everything , of course , depends oil-stained or dirty it is. No upon the filmmaker 's purpose , the use that he makes matter how badly spliced. Rapid of this simplified framework . 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Stressing the mythical and see for yourself what rather than the historical potentiality of the genre , Mann dramatic effect rejuvenation can creates larger-than-life heroes [played by James have ... on your films and on Stewart in five of his westerns) , desperate individuals your budget. who are compulsively driven by forces within them- selves . The narrative is usually a revenge story , but MAIL COUPON TODAY! the hero's desire for vengeance often has a neurotic, almost demented quality-as if he were unconsciously RAPID FILM punishing himself or trying to escape from some hidden TECHNIQUE, INC. aspect of his own character. The \" moral complexity\" is heightened by the emotional resemblance between Dept G 37-02 27th St. , the hero and the vi llain [frequently they are blood Long Island City, N .Y. 11101 relations) and by the suggestion that the villain is the hero's alter ego , an extreme personification of his own D Send me FREE Trial Certificate pent-up violent impulses. to test Rapid's rejuvenation process. Andrew Sarris once described Mann as \" a style without a theme,\" but Kitses demonstrates that Mann's west- D Send me FREE brochure, \"Rapid erns have a classical thematic pattern: they are con- Gives New Life To Old Film.\" cerned with the hero 's tragic attempt to free himself from a crippling and evil past [a past that lives on both D Please have a rejuvenation spe- in the villain and in the hero 's own irrational drives) . cialist call me to discuss my film Like Orestes or Hamlet, Mann 's hero can free himself library and show me how to save from the blood and guilt of the past only by mean s money. of an equally cruel action . The special intensity of the NAME ________________________ confrontation between the hero and the vi lla in-in such films as THE NAKED SPU R and MAN OF THE WEST [with COMPANY ______________________ Gary Cooper)-derives partially from the implication that , in killing the villai n, the hero is destroying a part ADDRESS _______________________ of himself. CITY _______________________ Boetticher's vision , on the other hand , is comic . In the Ranown series of western [produced by Harry Joe STATE ___________ ZIP --------- Brown and starring Randolph Scott) , the hero is not an obsessed , superhuman figure but usually a solitary , L_________________________ _ self-controlled man who endures chiefly because of his knowledge of himself and his carefu l assessment of the enemy and of the absurd world they both inhabit. His desire for revenge is not compulsive but motivated by a belief in his own private and hard-won co de of values . As Kitses points out , much of the irony in Boet- tic her's westerns stems from his sympathetic portrayal of the villain , almost always more colorful and human than the hero and usually involved in a comic attempt to be like the hero . Boetticher's personal authorship is evident in his objective attitude toward the genre and the ways in which he plays with its elements to create \" bitter-sweet reflections on the human condi- 64 SUMMER 1970
tion ,\" as relevant to Chaplin and Lubitsch as to Ford GOTHAM and Hawks . Kitses reminds us that Boetticher's films BOOK insist \" on a sophisticated relationship with the audi- MART ence , an agreement to reject simplistic notions of good and evil and to recognize that violence and injustice are for art and literature FILM FILE No.6 less the property of malignant individuals than of the world itself.\" 35¢ The most interesting section of his book, for me at least, THEATRE CATALOG (75 pp.) still available is Kitses 's penetrating \" interim study \" of the four west- Always in the market to buy film books & magazines erns directed by Sam Peckinpah . Among the author 's most important scholarly services are to provide a GOTHAM BOOK MART detailed account of the sixty minutes of footage deleted from the released version of MAJOR DUNDEE and to 41 W. 47, New York 10036 illuminate Peckinpah ' s intentions in his ambitious but incomplete film . Kitses describes Peckinpah 's charac- NEW QUARTERLY FOR ters as \" tortured souls caught up in an odyssey of DY ED-IN- TH E-WOOL self-e xploration .\" In contrast to Boetticher 's heroes , CINEPHILES who are relatively secure in their self-knowledge , Peck- inpah's heroes usually are ignorant of their true natures; No. features Mae Busch and this lack of selfawareness is often the chief source and five other arti cI es. of pain and suffering in the narrative . Major Dundee [played by Charlton Heston] masks his insecurity with No. 2 features Priscilla a self-righteous air of moral superiority, until circum- Dean and 5 other arti cI es . stances expose his own inferiority and brutal impu lses . The hero ' s terrifying self-discovery is by extension a No. 3 features Ra)\"mond national self-discovery, because the identities of Peck- Hatton and 5 other articles. inpah's characters and the identity of their country are closely linked. More than either Mann or Boetticher, Over 20 photographs in Peckinpah uses the western as a medium of soc ial each issue/ size 6\" x 9\"/ protest, a means of exploring \" themes and conflicts good-qual ity beige paper/ obsessing the American sensibility.\" Major Dundee and his troops and the renegades of THE WILD BUNCH are 48 pages. logical developments of certain aspects of the American pioneer spirit-its glorification of the individual, for ex- ONE YEAR (4 ISSUES), $7 ample , and its worship of power. SINGLE COPIES, $2 Kitses interprets THE WILD BUNCH as a fully realized PI ease mail checks to MAJOR DUNDEE; both focus on male groups for whom MURRAY SUMMERS violence is a way of life and both portray on an epic 7926 ASHBORO DRIVE scale man 's inhumanity to man . ALEXANDRIA, VA. 22309 Peckinpah 's emphasis on the historical elements of the genre and his use of past tradition to comment on present reality places his films , as Kitses reminds us, in the tradition that goes back \" through UNION PACIFIC, THE IRON HORSE, THE COVERED WAGON , to THE BIRTH OF A NATION \" -although Peckinpah 's conclusions seem far less optimistic than Ford 's or Griffith 's. Peckinpah 's is a darker vision of man 's ignora nce of his own de- structive potentiality and of the tragic consequences- both private and public-of that ignorance . It would be a mistake , however, to assume that Peckinpah 's dis- turbing portrait of America arises from a totally pes- simistic or fatalistic viewpoint ; instead , what it reflects is a strong vein of idealism , a presistent belief that man , in spite of his savage instincts , in a creature of immense potentiality of good . This idealism is held carefully in check and expressed ind irectly , but nonetheless it is present in all of the director 's work , even· in THE WILD BUNCH . In Boetticher 's films , one senses an acceptance of human folly in an absurd world . Peck inpah sees the folly and absurdity , but he does not accept them as inevitable; his art expresses an intense protest over what man has become-a protest rooted in an equally intense dream of what man might be . Of the three director Kitses discusses, I prefer his analysis of Peckinpah . But he has done a thorough job of examining all three directors, pointing our signs of their individual authorship with in the western . Kitses emphasizes thematic and structural signs , yet he also displays a fine cinematic awareness and provides nu- merous insights into the directors' use of the camera and their methods of visual composition . Although , in the cases of Mann and Boett icher , Kitses in attempting to rescue them from critical neglect, he does not over- praise their work . In stead , he discusses their flaws and reveals the difficulties th ese directors often had in maintaining their individuality within a vast commercial industry while , at the same time , he urges us to appre- ciate their aChievements.
I4IIi _ IKB~ Horizons West is an impressive achievement , with plenty FOCUS ._..._....1.........._._. _ of well-chosen photographs , and it should appeal to ON FILM scholars and general readers alike-indeed , to anyone genuinely interested in the film art. Hopefully, Kitses ' s book will not only promote a better understanding of Mann , Boetticher and Peckinpah but also encourage more critical interest in the vigorous genre in which they and many other significant directors have flourished . Seen it yet? INGMAR BERGMAN An exciting new magaz ine from Britain, la- BY BIRGITTA STEENE vishly illustrated, brightly written, and-above all-concerned with the facts on which film Preface by the author; Chronology; Twayne's World appreciation depends. Each 68 page issue costs Authors Series, number 32; Twayne Publishers, Inc., $ 1 from leading American film bookshops or post free from the publishers. In the first three New York, 1968; Hardcover, no price; 158 pages; Lssues: Bibliography; Index. Films reviewed, illustrated, with career profiles of the leading artists behind and in front of the Professor Steene, now at Temple University in Philadel- camera : phia , wrote of Bergman in FILM COMMENT Volume 3, number 2, in 1965, and in this book she expands TRUE GRIT, MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S, on the Bergman theme. Few directors have so provoked the continuing critical and philosophical attention of DOUBLE SUICIDE, GAILY GAILY, HEART film scholars for so long. This is the first up-to-date OF A MOTHER, PATTON, THE MOLLY and comprehensive study in English of Bergman , and MAGUIRES, THEY SHOOT HORSES it comes from one well qualified for the task. Steene, DON'T THEY?, THE VALLEY a native of Sweden, educated at Uppsala and at the Sorl;lonne , received the Ph. D. from the University of Career surveys with full, detailed filmographies Washington , in Comparative Literature , has taught American literature at the University of Alberta and and pictures: . Scandinavian literature at the University of Pennsyl- vania , before joining Temple. She spent two years of BOB HOPE, EDWARD EVERETT HOR- research in Sweden, and has published on Swedish TON, TUESDAY WELD, JAMES MASON, culture in various American and Swedish periodicals. HOLLYWOOD AND THE INDIAN, LON But in this , in her first book , Steene brings more than CHANEY, MARGARET HAMILTON, SU- a scholarly or literary background to bear on Bergman , ZANNE PLESHETTE for she encompasses Swedish culture and religion as well , and her personal observations are keen-eyed and Discoveries humorous. Of special interest in this book is Bergman's early work in theater , where he began as a dramatist THE SLIPPERY PEARLS, THUNDERBOLT and director. This period anchors Bergman within a theatrical tradition, little understood in the west, related These three iss ues: $3. Subscriptions (4 issues): to such playwrights as C. J. L. Almquist, August Strind- $4 berg and Hjalmar Bergman . This is a base upon which Steene continues an analysis of the visual and verbal FOCUS ON FILM, The Tantivy Press, 108 content of the later Bergman films. New Bond Street, London WI Y OQX. I WAS CURIOUS-DIARY OF THE; MAKING OF A classified advertising FILM BY VILGOT SJOMAN Starting with the next issue, FIUl CCM1ENT will carry classified advertising. Our circulation is now over Translated from the Swedish by Alan Blair; Grove 3500 quarterly, reaching many faculty and students in film departments in the United States and Canada, as Press, Inc , New York , 1968 (originally published by well as film production personnel in production centers , Bokfbrlaget Pan / Norstedts, Stockholm, 1967); We will run any ad of any kind pertaining to film Hardcover, $5 .95 ; 217 pages Illustrated with pho- personnel, film equipment, film studies, film festivals, film literature, and personals for filmmakers. This tographs . is the place where you can buy or sell a piece of equipment, .hire a teacher, offer your technical ser- In 1966, Vilgot Sjbman began the ruminating and note- vices, get information on 63mm film for your term paper, taking that lead to the phenomenal I AM CURIOUS-YEL- or send love notes to your favorite critic , LOW. His diary-published by Grove Press , just as his film is distributed by Grove-is his account of the con- Ads will cost $3(US) per line, payable in advance , ception and excution of the film . It combines his pre- There will be a minimum charge of $6 or two lines of production entries and his post-production flashbacks copy, Deadlines for copy and payment are the first and insertions , in much the kaleidoscopic manner of working day in August, November, February and May fo r his film . Most illuminating, for those having seen I AM issues published in the following month. CURIOUS-YELLOW, are sections describing his actual preparation for the film , the filming itself, and his reflec- Ads will be set by IBM typewriter, identica l to this tions on the result. The book has both technical and announcement , which has 55 horizontal spaces and an aesthetic discussion, and continuous, often humorous irregular ri ght margin. Headlines will be similar to asides on his personal relations with cast and crew . the headline on this announcement. Box numbers are Both planned and spo ntaneous , Sjbman 's film , like his avai lable . Non-film ads will be accepted if space book about its crea tion , provides some understanding permits . Please write for our special bulletin which of Sweden 's social scene and also its film industry . explains the classified advertising column in more detail: ADS FIJ)1 CQ\\MENr 100 WALNUT PLACE BROOKLINE MASSACHUSETTS 02146 66 SUMMER 1970
Special issue: Film , New M edia, and Aesthetic Education Thel The JOURNAL OF AESTHETIC EDUCATION Journaf. is an educational response to perennial challenges to improve the quality and style of our civilization. The major purpose of the JOURNAL is to clarify ~estH~tic the issues of aesthetic education understood in its Eaucatlon most extensive meaning. This includes not only the problems of formal instruction in the arts and the hu- manities at all levels of schooling, but also the aesthetic concerns of the larger society created by twentieth-century existence: the art and craft of teaching in general ; the appreciation and under- standing of the aesthetic character of disciplines other than the arts and humanities, such as science and mathematics; and the aesthetic import of the new communications medi a and the environmental arts. Other special issues: The Future and Aesthetic Edu- cation (January 1970), Curriculum and Aesthetic Education (April 1970), The Environment and the Quality of Life (October 1970) . Subscriptions $7.50 a year; single issues $2.25. Submit manuscripts to The Editor, JOURNAL OF AESTHETIC EDUCATION, Bureau of Educa- tional R esearch , University of Illinois, Urbana, Illi- nois 61801. Direct subscription orders and requests for advertising rates to Journals Manager, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois 61801. l1li UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS U Urbana Chicago London
BiM K S BOB DYLAN-DON'T LOOK BACK __ BY D. A . PENNEBAKER CINEMABILIA Preface by the author; Ballantine Books, New York, FILM BOOKS: Technique / Criticism / History / Personalities and their work. 1968; paperback , 95<C ; 159 pages ; Illustrated with FILM PERIODICALS: A wide selection includi ng for e ign. photographs ;-Lyrics to Dylan songs . FILM GRAPHICS, STILLS, EPHEMERA This is the transcript of the sound-track , with some Catal og 4 in preparation, avail\"able shortl y - $1. 50 spare indications of the vis ual action , from the Pen- nebaker film , BOB DYLAN-DON 'T LOOK BACK. Because All books reviewed in FILM COMMENT may be ordered this is a cinema-verite film , there was no studio script- through us. conference, no pre-production first-draft scenario, no revision (s) by pricy script-doctors, etc . and so forth . 10 Cornelia Street (off W 4th & SIXTH) NYC 10014 Instead , this is simply the raw transmission into print of the who said / did what from the celebrated indepen- hours 1-7 mon-sat telephone : (212) 989-8519 dent feature-length documentary that broke all records for its kind at theaters across the country , before young Film Library audiences particularly, giving special food for thought Quarterly to the con ventiona l theatrical-film mogulS. The film is proving something of a milestone among distributors, published by the Film Library Information Council. and it is giving encouragement to the low-budget 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, Conn . 06830 16mm / blow-up entrepreneurs who can affect a certain style and entree to certain topical topics . Just as Dylan Timely articles and reviews on himself is a contemporary phenomenon , so is this film the documentary and short film about him , and thus this book has immediate as well as long-range value for the film-reading public. KARLOFF BY ALAN G. BARBOUR , ALVIN MARILL , JAMES ROBERT PARISH Introductory text; Cinefax, New York , 1969; paper- back , $2 .95 ; 62 pages; Photographic essay ; filmog- raphy. This paperback is of 8 x 11 inches in dimension and contains perhaps 100 black / white stills of Karloff from some of his 148 films , during his film career spanning 49 years . These stills are supplemented by a two-page biography and a filmography that lists chronologically all the Karloff titles , the names of their directors-and they include most of the great names of American cine- ma-with the years of their production , and their studios. The book is adequate so far as it goes , but it is regrettable that no apparent effort was made to provide more than skeletal [sic) captions . 11111111 filmmakers everywhere read film schedule Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art has announced its tenta- tive schedule for special film programs for Summer 1970. The schedule is : June 9-14 : Films Saved-6 Films From Fo x. June 15-July 22 : (co ntinuation) The Japanese Film . July 23-August 26 : Ki no-Eye: Films ofThe 'Twenties . August 27-0ctober 6: A Tribute To George Cukor. Cineprobe presents independent filmmakers and their new films . There is always a discussion with the filmmaker following the screening . Cineprobe is not scheduled in July, August and September. The remaining programs for June are: June 16: George Romero , NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD . June 23 : Jonas Mekas, DIARIES , NOTEBOOKS AND SKETCHES . In addition to these special programs , the regular film showings will continue. Confirmation of these tentative schedules will appear in the Museum 's monthly calendar; and all information is posted daily in the Museum lobby, where tickets are available for Filmmakers Newsletter all programs. The Museum of Modern Art is at 11 $4 yearly in USA. 80 Wooster Street NYC 10012 West 53rd Street, Manhattan . 11111111 68 SUMMER 1970
Now available in 16mm, the UNCUT version of Max Ophuls' last great masterpiece Ml'!ti'1j~\"~;,~\\I'!lI''f~t\\ ;., ~ ,..., ~r~\\~N!Jl'..!z;r~ .~I~~~ STARRING Martine Carol and Peter Ustinov in CinemaScope and color This and other great world cinema classics available. Write for free catalogs. BRANDON FILMS, INC. BRANDON FILMS , Inc . A SubsIdIary 01 Cro w ell Collier and Ma c m illan, Inc Department Fe 221 w. 57 Street New York, N. Y. 10019 FILM CENTER , Inc. 20 East HUron Street Ch icago , III. 60611 WESTERN CINEMA GUILD, Inc . 244 Kearny Street San FrancISCo, Calif. 94108
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