The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA
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Films Albatros
dal 17/12/2013 al 30/12/2013
daily 10.30am-5.30pm fri 10.30-8pm

Segnalato da

Meg Montgoris



 
calendario eventi  :: 




17/12/2013

Films Albatros

The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA, New York

A schedule of reproductions of the classics Albatros' movies. All films are silent, with English translation and live musical accompaniment, unless otherwise noted.


comunicato stampa

In 1920, the film production company that would later be known as Albatros moved into the old Pathé studio in the Paris suburb of Montreuil. It consisted of a group of plucky Russians—all accomplished film professionals—who had fled their native country via Constantinople in reaction to the Bolshevik Revolution and the protracted civil war that followed.

The magnificent talent gathered in Montreuil—Ivan Mosjoukine, Alexandre Volkoff, Nathalie Lissenko, Ivan Lochakoff, Yakov Protazanov, Viatcheslav Tourjansky—competed successfully with the American cinema in a Europe still reeling from the most ruinous war in history. Alexandre Kamenka assumed the manager’s reins in 1922, and by 1924, as many of the principals were lured away, he began hiring major French directors like Jean Epstein, René Clair, Marcel L’Herbier, and Jacques Feyder. Mosjoukine, an actor with an electrifying onscreen presence who was catapulted to international stardom with Le Braisier ardent and Kean, was himself lured to Hollywood by Universal Pictures—where he made only one film, Surrender, in spite of a five-year contract.

For barely a decade, Films Albatros enjoyed tremendous critical and public success in postwar Europe, and France in particular. This exhibition illuminates Albatros’s pre-history before the Russian Revolution, its richly varied output, and Kamenka’s last-gasp collaboration with the great Jean Renoir—eight years after the studio’s effective demise. All films are silent, with English translation and live musical accompaniment, unless otherwise noted.

Screening Schedule

Wednesday, December 18
7:00 - Le Brasier ardent (The Burning Crucible). 1923. France. Directed by Ivan Mosjoukine (Mozzhukhin), Alexandre Volkoff. Screenplay by Mosjoukine. With Mosjoukine, Nathalie Lissenko, Nicolas Koline. A commercial failure, this film earned Mosjoukine critical praise and solidified his reputation in French cinema as both a star and auteur, and perhaps even as a rival to Chaplin. Film theorist Riccioto Canudo proclaimed it ―stunning as the first ballets of Diaghilev.‖ 110 min. Introduced by Vika Paranyuk.

Thursday, December 19
4:00 - Miest kinematografichesko operatora (Revenge of a Kinematograph Cameraman). 1912. Russia. Directed by Ladislas Starevich. Starevich, the great innovator of stop-motion puppet animation, would bring his genius to Films Albatros following the Bolshevik Revolution. 9 min. Noch pod Rozhdestvo (The Night before Christmas) (fragment). 1913. Russia. Directed by Ladislas Starevitch. With Ivan Mosjoukine. Starevitch also made some live-action films. 1 min. Otets Sergei (Father Sergius). 1918. Russia. Directed by Yakov Protazanov, Alexandre Volkoff. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Olga Kondorova, Vladimir Gajdarov, Nathalie Lissenko. Based on Leo Tolstoy’s eponymous novella, this film marks a high point in Protozanov (who later returned to Moscow) and Mosjoukine’s collaboration. Mosjoukine’s tour-de-force performance (he was a frequent interpreter of Tolstoy) traces the hero’s torturous path from young cadet in the Imperial Army to itinerant religious sage. Two years later, most of the cast and crew of Father Sergius would comprise the core of what would become Films Albatros. 85 min. Program 95 min.
7:00 - Les Contes des mille et une nuits (Tales of 1,000 and One Nights). 1921. France. Directed by Viatcheslav Tourjansky. With Nathalie Kovanko, Varvara Yanova, Nicolas Rimsky, Paul Ollivier. A pair of lovers are put through a series of rousing misadventures worthy of the 1924 Douglas Fairbanks vehicle Thief of Bagdad. Particularly striking are the exterior shots, photographed on location in Tunisia. 63 min.

Friday, December 20
4:00 - Les Contes des mille et une nuits (Tales of 1,000 and One Nights). 1921. France. Directed by Viatcheslav Tourjansky. With Nathalie Kovanko, Varvara Yanova, Nicolas Rimsky, Paul Ollivier. A pair of lovers are put through a series of rousing misadventures worthy of the 1924 Douglas Fairbanks vehicle Thief of Bagdad. Particularly striking are the exterior shots, photographed on location in Tunisia. 63 min.
7:00 - Miest kinematografichesko operatora (Revenge of a Kinematograph Cameraman). 1912. Russia. Directed by Ladislas Starevich. Starevich, the great innovator of stop-motion puppet animation, would bring his genius to Films Albatros following the Bolshevik Revolution. 9 min. Noch pod Rozhdestvo (The Night before Christmas) (fragment). 1913. Russia. Directed by Ladislas Starevitch. With Ivan Mosjoukine. Starevitch also made some live-action films. 1 min. Otets Sergei (Father Sergius). 1918. Russia. Directed by Yakov Protazanov, Alexandre Volkoff. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Olga Kondorova, Vladimir Gajdarov, Nathalie Lissenko. Based on Leo Tolstoy’s eponymous novella, this film marks a high point in Protozanov (who later returned to Moscow) and Mosjoukine’s collaboration. Mosjoukine’s tour-de-force performance (he was a frequent interpreter of Tolstoy) traces the hero’s torturous path from young cadet in the Imperial Army to itinerant religious sage. Two years later, most of the cast and crew of Father Sergius would comprise the core of what would become Films Albatros. 85 min. Program 95 min.

Saturday, December 21
1:30 - Le Brasier ardent (The Burning Crucible). 1923. France. Directed by Ivan Mosjoukine (Mozzhukhin), Alexandre Volkoff. Screenplay by Mosjoukine. With Mosjoukine, Nathalie Lissenko, Nicolas Koline. A commercial failure, this film earned Mosjoukine critical praise and solidified his reputation in French cinema as both a star and auteur, and perhaps even as a rival to Chaplin. Film theorist Riccioto Canudo proclaimed it ―stunning as the first ballets of Diaghilev.‖ 110 min.
4:00 - Kean. 1924. France. Directed by Alexandre Volkoff. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Nicolas Koline, Nathalie Lissenko, Otto Detlefsen. Kean was considered at the time to be the apogee of both Volkoff’s and Mosjoukine’s careers. Mosjoukine dazzles and charms as Edmund Kean, the celebrated Shakespearian actor of the early 19th century, and Koline shines as his comic sidekick. Critics lauded set designer Ivan Lochakoff’s painstaking reconstruction of the legendary Drury Lane Theater. Approx. 120 min.
7:30 - Feu Mathias Pascal (The Late Mathias Pascal). 1924. France. Directed by Marcel L’Herbier. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Marcelle Pradot, Lois Moran, Marthe Bellot. After reading his own death notice in a local paper, Mathias Pascal decides to leave his unhappy marriage and head for the gambling halls of Monte Carlo. Unburdened by identity papers, the hero imagines that he has found true freedom, until he falls in love. Watch for Michel Simon (La Chienne, Boudu Saved from Drowning, L’Atalante) in his first film appearance. 171 min. Introduced by Stuart Liebman.

Sunday, December 22
2:00 - Kean. 1924. France. Directed by Alexandre Volkoff. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Nicolas Koline, Nathalie Lissenko, Otto Detlefsen. Kean was considered at the time to be the apogee of both Volkoff’s and Mosjoukine’s careers. Mosjoukine dazzles and charms as Edmund Kean, the celebrated Shakespearian actor of the early 19th century, and Koline shines as his comic sidekick. Critics lauded set designer Ivan Lochakoff’s painstaking reconstruction of the legendary Drury Lane Theater. Approx. 120 min.
5:00 - Feu Mathias Pascal (The Late Mathias Pascal). 1924. France. Directed by Marcel L’Herbier. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Marcelle Pradot, Lois Moran, Marthe Bellot. After reading his own death notice in a local paper, Mathias Pascal decides to leave his unhappy marriage and head for the gambling halls of Monte Carlo. Unburdened by identity papers, the hero imagines that he has found true freedom, until he falls in love. Watch for Michel Simon (La Chienne, Boudu Saved from Drowning, L’Atalante) in his first film appearance. 171 min.

Monday, December 23
4:00 - Les Ombres qui passent (Passing Shadows). 1924. France. Directed by Alexandre Volkoff. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Nathalie Lissenko, Andre Brabant, Henry Krauss. An unexpected inheritance forces Louis Barclay (Mosjoukine) to leave his idyllic life in the country for Paris, where he falls for the wrong woman. Reportedly, Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton served as inspiration for Mosjoukine’s acting in this comedy-to- tragedy story. Approx. 85 min.
7:00 - Le Lion des Mogols (Lion of the Mogols). 1924. France. Directed by Jean Epstein. Screenplay by Epstein, Ivan Mosjoukine. With Mosjoukine, Nathalie Lissenko, Camille Bardou, Alexian. Another vehicle for Mosjoukine’s protean talent, this was the first Albatros feature for Epstein, and the camerawork resembles that of his more experimental films. Approx. 75 min. Introduced by Sarah Keller.

Tuesday, December 24
2:30 - Le Lion des Mogols (Lion of the Mogols). 1924. France. Directed by Jean Epstein. Screenplay by Epstein, Ivan Mosjoukine. With Mosjoukine, Nathalie Lissenko, Camille Bardou, Alexian. Another vehicle for Mosjoukine’s protean talent, this was the first Albatros feature for Epstein, and the camerawork resembles that of his more experimental films. Approx. 75 min.

Thursday, December 26
4:00 - Le Double amour (Double Love). 1925. France. Directed by Jean Epstein. With Nathalie Lissenko, Jean Angelo, Camille Bardou, Pierre Batcheff. Written by Marie Epstein, the director’s sister, this melodrama focuses on the travails of a singer in love with a ruthless gambler. Approx. 70 min.
7:00 - Les Ombres qui passent (Passing Shadows). 1924. France. Directed by Alexandre Volkoff. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Nathalie Lissenko, Andre Brabant, Henry Krauss. An unexpected inheritance forces Louis Barclay (Mosjoukine) to leave his idyllic life in the country for Paris, where he falls for the wrong woman. Reportedly, Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton served as inspiration for Mosjoukine’s acting in this comedy-to- tragedy story. Approx. 85 min.

Friday, December 27
4:00 - Un Chapeau de paille d’Italie (The Italian Straw Hat). 1927. France. Directed by René Clair. With Albert Prejean, Geymond-Vita, Olga Tchekowa, Jim Gerald. Clair had started as an experimental director, but Albatros allowed him to move into satirical comedy. This adaptation of the stage farce by Eugene Labiche and Marc Michel enabled Clair to establish an international reputation. 74 min.
7:00 - Le Double amour (Double Love). 1925. France. Directed by Jean Epstein. With Nathalie Lissenko, Jean Angelo, Camille Bardou, Pierre Batcheff. Written by Marie Epstein, the director’s sister, this melodrama focuses on the travails of a singer in love with a ruthless gambler. Approx. 70 min.

Saturday, December 28
1:30 - Surrender. 1927. USA. Directed by Edward Sloman. With Ivan Mosjukine (Mosjoukine), Mary Philbin, Otto Matieson, Nigel De Brulier. In the only picture Mosjoukine made in Hollwood, he plays a Russian prince who falls for a rabbi’s daughter. Following a confrontation with the rabbi, the prince threatens to burn the Jewish village unless the daughter visits him that night. Sloman is an interesting director, often of Jewish themes, and Universal Studio founder Carl Laemmle insisted that his newly imported star play the lead. 91 min.
4:00 - La Tour. 1928. France. Directed by René Clair. A classic documentary on the Eiffel Tower. 10 min. Les Deux Timides. 1928. France. Directed by René Clair. With Pierre Batcheff, Jim Gerald, Vera Flory, Maurice de Feraudy, Francoise Rosay. Clair’s last silent anticipated his great early sound films (Under the Roofs of Paris, Le Million, A Nous la Liberté), which made him a dominant figure in French cinema in the transitional period. 63 min.
8:00 - Les Nouveaux messieurs (The New Gentlemen). 1928. France. Directed by Jacques Feyder. With Gaby Morlay, Albert Prejean, Henry Roussell, Charles Barrois. An older, wealthy politician and a young union organizer vie for the heart of a ballet dancer. Although the plot sounds innocent enough, the government of the French Republic, scandalized by the portrayal of the French parliament, banned the film’s distribution. 135 min.

Sunday, December 29
2:00 - La Tour. 1928. France. Directed by René Clair. A classic documentary on the Eiffel Tower. 10 min. Les Deux Timides. 1928. France. Directed by René Clair. With Pierre Batcheff, Jim Gerald, Vera Flory, Maurice de Feraudy, Francoise Rosay. Clair’s last silent anticipated his great early sound films (Under the Roofs of Paris, Le Million, A Nous la Liberté), which made him a dominant figure in French cinema in the transitional period. 63 min.
5:00 - Un Chapeau de paille d’Italie (The Italian Straw Hat). 1927. France. Directed by René Clair. With Albert Prejean, Geymond-Vita, Olga Tchekowa, Jim Gerald. Clair had started as an experimental director, but Albatros allowed him to move into satirical comedy. This adaptation of the stage farce by Eugene Labiche and Marc Michel enabled Clair to establish an international reputation. 74 min.

Monday, December 30
4:00 - Les Nouveaux messieurs (The New Gentlemen). 1928. France. Directed by Jacques Feyder. With Gaby Morlay, Albert Prejean, Henry Roussell, Charles Barrois. An older, wealthy politician and a young union organizer vie for the heart of a ballet dancer. Although the plot sounds innocent enough, the government of the French Republic, scandalized by the portrayal of the French parliament, banned the film’s distribution. 135 min.
7:00 - Fétiche Mascotte (The Devil’s Ball). 1934. France. Directed by Ladislas Starevich. Starevich continued to perfect his art after his stint at Albatros, finally completing a full-length feature (Le Roman de renard) in 1941. Sound film. 11 min. Les Bas-fonds (The Lower Depths). 1936. France. Produced by Alexandre Kamenka. Directed by Jean Renoir. With Louis Jouvet, Jean Gabin, Suzy Prim, Vladimir Sokolov. Kamenka prevailed on his friend Renoir during the director’s Popular Front period to adapt Maxim Gorky’s play. Renoir, on the brink of greatness (Grand Illusion, La Marseillaise, The Human Beast, The Rules of the Game) was able to use several major stars. The director said, in commenting on this first of several collaborations with Gabin, ―I have never met such a cinematic power.‖ Regrettably, Renoir never worked with Mosjoukine, whose career barely survived the coming of sound, and who died in obscurity and poverty in 1939. Sound film. In French; English subtitles. 93 min. Introduced by Dudley Andrew.

Tuesday, December 31
4:00 - Fétiche Mascotte (The Devil’s Ball). 1934. France. Directed by Ladislas Starevich. Starevich continued to perfect his art after his stint at Albatros, finally completing a full-length feature (Le Roman de renard) in 1941. Sound film. 11 min. Les Bas-fonds (The Lower Depths). 1936. France. Produced by Alexandre Kamenka. Directed by Jean Renoir. With Louis Jouvet, Jean Gabin, Suzy Prim, Vladimir Sokolov. Kamenka prevailed on his friend Renoir during the director’s Popular Front period to adapt Maxim Gorky’s play. Renoir, on the brink of greatness (Grand Illusion, La Marseillaise, The Human Beast, The Rules of the Game) was able to use several major stars. The director said, in commenting on this first of several collaborations with Gabin, ―I have never met such a cinematic power.‖ Regrettably, Renoir never worked with Mosjoukine, whose career barely survived the coming of sound, and who died in obscurity and poverty in 1939. Sound film. In French; English subtitles. 93 min.

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