Video on DVD
Three Silent Classics By Josef Von Sternberg
"...a must-have boxed set…one of the most beautifully produced DVD sets of the year." — Dave Kehr, NY Times
Vienna-born, New York–raised Josef von Sternberg (Shanghai Express, Morocco) directed some of the most influential, extraordinarily stylish dramas ever to come out of Hollywood. Sternberg began his movie career during the final years of the silent era, dazzling audiences and critics with his films’ dark visions and innovative cinematography. The titles in this collection, made on the cusp of the sound age, are three of Sternberg’s greatest works, gritty evocations of gangster life (Underworld), the Russian Revolution (The Last Command), and working-class desperation (The Docks of New York) made into shadowy movie spectacle. ORDER
Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies
In the late twenties and early thirties, Yasujiro Ozu was working steadily for Shochiku studios, honing his craft on dozens of silent films in various genres, from romantic melodramas to college comedies to gangster pictures — and, of course, movies about families. In these three droll domestic films — Tokyo Chorus, I Was Born, But . . . , and Passing Fancy, presented here with all-new scores by renowned silent-film composer Donald Sosin — Ozu movingly and humorously depicts middle-class struggles and the resentments between children and parents, establishing the emotional and aesthetic delicacy with which he would transform the landscape of cinema. ORDER
Georges MÉliÈs: First Wizard of Cinema (1896–1913)
GEORGES MÉLIÈS built the world's first movie studio in 1896 near Paris; from it cascaded fantastic magic films, dream films, historical reconstructions, imaginary journeys, melodramas, slapstick comedies — even erotic films. Examples of all are here, with many still retaining power to astonish and charm. This monumental thirteen hour collection on five DVDs gathers for the first time nearly all the surviving films of Georges Méliès from his first, Card Party (1896) to his last, The Voyage of the Bouririchon Family (1913), bracketing more than 170 others. Donald Sosin accompanies 13 of the films on piano. Coming in late February. ORDER
Living Room Cinema: Films from Home Movie Day, Volume 1
The Living Room Cinema DVD features 22 films that span nearly a century of social, personal, and filmmaking history. All films were originally screened at Home Movie Day events in 2003 and 2004, in locations ranging from Japan to Boston and London. Many films include new commentaries from the filmmakers or their families, making this compilation the first to present home movies as historical documents in their own right, rather than as components of documentaries or collage works. The films cover a range of subjects, and even familiar events present surprises: At a wedding reception in 1945, guests dance while communicating in sign language; a family celebrates their daughter’s first birthday by burying her placenta; and former Dead Boys guitarist Cheetah Chrome makes an appearance in a New Haven teenager’s footage of high school kids in 1980. In his introductory essay, film collector and historian Rick Prelinger notes "This DVD is a reference point and a beginning, the first intentional compilation of distinguished, exemplary, surreal and funny home movies. It exposes the best of Home Movie Day to a broader world." ORDER
MANHATTA project! Filmmaker and archivist Bruce Posner is putting the finishing touches on a gorgeous digital restoration of MANHATTA, and I am in the process of revising and orchestrating the synthesized score I wrote for the the UNSEEN CINEMA collection. The music will be recorded in March in Slovakia by a fine 40-piece orchestra conducted by my dear friend Peter Breiner, and TCM will screen the film sometime later this year. Watch this space for details!
The Peach Girl
With Ruan Ling-yu, Jin Yan, S. Y. Li, Wong Kwai-ling, Chow Lee-lee. Director: Bu Wanchang. Digitization produced from a 35mm black-and-white print from the China Film Archive. PAL /NTSC (compatible for all regions), subtitles in Chinese and English. 1931.
The great actress Ruan Ling-yu earned international acclaim for her powerful performances in a series of social dramas made between 1927 and 1935. In The Peach Girl (1931), Ling-yu plays Lingu, a peasant girl who falls in love with the rich landlord’s son De'en (Jin Yan) and bears his child. He promises marriage, but because of class differences his mother forbids him to see her. De’en finally comes to Lingu’s side as she lies dying. The mother relents and allows her son to raise the child. By using a melodramatic format, director Bu Wanchang thwarted government censors to show the contrast between rich and poor, country and city, peasant and landowner, and the weak and the strong. Production of The Peach Girl was completed the night before the Japanese army started its invasion of Manchuria. Accompanied by an original score for solo piano composed and performed by Donald Sosin. ORDER
Unseen Cinema:
Early American Avant-Garde Film
When the smoke clears, this amazing seven-disc set, which comprises 18 hours and 47 minutes of material, will undoubtedly stand as one of the major monuments of the DVD medium. — Dave Kehr, NY Times.
David Shepard and Bruce Posner have just completed work on a seven DVD, twenty-hour box set called Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film (to be released October 18, 2005 in the USA and in 2006 by the British Film Institute). It is a collection of short films made in America or by Americans abroad from the beginnings of cinema until 1941.
The set contains over 150 films and is drawn from 60 major collections including Anthology Film Archives, BFI, Eastman House, LoC, MoMA, Gosfilmofond, and the Nederlands Filmmuseum. Each of the seven DVD programs runs around 150 minutes and is organised thematically: 1: THE MECHANIZED EYE: Experiments in Technique and Form; 2: THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND: American Surrealism; 3: LIGHT RHYTHMS: Music and Abstraction; 4: INVERTED NARRATIVES: New Directions in Storytelling; 5: PICTURING A METROPOLIS: New York City Unveiled; 6: THE AMATEUR AS AUTEUR: Discovering Paradise in Pictures; 7: VIVA LA DANCE: The Beginnings of Cine-Dance. (Release Date: October 18, 2005)
The Harold Lloyd Collection II
In this two-DVD collection of ten films, Harold Lloyd (Safety Last) demonstrates why he is ranked alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton as slapstick cinema's preeminent funnymen. Lloyd is most famous for his aerial acrobatics, dangling from skyscrapers in High and Dizzy and Never Weaken. But his legendary status was earned mostly on the ground, where he crafted the persona of an endearing Everyman, whose pluck and determination rescue him from life's ordinary (and often extraordinary) pitfalls. Whether portraying a pampered socialite (Captain Kidd's Kids), a lowly bellhop (Among Those Present) or a silly stagehand (Ring Up the Curtain), Lloyd pursues romance and prosperity at a dizzying pace. His unwavering confidence and optimism combined with his remarkable speed, agility and impeccable comic timing made him one of the most beloved figures of the silent era. (Release Date: September 13, 2005)
Avant Garde — Experimental Cinema of the 1920's & 1930's
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Rated: NR
Studio: Kino International
DVD Release Date: August 2, 2005
Run Time: 360
Film notes by film critic/historian Elliott Stein
Optional English subtitles (on selected films)
Dual-layer RSDL edition for optimal image quality
Number of discs: 2
This two-DVD collection assembles some of the most influential and eclectic short films in the collection of Raymond Rohauer, one of the nation's foremost proponents of experimental cinema. It includes works by Man Ray, Hans Richter, Marcel Duchamp, Watson & Webber, Fernand Leger, Joris Ivens, Dimitri Kirsanoff, Jean Epstein, and Orson Welles. Four scores by Donald Sosin.
Siren of the Tropics
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Color
Rated: NR
Studio: Kino International
DVD Release Date: June 21, 2005
Run Time: 86
Siren of the Tropics was the first of a series of French films featuring legendary dancer and entertainer Josephine Baker and her only silent feature. "La Baker," as the French called her, is a sensation in her debut, essentially playing herself as she appeared at the Folies Bergere. The latter parts of the film display her stage act and enable us to see her as Paris saw her in 1926, making it not only entertaining but a valuable historical record as well. Donald Sosin's musical accompaniment ranges from solo piano to tropical-sounding melodies which enhance the action.
The Forgotten Films of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Black & White, Color, Closed-captioned
Rated: NR
Studio: Mackinac Media
DVD Release Date: May 24, 2005
Run Time: 630
Number of discs: 4
Award-winning filmmakers Paul E. Gierucki and William Hunt have prepared a new 4 DVD set collection featuring 32 titles starring silent comedy legend Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Most of these titles premiered on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in April 2005, 11 of them with scores by Donald Sosin.
Edison: the Invention of the Movies
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Box set of 4 discs
Rated: NR
Studio: Kino International
DVD Release Date: February 22, 2005
This groundbreaking box set comes chiefly from the extensive Edison collection of the Department of Film and Media at The Museum of Modern Art, in New York, with additional footage provided by the Library of Congress, and includes over 140 films produced by the Edison Company between 1891 and 1918. Donald Sosin scored four of the short films and the one full-length feature, THE UNBELIEVER (1918) dir. Alan Crosland.
The King of Kings
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Black & White, Color, Closed-captioned
Rated: NR
Studio: Criterion Collection
DVD Release Date: December 7, 2004
New Dolby Digital 5.1 score by composer Donald Sosin (1927 Version)
Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of The King of Kings
Cast portraits by photographer W.M. Mortensen
Original illustrated program and press book
Spies
Director: Fritz Lang
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned
Rated: NR
Studio: Kino International
DVD Release Date: November 9, 2004
Run time: 143 minutes
A Story of Floating Weeds
Director:Yasujiro Ozu
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Closed-captioned
Rated: NR
Studio: Criterion Collection
DVD Release Date: April 20, 2004
Disc One: A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)
New high-definition transfer with restored image
Audio commentary by Japanese-film historian Donald Richie
New score by composer Donald Sosin (5.0 Dolby Digital)
New and improved English subtitle translation by Donald Richie
Disc Two: Floating Weeds (1959)
New high-definition transfer with restored image & sound
Audio commentary by film critic Roger Ebert
New and improved English subtitle translation by Donald Richie
Stories of Floating Weeds, an essay by Donald Richie
Nosferatu
Starring: Max Schreck, Greta Schröder
Director: F.W. Murnau
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Black & White
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Kino International
DVD Release Date: September 24, 2002
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Starring: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt
Director: Robert Wiene
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Black & White
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Kino International
DVD Release Date: September 24, 2002
Blind Husbands
Director: Erich von Stroheim
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Black & White, Color
Rated: NR
Studio: Kino International
DVD Release Date: June 10, 2003
Titanic
Director: Werner Klingler, Herbert Selpin
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Rated: NR
Studio: Kino International
DVD Release Date: July 20, 2004
Run Time: 85
Long Pants
Director: Frank Capra
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Rated: NR
Studio: Kino Video
Video Release Date: March 25, 1997
VHS Features:
NTSC format (US and Canada only. This VHS will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.)
Black & White, NTSC
Recordings and Live Performances
For information on recordings and booking live performance, contact:
FARMHOUSE WINDOW PRODUCTIONS
41 Horseshoe Lane
Lakeville CT 06039
Tel: (860) 435-4687
Fax: (928) 752-3417
Copyright © Donald Sosin and Farmhouse Window Productions.