settima

ShortFilm

Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu (David Loeb Weiss, 1980)

Jul

1

1978

Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu (1980)

All set for the July 2, 1978 edition of The New York Times, hot off the press.

Production of the last hot type copy of The New York Times on the night of July 1, 1978. The ETAOIN SHRDLU in the title refers to the accidental string of letters that sometimes would pop up using hot metal typesetting.

 

That Linotype setting, and narration, was provided by Carl Schlesinger. That same old, but now digitally set New York Times, provided a lovely farewell when the man passed. Read it here

The Lottery (Larry Yust, 1969)

Jun

27

The Lottery (1969)

Drawing lots from a box. DP: Isidore Mankofsky.

This, or any other adaptation of Shirley Jackson's story.

“Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.”

– Shirley Jackson, The Lottery (1948)

La montagne infidèle [The Infidel Mountain] (Jean Epstein, 1923)

Jun

22

1923

La montagne infidèle (1923)

Unrestored film stock showing extensive damage to both the celluloid and the depicted structure. In 2024, the reels were rediscovered in Spain and restored by the Filmoteca de Catalunya (via). DP: Paul Guichard.

Filmmaker Jean Epstein and his cameraman Paul Guichard made their way to the Etna on June 22, 1923. This was merely five days after the eruption started.

“Sicily! The night had a thousand eyes. All sorts of smells shrieked at once. An unfurled coil of wire brought our car, swathed in moonlight as if surrounded by mosquito netting, to a halt. It was hot. Impatient, the drivers broke off singing the most beautiful love song, striking the car with a monkey wrench and insulting Christ and his mother with a blind faith in their efficacy. In front of us: Etna, the great actor who bursts onto the stage two or three times each century, whose tragic extravagances I had arrived to film. An entire side of the mountain was a blazing spectacle. The conflagration reached up to the reddened corners of the sky. From a distance of twenty kilometers, the rumbling at times seemed to be a triumphal reception heard from afar, as if a thousand hands were applauding in an immense ovation.”

– Jean Epstein, Le Cinématographe vu de l’Etna (1926) (via)

6-18-67 (George Lucas, 1967)

Jun

18

1967

6-18-67 (1967)

The opening credits with the date 6-18-67 superimposed over it. DPs: Charles Braverman, George Lucas, David MacDougall & David Wyler.

“We had never been around such opulence, zillions of dollars being spent every five minutes on this huge, unwieldy thing. It was mind-boggling to us because we had been making films for three hundred dollars, and seeing this incredible waste – that was the worst of Hollywood.”

– pre-blockbuster George Lucas

Wyszedł w jasny, pogodny dzień [He Left on a Bright, Sunny Day] (Krzysztof Wojciechowski, 1972)

Jun

13

Wyszedł w jasny, pogodny dzień (1972)

Old people exchanging food and memories outdoors. DPs: Witold Stok & Ryszard Wróblewski.

Deň radosti [A Day of Joy] (Dušan Hanák, 1972)

Jun

12

1971

Deň radosti (1972)

Exuberant revellers. DPs: Martin Gazík, Alojz Hanúsek & Oskár Šághy.

 

Sochaux, 11 juin 1968 [Sochaux June 11th 1968] (Bruno Muel, 1970)

Jun

11

1968

Sochaux, 11 juin 1968 (1970)

Several of the striking workers in a row. The composition echoes the famous propaganda image of Marx, Engels, Lenin etc. DP: Groupe Medvedkine de Sochaux.

Red & Rosy (Frank Grow, 1989)

Jun

3

Red & Rosy (1989)

Big Red (Rico Martinez) in his hotrod. DPs: Frank Grow, Ralph Hawkins & Rico Martinez.

1999 A.D. (Lee Madden, 1967)

Jun

2

1999

1999 A.D. (1967)

Mother Karen (Marj Dusay) busy with online meal planning, her husband supervising her from the other screen. While she scheduling for Tuesday, June 2, 1999 in reality fell on a Wednesday. DP: Vilmos Zsigmond.

“What year is it now? I forgot.”

– Jamie

Le 15 mai (Claire Denis, 1971)

May

15

Thu

Le 15 mai (1971)

Claudia Morin in her silver dress showing up in Philippe Rouleau's office. The perpetual calendar behind her – Enzo Mari's Formosa from 1963 – tells us it is May 15. DP: Dominique Le Rigoleur.

“Of course, it's the 15th of May.”