settima

comedy

Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)

Jan

22

National Poverty in America Awareness Month

Macario (1960)

Macario (Ignacio López Tarso) passes a Día de los Muertos altar, stacked high with candles, human skulls and bones, and cempasúchil (marigolds), whose fragrant and colour lead the Dead back to their family on this revered day. DP: Gabriel Figueroa.

Poverty (National Poverty in America Awareness Month).

 

Macario, poor and hungry, wishes to eat a whole turkey all by himself on Día de los Muertos. When he finally has the opportunity, he is interrupted three times: by the Devil, by God, and by Death. With one of them, he shares his meal.

1. April 2000 [April 1, 2000] (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1952)

Jan

20

Inauguration Day

1. April 2000 (1952)

Austria's new Prime Minister (Josef Meinrad). DPs: Sepp Ketterer, Karl Löb & Fritz Arno Wagner.

Inaugurations for Inauguration Day (USA). In the future year 2000, on April 1, the newly-elected Prime Minister of Austria is inaugurated. Much to the shock of the Global Union, he declares Austria's independence!

Egged On (Charles R. Bowers, Harold L. Muller + Ted Sears, 1926)

Jan

17

inventions

Egged On (1926)

Charley working his Rube Goldberger-esque egg-rubberizing contraption.

An invention for Benjamin Franklin's birthday. Inventor Charley (Charles R. Bowers) comes up with an ingenious method to make eggs break-proof for transport by rubberizing them.

“… as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.”

– Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography

Bowers was an almost-forgotten silent era comedian, filmmaker, and animator. In more recent years, his groundbreaking stop-motion comedy has found a new, well-deserved, interest.

The Cameraman (Edward Sedgwick + Buster Keaton, 1928)

Jan

14

National Dress Up Your Pet Day

The Cameraman (1928)

Buster (Buster Keaton) with Josephine the monkey on his shoulder. DPs: Reggie Lanning & Elgin Lessley.

A funnily dressed pet for National Dress Up Your Pet Day (USA) (please don't!).

– Now, see! You kill-a de monk! – Pay him for that baboon… or I'll run you in!

After cameraman Buster accidentally knocks over a monkey, he has no choice but to take the sailor-suited simian along on his movie shoots.

Kinoautomat: Člověk a jeho dům [Kinoautomat / One Man and His House] (Ján Roháč, Radúz Činčera + Vladimír Svitáček, 1967)

Jan

10

Representation of the People Act 1918

Kinoautomat: Člověk a jeho dům (1967)

The audience about to vote for one of two scenes, with two presenters on stage.. DP: Jaromír Šofr.

Voting, for the Representation of the People Act 1918, UK.

 

Made for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at #Expo67 in #Montréal, Kinoautomat was the world's first interactive film. During nine moments in the story, a moderator would appear on the stage, and ask the audience where the story should go now. Depending on the votes, one of two reels would play.

“The Kinoautomat in the Czechoslovak Pavilion is a guaranteed hit of the World Exposition, and the Czechs should build a monument to the man who conceived the idea, Radúz Činčera.”

– The New Yorker

After its very successful performance at Expo 67, and a one year run in Prague, Kinoautomat was banned by the Czechoslovakian government.

The Book of Life (Hal Hartley, 1998)

Dec

31

1999

The Book of Life (1998)

The “New York News” of December 31, 1999. The headline reads LAST DAY OF CENTURY BELIEVERS PRAY FOR END. DP: Jim Denault.

“It was the morning of December 31, 1999 when I returned, at last, to judge the living and the dead. Though still, and perhaps always, I had my doubts.”

Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen [Even Dwarfs Started Small] (Werner Herzog, 1970)

Dec

30

National Short Person Day

Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen (1970)

Some of the main cast members, with three women in focus. They're outdoors and several animals, including a kneeling dromedary, can be spotted in the background. DP: Thomas Mauch.

A short main character for National Short Person Day (USA).

“When we behave nobody cares. But when we are bad nobody forgets.”

– Hombré

La noche de los Inocentes [Night of the Innocents] (Arturo Sotto Díaz, 2007)

Dec

28

La noche de los Inocentes (2007)

The cast in the hospital. Lighting and stances appear theatre-like. DP: Ernesto Granado.

Die Puppe [The Doll] (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919)

Dec

16

Stupid Toy Day

Die Puppe (1919)

The doll (Ossi Oswalda) mischievously sticks out her tongue. DPs: Theodor Sparkuhl & Kurt Waschneck .

A ridiculous toy for Stupid Toy Day.

“She must have one complex mechanism!”

– Lancelot