Film Series: World War I and Dada
April 2, 9, 16, and 30|
Shoulder Arms also Maudite soit la guerre (A Curse on War) J'Accuse Paths of Glory also Gaumont newsreels, 1914–1918 All Quiet on the Western Front |
***All film programs are held in the East Building Auditorium except where noted***
Shoulder Arms
April 2 at 2:00 p.m.
Mocking any and every wartime maneuver
he could imagine, Charlie Chaplin virtually
made his reputation with Shoulder Arms following
its release just before the signing of
the armistice. The film was a huge hit with
soldiers, and the public (through the film's
advertisements) was urged to take a break
from the stress of war: "People can laugh
without any guilt feelings now." (Charlie
Chaplin, 1918, 35 mm, silent with piano
accompaniment by Andrew Simpson,
45 mins.)
also
Maudite soit la guerre (A Curse on War)
Maudite soit la guerre, a rare short feature
from Belgian director Alfred Machin, tells
of camaraderie and friendship amid the
outbreak of war between two neighboring
countries. The film's dazzling Jugendstil interiors
and sophisticated battle sequences were
unusually stylish for this period. This print
is a recent restoration from La Cinémathèque de Toulouse. (Alfred Machin, 1914, 35 mm,
French and Dutch intertitles translated live,
silent with piano accompaniment, 47 mins.)
Calendar of Events | World War I and Dada list
J'Accuse
American premiere of the restoration
April 9 at 2:00 p.m.
The first true epic from French director Abel
Gance, J'accuse is a stirring indictment of
war famous for its climax in which the hero
acquires the power to summon the ghosts
of the war dead (portrayed here by actual
soldiers from the front). Just as striking
is Gance’s use of location shooting on the
battlefields of France and his rapid cutting,
superimposition, and tracking camera—a
seamless blend of actualités and visual poetry.
This restored print is from La Cinémathèque
française, courtesy Nelly Kaplan. (Abel
Gance, 1919, 35 mm, French intertitles translated
live, piano accompaniment by Robert
Israel, approx. 135 mins.)
Calendar of Events | World War I and Dada list
Paths of Glory
April 16 at 2:00 p.m.
On orders from high-ranking officers, French
Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) heads a fruitless
mission that ends in court-martial for three
innocent soldiers. Paths of Glory summed up,
in the words of historian Gavin Lambert, "a
social structure of war more frightening than
the horror of combat itself." Stanley Kubrick,
still in his twenties, delivered not only the
substance of the factually based 1935 Humphrey
Cobb novel, but also an irony and exactness
soon to be his trademark. This restored
print from UCLA Film and Television Archive
was funded by The Film Foundation and Hollywood
Foreign Press Association. (Stanley
Kubrick, 1957, 35 mm, 86 mins.)
also
Gaumont newsreels, 1914–1918
Preceding the feature are three newsreels
of the World War I period from the archives of
Gaumont-Pathé.
Calendar of Events | World War I and Dada list
All Quiet on the Western Front
April 30 at 2:00 p.m.
"A magnificent cinematic equivalent to Erich
Maria Remarque's novel," hailed the reviews
for this most celebrated of antiwar films
about German youths who enlist. The boys'
romantic enthusiasm soon vanishes when
they come face-to-face with bombings, gas
attacks, and hand-to-hand combat on the
Western front, where death is almost a
requisite. (Lewis Milestone, 1930, 35 mm,
131 mins.)
Calendar of Events | World War I and Dada list
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