In the last few months, MRC has acquired an usually large number of very cool new box sets and DVD anthologies. Two of our favorites are described below:

Henri Cartier-Bresson -- DVD 9934

Le Retour (The Return). A documentary by the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson considered to be the father of modern photojournalism, an early adopter of 35 mm format, and developer of the "street photography" style that has influenced generations of photographers. Le Retour presents the liberation of French prisoners from Nazi concentration camps. Shows the removal of the prisoners to temporary hospitals and pictures joyful reunions with families and friends in Paris.

L'espagne vivra (Spain will live). A documentary by the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson considered to be the father of modern photojournalism, an early adopter of 35 mm format, and developer of the "street photography" style that has influenced generations of photographers. L'espagne vivra is the second documentary by Cartier-Bresson on the Spanish Civil War. It looks at the war and its aftermath with commentary by Georges Sadoul.

Victoire de la vie (Victory of Life). A documentary by the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson considered to be the father of modern photojournalism, an early adopter of 35 mm format, and developer of the "street photography" style that has influenced generations of photographers. Victoire de la vie is taken during the civil war inside the hospitals of Republican Spain showing medical care of soldiers.

Impressions de Californie (California impressions). CBS News invited the distinguished French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, to make a film on any subject, anywhere in the world. He chose the state of California and this is the film he made, giving his personal impressions of aspects of the life and the people of that part of the country. The sequences used range from cheer-leading auditions and anti-war protests, to encounter groups and hippie communes.

Henri Cartier-Bresson:  The Impassioned Eye. Featuring Henri Cartier-Bresson, Isabelle Huppert, Robert Delpire, Elliott Erwitt, Josef Koudelka, Arthur Miller, Ferdinando Scianna.  A documentary on influential photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson filmed shortly before his death. Features interviews with Cartier-Bresson and a host of cultural luminaries, including Arthur Miller.

Southern Exposures. CBS News invited the distinguished French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, to make a film on any subject, anywhere in the world. In this documentary Cartier-Bresson travels through the United States as he tries to capture its cultural flavor in the late 1960's.

Robert Franks:  The Complete Film Works

About Me:  A Musical.  DVD 9966 An autobiographical film by filmmaker Robert Frank that poses questions concerning artistic expression and the function of memory.

Conversations in Vermont. DVD 9965  Filmmaker Robert Frank tells a story to his two teenage children, with the aid of still photographs from a variety of sources.

Keep Busy. DVD 9966  An interweaving of documentary and fiction to create a film about a group of people living on an isolated island off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Liferaft Earth. DVD 9965  A documentary film about the "Hunger Show", a week-long hunger strike designed to bring attention to the dangers of overpopulation. Filmed from Oct. 11-18, 1969 in Hayward, Calif.

Ok End Here. DVD 9965  A short fictional film about a crumbling romantic relationship. The characters are often only partially visible or physically separated by walls, doors, reflections, or furniture, and the camera relays the story with little rhyme nor reason.

Pull My Daisy. DVD 9964. Presents Jack Kerouac's adapted play; this version is widely acknowledged as a classic moment in American independent cinema, marked by Robert Frank's filmmaking debut. The film describes the moods and feelings of a group of poets and musicians meeting in a loft apartment on a Friday morning. Jack Kerouac speaks for all the characters and comments on their actions.

The Sin of Jesus. DVD 9964. A short fictional film in which a young woman struggles to overcome the monotony of her failing marriage and dead-end job at a chicken farm.

Me and My Brother.  DVD 9964. Robert Frank's first feature length film describes the inner and outer world of a Julius Orlovsky, a man who is catatonic schizophrenic. After spending years in a New York mental hospital, Julius emerges catatonic and must rely on his brother Peter, who lives with poet Allen Ginsberg. When Julius wanders off in the middle of filming, Frank hires and actor (Joseph Chaikin) to play the character and begins a fictional version of his psychological portrait. Then, as suddenly as he vanished, Julius turns up in an institution where he and Peter must face their relationship.

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

Sounds the alarm about the extent of our alarming socio-economic and racial inequities in health--and searches for their root causes. But those causes are not what we might expect ... It turns out there's much more to our health than bad habits, health care or unlucky genes. The social conditions in which we are born, live and work profoundly affect our well-being and longevity. Program notes including contents of episodes ([8] p. : ill.) in container. Introduction -- In sickness and in wealth (56 min.) -- When the bough breaks (29 min.) -- Becoming American (29 min.) -- Bad sugar (29 min.) -- Place matters (29 min.) -- Collateral damage (29 min.) -- Not just a paycheck (30 min.). Series executive producer, Larry Adelman. c2008. 236 min.

• View this video online (UC users only)
  

  • Part I: Introduction -- In sickness and in wealth (56 min.)
  • Part II: When the bough breaks (29 min.)
  • Part III: Becoming American (29 min.)
  • Part IV: Bad sugar (29 min.)
  • Part V: Place matters (29 min.)
  • Part VI: Collateral damage (29 min.)
  • Part VII: Not just a paycheck (30 min.)

• Description from California Newsreel catalog

Requires Windows Media Player or Flip4Mac

Want to stay up-to-date on new acquisitions, services, and happenings in the Media Resources Center?  Become a fan of MRC on Facebook.  It's easy!  If you are currently a Facebook subscriber, become a fan HERE.  If you haven't joined facebook, sign up at www.facebook.com and then become a fan at the link above.

The Media Resources Center (Moffitt Library) is very pleased and excited to announce that we have recently licensed and digitized 13 plays from the redoubtable BBC Shakespeare Library (As You Like It; Comedy of Errors; Hamlet; Julius Caesar; Macbeth; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Much Ado About Nothing; Othello; Richard III; Romeo and Juliet; Taming of the Shrew; The Tempest, Twelfth Night).

These plays can be viewed by UCB students, faculty, and staff (CalNet ID and password required). A listing of the plays, links to the videos, and technical requirements for viewing are posted at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/bardonline.html

For background and a fuller description of these playes, SEE

Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Television_Shakespeare

Bulman, James C. "The BBC Shakespeare and 'House Style'."
Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 5, Special Issue: Teaching Shakespeare (1984), pp. 571-581
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2870062

Jorgens, Jack. "The BBC-TV Shakespeare Series."
Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Summer, 1979), pp. 411-415
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2869478

Well, the world isn't completely going to hell in a hand-basket...there are definite bright spots out there. Early film fans and scholars, for example, have at least small reason to rejoice. The tremendous popularity of DVDs in general has tended to shed light on formerly obscure corners of the cinematic world, as well as the the blockbusters. The past several years have seen the release of wonderful and affordable sets of early film works--often dazzlingly restored. Some of the cooler stuff acquired by MRC is described below. (For a complete listing of MRC early film anthologies and fuller descriptions of the titles below, see http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/earlyfilm.html

Georges Méliès, First Wizard of Cinema

A
collection of rare and rediscovered original films by Georges Méliès.
This disc contains films produced in 1899 including 9 films on the
Dreyfus affair. Méliès, a successful magician, began investigating film
as a medium of trickery in 1896. Through inventive optical effects and
elaborate sets and props, he discovered how to make objects and people
appear, disappear and grow larger and smaller. While best known for his
fantastic tales, Melies also produced witty advertising films and
re-stagings of actual events. DVD 9625

Méliès le cinemagicien (
Méliès the magician) (1898-1909)

Contents:
Magic of Méliès (La magie Méliès, 130 min.): Documentary film about the
life and work of film pioneer Georges Méliès including interviews with
historians and witnesses. Uses archival footage, film excerpts and
reconstructions to reveal the life, art, and unique techniques of the
legendary film pioneer. Méliès' innovations, including special effects,
hand-tinting, backdrops, and costumes, profoundly shaped the course of
film history. Méliès magic show: 15 short films of George Méliès,
introduced by his grandaughter in front of an audience. These are: --
Une seance Méliès= Méliès' magic show (55 min): Four troublesome heads
(1898); Trip to the moon (1902); Infernal cakewalk (1903); Scheming
gambler's paradise (1905); Music lover (1903); Infernal boiling pot
(1903); Man with the rubber head (1901); Living playing cards (1904);
Hilarious posters (1905); Devilish tenant (1909); Untameable whiskers
(1904); Imperceptible transmutations (1904); Bluebeard (1901); Fat and
lean wrestling match (1900); One-man band (1900). 185 minutes total
running time. DVD 1044

Saved from the Flames DVD 9450

--Magical Movies: films by Georges Melies and others

--Seeing The World: traveloges and films of exotic places

--New Beginnings: Seven films including the early cinematic experiments of the Lumiere brothers, Georges Mendel and others

--Drawings and Models -- animations and other film experiments by the Fleischer Studios, Ub Iwerks, and others

--Grace Notes: Rare early musical performances by Django Reinhardt, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and others

--Laughing Like We Used To -- early comedies from Pathe studios, Mack Sennett, and others

--Persuade Me -- political campaign films, propaganda, and other political films

--Tell Me a Story Features three shorts produced from 1912-1913 by
D.W. Griffith (For His Son), Lois Weber (Suspense), and Thomas Ince
(The Heart of an Indian).

Fantomas (1913-1914)

Directed by Louis Feuillade.
Films from the silent serial crime saga with the evil Fantomas battling
Inspector Juve. Based on novels by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain.
[Disc 1]. Fantomas (A l'ombre de la guillotine) (1913, 54 min.). Juve
contre Fantomas (1913, 60 min.). Le mort qui tue (1913, 91 min.) --
[Disc 2]. Fantomas contre Fantomas (1914, 59 min.). Le faux magistrat
(1914, 70 min.). Special features. Photography, Georges Guerin and
Albert Sorgius. Cast: Rene Navarre, Edmond Breon, Georges Melchior,
Renee Carl, Andre Luguet, Yvette Andreyor. Special features: Photo
gallery, covers of the novels, sinister crime stories of the time,
illustrated filmographies, a comparison of the original novels with the
films, interviews with Marcel Allain, clips from the show "Pour le
plaisir" (Rendez-vous avec Fantomas, created by Georges Franju, 1966)
and "Bonnes adresses pour rever" (created by Roland Bernard, 1969). DVD 5868

Judex (1917)

Directed by Louis Feuillade.
One of cinema's first 'superheroes,' the mysterious Judex in these
early silent films is torn between an oath of justice against the
wealthy banker Favraux, who had earlier wronged his family, and his
secret love of Favraux's daughter, Jacqueline. This framework is the
basis of a series of extraordinary and engaging incidents involving
Judex's brother, the evil Diana Monti and her accomplices, the
detective Cocatin, and the charming Licorice Kid. Disc 1: Prologue --
1. The mysterious shadow -- 2. The atonement -- 3. The fantastic dog
pack -- 4. The secret of the tomb -- 5. The tragic mill -- Disc 2: 6.
The Liquorice Kid -- 7. The woman in black -- 8. The underground
passages of the Chateau-Rouge -- 9. When the child appeared -- 10.
Jacqueline's heart -- 11. The water goddess -- 12. Love's forgiveness.
Features a newly recorded score by Robert Israel. Also included: The
music of Judex, an 18 minute featurette in which Robert Israel
discusses scoring Judex and an essay by film historian Jan-Christopher
Horak. 315 min. DVD 6178

Les Vampires (1916)

Directed by Louis Feuillade.
Cast: Musidora, Edouard Mathe, Marcel Levesque, Jean Ayme, Fernand
Herrmann, Stacia Napierkowska. 1. The severed head -- 2. The ring that
kills -- 3. The red code book -- 4. The spectre -- 5. Dead man's escape
-- 6. Hypnotic eyes -- 7. Satanas -- 8. The thunder master -- 9. The
poisoner -- 10. The terrible wedding. A legendary 7 hour silent crime
serial in 10 episodes describing the achievements of Les Vampires, a
secret society of criminals led by Irma Vep. The gang uses kidnapping,
poisonous gas, heavy artillery, sexual domination and murder to gain
power over the elite of Paris. Special features: Inserted essay: The
public is my master, Louis Feuillade and Les Vampires by Fabrice
Zagury; For the children: a comedy sketch by the cast and crew of Les
Vampires to raise funds for the French war orphans. Directed by Louis
Feuillade (1916, 3 min.); Bout-de-Zan and the shirker: a comedy that
features the child actor, Bout-De-Zan, from episode 8 of Les Vampires.
Directed by Louis Feuillade (1916, 8 min.)
399 min. DVD 285

The Jazz Singer(1927)

Directed by Alan Crosland.
Cast: Al Jolson, Mary McAvoy, Warner Oland, William Demarest, Eugenie
Besserer, Otto Lederer, Josef Rosenblatt. Jakie Rabinowitz is the son
of a Jewish cantor. Turning his back on family tradition, Jakie
transforms himself into cabaret-entertainer Jack Robin. When Jack comes
home to visit his parents, he is warmly greeted by his mother, but is
given the cold-shoulder by his father, who feels that Jack is a traitor
to his heritage by singing jazz music. On the eve of his biggest show
business triumph, Jack receives word that his father is dying. Out of
respect, Jack foregoes his opening night to attend Atonement services
at the temple and sings the Kol Nidre in his father's place. In motion
picture history, this marks the first feature film to utilize
synchronous sound. Actor Al Jolson's songs include "Toot, toot,
tootsie", "Blue skies", and "Mammy". Special features: Disc 1:
Commentary by Ron Hutchinson, founder of The Vitaphone Projects and
Nighthawks Bandleader Vince Giordano; vintage Al Jolson short films: "A
plantation act," "An intimate dinner in celebration of Warner Bros.
Silver Jubilee," "Hollywood handicap," and "A day at Santa Anita" ;
radio show adaptation and movie trailer gallery; classic homage cartoon
"I love to singa" which features a jazz-singing Owl Jolson. DVD 8594

Les Premiers pas du Cinema: Un Reve en Couleur (Discovering Cinema: Movies Dream in Color

Historical
survey of the development of color in motion pictures with early films
included in special features to illustrate the main points of
technological and artistic development. Coloriage =Coloring:Forgerons
(1895, 0:32 min.) --Mort de Marat (1897, 0:38 min.) --Danse serpentine
(1898, 0:51 min.) --Execution de Jeannne d'Arc (1898, 0:41 min.)
--Danseurs espagnols (1898, 2:01 min.) --Metamorphoses du Papillon
(1904, 1:21 min.) --Fee aux Fleurs (1905, 1:07 min.) --Sorcier arabe
(1906, 2:45 min.) -- Synthes`e additive =Additive
synthesis:Inauguration du Campanile de San Marco (1912, 11 min.)
--Essai trichrome du Dr. Doyen (1912, 0:40 min.) --Essai couluer de
Sonia Delaunay (1928, 0:24 min.) --Jeunes femmes prenant le The (1937,
3:11 min.) --Synthese soustractive =Subtractive synthe`sis: Wonderland
of California (1930, 6:50 min.) --King of Jazz (1930, 3:34 min.)
--Cucaracha (1934, 19:37 min.) --Becky Sharp (1935, 2:46 min.) --New
York (1938, 5:03 min.) DVD 4651

Les Premiers pas du Cinema: A la Recherche du Son (Discovering Cinema: Learning to Talk)

Historical
survey of the development of sound in motion pictures with early films
and extracts from films included in special features to illustrate the
main points of technological and artistic development. Son direct =Live
sound:Quand madelon (1917, 3:19 min.) --Pere la Victorie (1917, 3:55
min.) --Chamber mystery [extract] (1920, 8:15 min.) --Miss Venus
[extract] (1921, 4:58 min.) --Ain't she sweet (1933, 7:13 min.) --Son
sur disque =Sound on disc:Lucia Di Lammermoor (1908, 4:01 min.) --Donna
e Mobile (1908, 2:29 min.) --Carmen 'Air du Toreador' (1910, 4:17 min.)
--Legende du Roi Gambrinus (1911, 2:37 min.) --Marseillaise (1911, 2:48
min.) --Nursery favorites (1913, 5:29 min.) --Chanteur de jazz (1927,
6:53 min.) --Son optique =Optical sound:Snappy tunes (1923, 6:51 min.)
--Theodore Case test film (1924, 0:32 min.) --Ma he's making eyes at me
(1925, 1:36 min.) --Arthur Conan Doyle (1927, 10:37 min.) --Governor
Young hails greater talkie season (1928, 2:29 min.) --Finding his voice
(1929, 10:12 min.) DVD 4652

Retour de flamme. une seance de cinematographe

Presents
seminal films in the early development of motion pictures in France and
the United States with each film preceded by extensive optional
historical commentary. DVD 9633-DVD 9638

Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934.

Forty-eight
movies that helped change America. During the first decades of the 20th
century no issue was too controversial for movies ... from prohibition
to abortion, unions, atheism, the vote for women, worker safety,
juvenile justice, homelessness and immigration, these films became the
catalyst for social change. Films are from five major film archives:
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, George Eastman House,
the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, and the UCLA Film
and Television Archive. DVD 8670