Fantasia of Color in Early Cinema

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Held on Sun, Nov 22, 2015, 3:30 p.m.

Introduced by Giovanna Fossati and Tom Gunning

MoMA, Floor T2, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

Les Tulipes. 1907. France. Directed by Segundo de Chomón. Courtesy EYE Filmmuseum

Prepare to be dazzled by this breathtaking display of the beauties of hand-colored cinema, from the time before Technicolor was born. These shimmering, iridescent examples of hand painting, dyeing, and stencil coloring are drawn from the collection of the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam: early trick films and travelogues that include images of Dutch windmills silhouetted against a crimson-burnished sunset, promenading Parisians, the sprightly fountains of Versailles, and Algeria’s dance of the Ouled Naïl. This program celebrates the publication of a new book, Fantasia of Color in Early Cinema (Amsterdam University Press, 2015), that provides fresh reconsideration of the pioneering uses of color in film, with a forward by Martin Scorsese; scholarly essays by Tom Gunning (University of Chicago), Joshua Yumibe (Michigan State University), Giovanna Fossati (EYE Film Institute Netherlands and University of Amsterdam), and illustrator Jonathon Rosen; and an annotated filmography by Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi. Join Fossati, Gunning, and others for this cinematic garden of earthly delights. All films restored by EYE Filmmuseum.

Fantasia of Color book teaser

USA. Directed by Jonathon Rosen. 3 min.

L’Album merveilleux (Wonderful Album)

France. Directed by Gaston Velle. 2 min.

De Molens die juichen en weenen

Netherlands. Directed by Alfred Machin. 7 min.

Les Tulipes (The Tulips)

France. Segundo de Chomón. 4 min.

Visions d’art: 3. La Fée aux étoiles (The Fairy of the Stars)

France. Director unknown. 2 min.

Les Parisiennes

USA. Director unknown. 1 min.

Bloemenvelden Haarlem

Netherlands. Directed by Albert and Willy Mullen. 2 min.

Coiffes Hollandaises (Dutch Types)

France. Director unknown. 4 min.

Les Grandes eaux de Versailles (The Fountains of Versailles)

France. Director unknown. 2 min.

Le Roi des dollars (King of Dollars)

France. Directed by Segundo de Chomón. 2 min.

Le Charmeur (The Charmer)

France. Directed by Segundo de Chomón. 5 min.

Les Glaces merveilleuses (Wonderful Mirrors)

France. Segundo de Chomón 7 min.

Gekleurde kijkjes uit de geheele wereld

1913–23. France. Director unknown. 8 min.

Danses Algériennes I: Danse des Ouled-Naïl

France. Director unknown. 2 min.

Les Six soeurs Dainef (Acrobatic Sisters Dainef)

France. Director unknown. 3 min.

Buona sera fiori

Italy. Directed by Giovanni Vitrotti. 1 min.

Silent, with piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin. Program approx. 100 min.

This film accompanies To Save and Project: The 13th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation.

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