Murder, Love, Marriage

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Saturday, February 14, 2009
6:00PM
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival Winter Event
The Castro Theatre
San Francisco



“It’s a beautiful love story about a man who wants to kill his wife,” is how I once described F. W. Murnau’s Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) to a curious friend. Technically, this is an apt description of the plot, but the genius of the film lies in how Murnau transforms this rather simple story of murderous intent into a meditation on the cyclical, but enduring, love of marriage. The film's drama comes from the tension between these two stories, the one of murder and the one of marital love.


The Man and The Woman From the City

Sunrise starts with a scene of a lustful tryst between The Man, a simple farmer, and The Woman From the City, a flapper. In true femme fatale style, she promises him an exciting life together in the city, if only he’d dispose of his wife. He agrees and the story seems set, we are in for a tale of murder which will probably ending in the just punishment of this illicit couple. When he returns home, The Man tells The Wife, rightfully confused and scared, that he wants to take her to The City for the afternoon. He plans to drown her halfway across the river they must travel to reach their destination. The use of generic descriptions instead of character names in the title cards supports the impression that this is an allegorical story meant to teach a moral. We see them in the boat together; suddenly, he moves toward her and…doesn’t kill her. She simply stares at him, wordless, and all his plans go awry. His resolve fails and the audience expectation goes out the window.


In the same boat.

When they reach the shore, she, sensibly, flees from him into the sanctuary of a church. He follows and sees what she sees, a wedding. Both are profoundly moved by the ceremony, he realizes that he still loves his wife. They leave the church together and one of the most moving sequences in film history ensues. As they cross the street together, oblivious to the traffic dangerously whizzing around them, Murnau dissolves this shot into one of the pair walking in a woodland paradise. They have transcended reality and are in a world of their own, one of love and unity. Instead of an afternoon of murder, it is an afternoon of remarriage. The audience finds itself plunged into a deeply moving and personal story. The film follows The Man and The Wife as they explore The City, and one another.


Falling in love again.

But is it too late for redemption? As The Man and The Wife travel back across the river from their day out, their marriage born anew, a storm rises and sweeps The Wife out of the boat. Will she drown? Others know of his affair with The Woman, will The Man be blamed for The Wife’s death? Have we again slipped back into the murderous drama? Will he be cruelly punished for his former transgression with the death of his true love? Well, you’ll have to watch it if you want to find out.The San Francisco Silent Film Festival will present Sunrise, the film that won the first and only Oscar for “best picture, unique and artistic production” accompanied live on the mighty Wurlitzer by Dennis James as part of their Winter Event at the Castro Theatre on Valentine’s Day. Those not lucky enough to see it in a theater can find it on DVD from Fox.


Alone.

Here’s the whole SFSFF Winter Event line-up:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14:

12 noon
Our Hospitality (1923)
Dir. Buster Keaton and John G. Blystone
Live piano accompaniment by Philip Carli

2:40PM
A Kiss from Mary Pickford (1927)
Dir. Sergei Komarov
Live piano accompaniment by Philip Carli

6:30PM
Sunrise (1927)
Dir. F.W. Murnau
Live accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer by Dennis James

9:30PM
The Cat and the Canary (1927)
Dir. Paul Leni
Live accompaniment by Dennis James on the Mighty Wurlitzer and Foley Artist, Mark Goldstein

Ink in their Veins

Noir City 7


January 23 through February 1, 2009
The Castro Theatre
San Francisco

February 13th through 19, 2009
SIFF Cinema
Seattle

Noir City once again surrounds San Francisco's palatial Castro Theatre with its dark miasma. This year's program, running January 23 through February 1, focuses on "Newspaper Noir" with some forays into the worlds of radio broadcasting and magazine publishing too. Programmers Eddie Muller and Anita Monga also deliver a taste of the 1940s film-going experience by rounding out each evening's double feature with an actual B picture. Most of the films, however, center around the press and its all consuming desire for THE STORY and what desperate reporters and editors will do to expose it, conceal it or capitalize on it.



Bogie lays it on the line in Deadline, USA
The newsmen in these stories range in character from the heroic to the despicable. In Deadline, USA, Humphrey Bogart's reporter decides to take down a racketeer before his paper is sold to a tabloid outfit in one last show of journalistic integrity. Sort of like Edward R. Murrow but tougher. Kirk Douglas' big time reporter stranded at a small time paper in Ace in the Hole manipulates a tragic, and deadly, situation in hopes of regaining his place in the big league regardless of the costs to others. Then there's Burt Lancaster's megalomaniacal gossip columnist in The Sweet Smell of Success who wants to use the press to destroy the man who loves his sister.

"Newspaper Noir" may seem like a man's world, but never fear, the girls are far from being ignored in this festival. The dames in these films come in as many varietes as the gents. In Chicago Deadline, Donna Reed portrays the murdered prostitute who becomes the obsession of a reporter, Alan Ladd, as he uncovers the events that led to her demise. In Two O'clock Courage, a plucky female cabbie, Ann Rutherford, investigates her amnesic fare, Tom Conway, who finds himself the object of a manhunt and possibly her affections. Signe Hasso contributes a vengeful woman scorned to the mix in Strange Triangle when her lover dumps her on discovering she's married to his business rival. Unfortunately for him, she can't take no for an answer.

Noir City also pays special tribute to the sexy film noir icon Arlene Dahl. Last year's audience may remember her from the period noir, Reign of Terror. She'll be on hand for an onstage interview prior to the screenings of two of her noir outings, Wicked as They Come and Slightly Scarlet on January 24. In Wicked as They Come she plays a woman who seduces and abandons men in her quest to move up the socio-economic ladder. In Slightly Scarlet, she plays the recently paroled kleptomaniac sister of good girl Rhonda Fleming, the secretary and sweetheart to a reform party mayor. The sisters find themselves in competition for John Payne who's out to destroy the mayor. In addition to seeing her on stage, pass holders will also be able to meet Miss Dahl at a special reception before the double feature.

So, once again the programmers at Noir City have arranged an interesting and rare collection of noirs for their festival goers. All but six of the films are unavailable on DVD and are seldom screened. In fact, it took the combined efforts of the Film Noir Foundation and UCLA Film and Television Archive to locate the only existing print of Chicago Deadline. Tickets are now available at Noir City's official website. For those Seattleites who wish to have Noir City come to them, it will. February 13th through 19th, in conjunction with SIFF, the Film Noir Foundation will present a slightly shorter version of the series, check it out here.
The full San Francisco program follows:
Friday, January 23
DEADLINE USA 7:30
(1952) dir. Richard Brooks
SCANDAL SHEET 9:30
(1952) dir. Phil Karlson
Saturday, January 24
BLIND SPOT 1:30
(1947) dir. Robert Gordon
CHICAGO DEADLINE 3:00
(1949) dir. Lewis Allen

PASSPORT HOLDERS RECEPTION FOR ARELENE DAHL 6:00 - 7:00
Evening show with ARLENE DAHL IN PERSON!
WICKED AS THEY COME 7:00
(1956) dir. Ken Hughes
SLIGHTLY SCARLET 9:30
(1956) dir. Allan Dwan
Sunday, January 25
CRY OF THE HUNTED 1:00, 5:00, 9:20
(1953) dir. Joseph H. Lewis
ACE IN THE HOLE 2:45, 7:00
(1951) dir. Billy Wilder
Monday, January 26
ALIAS NICK BEAL 7:30
(1949) dir. John Farrow
NIGHT EDITOR 9:30
(1946) dir. Henry Levin
Tuesday, January 27
THE HARDER THEY FALL 7:30
(1956) dir. Mark Robson
JOHNNY STOOL PIGEON 9:30
(1949) dir. William Castle
Wednesday, January 28
WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS 7:30
(1956) dir. Fritz Lang
SHAKEDOWN 9:30
(1950) dir. Joe Pevney
Thursday, January 29
THE BIG CLOCK 7:30
(1948) dir. John Farrow
STRANGE TRIANGLE 9:30
(1946) dir. Ray McCarey
Friday, January 30
THE UNSUSPECTED 7:30
(1947) dir. Michael Curtiz
DESPERATE 9:30
(1947) dir. Anthony Mann
Saturday, January 31
BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT 2:00, 7:30
(1956) dir. Fritz Lang
TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE 3:45, 9:20
(1945) dir. Anthony Mann
Sunday, February 1
THE KILLERS 1:00, 7:00
(1957) dir. Robert Siodmak
SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS 3:15, 9:30
(1946) dir. Alexander Mackendrick

Beyond Dietrich

Genius at work.

Josef von Sternberg: Eros and Abstraction
January 15, 2009 - February 22, 2009
PFA, Berkley, CA
Series curated by Susan Oxtoby.
Co-presented by Goethe"nstitut San Francisco.


"So many people ended up hating this lonely, gifted little man, utterly convinced that he was a monster; they just couldn't see anything beyond their own selfish antagonism. But back in 1929, I was still a child who sensed, but could not yet analyze why, I felt this man was nice, not to be feared, no matter what anyone had to say about him." [1] This recollection of meeting Josef von Sternberg, at the age of nine, comes from Maria Riva, daughter and biographer of Marlene Dietrich. Dietrich and von Sternberg's films marked a remarkable collaboration that dominated both their careers and their public images even beyond their lifetimes. It is difficult to think about or write about one without the other.



Von Sternberg with his muse and tormentor, Marlene Dietrich.
However, the PFA's film series Josef von Sternberg: Eros and Abstraction, while including all seven of his and Dietrich's films, places them within the context of von Sternberg's entire career. The series ranges from his early silent work, his first talkie, Thunderbolt, the Dietrich series and the post-Dietrich films including his rarely seen Japanese language film, The Saga of Anatahan, over which he had, for the only time, complete creative control. This series promises to be a rich exploration of a great visual artist who had a true understanding of human relationships, in particularly those between men and women.
The PFA's schedule follows:
Thursday, January 15, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
Underworld (1927)
Judith Rosenberg on Piano.
Sunday, January 18, 2009, 5:30 p.m.
The Last Command (1928)
Judith Rosenberg on Piano.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
Children of Divorce (1927)
With documentary D'un silence /* l'autre: Josef von Sternberg (1966).
Saturday, January 24, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
The Docks of New York (1928)
Judith Rosenberg on Piano.
Saturday, January 31, 2009, 4:00 p.m.
Thunderbolt (1928)
Sunday, February 1, 2009. 2:00 p.m.
The Blue Angel (1930) (German Language Version)
With Dietrich's screen test and The World of Josef von Sternberg (1967).
Friday, February 6, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
Morocco (1930)
Saturday, February 7, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
An American Tragedy (1931)
Saturday, February 7, 2009, 8:30 p.m.
Dishonored (1931)
Sunday, February 8, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
The Salvation Hunters (1925)
Illustrated Lecture by Janet Bergstrom.
Judith Rosenberg on Piano.
Thursday, February 12, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
Shanghai Express (1932)
Thursday, February 12, 2009, 8:15 p.m.
Blonde Venus (1932)
Saturday, February 14, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
The Scarlet Empress (1934)
Friday, February 20, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
The Devil Is a Woman (1935)
With short The Fashion Side of Hollywood (1935).
Friday, February 20, 2009, 8:30 p.m.
Crime and Punishment (1935)
The Town (1943)
Sunday, February 22, 2009, 6:30 p.m.,AeE
The Saga of Anatahan (1953)
Click here for the PFA's full program notes.
[1] Riva, Maria. Marlene Dietrich, p. 64.