After its well-received world premiere at the 14th Santa Barbara International Film Festival in March, Mark McLaughlin's short feature documentary on film preservation has earned a brief encounter with ticket buyers at Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills.
If nothing else, "Keepers of the Frame" is an engaging celebration of early cinema and a rousing plea for supporting the cause of saving often historically priceless entertainment and art.
Though it is too short and severely outdated in some instances, "Keepers of the Frame" is an adequate enough introduction to the ins and outs of saving old nitrate films, but there's little new information and nothing at all about digital storage, which is believed will become the standard approach in the future.
Furthermore, what is one to make of cheerful footage of the late Laurence Austin and Los Angeles' historic Silent Movie cinema, with no mention made of Austin's murder and the closing of the theater? In an attempt to cover a lot of ground for atmosphere and background, McLaughlin is occasionally led astray by his enthusiasm for personalities and diehard cinestes who make nominal contributions.
The usual suspects -- UCLA's Eric Aijala and Bob Gitt, AFI's Jean Firstenberg, Leonard Maltin -- lead the team of experts who passionately argue that silents, early talkies, newsreels, vintage TV shows and even home movies are cultural treasures. For those not familiar with the subject, the majority of pre-sound films are Lost Forever, while the creation of new theatrical prints for even well-known classics can be a major undertaking combining preservation and restoration.
Occasionally, gems are unearthed -- sometimes literally -- but there are many depressing shots of deteriorated reels and stacks of crumbling films way beyond help. Stan Brakhage, Mark Cantor, the late Roddy McDowall, Debbie Reynolds, Alan Alda, Forrest J Ackerman and others extol the glories of Hollywood's first 50 years and decry the short-sighted attitudes of the past that have helped breed the current generation of serious cinema archaeologists.
KEEPERS OF THE FRAME
Fox Lorber and Winstar Prods.
Mount Pilot Prods.
Writer-director: Mark McLaughlin
Producer: Randy Gitsch
Executive producer: Earl McLaughlin
Cinematographers: Rich Lerner, David McLaughlin
Editor: Roderick Kent
Music: Steve Cornell
Color/Black & White
Running time -- 70 minutes
No MPAA rating...
If nothing else, "Keepers of the Frame" is an engaging celebration of early cinema and a rousing plea for supporting the cause of saving often historically priceless entertainment and art.
Though it is too short and severely outdated in some instances, "Keepers of the Frame" is an adequate enough introduction to the ins and outs of saving old nitrate films, but there's little new information and nothing at all about digital storage, which is believed will become the standard approach in the future.
Furthermore, what is one to make of cheerful footage of the late Laurence Austin and Los Angeles' historic Silent Movie cinema, with no mention made of Austin's murder and the closing of the theater? In an attempt to cover a lot of ground for atmosphere and background, McLaughlin is occasionally led astray by his enthusiasm for personalities and diehard cinestes who make nominal contributions.
The usual suspects -- UCLA's Eric Aijala and Bob Gitt, AFI's Jean Firstenberg, Leonard Maltin -- lead the team of experts who passionately argue that silents, early talkies, newsreels, vintage TV shows and even home movies are cultural treasures. For those not familiar with the subject, the majority of pre-sound films are Lost Forever, while the creation of new theatrical prints for even well-known classics can be a major undertaking combining preservation and restoration.
Occasionally, gems are unearthed -- sometimes literally -- but there are many depressing shots of deteriorated reels and stacks of crumbling films way beyond help. Stan Brakhage, Mark Cantor, the late Roddy McDowall, Debbie Reynolds, Alan Alda, Forrest J Ackerman and others extol the glories of Hollywood's first 50 years and decry the short-sighted attitudes of the past that have helped breed the current generation of serious cinema archaeologists.
KEEPERS OF THE FRAME
Fox Lorber and Winstar Prods.
Mount Pilot Prods.
Writer-director: Mark McLaughlin
Producer: Randy Gitsch
Executive producer: Earl McLaughlin
Cinematographers: Rich Lerner, David McLaughlin
Editor: Roderick Kent
Music: Steve Cornell
Color/Black & White
Running time -- 70 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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