Films of Jay Rosenblatt Vol 1 now available in Media Services

Collage films that use educational movies from the 1950s and 1960s, newsreels, Hollywood clips, historical footage, home movies and other found footage to present the subject of the film. These films span the first decade of Rosenblatt’s cinematic career. DVD 8994 Jay Rosenblatt site The Smell of Burning Ants

Collage films that use educational movies from the 1950s and 1960s, newsreels, Hollywood clips, historical footage, home movies and other found footage to present the subject of the film. These films span the first decade of Rosenblatt’s cinematic career.

DVD 8994

Jay Rosenblatt site

The Smell of Burning Ants

Streaming Video Alert: Ephemeral Films on Archive.org

From their website:Ephemeral films are non-fiction films usually made for educational, industrial, or promotional purposes. The two classic ephemeral film collections found on the Archive are the Prelinger Archives and AV Geeks. In addition to these classic collections, you may view guidance films from the post-World War II British government, drive-in movie intermission ads, and … Continue reading “Streaming Video Alert: Ephemeral Films on Archive.org”

From their website:
Ephemeral films are non-fiction films usually made for educational, industrial, or promotional purposes. The two classic ephemeral film collections found on the Archive are the Prelinger Archives and AV Geeks.

In addition to these classic collections, you may view guidance films from the post-World War II British government, drive-in movie intermission ads, and videos documenting the history of San Francisco from 1906 to the early 21st Century. Many of these films are available for free download.

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Filmfest DC Thurs, April 15 through Sunday, April 25

Filmfest DC, Washington’s longest running and most prestigious film festival, is set to kickoff April 15 with eleven days of the best in new international cinema. This year the festival will feature provocative Italian films and cutting edge work from Romania, the hottest spot on the international cinema scene. Fans can also look forward to … Continue reading “Filmfest DC Thurs, April 15 through Sunday, April 25”

Filmfest DC, Washington’s longest running and most prestigious film festival, is set to kickoff April 15 with eleven days of the best in new international cinema.

This year the festival will feature provocative Italian films and cutting edge work from Romania, the hottest spot on the international cinema scene. Fans can also look forward to “The Tango Singer” (Argentina), “Hipsters” (Russia), “Medal of Honor” (Romania), “Heliopolis” (Egypt), “Will You Marry Us” (Switzerland), “25 Carats” (Spain) and scores of other international award winning films. Now celebrating its 24th year, Filmfest DC presents over 80 feature premieres, restored classics, shorts and special events in an enjoyable atmosphere for movie lovers. New this year is the Social Justice Award. The festival’s audience is widely diverse, curious and knowledgeable and Filmfest DC has developed into one of the city’s major cultural events.

As seen in the WAMU Calendar.

Filmfest DC April 15 – 25

Tickets now on sale!

The 24th Annual Washington, DC International Film Festival is set to kickoff April 15 with eleven days of the best and most exciting in new international cinema.

Look for our 24-page catalog in The Washington Post on Friday, April 9, and our centerfold ads in The Washington City Paper on April 1 and April 15.



Opening Night

The Filmfest DC Opening Night Gala will take place on Thursday, April 15 starting at 7:00 PM, at AMC Mazza Gallerie with a party immediately following at the Gallerie Atrium. There will be live music, dancing, food and Champagne. Plans are underway for a festive, entertaining and memorable evening!

Our opening night film premiere will be Hipsters, a vibrant musical from Russia, which takes place in the 50s. Hipsters has been described as Swing Kids meets Hairspray, bursting with razzle, dazzle and rhythm. The music and the dancing in the film is spectacular, beautifully and intricately choreographed, and bursting with color. Hipsters has been collecting prizes at film festivals worldwide, including the prize for best film at the Russian Nika Awards (equivalent to our Academy Awards).

Opening Night Gala entertainment will feature dance performances by Flying Feet and live dancing music by the Grandsons during the Gala.

Tickets are $40.00 per person for the film and Gala Party, and are now on sale through tickets.com

Disneyland Dream: Classic home movie now on DVD

54 years ago Robbins Barstow made Disneyland Dream about his family’s trip to Disneyland after winning a nationwide contest sponsored by Scotch tape. He now makes it available on DVD. From Boing Boing–“This is the most delightful historical Disneyland movie I’ve seen — including the old TV shows where Walt tours the park. Young Master … Continue reading “Disneyland Dream: Classic home movie now on DVD”

54 years ago Robbins Barstow made Disneyland Dream about his family’s trip to Disneyland after winning a nationwide contest sponsored by Scotch tape. He now makes it available on DVD.

From Boing Boing
“This is the most delightful historical Disneyland movie I’ve seen — including the old TV shows where Walt tours the park. Young Master Barstow was a great film-maker (there’s a reason that the Library of Congress added this to the National Film Registry).”

Of course, it has been viewable from the ALADIN catalog for several years. link.

A bad idea gets worse…

Disney to remove all extras from rental DVDs as well Following in Fox’s footsteps, Disney has announced that it will become the second studio to release two different “classes” of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, a “premium” version, and a bare-bones rental version. Starting in June with the movies Morning Light, Confessions of a Shopaholic and … Continue reading “A bad idea gets worse…”

Disney to remove all extras from rental DVDs as well Following in Fox’s footsteps, Disney has announced that it will become the second studio to release two different “classes” of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, a “premium” version, and a bare-bones rental version.

Starting in June with the movies Morning Light, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Jonas Brothers: The Concert Experience, the studio will offer the premium version with extras and other “value-added material” while also offering the cheaper stripped-down rental versions.

The move follows that of 20th Century Fox, however with some significant differences. Disney will offer the rental versions at a lower price point, whereas Fox offers both versions at the same price. Fox also controls what rental or retail outlets can buy, however Disney gives all companies the option to buy what they please.

The rental units will not be shrink wrapped and will have no promotional inserts inside either. For example, the Jonas Brothers premium DVD, with digital copy and bonus features, has a MSRP of $39.99 USD while the single disc rental version will have the movie only, and has an MSRP of $29.99 USD.

Retailers seemed to generally respect the decision. “That is all we care about,” added one executive. “Not only do you have the difference in price, but retailers can buy either version.”

Fox has been having issues with their decision recently, and is even considering dissolving their DVD class separation.

Cool website of streaming documentaries: Folkstreams.net

This wonderful site currently has just over 100 documentaries on American roots cultures. It’s a site loaded with classics including films by Les Blank, Tom Davenport, and Alan Lomax. It’s indexed by film, filmmaker, region, subject, and featured individual. If you’re interested in Dewey Balfa, for instance, you can quickly discover he’s included in Les … Continue reading “Cool website of streaming documentaries: Folkstreams.net”

This wonderful site currently has just over 100 documentaries on American roots cultures. It’s a site loaded with classics including films by Les Blank, Tom Davenport, and Alan Lomax. It’s indexed by film, filmmaker, region, subject, and featured individual. If you’re interested in Dewey Balfa, for instance, you can quickly discover he’s included in Les Blues de Balfa, Cajun Country, Cajun Visits: Visites Cajun, and Homemade American Music.

It’s a site especially rich in blues and Appalachian music though there’s much more. In addition to the films/videos, there are essays about the folk traditions and making of the films. There are also study and teaching guides, suggested readings, and links to related websites.

The creation of the site was spearheaded by Tom and Mimi Davenport in a coordinated effort with filmmakers, folklorists, web developers, and The University of North Carolina to preserve these works and provide greater exposure to them.

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National Archives Video on Google

This is a link to about 100 public domain newsreels produced by NASA,United Newsreel, and Department of the Interior. They range in length from 10-30 minutes. There’s a lot of interesting stuff here. Examples include 1930s titles from the Dept of Interior, 1940s war newsreels, and “Who’s out there?” a 1975 film narrated by Orson … Continue reading “National Archives Video on Google”

This is a link to about 100 public domain newsreels produced by NASA,United Newsreel, and Department of the Interior. They range in length from 10-30 minutes. There’s a lot of interesting stuff here. Examples include 1930s titles from the Dept of Interior, 1940s war newsreels, and “Who’s out there?” a 1975 film narrated by Orson Welles on the likelihood of intelligent extraterrestrial life.

Historical Nuclear Test Film Archive

The Department of Energy’s website has streaming video of about 75 nuclear tests from the 1940s to the 1970s, many recently declassified – the site is much more exhaustive than anything I’ve seen on this subject previously. link

The Department of Energy’s website has streaming video of about 75 nuclear tests from the 1940s to the 1970s, many recently declassified – the site is much more exhaustive than anything I’ve seen on this subject previously.

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Cold War Classic – Duck and Cover (1951) on Google Video

This 9 minute film was made by the U.S. Federal Civil Defense Administration to instruct children on how to react when an atomic bomb was detonated nearby. The film was used extensively in Kevin Rafferty’s Atomic Cafe (1982, DVD 536), a documentary surveying the U.S. government’s propaganda promoting the atomic bomb. link

This 9 minute film was made by the U.S. Federal Civil Defense Administration to instruct children on how to react when an atomic bomb was detonated nearby.

The film was used extensively in Kevin Rafferty’s Atomic Cafe (1982, DVD 536), a documentary surveying the U.S. government’s propaganda promoting the atomic bomb.
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CIA Films at the National Archives

The CIA, like many other government agencies, declassifies documents (including films) occassionally and relocates them to the National Archives. Freedom-of-Information-Act sleuth Michael Ravnitsky was able to obtain the list of CIA films currently in the Archives. It contains many, many titles with historical import such as Brainwashing, How Free Should the Press be?, Psychology of … Continue reading “CIA Films at the National Archives”

The CIA, like many other government agencies, declassifies documents (including films) occassionally and relocates them to the National Archives. Freedom-of-Information-Act sleuth Michael Ravnitsky was able to obtain the list of CIA films currently in the Archives. It contains many, many titles with historical import such as Brainwashing, How Free Should the Press be?, Psychology of Imprisonment, and Unidentified Flying Objects. The full list, almost 400 pages, along with details on requesting copies of the films is available at The Memory Hole.