New Article, New Book

Another find from NYTimes.com:

Jeanine Basinger has written a review of a new book from Michael Sragow, a biography of Victor Fleming.

While mostly remembered as the director of such gems as The Wizard of Oz and given credit for Gone With the Wind, Fleming also got his start during the silent era, working on Intolerance and becoming a cameraman for Allan Dwan, shooting many of Douglas Fairbanks' films.

If anyone has read it, please let me know; I'd be interested to find out if the book glosses over his silent era work, concentrating more on his well-known films or if it goes in-depth.

Another NYT Article

Finding the NYTimes.com article on Fort Lee, New Jersey inspired me to an archives search; I found another recent article on accompanist and composer (and author) Stuart Oderman.

For over 50 years, Oderman has been composing scores and accompanying silent films for MOMA, thanks to a chance meeting with Lillian Gish at a showing of Broken Blossoms.

I've added his books to the WTSM Store, in case you're interested in reading more.

Fort Lee, NJ, or Hollywood East

There's a fabulous article on NYTimes.com about Fort Lee, New Jersey's history as a center for filmmaking in the early days of the movies. While brief, it's still a great article; the best tidbit is the discovery of rolls of film buried beneath the soil at the site of the old Eclair studio. Don't miss this one.

Even more: The article was written as New Jersey prepares to commemorate next year as the centennial of the first studio opening in Fort Lee. Turner Classic Movies is currently in the process of preparing a 10-part series on the history of the American film industry. Titled “Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood,” the documentary is scheduled to air in 2010.

I can't wait!

New DVD Set from Kino

From my inbox: Kino is taking preorders for a new DVD box set, this one featuring John Barrymore!

The set, to be released July 7 (with preorders beginning June 9), will feature 3 previously released titles: The Beloved Rogue, Tempest, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and a previously thought-to-be-lost Sherlock Holmes.

According to the press release:

Headlining Kino's John Barrymore Collection is the release (for the first time on either VHS or DVD) of Sherlock Holmes (1922), a feature-length adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous adventures. Sherlock Holmes was believed to be lost, surviving only in the form of a few stills, until a battered and incomplete print surfaced in the mid 1970s. However, it wasn't until recently that a viewable version was meticulously restored at the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department in Rochester, N.Y.

The film also features location shots in London, along with the screen debut of William Powell.

I'm really looking forward to this!