When I first encountered A Day in the Death of Donny B. (1969), it seemed like the perfect counterpoint to the hilarious and beautiful Curious Alice (1971). Unlike Curious Alice, which misfires so completely that it makes drugs look like they might be fun, Donny B. is a scary documentary-style portrait of a heroin addict … Continue reading “Bottle cap livin’, bottle cap dead”: A Day in the Death of Donny B.
The 1939 New York World's Fair opened 75 years ago this week. The international exposition was partly a trade show where companies like General Motors and Westinghouse showcased their newest technology, like the latest car models or home appliances, and partly a venue for sixty foreign governments to display their national art, culture, and industry. … Continue reading The World of Tomorrow: The 1939 New York World’s Fair
Have you ever thought to yourself: “Those holes on the side of the film, I wonder what they’re for?” Maybe you were afraid to ask? If you think it sounds like a dumb question, let me assure you that some super-smart people have asked us this before. Today we’ll tell you not only what those … Continue reading Film Preservation 101: What are the holes on the sides of the film for?
This week, part two of our history of Dr. Seuss's service in Frank Capra's Army Signal Corps unit during World War II. Last week we told you about Theodor Geisel’s work on the Private Snafu cartoon series, but his war-time service consisted of more than writing verse for delightful animated training films. One of Geisel’s … Continue reading Dr. Seuss Beyond Snafu: Your Job in Germany
Who says Oscars are for Hollywood? Did you know that a number of films produced by the United States government were nominated or won Academy Awards? One such film is With the Marines at Tarawa, (Local Identifier: 80-MH-3527) which brought the experience of a major battle to the American public and consequently won the 1945 … Continue reading Bringing Battle to the Home Front: With the Marines at Tarawa
A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about the 110th anniversary of The Great Train Robbery, a film that pioneered editing techniques that are so commonplace as to be invisible to viewers today and is acknowledged as the first example of modern film fiction narrative. But this wasn’t the only important innovation taking place in December … Continue reading I Saw Kitty Hawk: Film, Memory, and Archives
Are you ready for Thanksgiving? If it’s your turn to cook, no doubt the next few days will be stressful. But imagine trying to cook Thanksgiving dinner for an entire ship or regiment, or being a mess sergeant tasked with cooking and bringing the meal to troops in the field. Do you know how you’re … Continue reading Mission: Turkey! Thanksgiving Dinner and the U.S. Military
In a previous post, we gave an overview of Project Blue Book, the 1952-1969 United States Air Force investigation into UFO sightings. For that post, we featured publicity interviews produced by the Air Force that explained the project. This week, we’ll feature some of the home movies that were submitted by citizens as evidence of … Continue reading Project Blue Book: Home Movies in UFO Reports
This week, we’ll be taking a look at Project Blue Book, via the National Archives' film holdings. Project Blue Book was not the United States Air Force’s first investigation into the reports of unidentified flying objects. It wasn't even the second. Project Blue Book was actually the third formal analysis of UFO sightings, coming after … Continue reading Project Blue Book: Spotting UFOs in the Film Record
For the last two weeks, we have been sharing films of the First Motion Picture Unit. This week, we’ll take a look at an animated film produced for the Navy by former members of the FMPU. This post was written with Criss Kovac, supervisor of the Motion Picture Preservation Lab at the National Archives. Like … Continue reading The Sailor and the Seagull: FMPU Veterans Animate Re-Enlistment Efforts
