As a follow-up to last week’s post on the Army Air Force’s First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU), this week I am focusing on a title that is arguably the most significant training film produced by the unit. Considered as a federal record, Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter (1943) is an important historical document of the training … Continue reading A WWII Training Film in Action: Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter
Author: Audrey Amidon
Audrey works in the Motion Picture Preservation Lab, which is responsible for performing conservation and preservation work on motion picture records held across the National Archives.
The U.S. Military Goes Hollywood: Behind the Scenes with the First Motion Picture Unit
I will admit, I didn’t know about the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit until 2007, when the Motion Picture Preservation Lab was tasked with making theater prints for a special program at the Pacific Film Archive. I may not have heard of the unit, but I certainly recognized its stars: “Hey, is … Continue reading The U.S. Military Goes Hollywood: Behind the Scenes with the First Motion Picture Unit
Preserving Curious Alice
We discussed Curious Alice in a previous blog post and explained why, although it’s beautifully animated and contains some fantastic imagery, it fails at communicating an anti-drug message. Read on to find out how we preserved this title! In the Motion Picture Preservation lab, we’re enthralled by the film preservation stories that make headlines just … Continue reading Preserving Curious Alice
The Curious Case of Curious Alice
Even before the DVIC accession brought How to Succeed with Brunettes to light, I had a special place in my heart for quirky government film productions. When I first saw a beat-up, faded print of Curious Alice, it was clear that whatever anti-drug sentiment the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) was trying to convey, … Continue reading The Curious Case of Curious Alice
Film Preservation 101: What’s the Difference Between a Film and a Video?
What's the difference between these objects? A reel of 16mm film.An object of similar size and shape that is actually a 1″ video. If you’re one of the people who can immediately identify the objects in the images seen here, the answer to this question is easy. But with the way the language has evolved … Continue reading Film Preservation 101: What’s the Difference Between a Film and a Video?
Don’t Shut Your Date in the Door: Military Dating Dos and Don’ts
How to Succeed with Brunettes (1967) and Return of Count Spirochete (1973): The Motion Picture Preservation Lab’s Favorite Titles from the DVIC Accession Sure, the National Archives holds films a lot of really important historical films. Beautifully made educational films about government programs during the Great Depression? Yeah, we’ve got that. Millions of feet of … Continue reading Don’t Shut Your Date in the Door: Military Dating Dos and Don’ts
What Would You Do If 40 Tons of Records Arrived on Your Doorstep?
Mission Preservation! Technical Assessment of the Films of the Defense Visual Information Center in the Motion Picture Preservation Lab In 2006, the National Archives accessioned over 2700 titles from the Defense Visual Information Center (DVIC). By the time the 51 pallets (coming to 40 tons!) of motion picture and video records arrived at Archives II … Continue reading What Would You Do If 40 Tons of Records Arrived on Your Doorstep?