Saved From the Flames (DVD)

Saved From the Flames is a unique and wonderful collection of 54 rare and restored short films from the inflammable years of cinema. Movies were once made on nitrate film stock, which has a chemical composition similar to gunpowder and is highly vulnerable to fire and decay. This remarkable seven-hour anthology, organized in eight thematic groups over three DVDs, presents amazing treasures from the vaults of Lobster Films in Paris and from the Blackhawk Films® Collection, rescued during half a century of gathering movies from the nitrate era.

This program is based in part upon "Retour de Flamme," a screening series from Lobster Films, Paris, produced by Serge Bromberg, Eric Lange, Sylvie Geordiadès, Anne Simon, and upon films from The Blackhawk Films® Collection, selected and organized by David Shepard.

Films:

New Beginnings: Seven films, including the early cinematic experiment of Lumière, Georges Mendel and others, featuring Cyrano de Bergerac from 1900.

Magical Movies: Five early fantasy and trick films, including astonishing stop-motion animation from 1911.

Seeing The World: Ten films, including a transatlantic crossing in a Zeppelin dirigible and a film promoting Josephine Baker's wild revue at the Foliès-Bergere.

Laughing Like We Used To: Seven comedies, including four restored from turn of the century Italy and France and a frenetic Mack Sennett gag fest with tin lizzies galore.

Drawings and Models: - Six works of animation: Fantasmagorie from 1908, three cartoons from the Fleischer Studios.

Grace Notes: Rare musical performances by Reinhardt, Ellington, and Armstrong.

Persuade Me: Eleven films designed to influence, including three WW-II era musical shorts and a paean to the 1936 Chevrolet, selected for the National Film Registry.

Tell Me A Story: Narratives from 1912-1913 by D.W. Griffith, Lois Weber, and Thomas Ince, all mastered from beautiful 35mm film elements.