Art And Science Of Making Movies, The

356. THE ART AND SCIENCE OF MAKING MOVIES (1949,1957-usA). Three fascinating, unique films on the art, techniques and magic of the movies.
1. ORIGINS OF THE MOTION PICTURE (1956-USA). Produced by the U.S. NAVY, in collaboration with The Library of Congress, The Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and others. Invaluable documentary, tracing the evolution of moving pictures, from Leonardo da Vinci’s camera obscura to Edison’s Kinetoscope. Edison’s inventions are shown, along with a rare 1889 film, and the first copyrighted movie, “The Sneeze” (1894). (Don’t sneeze or you may miss it!) Also: the Lumieres’ cinematographs, the Mutoscope, and a rare newsreel of U.S. troops landing in Cuba for the Spanish-American War. An important record of the movies’ first baby steps.
2. FILM EDITING-INTERPRETATION AND VALUES (1957-USA). Produced by THE AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS, INC. With JAMES ARNESS, DENNIS WEAVER, MILBURN STONE, JACK KLUGMAN. The complex art of film editing- illustrated via a superbly conceived and entertaining analysis of a sequence in TV’s “Gun- smoke.” Chester summons Matt (“Misster Dillon!”) to warn him that a woman’s in danger; Matt confronts and beats up the villain, then tells the bad guy’s pal (Jack Klugman) to get him out of town. First we see completely unedited rushes, covering the dialogue and action from many angles. Then we’re shown three different editors’ cutting of the same footage. There may never have been as vivid and dramatic a demonstration of the film editor’s vital importance.
3, THE SOUNDMAN (1949-USA). Produced in cooperation with The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Lively survey of sound techniques: the microphone boom man, the evolution of sound, starting with the piano accompaniments of the silent era; how sound waves are converted into electrical impulses and transferred to film; sophisticated sound effects libraries and artful mixing, the importance of preserving great voices (Grace Moore, Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler). Excerpts from “The Lights of New York” (the first all-talking feature) and “In Old Arizona” (first talking feature shot outdoors) show how actors were forced to play to a fixed microphone. The film ends with clips from the then-latest Oscar winners for Sound Recording, “The Bishop’s Wife” and “The Jolson Story.” You ain’t heard nothing yet! 58 minutes total. Cinema Documentaries