Last Friday, Fumiko, Issa, and I went up to Rochester, New York, to the Eastman House. We have been talking to them about accessing their archive on a more regular basis, starting with the three von Sternberg films that are coming up. It’s really an interesting place, and we got to see some pretty cool things that we thought we’d share with you . . . —Lee Kline
The vaults are pretty endless, but incredibly well organized. Fumiko stands next to one of the hundreds of very long rows of 35 mm prints that the archive contains.
Pathé originally tried to change the 35 mm format to 28 mm. You can see the difference here because the leader is 35 mm.
Paper film was used in the early 1900s, mostly for people to copyright their work with the Library of Congress. The film was contact printed from original negatives, and in some cases, this is the only record left of the movie.
8 mm and 16 mm film canisters
70 mm
The original score to von Sternberg’s Underworld, with notes handwritten by the filmmakers
Von Sternberg and Eisenstein
The Eastman House is an exhaustive archive of film packs, cameras, and photographic equipment. Here are just a couple of fun ones.
And lastly, House T-shirts were on sale at the theater.
Categories: On Five
6 Comments
Wed 16 Dec at 08:10 PM
Randall David
WOW! Thank you so much for sharing the treasure hunt.
The history of the whole place must have been palpable.
A rare privilege!
Please followup with an article in more detail of the your discoveries!
Wed 16 Dec at 08:58 PM
Ben Cheshire
Oh, please let it be silents coming!
Thu 17 Dec at 01:54 AM
Jonas
I’d heard about Criterion doing Underworld and The Docks of New York. I wonder what the third one is. The Last Command? That would be just perfect.
Thu 17 Dec at 09:24 AM
Al-Zarouni
Thanks Criterion for sharing this with us.
Mon 21 Dec at 06:08 PM
Daniel Pilger
Having grown up in Rochester, I was curious if anyone from Criterion ever had the opportunity/reason to go up and see the archives at the Eastman House. It is a fascinating and beautiful place. It seems that you all had a good time. I hope that the relationship between Criterion and the George Eastman House continues to grow.
Mon 21 Dec at 06:08 PM
Daniel Pilger
Having grown up in Rochester, I was curious if anyone from Criterion ever had the opportunity/reason to go up and see the archives at the Eastman House. It is a fascinating and beautiful place. It seems that you all had a good time. I hope that the relationship between Criterion and the George Eastman House continues to grow.
Add Comment